Cosmic Ghost Rider
A demonic Punisher empowered by Mephisto and the Power Cosmic.
Cosmic Ghost Rider is a fictional superhero from Marvel Comics, combining elements of Punisher, Ghost Rider, and Silver Surfer with a personality inspired by Deadpool. The character is notable for being an alternate-reality version of Frank Castle who becomes a demonic entity and later a herald of Galactus.
Quick Facts
- Publisher
- Marvel Comics
- Debut
- Thanos (vol. 2) #13 (January 2018)
- Creators
- Donny Cates; Geoff Shaw; (based on the character created by Gerry Conway, John Romita Sr. and Ross Andru)
- Real name
- Francis David "Frank" Castle
- Alliances
- Heralds of Galactus
- Guardians of the Galaxy
- Dark Guardians
- Partners
- Galactus (master)
- King Thanos (master)
- Punisher Thanos (son)
- Also known as
- The Rider
- The Punisher
- Cosmic Ghost Phoenix Rider
- Powers
- Endowed with the Spirit of Vengeance/Hellfire manipulation and Power Cosmic; Utilizes chains made from Cyttorak's bones
Facts from the source article.
Did You Know?
- Cosmic Ghost Rider was created by Donny Cates and Geoff Shaw, first appearing in Thanos #13 (January 2018).
- His backstory was revealed in Thanos #16.
- In 2019, he starred in the miniseries Cosmic Ghost Rider Destroys Marvel History, written by Paul Scheer.
- He wields chains made from the bones of Cyttorak.
- He appears as a playable character in Marvel Contest of Champions and Marvel Cosmic Invasion, voiced by Brian Bloom.
Fictional character biography
In a universe where Thanos won, Frank Castle lived a life much like the one on Earth-616 until the Mad Titan invaded. Castle fell during the heroes' final battle, and his soul went to Hell. Desperate to make Thanos pay for destroying his world, he struck a bargain with Mephisto and became the Ghost Rider. When he emerged, Earth was a dead wasteland and Thanos had moved on. For years he wandered alone until a wounded Galactus arrived and made him a herald to fight Thanos. Centuries later, the pair confronted Thanos, who killed Galactus and gave Castle a piece of the Time Gem. This let him go back, recruit a young Thanos, and help destroy the Fallen One. The Fallen One killed him instead. Odin pulled his soul from Hell and brought him to Valhalla, but Castle was restless. Odin gave back his powers and let him choose any time to be reborn. Castle picked the day of Thanos's birth, raising the child to be good. That plan backfired, creating a timeline where Thanos became a tyrant anyway. To fix things, Castle returned the young Thanos to his original timeline.
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