Ghost Rider is Marvel’s premier supernatural superhero. A grinning skull set ablaze, rocketing through the night along a burning motorcycle. Ghost Rider is the bane of evil’s existence no matter where it resides. But Ghost Rider wasn’t always a member of the Marvel Universe. In fact, many years before his explosive appearance as the stunt motorcyclist Johnny Blaze, Ghost Rider was a radically different character from a completely different universe altogether.
Ghost Rider was created in 1949 by writer Ray Krank and artist Dick Ayers at the behest of editor Vincent Sullivan of Magazine Enterprises. The character’s first appearance would be in 1949’s Tim Holt #11 (by Ray Krank and Dick Ayers.) Originally known as The Calico Kid, the man who would become Ghost Rider was thrown into a river by a gang of bandits led by the vile Bart Lasher and left for dead. Surviving the fall, The Calico Kid emerged under the new name of The Ghost Rider, his desire to seek vengeance against Bart Lasher.
Rex Fury, Federal Marshal by Day, Supernatural Ghost Rider by Night
In 1950, Ghost Rider would debut with his very own self-titled comic book series. Retelling the story from Tim Holt #11 but with several key changes, Ghost Rider #1 (by Ray Krank and Dick Ayers) reintroduced readers to Rex Fury, a federal marshal ambushed by the villainous Bart Lasher and thrown into a river to die. When Rex awoke from the attack he was astounded to find the spirit of Wild Bill Hickok speaking to him. Rex would then receive aid from other spirits of famous Wild West figures such as Pat Garrett, Calamity Jane, and Kit Carson. The spirits taught Rex how to become a master in sharp-shooting, knife throwing, archery, tracking, and horse-riding. Rex Fury found a new calling in life as The Ghost Rider.
The original Ghost Rider was an amalgamation of all of comic books’ best tropes. Not only was Rex Fury an expert cowboy, but he was also equipped with a variety of tools and gadgets to aid him in his fight against crime. His cloak possessed a black inner lining allowing him to appear as if various parts of his body were floating and a special projection lantern made by his sidekick Sing-Song allowed him to cast his appearance as a ghostly apparition. Ghost Rider as a character, from his very inception, stood out wonderfully against the multitude of other Western comics and characters available. Not simply an adventure comic, Ghost Rider infused a hefty amount of horror into the action. A carriage drawn by the Grim Reaper, a train full of the dead, even haunted castles in the Wild West, the original Magazine Enterprises Ghost Rider had it all.
Carter Slade Was The Very First Ghost Rider in the Marvel Universe
After the trademark for Ghost Rider’s name and motif expired, Marvel Comics folded the character into their canon. Debuting in 1967’s Ghost Rider #1 (by Dick Ayers, Gary Friedrich, and Roy Thomas), the character of Ghost Rider was reborn as the man Carter Slade. A school teacher hailing from Ohio, Slade was traveling out West when he stumbled across a pack of criminals besieging a homestead. Attempting to stop the bandits, Slade was wounded and left for dead until his body was found by the sole survivor of the bandit attack, a young boy named Jamie Jacobs. Native Americans found Jamie traveling with Slade’s unconscious body and decided to help nurse the man back to health. Stating that Slade was a man of prophecy, the Native Americans granted Slade the gift of a glowing meteorite powder.
With it, Slade was able to augment a new outfit to appear as if he was able to glow in the dark. From that night forth, Carter Slade was to be known as The Ghost Rider, He Who Rides the Night Winds. Carter Slade’s iteration of Ghost Rider was very similar to the original Rex Fury’s. Like Fury, Slade lacked any real supernatural powers but utilized a number of gadgets and gimmicks to appear as if he was truly a ghost. Rather than have a crude Asian stereotype as a sidekick like Fury did, Slade was helped by Jamie Jacobs. Slade’s adventures were a bit larger in scope than Fury’s as Marvel introduced a love interest in the name of Natalie Brooks and recurring villains such as The Tarantula.
Johnny Blaze Completely Reignited The Ghost Rider Mythos
In 1972 Marvel released Marvel Spotlight #5 (by Gary Friedrich and Mike Ploog) introducing readers to yet another incarnation of Ghost Rider. No longer a hero of the Wild West, the new Ghost Rider was a man named Johnny Blaze, a stunt motorcyclist with a terrible secret. Every night Johnny’s head would become engulfed in flame, leaving nothing but his grinning skull, becoming reborn as the entity known as Ghost Rider.
Having sold his soul to the devil in order to save his adoptive father, Johnny was cursed to become a flaming ghoul every night, hunted by the devil himself. Unlike the previous Ghost Riders, Johnny did actually possess supernatural powers such as the ability to summon hellfire on command. In 1973, Ghost Rider #1 (by Gary Friedrich and Tom Sutton) would be released, granting Johnny Blaze his very own Ghost Rider series. Johnny’s early adventures mirrored those of Rex Fury and Carter Slade: Johnny would find himself entangled in a plot involving Native American shamans, a throwback to the original days of Ghost Rider before developing his own unique storyline.
Ghost Rider's Supernatural Incarnation Continues to Endure
Even though Johnny Blaze helped usher in the version of the character that is still seen today, there was a slight hiccup in the transition of characters. Now, with Johnny Blaze acting as Ghost Rider, this raised the question of what to do with the original Carter Slade Ghost Rider character. To keep the characters separate, Carter Slade was renamed Night Rider for a brief period before his name was changed once again to The Phantom Rider.
It's fantastic how a character created in 1949 as a means of diversifying the hefty Western comic market was able to survive a leap into a brand-new company, multiple characters to bear the mantle, and even an entire name change. Ghost Rider today has enjoyed a number of different people taking up the visage of the flaming skull with characters such as Danny Ketch, Alejandra Jones, and Robbie Reyes each becoming the Spirit of Vengeance. So much more than the avenging horseback rider he once was, Ghost Rider has proven himself to be a valuable and popular member of the Marvel Universe. With the recent release of Marvel’s Midnight Suns video game and the current Cosmic Ghost Rider series (by Stephanie Philips and Juann Cabal) just starting, it’s safe to say that Marvel’s motorcycle-riding skeleton is more popular than ever.