Ghost Rider (Daniel Ketch)
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Daniel Ketch, also known as Ghost Rider, is a fictional, supernatural superhero in the Marvel Comics universe. He is the third Marvel character to use the name Ghost Rider, following the Western hero later known as the Phantom Rider, and Johnny Blaze, the first supernatural Ghost Rider.
[edit] Fictional character biography
The third Ghost Rider debuted in Ghost Rider (1990 series) #1 (May, 1990). Daniel Ketch and his sister Barbara, attacked by gangsters, fled and hid in a junkyard where Daniel found a motorcycle bearing a mystical sigil. Upon touching the sigil, he was transformed into the Ghost Rider. This Ghost Rider was nearly identical to the previous, though his costume and bike had undergone a modernized tailoring. He thrashed the gangsters, but was unable to save Barbara, who had been critically wounded and slipped into a coma. She was eventually killed by Blackout, a lieutenant of the very organization responsible for her state and whom Ketch had acquired as a mortal enemy when his face was scarred by the Ghost Rider's demonic fire.
When Ghost Rider became a part of the Midnight Sons, he died twice in the process. The first person who killed Ghost Rider was the vampire hunter Blade, who was at the time possessed by the Darkhold. He was soon revived by the Darkhold Redeemers, along with everyone else who was killed by Blade. The second time he died was when he was fighting Zarathos, but like before, he was once again reborn.
Ghost Rider (vol. 2) #80 (Feb., 1996).
Art by Salvador Larroca .
It was later revealed that Daniel Ketch and John Blaze were long-lost brothers and that their family were the inheritors of a mystical curse related to the Spirits of Vengeance. Ketch eventually seemed to die, but the Spirit of Vengeance that had been bound to him through the bike's talisman lived on. Eventually, in Peter Parker: Spider-Man #93 (July 1997), it was revealed that Ketch was still alive, and he rebonded with the Noble Kale Ghost Rider.
Unlike Blaze, the Ketch Ghost Rider possessed a Penance Stare which made the target experience all the pain and suffering they've caused others. He also possessed Hellfire as did the Zarathos/Blaze version, but he also possessed the ability to destroy the undead, and was supposedly Marvel's incarnation of the Angel of Death/Judgement, as revealed in issue 93, which detailed the supposed origins of the Noble Kale version of the Ghost Rider.
In addition, Ketch and Noble Kale actually worked together to an extent, unlike Blaze and Zarathos, who battled for dominance and control over their shared body. Kale had a compassionate side and while there were times that he seemed tempted to simply take over completely, he refused to do so, though he felt anger at condemning Daniel to only being able to live his life out half the time, while he dominated the other half. Kale and Ketch, like Blaze and Zarathos, could sometimes communicate through dreams, and in at least one issue communicated via messages written on a mirror in lipstick.
The Ketch version of Ghost Rider (Noble Kale) would also eventually become the King of Hell. At the end of the series Kale went to Hell in a deal with the then ruler of Hell, Blackheart. In turn for coming to Hell and marrying two hand-picked demon brides, Blackheart would use his power to free the Ketch line from the curse of being the host for Noble Kale/Ghost Rider. Kale accepted. He married the two demonesses Blackheart provided. On the night after their wedding one of the demonesses betrayed Kale and tried to kill him with a knife made of a splinter of bone from the demon Zarathos. When she failed, Blackheart appeared and it was revealed that the entire wedding and everything had been a plan of his to finally kill Noble Kale and destroy his soul. Kale, angry over the issue, fought Blackheart and killed him. Ghost Rider then became the King of Hell. It was at this time that it was revealed that Kale was Marvel's version of the Angel of Death.
The series ended with issue #93 in February 1998, ending with a cliffhanger. Marvel finally published the unpublished final issue as the Ghost Rider Finale (Jan. 2007), which reprinted Ghost Rider Vol. 2 #93 and the unpublished issue #94. The cover reads Ghost Rider #94, but does also say Ghost Rider Finale as well (with the comic's legal indicia, printed on the title page, listing the comic as Ghost Rider Finale).
[edit] Powers and abilities
The common theme of the Ghost Rider is a human host who transforms into a flaming head motorcyclist with supernatural powers. When riding their bikes, the vehicles can travel faster than conventional motorcycles and can maneuver impossible feats such as riding straight up a vertical surface or across water. In a one-shot comic featuring Dr. Strange and the Daniel Ketch/Noble Kale version of Ghost Rider, it was shown to be capable of riding on nothing but air. This was repeated shortly after Kale started to regain his memories, causing him to alter his suit by sheer force of will, and created an entirely new bike.
When empowered, Ketch's motorcycle undergoes a more radical transformation. It changes from a conventional looking motorcycle to one that appears both powerful and high-tech. Along with flaming wheels, the bike includes a shield-like battering ram on the front. Like the Blaze/Zarathos version, this Ghost Rider's bike was capable of incredible stunts, such as driving up sheer walls, across water, and in at least two known instances, through the very air itself. Ghost Rider also created two other bikes that he could utilize in the same manner as the one he normally rode, one out of necessity when Blackheart stole the original in a crossover graphic novel that brought together Ghost Rider, Wolverine, and the Punisher, and again in the regular series as a spare in case something made him unable to get to his regular cycle. The latter would wind up in the hands of Johnny Blaze. As the Ghost Rider, Ketch uses a bike chain, much like those used to lock up bikes when not in use. It grows in length, is supernaturally strong, and can transform into other weapons like shuriken or a spear. He can also spin it fast to be used as a drill. Daniel's most feared power is the Penance Stare. When in close combat, he locks eyes with his victim and makes them feel every pain that person has ever inflicted on anyone in their lifetime. This, of course, has several weaknesses. If high on drugs like cocaine, or if the person is blind, or if he cannot make eye contact due to the victim having more than two eyes, he cannot get the Penance Stare to function. An attempt to use the Penance Stare on the symbiotic being, Venom, resulted in Ghost Rider being knocked unconscious. This incarnation of the Ghost Rider also has superhuman strength and resilience. He has displayed some other powers briefly, like the ability to summon a wall of flame. In the beginning, Ketch could only transform "when innocent blood was spilled" and had to touch the gascap of his motorcycle. Later it was revealed that this was only a psychological limitation he himself caused. Daniel later overcame these limitations.
