THE HOOD AND GHOST RIDER
In the aftermath of SIEGE (2010), Parker lost the Norn Stone-empowered items that granted him powers. Though he attempted to reclaim them on numerous occasions, he was defeated by heroes again and again.
Meanwhile, Zarathos—the divine figure who gave Johnny Blaze the Spirit of Vengeance—grew influenced by the demonic Mephisto to find a new host. As a result, Johnny lost the Spirit of Vengeance, and the deadly entity began scouring the Earth for a new host worthy of its fearsome power.
This search ended in GHOST RIDER: FINAL VENGEANCE (2024) #1 by Benjamin Percy and Danny Kim, when Parker carried out a ritual to attract Zarathos’ attention. Zarathos sensed Parker’s lack of empathy and nonexistent moral compass and felt this made the Hood the perfect host for the Spirit of Vengeance.
Zarathos bonded the entity to Parker, physically transforming him. Fiery and skeletal, Parker now channels a far different kind of energy through his hood and pistols—and he is ready to unleash the hellish potential of Ghost Rider on an unsuspecting Marvel Universe.
