The first man to become Ghost Rider was stunt motorcyclist Johnny Blaze. In order to save the life of his mentor, Johnny agreed to give his soul to Mephisto. Instead, his soul bonded with the entity called Zarathos. When utilizing Zarathos' powers, Blaze's flesh is consumed by hellfire, causing his head to become a flaming skull. He rides a fiery motorcycle and wields trademark blasts of hellfire from his skeletal hands. He starred in the series from 1972-1983. The second Ghost Rider series (1990–98) featured Danny Ketch as a new Ghost Rider. After his sister was injured by ninja gangsters, Ketch came in contact with a motorcycle which had somehow been mystically enchanted to contain the essence of a 'Spirit of Vengeance'.
The Ghost Rider is a human who can transform into a being with a flaming skull gains supernatural powers. The motorcycles he rides can travel faster than conventional motorcycles and can perform seemingly impossible feats such as riding up a vertical surface, across the surface of water and leaping across great distances that normal motorcycles could not match. The Ghost Riders are notoriously hard to injure by any conventional means, as bullets and knives usually pass through them without causing pain. It is possible that they are genuinely immortal; it is said that God created them and only God can destroy them. The Ghost Riders possess superhuman strength, enough to easily pick up a truck and hurl it across a room. It has been stated that Johnny Blaze as Ghost Rider can press around 25 tons.