Most Ghost Riders don’t forge pacts with Spirits of Vengeance under good . Their existence is one of suffering, resentment, and hate toward their infernal other half. The unyielding thirst for vengeance tears hosts’ lives into pieces. However, I’ve noticed recently that many of Marvel’s most popular Ghost Riders are finally coming to with their Spirits of Vengeance, some even developing friendships. I think the Ghost Riders are evolving.

While the origins of the Spirits of Vengeance can be inconclusive, some being vestiges of God’s will and others being twisted puppets crafted by the Devil, it’s a relatively universal fact that they possess a limitless wellspring of power.

While the hosts are responsible for channeling that power, humanity’s inability to fully accept their contracts has held them back. But, I’ve noticed while reading the current Spirits of Vengeance series, that more and more Riders have stopped treating their Spirits as monsters. Instead, I think both Riders and Spirits are embracing each other like “soul mates,” unlocking unparalleled power.

Robbie Reyes Cosmically Evolved After Accepting His Spirit

Avengers: Forever #3 - Written by Jason Aaron; Art by Aaron Kuder; Inking by Cam Smith & Scott Hanna; Color by Guru-eFX; Lettering by VC's Cory Petit

I first noticed the modern wave of intimate acceptance with Robbie Reyes. Having ed the Avengers, Robbie was exposed to a different level of heroism compared to his brooding fellow Ghost Riders. His missions have been on a cosmic scale, demanding enough power and control to rival that of Celestials and sentient universes. However, Robbie’s demonic evil Spirit had become too unruly as the two constantly battle to dominate the other. Robbie and the Avengers traveled to Hell and successfully exorcised the Spirit’s identity while retaining its power.

While I it it’s not the most straightforward approach to coming to with one’s Spirit of Vengeance, it still comes to the same trending result. No longer feuding with his Spirit, Robbie has ascended to a new level of power that exceeds anything Johnny Blaze or Danny Ketch have shown so far. , Spirits of Vengeance are bottomless wells of godly power, it’s only the human mind that holds it back. When faced with the threat of the First Firmament, Robbie, free from feuding with the Spirit, evolved into the “All-Rider,” now able to “ride” the likes of planets.

The Hood Proved That Zarathos Could Be More Than Johnny Blaze Allows

Ghost Rider: Final Vengeance #1-6 - Written by Benjamin Percy; Art by Danny Kim; Color by Bryan Valenza; Lettering by VC's Travis Lanham; Cover Art by Juan Ferreyra

Comparatively, Robbie has it easy. Without the Spirit’s identity, he has nothing to fight. While Robbie’s ascendance in power was originally an outlier, last year I was reintroduced to an old D-list villain that quickly became a fast favorite: The Hood. After Mephisto believed that Johnny had rejected Zarathos for too long, he stripped the Spirit from Johnny’s soul, allowing Zarathos to choose its next host. Now, with a gaping hole in his soul, Johnny was left dying in agony without Zarathos. Meanwhile, as Johnny struggled to return to Zarathos, the demonic spirit had chosen The Hood as Johnny’s replacement.

Despite being free from Mephisto’s pact, both Johnny and Zarathos chose to embrace each other again, becoming stronger as a result.

A power-hungry career criminal obsessed with mystical artifacts, The Hood completely embraced Zarathos’s hunger for vengeance. He instantly displayed a level of mastery I had never seen before. His flames were strong enough to set a city ablaze, transforming urban landscapes into a miniature Hell. His chains stretched infinitely long in all directions, appearing from flaming portals as complexly woven traps. His thirst for vengeance overwhelmed even Zarathos, ultimately leading to The Hood losing his powers. Despite being free from Mephisto’s pact, both Johnny and Zarathos chose to embrace each other again, becoming stronger as a result.

Johnny Blaze and Danny Ketch Have Literally Upgraded

Spirits of Vengeance #5 - Written by Sabir Pirzada; Pencilling by Sean Damien Hill, Brian Level, & Paul Davidson; Inking by Jay Leisten; Color by Andrew Dalhouse; Lettering by VC’s Travis Lanham; Cover Art by Josemaria Casanovas

In Sabir Pirzada and Sean Damien Hill’s Spirits of Vengeance series, a mysterious new threat called the Spirit of Violence is hunting down all the Ghost Riders. To protect themselves, the Riders and Spirits have to work together. It’s through this series that the accumulation of change became obvious to me. Every Ghost Rider is making an appearance and so far they are at the peak of their game. Johnny, no longer fighting Zarathos, effortlessly embraces his paranormal nature, accomplishing unseen feats. He’s shown walking on the ocean’s floor, singlehandedly taking on dozens of Atlanteans and being left unimpressed.

I’ve previously written about the positive changes I saw in Danny Ketch's Ghost Rider. After having lost his Spirit a few times, Danny has already come to embrace his other for a while. They’ve mastered peacefully shifting between forms and can even hold themselves mid-transformation. In Spirits of Vengeance #5, Danny openly acknowledges his recent upgrades, showing off his gross new ability to turn himself into a spiritual storage container for damned weapons. But this gradual change in lore isn’t just about the amount of power gained, but the effects of what happens when it's lost.

Both Hosts and Spirits Need Each Other to Survive

Ghost Rider: Danny Ketch #1-5 - Written by Simon Spurrier; Art by Javier Saltares; Inking by Tom Palmer; Color by Dan Brown; Lettering by Joe Caramagna; Cover Art by Clint Langley

Despite having historically rarely feuded, in Simon Spurrier and Javier Saltares’s Ghost Rider: Danny Ketch (2008) series, both Danny and his Spirit suddenly began to reject each other. Danny successfully finds a way to remove the Spirit of Vengeance, leaving a similar wound on his soul that Johnny experienced. Once bonded to a Spirit for enough time, the Spirit of Vengeance and their host’s souls begin to merge into one. Without the other, both souls are left broken and needing. Rejection doesn’t just limit power, it results in death.

No Ghost Rider pair has exemplified this mutual need more than Michael Badilino and Vengeance.

No Ghost Rider pair has exemplified this mutual need more than Michael Badilino and Vengeance. Michael, like Johnny, was an unwitting pawn of the Devil’s callous tricks. Simply to mock Johnny Blaze and Zarathos, Mephisto created Vengeance, tricked Johnny into killing Michael’s father, and bound Vengeance to Michael. Both having been victims of Mephisto, Michael and Vengeance forged a close bond. Their connection to each other is so powerful that, after Michael and Vengeance were forcibly separated, Vengeance was able to exist without his host long enough to make it back to Michael.

Ghost Riders and the Spirits of Vengeance Are "Soul Mates"

Once Bonded, Both Souls Merge to Become One

What happens after a host and a Spirit of Vengeance have been bonded for long enough is only what I can think of calling the “birth of soul mates.” Now, I’m not talking explicitly about romantic “soul mates,” but rather the idea of two souls destined to bond together. Johnny, Danny, Robbie, and Michael are just a few examples of the extreme reactions that can happen to those who fully accept or reject their Spirits. After enough time, the two souls begin to fuse, creating a singular, more powerful spiritual chimera. When both Rider and Spirit stop fighting, they quite literally evolve.

What began as independent instances of narrative choice, like Danny’s first severe relapse or Robbie’s evolution into the All-Rider, have woven together to create a larger tapestry to Ghost Rider lore. Across the board, every Ghost Rider has been getting stronger, no longer retelling the same stories of fear and rejection. Hosts en mass are compromising with their demonic nature, freeing themselves to become more confident characters, and I couldn’t be more excited. I’m hopeful that Marvel will continue to allow this developing piece of Ghost Rider lore to mature and prove the limitless potential the Spirits of Vengeance possess.

Spirits of Vengeance #5 is now available from Marvel Comics.

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