Forgive me for bouncing around various topics on Ghost Rider comics, but a lot of the time I write this freestyle and not part of a larger overall essay. Last time, I mentioned that much of Ghost Rider’s appeal in the 1990’s came from the character’s anarchist style. Now, by anarchist, I am not referring to any political movement or ideology. Many people throw the term anarchist around with much abandon without really knowing what it means or what it represents. The most simplistic definition of the term is “abiding by no rules and causing organized chaos.” To a degree, this can fit the characterization of Ghost Rider in the 1990’s.

Again, classic heroes were mainly cut from the same mold and Ghost Rider’s violent streak definitely made him different much in the same way the Punisher and Wolverine were different from other traditional heroes. Much like The Punisher and Wolverine were the cruel side of Spiderman and Captain America styled heroes, Ghost Rider comes off more as a cruel side of the original “dumb” Hulk.

The Hulk’s appeal is similar to that of the Frankenstein Monster. He is lonely, angry, hurt, and misunderstood. In his heart, he is good but no one wants to realize this or accept it. When he does reach the precipice of finding something that can make his life happier, it is taken away from him. However, that Hulk never slips into a dark, evil persona. (The demented version of the Hulk in the Ultimates line does) Frankenstein’s Monster finally gives up and becomes a completely evil creature. Ghost Rider is somewhere in the middle. He wants to do what is good and he is misunderstood, feared, and rejected….and he could care less. He is not concerned with what anyone thinks of him. His has his job to do and he does it with a lot of mayhem.

It is also important to never overlook the fact that Ghost Rider is a split personality. There was Danny Ketch/Johnny Blaze and then there was Ghost Rider. Blaze was far different than Ketch since Blaze was an outgoing adventurer. Ketch was more of a generic everyman….and a weak one at that. When he is latched to Ghost Rider, he is cursed to share his host body with a demon but at the same time he is empowered with an almighty protector.



Sure, you can pick on Danny Ketch. He’ll just turn into the Ghost Rider and you can deal with the Demon. Perhaps, the Hulk is not necessarily the best analogy either. Maybe Ghost Rider is a crueler version of the Don Blake/Thor paradigm. Either way, the common empowerment theme is there….a weakling has another personality/form that can do what the weakling cannot do. Additionally, no one can blame the weakling for the problems since he had nothing to do with any mayhem that ensued. It was another sentient being that caused the chaos. The fact that the host happened to also dislike the people that were clobbered by the sentient being, well, that is just the way it goes sometimes.

Comic books are a form of escapist entertainment that can give you a window into the soul of the reader. As I mentioned in my entry about The Lone Ranger, idealized characters have a hard time selling because people don’t always find them believable. Readers that see the world as a darker and more cruel place will gravitate towards entertainment that feeds such a Frankenstein and Ghost Rider definitely falls into that realm.