Summary

Warning: contains spoilers forGhost Rider: Final Vengeance#4!

Johnny Blaze isGhost Rider’smost infamous host, and he has a new mission: kill the Spirit of Vengeance once and for all. Blaze was recently separated from Ghost Rider, and the criminal mastermind, the Hood, is the new host. With his worst fears realized,Johnny Blaze is seeking a way to stop the Hood, and inGhost Rider: Final Vengeance#4, he reveals a potentially shocking endgame.

Ghost Rider: Final Vengeance#4 is written by Benjamin Percy and drawn by Danny Kim. While the Hood, using the Spirit of Vengeance, consolidates his power, Johnny Blaze and Zeb the Night Magician discuss how to stop him at a roadside diner in Minnesota.

Two panels of Zeb and Johnny Blaze talking.

Blaze and Zeb debate the Spirit: Johnny is not in a hurry to reunite with it, but Zeb says Blaze kept it in check better than anyone else.

Blaze then brings up a shocking possibility:actually killing the Spirit of Vengeance, and “exorcizing” it from the world once and for all.

Johnny Blaze proposes killing Ghost Rider

Johnny Blaze is Without Ghost Rider For the First Time In Many Years

The Hood Is the Worst Person to Bond with Ghost Rider

Johnny Blaze was bonded to the Spirit of Vengeance for many years, and hearing him wish to kill it is one of the most shocking moments in Ghost Rider’s history. However, Blaze’s hand has been forced by recent events. Parker Robbins, the supernatural criminal known as the Hood, has appropriated the Spirit away from Blaze through as yet unknown means. The Hood already possessed a magical cloak, but now he is super-charged with the power of a Ghost Rider. TheHood has used the Spiritto work his way back up into the criminal underworld.

A villain possessing the Spirit of Vengeance is a terrifying prospect, and the Hood’s actions inGhost Rider: Final Vengeance#4 show why. The Hood uses the dual power sources at his disposal to kill other criminals in gruesome fashions. He has also allied himself with Helmuth and a clan of vampires, and they serve as his foot soldiers. How someone like the Hood could wield the Spirit of Vengeance remains to be seen. However, so far, he has only targeted criminals, and perhaps this provides the workaround he needs to harness the Spirit.

Image of the Hood as Ghost Rider

Marvel Finally Shows What Ghost Rider’s Flaming Skull Looks Like if You Put It Out

The long-asked question of what Ghost Rider would look like without his flaming head is graciously answered by the Merc with a Mouth–Deadpool.

Johnny Blaze Has Good Reasons for Wanting Ghost Rider Gone

The Hood Is Proving Johnny Blaze Right

Yet whatever reason Hood uses to rationalize his actions, the Spirit of Vengeance in his hands makes him a threat to not only Johnny Blaze, but the entire Marvel Universe. Blaze’s proposition of killing Ghost Rider for good suddenly does not seem too far-fetched. Furthermore, Blaze’s long and contentious history with the Spirit of Vengeance no doubt factored into his decision. Whether Blaze’s plan comes to fruition or not remains to be seen, but the very title of the book:Final Vengeanceseems to imply this may beGhost Rider’slast ride.

Ghost Rider: Final Vengeance#4 is on sale now from Marvel Comics!

Ghost Rider with Flaming Skull in Vicious Cycle Cover Art

Ghost Rider’s Johnny Blaze in the Marvel comics

Ghost Rider Final Vengeance 4 Cover