Ryan Gosling Is Ghost Rider! The 8 Greatest Ghost Rider Comic Books Every Marvel Fan Must Read Before His MCU Debut

August 6, 2026

Johnny Blaze has forgotten himself and finds himself trapped in a small-town suburbia with a family. He focuses his mind, breaks the illusion, and becomes the Ghost Rider once again. Image source: Amazon

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It is human nature to be haunted by the regret and bad choices of the past, but not to be controlled by them. That is a good way to become a living ghost of a person, a weakness that the Ghost Rider can easily exploit. Marvel Comics’ Spirit of Vengeance has been roaring back into the spotlight since Ryan Gosling’s announcement that he will star in a new Ghost Rider film in 2028. Fans are already speculating which version of the Rider we’ll see and which of the greatest Ghost Rider stories might inspire the movie.

The Greatest Ghost Rider Stories

The genius of the MCU is that the film studio has decades of Spirit of Vegeance stories that go back to 1972. Ghost Rider is a human who bonds their soul with a demon, becomes an indestructible force of nature, manifests a flaming skull, and rides a motorcycle with flaming wheels. The Ghost Rider is indestructible, immortal, super strong, and uses hellfire as a weapon.

The Spirit of Vengeance can stare into your soul with the “Penance Stare” and make you go catatonically insane with regret and grief over past bad choices. So, the Rider can burn your soul, not your physical body, your very soul, with hellfire if you’re an extremely wicked person.

The original Rider was stunt motorcyclist Johnny Blaze. However, in recent decades, Marvel Comics changed the history of the Ghost Rider to make it a lineage. There are now several canonical Ghost Riders, including Johnny Blaze, Danny Ketch, Dany Reyes, Hellhwak, a Native American who rode a horse with a flaming mane, and even a prehistoric Ghost Rider from Avengers 1,000,000 BC.

If you’re gearing up for Gosling’s take on the character, here’s your primer on eight of the greatest Ghost Rider stories from the Bronze and Modern Ages of comics.

1. Marvel Spotlight #5 (1972)

This is arguably the greatest Ghost Rider story ever because Johnny Blaze and the Spirit of Vengeance mythos debut here. Marvel Spotlight was an anthology comic and testing ground for new characters before they got their own series. Evel Knievel and the daredevil cyclists of the 1970s were the inspiration for Johnny Blaze.

Johnny makes a deal with Mephisto, the Marvel version of Satan, to save his adoptive father and mentor, Crash Simpson, from cancer. Simpson fully recovers but later dies in a stunt crash. Johnny forfeits his soul and becomes the Spirit of Vengeance.

A 9.8 CGC grade of this comic was once worth about $66,000. You can easily get this comic in lower grades for a few thousand or hundreds; however, that is only the collectibles marketplace value. Such comics can be wildly valuable to the right collector.

A collector bought a 9.8 CGC grade of this very comic for $264,000 in 2021. A 9.8 CGC grade of this comic is now worth $244,000.

2. Ghost Rider #1 (1973)

Roxanne Simpson, the daughter of Crash Simpson and adoptive sister of Johnny Blaze, starts learning mysticism to help Johnny. She breaks Mephisto’s hold on Johnny, but Mephisto binds another demon, Zarathos, to Johnny. No matter what, Johnny cannot escape his curse. Witch-Woman, a Native American satanist, tries to possess Roxanne, and Daimon Hellstrom (Hellstorm) makes his debut.

A 9.8 CGC grade of this comic is worth $6,400.

3. Ghost Rider #13 (1975)

Karen Page takes a break from Matt Murdock and moves to Los Angeles to try to become an actress. Johnny also travels to Hollywood to try to find work as a stuntman for the famous Stuntmaster. Blaze and Karen had a brief romance in the 1970s Marvel Comics era that is forgotten now. Johnny also fights the Trapster after Karen is kidnapped.

A 9.8 CGC grade of this comic book is worth $512.

4. Ghost Rider Vol. 3 #1 (1990)

When the new and modern take on Ghost Rider was relaunched in 1990, readers met Danny Ketch, a new host for the Spirit of Vengeance. The first Ghost Rider was a non-demonic western hero, the Phantom Rider, from 1967, who originally used that same name. So, technically, Danny Ketch is the third Spirit of Vengeance.

After Danny and his sister Barbara happen upon feuding gangsters, Barbara is hurt. Danny touches a nearby motorcycle with the Spirit of Vengeance sigil on it and becomes the Ghost Rider. Sometime later, Danny would learn that he and Johnny Blaze are long-lost siblings.

Danny was the grittier and darker Rider for a new generation of readers in the 1990s. Fans are speculating that Gosling might portray Danny Ketch in 2028. Ketch has never been used in a live-action film.

A 9.8 CGC grade of this comic is worth about $300.

5. Ghost Rider #28–31 (1992) – “Rise of the Midnight Sons”

Johnny Blaze confronts Danny about his ultra-violent tendencies when operating as the new Spirit of Vengeance. Johnny actually shoots Danny with a Hellfire Shotgun to calm him down. After fighting villains The Caretaker and Blackout, Johnny and Danny learn about the coming of a deadly new threat, Lilith. Lilith, Demon Queen and an ancient evil, is too powerful for one hero to stop.

After meeting with Dr. Strange and Morbius, the first incarnation of the Midnight Sons begins to take shape. The Midnight Sons are a team featuring mystical, grim, and supernatural superheroes: Blade and Moon Knight have been members. Some online fans hope that Gosling’s 2028 film will be a precursor to a future Midnight Sons project.

A 9.8 CGC grade of this comic is worth about $79. It could be a good investment in the next decade if the MCU Midnight Sons appear.

6. Ghost Rider #50 (1994) – “Heaven’s on Fire” Prelude

Issue #50 of Danny Ketch’s Ghost Rider run is a milestone. Danny Ketch had previously died to stop a threat. A new Spirit of Vengeance, Vengeance, took Danny’s place, but readers did not like the status quo change. So, Danny Ketch made his grand return as the main Ghost Rider in this issue. The art and storytelling are peak ’90s Marvel, full of fire, fury, and philosophical weight.

A 9.8 CGC grade of this comic with the foil cover variant is worth $62.

7. Avengers #7 (2017) – The Prehistoric Ghost Rider

Jason Aaron’s Avengers run introduced one of the wildest versions of the character: a Ghost Rider riding a flaming woolly mammoth in prehistoric times. This ancient Spirit of Vengeance is part of the original Avengers 1 Million B.C. lineup, alongside Odin and the first Black Panther. The Nameless Rider, sometimes known as Ghost, is an orphan.

A rival group of cavepeople killed his family. So, Ghost makes a deal with the Devil to become the prehistoric Spirit of Vengeance. While this version of Ghost Rider may not appear in the 2028 film, the idea of a lineage that stretches back into time could become a plot point.

Although Ghost made his brief debut in Marvel Legacy #1 in 2017, his full origin occurs in this issue. A 9.8 CGC grade of this issue is worth over $86, which is amazing for a recent and non-rare comic.

8. Ghost Rider By Benjamin Percy Omnibus (2022)

Johnny Blaze has forgotten himself and finds himself trapped in small-town suburbia with a family. He focuses his mind, breaks the illusion, and becomes the Ghost Rider once again. Image source: Amazon

Johnny Blaze is now living in suburbia. He has a job as a mechanic, a wife, children, and lives an idyllic small town existence. However, he feels like something is wrong; he has memory problems and thinks he is forgetting something. He has recurring nightmares about Hell, torment, and pain.

A demonic force has tricked Johnny and is imprisoning him in a small town. However, Johnny is slowly remembering and waking up to his true nature.

This 832-page omnibus collects all 21 issues of the 2022 run as well as several tie-in issues. Buy it now on Kindle for $34.99.

The Eternal Flame Burns Brighter Than Ever

From Johnny Blaze’s tragic origin to Danny Ketch’s gritty vengeance and the cosmic fire of the prehistoric Rider, Ghost Rider’s stories are a testament to Marvel’s ability to blend horror, heroism, and heart. Each version of the Spirit of Vengeance adds new layers to the mythos, exploring what it means to fight for redemption when your soul is already damned.

With Ryan Gosling set to bring Ghost Rider to life under Shawn Levy’s direction in 2028, now’s the perfect time to dive into these comics. They’re not just thrilling reads — they’re the backbone of one of Marvel’s most haunting legacies. So rev up your engines and prepare for the ride of your life.

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