Ghost Rider (Danny Ketch)

Did You Know?

• The series ended with a cliffhanger in vol. 3 #93 (Feb. 1998); Marvel published the belated final issue nine years later as Ghost Rider Finale (Jan. 2007), which reprints vol. 3, #93 and the previously unpublished #94.
• Ketch received his own miniseries titled Ghost Rider: Danny Ketch, written by Simon Spurrier.

Fictional character biography

Daniel Ketch was born in Brooklyn, New York. One night, he and his sister Barbara were attacked by gangsters; with Barbara grievously wounded by Deathwatch, Daniel fled and hid in a junkyard, where he found a motorcycle bearing a mystical sigil. Upon touching the sigil, he transformed into the Ghost Rider. He beat the gangsters but could not save Barbara, who was rendered comatose and later killed by Blackout, who became Ketch's mortal enemy. As a member of the Midnight Sons, Ketch died twice: first killed by the vampire hunter Blade (possessed by the Darkhold) and later revived by the Darkhold Redeemers; then killed by Zarathos and resurrected. Ketch and Johnny Blaze learned they were long-lost brothers with a family curse tied to the Spirits of Vengeance. Ketch was killed by Blackout, but the Spirit of Vengeance bound to him lived on, leaving Ketch's existence in a void where he could only communicate with Ghost Rider via the spirit world. When the Fantastic Four were captured by Skrull forces, Ketch joined Spider-Man, Wolverine, and the Hulk as a new Fantastic Four. In Peter Parker: Spider-Man #93, Ghost Rider was summoned in New York with powers out of control due to lacking a host. Ketch told him he was Noble Kale, though Ghost Rider denied this. This Ketch/Kale hybrid eventually became King of Hell after killing then-ruler Blackheart.

Other versions

An alternate universe version of Danny Ketch appears in the Ultimate Marvel imprint as a spy and member of the Howling Commandos who has a human appearance while transformed and can breathe fire. During the Cataclysm storyline, he sacrifices himself to save those infected by MODOK and the Gah Lak Tus virus and destroy the City of Tomorrow, with his consciousness transferred into a mechanical body to create Machine Man. A zombified alternate universe version appears in Marvel Zombies 3, where he is killed by Machine Man, who steals his motorcycle. Other alternate versions appear in Marvels as a young paperboy and in Spider-Man/Human Torch as a young alternate universe version.

In other media

Danny Ketch / Ghost Rider makes a non-speaking cameo in the X-Men: The Animated Series episode "The Final Decision". He appears in the Fantastic Four episode "When Calls Galactus" and The Incredible Hulk episode "Innocent Blood", both voiced by Richard Grieco. He was intended for Spider-Man: The Animated Series but was cut due to objections from Fox. In Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, Fergus Riordan portrays Danny Ketch as the son of Mephisto/Roarke with innate superpowers. He appears as a guest assist character in Venom/Spider-Man: Separation Anxiety and was intended to star in a self-titled video game by Crystal Dynamics prior to its cancellation.