GHOST RIDER II (Johnny Blaze)- 1970s Version
Created By: Roy Thomas, Gary Friedrich & Mike Ploog
First Appearance: Marvel Spotlight #5 (Aug. 1972)
Role: '70s Super-Hero
Group Affiliation: The Champions, The Midnight Sons, The Defenders, The Legion of Monsters, The Heroes For Hire
PL 9 (180)
STRENGTH 8 STAMINA -- AGILITY 5
FIGHTING 10 DEXTERITY 5
INTELLIGENCE 3 AWARENESS 3 PRESENCE 3
Skills:
Deception 2 (+5)
Expertise (Demonic Lore) 2 (+5)
Expertise (Stuntman) 8 (+10)
Insight 2 (+5)
Intimidation 5 (+8)
Perception 1 (+4)
Ranged Combat (Hellfire) 2 (+10)
Vehicles 10 (+15) -- Flaws: Limited to Ground Vehicles
Advantages:
Daze (Intimidation), Diehard, Equipment 2 (Motorbike), Move-By Action, Ranged Attack 3, Skill Mastery (Vehicles), Ultimate Vehicles Skill, Startle
Powers:
Soulfire Blast 8 (Extras: Will Save) (24) -- [25]
- AE: Hellfire Blast 8 (Feats: Penetrating 4) (20)
Immunity 30 (Fortitude Effects) [30]
Protection 8 [8]
"Frickin' Sweet Ride"
Speed 8 (500 mph) (Flaws: Requires Bike) [4]
Movement 2 (Wall-Crawling, Water-Walking) (Flaws: Requires Bike) [2]
"Ride Through Flames" Damage 8 (Extras: Area- 60ft. Shapeable +2) (Flaws: Limited to Movement Path, Requires Bike) [8]
Offense:
Unarmed +10 (+8 Damage, DC 23)
Hellfire +10 (+8 Ranged Damage, DC 23)
Soulfire +10 (+8 Ranged Will Damage, DC 23)
Initiative +5
Defenses:
Dodge +10 (DC 20), Parry +10 (DC 20), Toughness +8, Fortitude --, Will +7
Complications:
Involuntary Transformation (Ghost Rider)- Johnny Blaze will transform into Ghost Rider any time he needs to punish the evil. Blaze's own stats are STR 2 & STA 4- the rest are the same.
Enemy (Zarathos)- Blaze hates the Demon Zarathos for possessing him for years.
Total: Abilities: 64 / Skills: 28--14 / Advantages: 11 / Powers: 82 / Defenses: 9 (180)
-The first Ghost Rider is another supernatural 1970s hero, who lasted quite a while (81 issues). His creation is a bit tricky, as Roy Thomas & Gary Friedrich have both suggested they came up with the flaming skull motif (mainly because Friedrich keeps trying to sue over the movie rights- Marvel soon bankrupted him and disallowed him from even ADVERTISING his part in the creation of Johnny Blaze- that's what they call having a crappy lawyer). Johnny Blaze sold his soul to Mephisto in order to let his stepfather Crash Simpson have his cancer be cured, only for Crash to die in a stunt days later. Mephisto could not take Johnny's soul properly, since the purity of his stepsister's love for him drove The Devil-Guy away, so he bonded him to the Demon Zarathos instead.
-His book was a pretty minor deal, though attained some popularity- he ended up on the weird slapdash team known as The Champions. However, he was gone for almost the entirety of the 1980s, and only revealed himself anew when GR was revived in the form of Danny Ketch in the 1990s. Blaze soon showed up as a sunglasses-wearing, stubble-having grim bad-ass with a longcoat and a motorbike (doing his best imitation of EVERY OTHER FREAKING CHARACTER IN 1990S COMICS!!!). After this '90s run was over and Ghost Rider became a dead concept again, Blaze came back to the forefront thanks to the "Ghost Rider" films, and the next few comic series turned HIM into Ghost Rider again, leaving Danny Ketch by the wayside.
-I have the first handful of issues of one series, and it's not really GOOD, but has a funny concept- Blaze versus Satan, and Satan resurrected himself into 666 bodies that Ghost Rider must kill. His series is still ongoing, though I haven't cared to read it- I dislike mystical/hell stuff in general, and I never found the character very interesting. His Wikipedia article is HUGE, too- one of those ones where some fan has basically just reviewed and included every single issue in the synopsis.
-The '70s Ghost Rider is okay, but not really super-powerful- the 1970s was truly the era of STREET-LEVEL fighters, with Ghost Rider, Iron Fist, Luke Cage and others all effectively being PL 9 guys. Heck, Spider-Man & Daredevil had prime eras here as well, and were about the same (though Spidey probably made PL 10). Despite his lower PL, he's quite pricey given all the Undead/Blaster stuff on him.
-The Bike mechanics are a bit funny, but basically a Ghost Rider can touch any motorbike and turn it into the "Hellcycle" or whatever you wanna call it. He gains these powers (basically enhanced Speed, Movement and an Area Damage effect), but only if he has a bike with him to turn.
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JOHNNY BLAZE
Created By: Roy Thomas, Gary Friedrich & Mike Ploog
First Appearance: Marvel Spotlight #5 (Aug. 1972)
Role: '70s Super-Hero, Blaster, Gun Guy
Group Affiliation: The Champions, The Midnight Sons, The Defenders, The Legion of Monsters, The Heroes For Hire
PL 10 (136)
STRENGTH 2 STAMINA 4 AGILITY 5
FIGHTING 10 DEXTERITY 5
INTELLIGENCE 3 AWARENESS 3 PRESENCE 3
Skills:
Deception 4 (+6)
Expertise (Demonic Lore) 4 (+6)
Expertise (Streetwise) 2 (+4)
Expertise (Stuntman) 8 (+10)
Insight 2 (+5)
Intimidation 4 (+6)
Investigation 2 (+5)
Perception 3 (+6)
Persuasion 2 (+4)
Ranged Combat (Guns) 2 (+12)
Vehicles 10 (+15) -- Flaws: Limited to Ground Vehicles
Advantages:
All-Out Attack, Daze (Intimidation), Diehard, Equipment 3 (Motorbike), Improved Critical (Hellfire Gun), Improved Smash, Move-By Action, Power Attack, Quick Draw, Ranged Attack 5, Skill Mastery (Vehicles), Ultimate Vehicles Skill, Startle
Powers:
"Hellfire-Spitting Pump-Gun" (Flaws: Easily Removable) [15]
Soulfire Blast 8 (Extras: Will Save) (24) -- (25 points)
- AE: Hellfire Blast 8 (Feats: Penetrating 4) (20)
Unarmed +12 (+3 Damage, DC 18)
Hellfire Gun +12 (+8 Ranged Damage, DC 23)
Soulfire +12 (+8 Ranged Will Damage, DC 23)
Initiative +5
Defenses:
Dodge +11 (DC 21), Parry +11 (DC 21), Toughness +4, Fortitude +5, Will +8
Complications:
Enemy (Zarathos)- Blaze hates the Demon Zarathos for possessing him for years.
Relationship (Danny Ketch)- Blaze and Ketch became great allies during their ride as "Spirts of Vengeance", and later discovered they were long-lost brothers.
Total: Abilities: 70 / Skills: 38--19 / Advantages: 19 / Powers: 15 / Defenses: 13 (136)
-The gritty human Johnny Blaze was basically a human-level Gunfighter (but with a REALLY powerful gun) who was a strong ally for Ghost Rider, though a bit under-PL on defense. Despite that, he's much more skilled and full of Advantages compared to his '70s self- the years made him a better, more knowledeable fighter.
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GHOST RIDER II (Johnny Blaze)- Modern Version
Created By: Roy Thomas, Gary Friedrich & Mike Ploog
First Appearance: Marvel Spotlight #5 (Aug. 1972)
Role: Mystical Super-Hero
Group Affiliation: The Champions, The Midnight Sons, The Defenders, The Legion of Monsters, The Heroes For Hire
PL 13 (243)
STRENGTH 8 STAMINA -- AGILITY 5
FIGHTING 10 DEXTERITY 5
INTELLIGENCE 3 AWARENESS 3 PRESENCE 3
Skills:
Deception 4 (+6)
Expertise (Demonic Lore) 4 (+6)
Expertise (Streetwise) 2 (+4)
Expertise (Stuntman) 8 (+10)
Insight 2 (+5)
Intimidation 4 (+6)
Investigation 2 (+5)
Perception 3 (+6)
Persuasion 2 (+4)
Vehicles 10 (+15) -- Flaws: Limited to Ground Vehicles
Advantages:
All-Out Attack, Daze (Intimidation), Diehard, Equipment 3 (Motorbike), Improved Critical (Hellfire), Improved Smash, Move-By Action, Power Attack, Quick Draw, Ranged Attack 5, Skill Mastery (Vehicles), Ultimate Vehicles Skill, Startle
Powers:
"The Penance Stare" Affliction 13 (Will; Dazed & Vulnerable/Stunned & Defenseless/Incapacitated) (Feats: Incurable) (Extras: Perception Range +2, Extra Condition) (Flaws: Visual Sense-Dependent) (Quirks: Limited to Amount of Pain Target Has Caused -1) Linked to Blast 8 (Feats: Incurable) (Extras: Perception Range, Will Save) (Flaws: Visual Sense-Dependent) (Quirks: Same as Affliction) (63) -- [68]
- AE: Soulfire Blast 13 (Extras: Will Save) (39)
AE: Hellfire Blast 13 (Feats: Penetrating 8) (34)
AE: "Chain" Blast 8 (Feats: Extended Reach, Accurate 2) (19)
AE: "Moving Chain" Damage 8 (Extras: Area- 60ft. Shapeable +2) (24)
AE: "Chain Snare" Snare 11 (Flaws: Limited to A Few Targets) (22)
Immunity 30 (Fortitude Effects) [30]
Protection 9 [9]
"Frickin' Sweet Ride"
Speed 8 (500 mph) (Flaws: Requires Bike) [4]
Movement 2 (Wall-Crawling, Water-Walking) (Flaws: Requires Bike) [2]
"Ride Through Flames" Damage 9 (Extras: Area- 60ft. Shapeable +2) (Flaws: Limited to Movement Path, Requires Bike) [9]
Offense:
Unarmed +10 (+8 Damage, DC 23)
Hellfire +10 (+13 Ranged Damage, DC 28)
Soulfire +10 (+13 Ranged Will Damage, DC 28)
Penance Stare -- (+13 Perception-Ranged Affliction & +8 Damage, DC 23 & 23)
Chain +14 (+8 Ranged Damage, DC 23)
Moving Chain +8 Area (+8 Damage, DC 23)
Chain Snare +10 (+11 Ranged Affliction, DC 21)
Ride Through Flames +9 Area (+9 Damage, DC 24)
Initiative +5
Defenses:
Dodge +10 (DC 20), Parry +10 (DC 20), Toughness +9, Fortitude --, Will +7
Complications:
Involuntary Transformation (Ghost Rider)- Johnny Blaze will transform into Ghost Rider any time he needs to punish the evil. Blaze's own stats are STR 2 & STA 4- the rest are the same.
Enemy (Zarathos)- Blaze hates the Demon Zarathos for possessing him for years.
Relationship (Danny Ketch)- Blaze and Ketch became great allies during their ride as "Spirts of Vengeance", and later discovered they were long-lost brothers.
Total: Abilities: 70 / Skills: 36--18 / Advantages: 19 / Powers: 127 / Defenses: 9 (243)
-The Ghost Rider series in modern times gave Johnny a LUDICROUS power-upgrade, turning a guy who could barely hold his own with Spider-Man into a guy strong enough to rip a skyscraper in half with his chain (just by driving around it on his bike) and fight Warbound/Green Scar Hulk for a while, with Doctor Strange implying that his power is limitless. This version of Blaze essentially rockets his Power Level up a few notches, and gives him all of Danny Ketch's old powers (because they wanted the original character, but all the cool powers of his later self). In any case, I think this covers most of it, but it might not- Blaze changes power-sets enough that Besty Freaking Braddock would go "woah, bloke- let's try some consistency, shall we?"
