Funko Pop N°18 Marvel Ghost Rider (Vaulted) Vinyl Figure

Ghost Rider: Marvel’s flaming spirit of vengeance

First appearing in 1972’s Marvel Spotlight #5, created by Roy Thomas, Gary Friedrich, and Mike Ploog, Ghost Rider quickly became one of Marvel’s most iconic anti-heroes. The most famous incarnation is Johnny Blaze, a stunt motorcyclist who makes a pact with Mephisto to save his mentor’s life, only to be cursed as the Spirit of Vengeance.

With his flaming skull and hellish motorcycle, Ghost Rider is both terrifying and captivating. Armed with his mystical chain and the Penance Stare, which forces criminals to feel the suffering they’ve caused, he is a figure of supernatural justice.

Other Riders have followed:

• Johnny Blaze, the original 70s Rider.

• Danny Ketch, in the 90s, bringing a darker, modernized edge.

• Robbie Reyes, the newest incarnation, who drives a blazing car instead of a bike.

Part of Marvel’s horror wave of the 70s, Ghost Rider drew on gothic imagery and occult themes, standing alongside characters like Man-Thing and Werewolf by Night.

On screen, he was portrayed by Nicolas Cage in Ghost Rider (2007) and Spirit of Vengeance (2011). But it’s in the comics that Ghost Rider shines brightest: a blazing symbol of punishment, vengeance, and eternal damnation.