After teasing that Johnny Blaze would drop the Ghost Rider mantle to someone unexpected, Marvel has revealed who exactly will become the new Spirit of Vengeance — and it is Parker Robbins, aka the street-level supernatural villain The Hood.
The Hood will assume his new role in Ghost Rider: Final Vengeance in March, by regular Ghost Rider scribe Benjamin Percy and artist Danny Kim.
“The Hood wants a taste of the big-time. And he’s made a deal with the devil to help him on his way,” Percy said. “This is what happens when the Spirit of Vengeance is stripped from Johnny Blaze and grafted on to a character who has no moral compass. An epic crime saga—flavored with horror—awaits readers in Ghost Rider: Final Vengeance.”
The Hood, first introduced in his own miniseries back in 2002, was created by writer Brian K. Vaughan and artists Kyle Hotz and Eric Powell. The character rose in prominence as one of the key villains in Brian Michael Bendis’ run on New Avengers in the early aughts, where he sought to become the godfather of all super villains and once led a very brutal beating on Tigra. He hasn’t been featured quite as prominently in awhile, although he did face off with Ghost Rider recently in Ghost Rider Annual.
“Some villains you know all too well. Doctor Doom. Thanos. Mephisto. But I find it especially fun to bring the lesser known baddies out of the shadows and give them a shot at a starring role. That’s what I did with Omega Red during X Lives Of Wolverine/X Deaths Of Wolverine—and that’s what I’m doing now with Ghost Rider,” Percy said.
Here’s a look at Kim’s designs for the character:
And here’s Benjamin Su’s foil variant cover for the special:
Ghost Rider: Final Vengeance arrives in stores on March 13.