Marvel Unveils Its Most Powerful Ghost Rider: Meet the Spirit of Violence

Throughout all of Ghost Rider history, Marvel has unveiled several unique Spirits of Vengeance. However, the newest addition to the fiendish road-warriors threatens to upend every Ghost Rider before it. So far, without shape or form, this hellish threat has shattered the mind of one of Marvel’s most prolific Ghost Riders while painting a threatening target on the backs of its fellow Riders.

Spirits of Vengeance #3 – by Sabir Pirzada and Devmalya Pramanik – continues to plunge Marvel’s many Ghost Riders into a nefarious plot that may see their collective doom. Danny Ketch has responded to a series of threats, loved ones’ graves being ignited in flames, hoping that the Caretaker would have some answers.

Where she has none, he seeks out Johnny Blaze, who reveals the cause of these unholy threats: The Spirit of Violence. While Johnny has no clue who this mystery Ghost Rider may be, he does reveal that no one, including the deceased, is safe from its grasp.

The Spirit of Violence is an Ancient Evil Set Loose After the Blood Hunt

Spirits of Vengeance #3 – Written by Sabir Pirzada; Art by Devmalya Pramanik; Color by Andrew Dalhouse; Lettering by VC’s Travis Lanham; Cover Art by Josemaria Casanovas

Over Ghost Rider’s many decades of existence, Marvel has introduced new types of Spirits of Vengeance along the way. Some Spirits of Vengeance, like Zarathos, are demonic souls put to work, compelled to crave vengeance. Others, like Danny Ketch once held, are corrupted souls transformed into Spirits of Corruption. However, the newly named Spirit of Violence threatens to upend everything that the Ghost Riders and readers alike understand. With the arrival of the Spirit of Violence comes a threat: No soul, living or dead, is safe.

In the last issue of Spirits of Vengeance, Johnny Blaze was made aware of this impending evil by an underwater hag who had dealt with the Spirit in ancient times. She tells Johnny that, where the Spirits of Vengeance crave suffering from the most deserving, the Spirit of Violence craves it from those least deserving. She further explains that the Spirit lives to break the wills of the noblest of Riders until only it remains, engulfing the world in its endless fire.

There Is One Deity That Craves Suffering More Than Any Other

For what little hope remains for the Ghost Riders, whatever this Spirit of Violence is will need power first. If it has been locked away as long as the sea hag says, the Spirit will be hungry. This is, most likely, why the Spirit is trying to gather the other Ghost Riders; it needs food. However, as Caretaker admits, the Ghost Riders are facing a type of magic that they have never dealt with, a rarity among their party. Johnny and Danny alone have faced Heaven and Hell, dissecting every known quality of their curses.

So, if the Spirit of Violence exists beyond Heaven and Hell, then its magical source must be grounded in another type of magic. Perhaps, something older than both realms. The sea hag told Johnny that the Blood Hunt spurred the Spirit’s awakening, so it should be true that the magic that spurred the vampiric apocalypse is the same as the Spirit of Violence’s. A magic older than Heaven or Hell, directly linked to Varnae’s schemes, and that craves suffering all leads back to one option: Chthon.

Chthon May Be the Original Creator of the Spirits of Vengeance

Marvel Has Already Been Preparing for the Dark God’s Return

While Marvel actively prepares for One World Under Doom, it has been quietly pushing a new conflict with the Elder God Chthon. Chthon was recently released from his spiritual prison in the current Scarlet Witch series. In the ongoing Werewolf by Night series, Jack Russell and Elsa Bloodstone fend off a cult formed to recreate the Darkhold. Meanwhile, Immortal Thor explores the greater reaches of the Elder Gods’ pantheon. It only makes sense that the Ghost Riders would be the next to feel the reverberations of the dark god’s return.

It’s worth considering that the sea hag also whispered to Johnny the “true” nature of the Spirits of Vengeance. This secret seemed to crush Johnny, undoing everything he thought he understood of his curse. While it’s been commonly believed that the first Spirits of Vengeance came from the Abrahamic god, that may not be the case. It could be that the progenitors of the vengeance-craving spirits come from older and far more powerful deities. If that is the case, that the Spirits of Vengeance originate not from God but from the Darkhold, it would explain Violence’s upcoming unfettered warpath.

Violence is Coming for the Ghost Riders, Hungry for Their Flames and Suffering

Answers to New Mysteries May Be Hidden in Old Stories

Yes, it may only be a theory, but it’s one with some stock. Marvel has never properly defined what a Spirit of Vengeance is and why there are so many variations of the concept. Regardless of whether a Spirit directly comes from God or is forged from someone’s satanic uncle, they all seem capable of the same feats. So, maybe God isn’t the common factor. Maybe they never were. Instead, readers should start looking at the gaps between Ghost Rider lore without answers and see how Marvel’s current theological chaos fits into the picture.

What is certain is that the Spirit of Violence is loose, and it’s coming. It’s already proven that no soul, in Heaven or in Hell, is beyond its reach. This ancient evil, loosed by the events of the Blood Hunt, is on the hunt for every Ghost Rider it can feed on. If what happened to Danny Ketch during the Heaven’s on Fire arc is happening again, there will soon be Hell to pay for the innocent and the damned. While Johnny Blaze holds close the secrets of the Spirits of Vengeance, Violence is coming for all Ghost Riders.

Spirits of Vengeance #3 is available now from Marvel Comics.