The Ghost rider character has been the other-worldly anti-hero with 3 main people having the Ghost Rider’s powers. Johnny Blaze was the original iteration of the character, later being Danny Ketch and then Robbie Reyes.
Johnny Blaze was a young motorcycle stunt rider with an enthusiasm for motorcycles. In the original publication, Johnny sold his soul to Mephisto (who many believed was Satan) in order to save his father from dying.
Danny Ketch on the other hand, gained his Ghost Rider powers by touching an enchanted motorcycle that contained the powers and essence of the Ghost Rider.
Robbie Reyes gained his Ghost Rider powers by becoming possessed by the spirit of his estranged uncle after being gunned down by mercenaries. This type of fictional biography differs from the other two portrayals of Ghost Rider.
With all of the Ghost Riders, they manifest themselves in a skeletal form that has a flaming skull and powers of the supernatural. The Ghost Rider is pretty difficult to take down, if not impossible. Pretty much indestructible, bullets, knives and other weapons simply burn when they come into contact with the Ghost Rider.
Johnny Blaze and Danny Ketch always have the ability to drive their motorcycles crazy distances at a rapid pace.
Johnny Blaze
When Johnny takes on the form of Ghost Rider, he is engulfed in flames and his attire changes into a spikey, leather jacket attached with chains. His motorcycle also becomes engulfed in flames and burns the roads that it drives on. He is also able to summon a completely new motorcycle by using hellfire.
Blaze can project hellfire which has been described as something that burns the soul, which leaves no visible marks on the person who gets hit by it. He can blow out fire from his mouth and now uses a shotgun that blows out hellfire too.
The penance stare that is used by Blaze and Ketch can make the person it’s used to experience all the pain and torment that they have inflicted on their victims at the same time. All Ghost Rider needs to do is to stare and lock eyes on the person.
Ghost Rider can also travel in between realms.
Danny Ketch
Much like Johnny Blaze, Danny Ketch’s appearance alters when he takes on the manifestation of the Ghost Rider, with a leather jacket that has spikes and chains attached. His bike also changes, becoming more advanced and with flaming wheels.
Ketch often uses his chain which can listen to his bidding from his mind, changing its length and size, moving direction or changing its “material” becoming either solid or projectile. Ketch also uses penance stare to make his enemies feel the pain they’ve inflicted on others.
The penance stare has been shown not to work on certain individuals in the Marvel Universe – mostly symbiotes like Carnage or Venom because they don’t technically have eyes.
Unlike Blaze, Ketch could not originally become the Ghost Rider at will. Innocent blood would need to be spilled in order for Ghost Rider to be summoned.
Instead, Ketch had to touch the bike that gave him the power in the first place. As time has gone on with Ketch though, he has been able to change this and now can become the Ghost Rider when he wishes.
Robbie Reyes
Robbie Reyes differs from the previous two iterations of Ghost Rider, as he is not necessarily a spirit of vengeance – but rather a possessed soul. Even with this though, Reyes still has many of the same powers that the other two Ghost riders do.
Instead of a motorcycle, Reyes uses the car that his Ghost Rider self is linked with. One of his unique powers is the ability to transform back with the car, almost teleporting when he needs to. If required, he can make the car move on its own. The car does not harm Reyes, but it has been known to harm others who come into contact with it.
Reyes holds many dangerous and similar powers to that of Ketch and Blaze, including penance stare and hellfire.
How Powerful Is Ghost Rider?
Each ghost rider is different in some way or another. Johnny Blaze is understood to have been able to lift 50,000lbs of weight. Each ghost rider is pretty much undefeatable in battle to the normal person.
The penance stare has even taken down some of the biggest names in Marvel – such as Galactus who was defeated by the penance stare, feeling the pain of what Doctor Strange called “a billion” souls.
It’s often been said that Ghost Rider is one of the most powerful beings in the Marvel universe – but it is possible for them to be defeated by things that have been crafted in heaven – and has previously been defeated by the reanimated corpse of the Punisher, Frank Castle.
It’s important to note that Blaze, Ketch and Reyes aren’t the only Riders – but they are the 3 most known Ghost Riders.
In fact, Frank Castle’s corpse became cosmic Ghost Rider – which is possibly the most dangerous entity in all of Marvel, who was known to have had to hold back his power because otherwise he would destroy the planet!
What each Ghost Rider has in common is that, if they are locked onto you – they will certainly get you eventually – and that makes the character of the Ghost Rider terrifying and very powerful.
Summary
The Ghost Rider in any publication is very powerful and they share similar powers – even though some imaginations of Ghost Rider like Frank Castle’s is more dangerous than Blaze for example, each one puts up a fight against the big names of Marvel!
