| ||||||
![]()
Real Name: Zarathos/Daniel Ketch Occupation: Spirit of Vengeance/Messenger Legal Status: Citizen of the U.S. with no criminal record Identity: Secret Place of Birth: Brooklyn, New York Marital Status: Single Known Relatives: Mother (first name unrevealed), Barbara Ketch (sister, deceased) Base of Operations: Brooklyn, New York Past Group Affiliations: Briefly worked with a substitute group of the Fantastic Four. Known Powers: Alter-Ego: Daniel Ketch transforms into Ghost Rider only at night, by touching the gas cap on his motorcycle. He transforms into Ghost Rider only if the blood of innocents is being shed within five miles of his current location. Ghost Rider has the following powers and equipment: Equipment: Chain (Unique Weapon): Ghost Rider possesses a chain made of an Unearthly rank material, and can do the following Power Stunts with it:
Ghost Rider can mentally control the bike from up to a ten-area range. If the bike is destroyed it will reform in 1-10 rounds. The bike can defy gravity and travel up walls and across ceilings. The bike can also travel on the surface of water. The motorcycle has a special battering ram that enables the motorcycle to burst through materials of up to Incredible Material rank without harming the rider(s). Talents: Daniel Ketch and Ghost Rider are accomplished motorcycle riders. Ghost Rider is a Weapon Specialist with his chain, giving him a +2cs when using it. Contacts: The new Ghost Rider has worked with Wolverine, Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, Moon Knight, the Punisher, the Hulk, and Doctor Strange. Role-Playing Notes: Daniel Ketch is a confused young man who is deeply troubled by his transformation into Ghost Rider. He is beginning to accept the transformation, but at the same time he is shutting everyone out of his life. Ghost Rider is only interested in vengeance against those who have spilled the blood of innocents. He will try to punish wrong-doers, but he will not try to actively kill them. While pursuing his enemies he is relentless and stubborn, refusing to give up until the villain is punished. History: Long ago, when demons ruled the Earth, the demon named Zarathos was worshiped as a god. Zarathos’s lust for human souls brought him into conflict with the demon lord Mephisto. Zarathos and Mephisto fought, but Mephisto ended up capturing the living flame that was the essence of Zarathos’s soul. Over the centuries, Mephisto enjoyed joining Zarathos’s soul to a variety of weak human souls. Several years ago, a stunt cyclist made a deal with Mephisto, but managed to keep his soul when Mephisto came for it. The angry Mephisto bonded Zarathos with the soul of the stunt rider, Johnny Blaze. Over the next few years, when Zarathos took over Blaze’s body, he transformed it into the dread vigilante known as Ghost Rider. Zarathos had no memory of his past, he just felt compelled to mete out justice. The being known as Nightmare eventually informed Ghost Rider of his true origin. Ghost Rider became more independent of Blaze, and more violent. Finally, Zarathos managed to separate himself from Blaze. The temperamental demon then willingly trapped himself in a soul gem with his hated enemy, Centurious. Apparently the two trapped souls were doomed to fight each other for an eternity. (For more information, see Volume 2 of the Gamer’s Handbook of the MARVEL UNIVERSE for an entry on Ghost Rider III.) Years later, in Brooklyn, New York, Daniel Ketch and his sister, Barbara, were visiting Cypress Hills Cemetery on Halloween Eve. They accidentally stumbled upon a confrontation between some of the Kingpin’s mob and members of a group led by the mysterious Deathwatch. Barbara and Daniel were discovered and Barbara was mortally injured by a crossbow bolt fired by one of Deathwatch’s men. Meanwhile, the members of a teenage gang, known as the Cypress Pool Jokers, grabbed a mysterious attaché case that the two gangs were fighting over. The frightened Daniel hid himself and his sister in a nearby junkyard. They hid next to a motorcycle that was too new to be in the junkyard. His hand covered by his sister’s blood, Daniel vowed that he would do anything to save her. The gas cap on the motorcycle started glowing; when Daniel touched it he became the new Ghost Rider, the Spirit of Vengeance. Ghost Rider attacked Deathwatch’s men, but Deathwatch got away. Ghost Rider then took the injured Barbara to the hospital and disappeared. The scared Daniel Ketch soon discovered that when night fell, and the blood of an innocent was spilt nearby, he transformed into Ghost Rider. During the following weeks, Deathwatch’s organization and Ghost Rider clashed many times. Ghost Rider soon discovered that the mysterious attaché case from the cemetery contained canisters of a virulent mutated biotoxin that could be spread through the air. Ghost Rider was able to stop Deathwatch and his follower Blackout from releasing the plague. During the fight, Ghost Rider’s Soulfire destroyed the canisters, but some of the biotoxin was released and deformed Blackout’s face. Blackout got away and later figured out that Daniel Ketch was Ghost Rider. The maddened Blackout sneaked into a hospital and killed Daniel’s unconscious sister. Since then, Ghost Rider has encountered a number of villains, such as Mr. Hyde and the Scarecrow. He has also met and teamed up with the Punisher, Wolverine, Spider-Man, Moon Knight, and Doctor Strange. At this time, Ghost Rider has yet to re member his past life before he merged
with Daniel Ketch. The being Nightmare has recently told him about his origins,
but Ghost Rider still does not remember his past. Daniel Ketch has come to grips
with his double personality, and has now learned to accept it. Doctor Strange and company then helped Ghost Rider track down a villain known as the Zodiac Killer. They soon learned that the Zodiac Killer was working for demons from another dimension. Ghost Rider captured the Zodiac Killer, but he turned out to be a dopple-ganger of the true Zodiac Killer, who had already escaped. After this adventure, Daniel was captured by Johnny Blaze, who still had some sort of mystical link with Ghost Rider. Johnny Blaze planned to hold Daniel until he turned into Ghost Rider, and then he was going to kill the demon. Meanwhile, Blackout and Deathwatch killed a number of people, hoping to draw
Ghost Rider out. This caused the motorcycle to seek out Daniel and activate the
transformation. Ghost Rider and Blaze then fought each other. During the fight,
a blast of Soulfire went through Blaze’s shotgun and directly in to Blaze
without harming him. |