Ghost Rider (Ghost Rider)

Overview
The Ghost Rider is the name of several Marvel Comics characters who has fought against evil. The first Ghost Rider better known as Carter Slade first debuted in February of 1967 and was almost identical to an old Western supernatural lawman of the same name and appearance created by Ray Krank and Dick Ayers in 1949.

This version however vanished and his copyright lapsed, enabling Marvel to create the Carter Slade version. Slade possessed no supernatural powers in contrast to his predecessor (and successors) and employed scientific gadgets to simulate supernatural effects.

This version of the character was not particularly popular which resulted in the launch of Johnny Blaze, a motorcycle stuntman in Marvel Spotlight #5 printed in August of 1972 who sold his soul to the devil to save the life of his stepfather and inadvertently gained supernatural powers. The Ghost Rider/Johnny Blaze was created by Roy Thomas, Gary Friedrich, and Mike Ploog and was considerably more popular than his predecessors and to prevent confusion, Slade was retroactively referred to as "The Phantom Rider" in continuity.

After several hellraising years, Blaze was "retired" as the Ghost Rider and the character vanished from Marvel Comics until 1990 when Daniel Ketch assumed the mantle of the Ghost Rider. Since then, a number of others have wielded the name and supernatural curse of the Ghost Rider including a female rider, Alejandra in 2011 and the current namesake; Robbie Reyes in 2014.

The Johnny Blaze incarnation of the Ghost Rider appeared in the 2007 Ghost Rider film portrayed by Nicolas Cage and Matt Long as a young Johnny Blaze. Cage reprised his role in the 2012 sequel Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance as well.

Trivia

 * The Ghost Rider's skull is actually a CGI image crafted from a three-dimensional x-ray taken of Nicholas Cage's head in order to better match his dimensions and appearance.
 * A great deal of the Ghost Rider's history, appearance, accouterments, and powers in the film were heavily based upon the Daniel Ketch comic book incarnation of the Ghost Rider and not the Johnny Blaze version. For example, it was the Ketch version who wore the metal spiked biker leathers, wielded a chain weapon, and possessed the "penance stare" and not the Johnny Blaze character. Further, it was the Ketch version who established multiple incarnations of the Rider going back throughout history.

Quotes

 * "Sorry, all out of mercy." ―Ghost Rider to Mugger; Ghost Rider
 * "Look into my eyes. Your soul is stained by the blood of the innocent. Feel their pain!" ―Ghost Rider to Legion; Ghost Rider
 * "Yeah I'm good, feels like my skull's on fire, but I'm good." ―Ghost Rider; Ghost Rider
 * "I'm gonna own this curse, and I'm gonna use it against you. Whenever innocent blood is spilled, it'll be my father's blood. And you'll find me there, a spirit of vengeance, fighting fire with fire." ―Johnny Blaze to Mephistopheles; Ghost Rider
 * "It doesn't matter how far you run, there are some demons you just can't escape." ―Johnny Blaze
 * "Yeah that is right, I'm the guy who made a deal with the Devil. Now I know what your thinking, does kid ever watch movies; does this ever work out fine? Well, let's just say good judgement wasn't exactly my forte. I was possessed by an ancient demon. In the presence of evil, I change into a monster, and I prey on the wicked and I ... suck out their souls. And you don't want to be around when that happens; see there's good and bad in all of us. And maybe you're not a murderer; but you did something that you didn't want the Rider to see. A white lie, and illegal download, what about you? And you? I've tried to fight it, to hold it back.  But the darkness inside me only gets stronger. That's why I had to run, halfway across the world, and I'm still running."  ―Johnny Blaze; Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance
 * "When we get where we're going ... the Rider's going to ... come out. And when he does... he'll destroy whoever's got it coming. Nadya, this thing... there's no reason, no conscience ... just hunger. In his eyes ... you're no different than Carrigan. You're no different than any of them." ―Johnny Blaze to Nadya; Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance