Summary
Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Ghost Rider: Final Vengeance #6To save his adoptive father’s life, Johnny Blaze made a deal with the Devil who, in return, bound Blaze’s soul to a fallen angel, thus creating theGhost Rider. Decades later, Johnny has been through hell and has watched almost everything he’s loved burn to ash. Now, after years of hoping to rid himself of his curse,Blaze has made a new contract that brings him back to the beginning.
Ghost Rider: Final Vengeance#6 – written by Benjamin Percy, with art by Danny Kim – features the epic conclusion of Johnny Blaze’s journey to reclaim his Spirit of Vengeance from the murderous hands of the Hood.
After Mephisto stripped Blaze of his hellish other half, Johnny was left with a Ghost Rider-sized hole in his soul that made him realize that he needs the Rider as much as the Rider needs a host. However, to set things right, Johnny Blaze has to do the one thing he swore he would never do again:make a deal with the Devil.
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Zarathos Needs Johnny as Much as Johnny Needs Zarathos
Ghost Rider: Final Vengeance#6 – Written By Benjamin Percy; Art By Danny Kim, Bryan Valenza, & Travis Lanham
Johnny Blaze understands now more than ever that he is the one who tamed the Spirit and that he alone is the one mortal who can withstand the flames of vengeance without releasing an inferno.
Johnny Blaze isn’t the first Ghost Riderto feel the void after losing their Spirit of Vengeance. After enough time hunting down sinners’ souls and dealing out just-deserved penance, the soul of the Rider warps to need that divine fire to keep it going. Even in Blaze’s unique case, the wicked angel-turned-demon Zarathos is needed for both to remain whole. Johnny hates Zarathos, and he makes that well-known in this issue, butmaintaining his relationship with the demon is more than just about restoring his own soul.
Throughout theGhost Rider: Final Vengeanceseries, Zarathos has instead been wielded by the Hood, an ambitious magically-powered professional criminal with enough rage to feed the demon without end. In the hands of a man whose appetite for vengeance is stronger than the demon’s itself,the Spirit of Vengeancebecomes an unchecked power of divine proportion. Johnny Blaze understands now more than ever that he is the one who tamed the Spirit and that he alone is the one mortal who can withstand the flames of vengeance without releasing an inferno.
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Johnny Blaze, Back At The Crossroads
Despite his journey with Mephisto seemingly being back at the beginning, Johnny has gained something that he’s never had in the last 52 years of comics: control.
At a crossroads with the Devil, like where it all began,Mephisto acknowledges that Zarathos and Johnny are the perfect pair.One is worthless without the other. Vengeance requires enough good intentions to guide the flames of punishment that follow. In an unexpected act from the Hell-Lord, Mephisto relinquishes control over Zarathos, for the first time in hundreds of years, to Blaze noting that“You belong to each other.”However, a contract requires payment and in return for the demon he thought he never wanted, Johnny Blaze is back to square one andin service to the Devilonce again.
Despite hisjourney with Mephistoseemingly being back at the beginning, Johnny has gained something that he’s never had in the last 52 years of comics: control. Johnny’s made amends with Zarathos before, but words can fall flat and deals can be broken. This time, both souls know they need each other whether they like it or not. Blaze knows it will still be a fight, but this time they’re on equal footing. Johnny Blaze has his fire. Zarathos has his host. Together, truly for the first time, they are both theGhost Rider.
