The following contains major spoilers for Ghost Rider #5, available now from Marvel Comics.

When Johnny Blaze first stepped back into the spotlight, he could immediately feel that something in his life had gone terribly awry. Before long, a sprawling conspiracy began unraveling which revealed his once idyllic suburban lifestyle to be nothing more than a literal Hell on Earth. Even worse, leaving it all behind wasn't enough for him to shake the demons who haunt him, especially not those who made his body their home. Now, thanks to the most gruesome exorcism of all time, Johnny is finally free of his unwanted dark passengers, and with that, the Ghost Rider is free to get back on the road without anything to worry about except for whatever comes next.

After reaching the end of the devilish race known as Hell's Backbone and coming face-to-face with the demon Blackheart, Johnny came to understand just how dire his situation has truly become. Thankfully, he hasn't been entirely alone in his latest journey, and as seen in the pages of Ghost Rider #5 (by Benjamin Percy, Brent Peeples, Bryan Valenza, and VC's Travis Lanham), it is none other than Wolverine who has taken it upon himself to try and solve Johnny's problems. With a little help courtesy of a Hellfire infusion, Wolverine uses his adamantium claws to cut through the Ghost Rider and down to the demon who has embedded itself so deeply within him.

RELATED: Ghost Rider Gives Wolverine's Claws an Infernal Upgrade

ghost rider 6 exorcise the demon

It isn't easy, and it certainly isn't pretty, but by the time it's over, Johnny Blaze is officially demon free once more. Or rather, he is free of all the demons he doesn't have an explicit agreement with, which means that he and the Ghost Rider no longer have to keep secrets from one another. While Johnny and the Spirit of Vengeance have long had an unspoken understanding between them, the former's most recent possession all but broke their bond entirely, even though it had been by necessity

As long as Johnny was harboring one of their enemies, the Ghost Rider was forced to keep its actions a secret from its host. As such, Johnny was reduced to little more than a bystander in his own body. In between bouts of passing out and waking up broken, bruised, or bloodied, he found himself transported to new locations on a daily basis, never knowing quite where he had come from or was going beyond the vague clues left by his other half. Now that this is no longer the case, however, Johnny and the Ghost Rider can finally stand as a united front once again with nothing holding them back or apart.

RELATED: Wolverine Reveals Ghost Rider’s Most Shocking Truth

ghost rider 6 scar is gone

Considering how difficult it was for them to even get this far without being able to properly communicate, it is hard to imagine the road from here won't be infinitely easier than what Johnny and the Ghost Rider have already been through. Not having to keep secrets is one thing, but being able to openly exchange information and ideas is a complete game changer. Especially with the threat of the emerging Shadow Country, there has never been a better time for Johnny and the Spirit of Vengeance to properly reunite.

Of course, the demon who was cut from Johnny's flesh isn't gone, and there is no doubt that it has just as much of an idea of where the Ghost Rider is headed next as its former host. Then again, the fact that the Spirit of Vengeance was keeping so much from its other half means that whatever Johnny was aware of before his exorcism probably wasn't much. With any luck, it won't be enough for the Ghost Rider's new enemies to stay on their trail for very long, otherwise, the end of the road might be a lot closer than it looks.