Ghost Rider may be the current King of Hell in Marvel Comics, but that doesn’t mean all the demons serve him. In fact, in the latest issue of the Ghost Rider series, it seems like half of Hell still works for someone else – and they’re all after Johnny Blaze.
Ghost Rider #7 opens with Ghost Rider giving Doctor Strange a serious beating right outside the Sanctum Sanctorum. You see, Strange was the one responsible for leaving Johnny in Hell in the first place, where he subsequently merged with Mephisto to become Hell’s new ruler. However, while it may seem like Johnny is in charge given he has Mephisto in chains, the devil is still secretly manipulating him. Doctor Strange tries to tell Johnny as much, but he won’t hear it – all he wants is vengeance.
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Unfortunately, their fight gains the attention of Lilith, an ancient demon goddess who wants to take the throne of Hell for herself. To do it, she needs to take out both Ghost Rider and Mephisto. Lucky for her, she has an entire army of demons at her disposal. But before Johnny can kill Strange or the demons can kill Johnny, three men intervene Wolverine, the Punisher, and former Ghost Rider Danny Ketch, who has become an entity known as the Spirit of Corruption.
Previously, Johnny took the power of Ghost Rider away from Danny and threw him off the Brooklyn Bridge, but he managed to acquire new powers that rival those of the Ghost Rider. Danny and Johnny duke it out while Wolverine and the Punisher hold off the demon army – honestly, you couldn’t ask for two better guys to do it. Mephisto even remarks, “Castle, you would make a good ghost rider,” a subtle nod to Frank’s tenure with the Spirit of Vengeance in the Cosmic Ghost Rider series.
Danny manages to defeat Ghost Rider, but before he can deliver the killing blow, Wolverine stops him and allows Strange to instead cast a spell that exorcises Mephisto from Johnny’s mind, freeing him of his influence. Good thing, too, since killing Johnny was exactly what Lilith wanted to happen. Still, the fight is far from over. Not only is Lilith and her army still after Ghost Rider, but last pages of the issue reveal that Blackheart is also vying for the throne – and he wants Danny on his side.