NAOMI KALE
NAOMI KALE
Real Name: Naomi Kale
Identity/Class: Human spirit (Pre-modern era to present)
Occupation: Spirit; former drifter, stunt rider for the Quentin Carnival
Group Membership: Formerly the Quentin Carnival (Barton Blaze, "Crash" Simpson, Wolf, others)
Affiliations: Black Rose (Roxanne Simpson), Johnny Blaze, Doghead (Francisco Fuentes/Chupo), Dante Kale, Noble Kale, Dan Ketch, Stan Lee (though she didn't exactly
notice him), Pao Fu (Lian Goh), Skritch, Vengeance (Michael Badilino), Verminus Rex; formerly Barton Blaze, Barbara Ketch
Enemies: Blackheart, Officer Gerard Dolan, Pastor Destin Kale, Mephisto, "Crash" Simpson, Wolf
Known Relatives: Barton Blaze (husband,
deceased), John Blaze (Ghost Rider, son), Barbara Ketch (daughter,
deceased), Dan Ketch (Ghost Rider, son), Joshua Kale (father,
deceased), Andrew Kale (nephew, deceased), Jennifer Kale (niece),
Illyana Kale (ancestor), Pastor Destin Kale (ancestor), Noble Kale
(ancestor), Magdelena Kale (ancestor, deceased), Dante Kale (ancestor),
unidentified son of Noble and Magdelena (ancestor, presumed deceased)
Aliases: Clara Blaze (see comments), "Dear" (nickname from Pastor Kale), Ghost Rider, "My Little Rebellious One" (nickname from Mephisto), "the Shadow Lady" (nickname from Dan Ketch), "Witch" (insult from Gerard Dolan)
Base of Operations: Formerly Noble Kale's Hell realm, the mobile Quentin Carnival
First Appearance: (mentioned as "Clara Blaze" & seen in dream): Ghost Rider II#78 (March, 1983);
(fully seen): Ghost Rider III#-1 (July, 1997)
Powers/Abilities: Naomi Kale possessed minor
mystic abilities,
sufficient enough to cast protective spells on herself and those close
to her. In her Ghost Rider form, When bonded to the spirit of Noble
Kale, Naomi had the conventional powers of
other Ghost Riders including hellfire manipulation, accelerated healing
and a skeletal form that prevented injury by objects such as bullets.
As Ghost Rider, she presumably also had superhuman strength,
durability, resistance to mind control, and a "Penance Stare" capable
of forcing its victims to feel the pain of their own misdeeds.
As a spirit, Naomi Kale could teleport between the
realms of the afterlife and Earth, dissipating or melting in one place
and reforming elsewhere. She could also manipulate the appearance of
other spirits to a small degree, altering ethereal "clothing" at will.
Her knowledge of magic increased to include the ability to cast spells
that allowed a person to essentially relive and store the memories of
someone
else, spells that could transport others between realms and spells that
could force demonic creatures to expel what they had swallowed.
Height: Variable; (as human): 5'7"; (as Ghost Rider): 6'2"
Weight: Variable; (as human: 120 lbs.; (as Ghost Rider): 220 lbs.
Eyes: Flashing red and yellow; (as human): Gray; (as Ghost Rider): Flaming red
Hair: Flaming yellow; (as human): Black; (as Ghost Rider): None
History: (Ghost Rider III#-1 (fb) - BTS) - Naomi and her
bloodline were cursed so that she forced to become the human host for
her ancestor, the Spirit of Vengeance Noble Kale.
(Marvel Encyclopedia HC Vol. 5:
Marvel Knights - Naomi Kale entry - BTS) - Despite her curse, Naomi Kale channeled her
interest in motorcycles into a profitable stunt-riding career alongside
her lover Barton Blaze.
(Ghost Rider III#78 (fb) - BTS) -
Naomi began calling herself Clara Blaze, perhaps in an attempt to hide
from the curse of her bloodline.
(Ghost Rider III#-1 (fb) - BTS) - Ever mindful of the curse that befell each of her family, Naomi refused to subject her children to that kind of life, betraying her husband Barton Blaze and hoping that by getting as far away from her family as possible, she could spare them the curse of becoming host to Noble Kale.
(Ghost Rider VI#5 (fb)) - The night that Barton Blaze
got into a fiery accident, Naomi was sleeping with her children Barbara
and Dan when she heard a noise that woke her up. At first thinking it
might have been Barton, Naomi soon realized it was her son Johnny, who
was having trouble sleeping.
(Ghost Rider II#78 (fb) - BTS/Ghost Rider VI#6 (fb) - BTS) - The next morning, "Clara Blaze" left with Barbara and Dan, leaving Johnny behind to be raised by the Quentin Carnival.
(Ghost Rider III#93 (fb) - BTS) - Determined to get
her family far away from her curse and her troubles, Naomi Kale thought
of leaving her children Danny and Barbara with a good family.
(Ghost Rider III#84 (fb) - BTS) - Naomi Kale allowed her children Dan and Barbara to be taken from her and adopted by the Ketch family, who were told that Dan and Barbara's parents had died in a car crash.
(Ghost Rider III#-1 (fb) - BTS) - At some point in
her past, Naomi was hooked on drugs. She also heard that Barton Blaze
had died from his accident.
(Ghost Rider III#-1) - Four years after Barton's death, A terminally ill Naomi visited the Quentin Carnival to see her son Johnny, where she witnessed him being bullied for wearing a Barton Blaze jacket. Trying to convince herself not to get emotional, Naomi decided to keep watching a little while longer until the Quentin Carnival worker Wolff noticed her. Figuring Wolff would notice her, Naomi walked elsewhere, following Johnny on his brake from working the ferris wheel. Witnessing two carnival patrons getting angry with Roxanne Simpson and threatening Johnny for trying to calm them down, Naomi intervened and knocked one of the patrons out with one punch. The other attacked her and she jumped on him, pummeling him senseless until "Crash" Simpson broke up the fight and ordered Johnny and Roxanne to return to their stations while he took out the trash. When Naomi tried to explain to "Crash" that she was helping her son, "Crash" commented that she must still be on drugs to have the nerve to call Johnny her son when she walked out on him as a child. Naomi tried to argue that she just wanted to see Johnny after she had heard about Barton's death. "Crash" reminded her that Barton's death was four years prior and asked if it was money she wanted. Naomi replied that it wasn't and reiterated that she only wanted to see, and maybe talk to, Johnny, even commenting that Johnny didn't even have to know that she was his mother. "Crash" angrily told Naomi to leave the Quentin Carnival and threatened to get his shotgun, prompting Naomi to leave and comment that she deserved better treatment from "Crash." "Crash" replied that he knew what she deserved and that, if there was a devil in Hell, she would get what she deserved. As Naomi left for the Roadhouse bar, "Crash" explained to Johnny that Naomi was no one he needed to worry about. While drinking at the Roadhouse, Naomi explained her cursed bloodlines and reasons for leaving her family to the bartender, showing him the Medallion of Power insignia on her palm. The bartender replied by reminding her that the bar was closed and Naomi left, exclaiming that they didn't know how much it had cost her to keep her children safe from the curse. She then coughed and vomited as she left, thinking to herself how death was creeping up on her and that she needed to visit her other two children. Visiting Cypress Hills, New York, Naomi watched from afar as her daughter Barbara Ketch celebrated her birthday. When her son Daniel noticed her, Naomi at first turned away then smiled back at him before Officer Gerard Dolan, who was on his way to the birthday party spotted Naomi and asked if she needed help as she began coughing. Naomi called Dolan a pig then sped off on her motorcycle, annoyed that police were always sticking their noses where they didn't belong. Sad that she just wanted to see her children and couldn't, Naomi's wishes that she could just die were answered when Mephisto appeared and sent demonic hounds after her. Fleeing into Cypress Hills Cemetary, Naomi announced that she had escaped Mephisto before and would do so again. Mephisto scoffed at the protective spells Naomi had tried to use to protect from Mephisto and ordered her to do as she was told, reminding her that she was still a prisoner of her bloodline. Mephisto further reminded her that, in her poor health, Naomi would surely die if she transformed into the Ghost Rider. Despite that, Mephisto ordered her to transform into Ghost Rider or he would send his demonic hounds after the Ketch, promising that while he couldn't harm her children, he could kill every single person they cared about. Tearing up, Naomi agreed and relinquished her form over to Noble Kale as the Ghost Rider. Ghost Rider realized too late that he had allowed Mephisto to drive him into a rage, which put additional strain on Naomi's body, and once Mephisto had left, Noble allowed Naomi to resume control of her form. Mephisto's words rang true when the strain of the transformation proved fatal to Naomi Kale. As she lay dying in the graveyard, she expressed relief that her children would be free and that now she herself was free. Pastor Destin Kale then appeared, explaining that no one could escape their responsibility. With her dying breaths, Naomi mistakenly called Pastor Kale "poppa" as he commented on how her protective spells had indeed protected John from becoming THE Ghost Rider but smiled and told Naomi that did not mean John could not become A Ghost Rider. A tear fell down Naomi's eye moments before Pastor Kale hurled her into the grave he had been digging. Burying Naomi, Pastor Kale imprinted the Medallion of Power on Naomi's motorcycle so that it could found years later by her son Daniel.
(Ghost Rider III#89 (fb) - BTS) - Naomi remained in existence as a ghostly spirit.
(Ghost Rider III#89) - Inside the void between realms, Noble Kale worried that the darkness inside him would swallow him whole and the spirit of Naomi Kale appeared and informed Noble that it would only swallow him if he let it. She then explained that he had forgotten much and would need to try and reach his full potential to combat the coming storm. She then dissipated as Noble beckoned for her to remain.
(Ghost Rider III#90) - Naomi Kale's spirit appeared
in Danny Ketch's home and watched him as he slept, one of the few times
she could look at her son for more than a second or two. She
disappeared when his doorbell rang and Dan woke up shortly after. She
then returned to the void between realms, where she once again met with
Noble Kale, whom she once more warned to think on every decision in the
coming weeks as he had to be ready for a coming storm. Before she
departed, she commented on how she liked Noble's old clothing better
and transformed his clothing to resemble his earlier black leather and
spikes.
(Ghost Rider III#91) - When Ghost Rider had his heart ripped out by the Spirit of Vengeance Pao Fu and Ghost Rider was sent to Blackheart's Hell realm, Naomi Kale's spirit appeared in Hell to witness Noble Kale's arrival. Realizing Noble still had a spark of life in him, Naomi informed him that he would soon be forced to make difficult choices and warned him once more to think before he made those choices before Noble's nearless lifeless spirit was summoned by Blackheart. She then returned to the void within realms, where she found Danny Ketch residing. Shocked to see someone else within the void, Danny asked who Naomi was but Naomi informed that he would know all soon but for the moment, the less he knew, the less likely he was to be harmed. She then tried to inform Dan about Blackheart's plans but Dan grew angry at how Ghost Rider was always ruining his life and said that there were days when Dan wished he could be rid of Ghost Rider forever. Naomi replied that he might just get his wish. The void soon began breaking down and Naomi managed to tell Danny that the plans were set in motion before she dissipated.
(Ghost Rider III#92) - Naomi's spirit was waiting when Dan Ketch, who had been separated from Noble Kale when Noble was restored to his original human body, woke up from a nightmare. Naomi then reminded Dan that, while he was free of the Ghost Rider curse, his help was still needed to restore Noble Kale's full memories and that they would need to access the lost memories stored within the minds of Noble's former hosts. Dan quickly refused to help, happy to be free of the curse, and Naomi threatened to smack him if she had a physical form. Dan commented that he didn't even know who Naomi was and tried to run away but as soon as he opened a door, he founded himself in the midst of Noble Kale's memories. Asking what had happened, Dan was informed by Naomi that he was channeling Noble's memories and was seeing what Noble once saw. Despite Dan's insistence that he didn't want to be a part of the plan, Naomi reminded him that he had no choice with the world at stake and she cast spell that essentially allowed Dan to live Noble's life through Noble's memories. While Dan relived the memories, Naomi asked him what he was seeing along the way, forcing him to see events as they occurred. Naomi eventually learned from Dan's access of Noble's memories that Noble Kale had been granted forgetfulness by the angel Uriel and that Uriel had also secretly gave Noble status as the Angel of Death, which Noble could only become once his time in the void between realms was over.
(Ghost Rider III#93) - Naomi led Dan Ketch to Cypress
Hills Cemetary, where Naomi had Dan dig up a particular grave. Angry
that Naomi still had not told him who she was and that she had
scrambled his thoughts by forcing him to relive Noble Kale's memories,
Dan hurled the shovel at Naomi and it passed harmlessly through Naomi's
ghostly form. Naomi quickly told Dan not to raise his voice as there
might be cops nearby but Dan continued to be angry and refused to do
anything else she requested until Naomi told him who she was. Insisting
that he didn't want to know, Naomi reluctantly agreed and informed Dan
that she was his mother. She then tried to explain how she had
abandoned her children in an effort to spare them from the curse of
Mephisto and the Ghost Rider, claiming that she had sacrificed blood
and soul to keep them safe. Still frustrated, Dan exclaimed that her
efforts didn't work out so well and commented how all of those years,
he had thought his mother dead. Naomi reminded Dan that she was dead
and tried to comfort him but Dan angrily tried to backhand her, yelling
for her not to touch him. His swing passed right through Naomi's spirit
form and Dan reluctantly picked up the shovel and continued digging,
resigning himself to the fact that he was once again being used, this
time by his own long-thought-dead mother. As he dug, Dan asked that
once he had finished Naomi's mission that she leave and never bother
him again. Eventually, Dan succeeded in digging
up the grave, which
Naomi revealed was her own, and Noble Kale's memories began overlapping
with Dan's, briefly incapacitating Dan. Once Naomi had calmed Dan down,
she asked that he touch her bones and when he did so, Naomi cast a
spell that transported both herself and Dan into Blackheart's Hell
realm. While Naomi tried to navigate what part of Hell they were in,
Dan was swallowed by a whale-like creature, prompting Naomi to cast a
spell that forced the creature to spit Dan out. Naomi then found Dan
trying to free Michael Badilino from his Hellish torment, only to watch
Dan once more become incapacitated by Noble Kale's memories, prompting
her to warn Dan that they had to get to Noble Kale before his memories
destroyed Dan. Making their way to Blackheart's base, Naomi, Dan and
Michael Badilino confronted Blackheart as he was about to kill Noble
Kale. While Naomi and Vengeance distracted Blackheart with insults and
attacks, Dan made his way to Noble Kale and restored Noble's full
memories, transforming Noble into his Angel of Death form. Using his
newfound power, Noble Kale seemingly destroyed Blackheart and freed the
Kale family from the curse of their bloodline. In the aftermath, Naomi
Kale looked over the body of Dan Ketch, worried that she may have
sacrificed her own son to end the curse.
(Ghost Rider: Finale/2) - After Noble had become
ruler of Hell and announced that he wished to speak with all of his
subjects, he visited Naomi Kale in the tower and she admitted that it
might not be such a good idea to speak to them all. Noble expressed his
desire to give the demons free will and then asked what Naomi's plans
were now that she had freed her family from the Ghost Rider curse. The
spirit of Dante Kale then appeared and commented that Naomi could now
rest in peace. After reuniting with his brother Noble, Dante Kale
explained that it was time for Naomi to cross over into the afterlife
and Naomi admitted that she knew it was time. Dante then said goodbye
to Noble as both he and Naomi departed. Later, after Noble returned
Roxanne Blaze back to Earth in order to reunite with her husband Johnny
Blaze, Naomi and Dante Kale appeared and waved to Danny Ketch, who was
now free of his curse as Ghost Rider.
Comments: Created by Ivan Velez, Jr., Javier
Saltares and Keith Aiken (though originally hinted at by J. M.
DeMatteis, Bob Budiansky and Kevin Dzuban).
Naomi Kale had a profile in the Marvel Encyclopedia HC Vol. 5: Marvel Knights.
In Ghost Rider (Johnny Blaze)'s first appearance in
Marvel Spotlight I#5 (1972), it was mentioned that Johnny Blaze had no
mother after Barton Blaze died. This unidentified, not present
mother would obviously have been Naomi Kale but since she was not
mentioned by name nor seen in that issue, her first actual appearance
is Ghost Rider III#-1. A dream sequence version of her, using the name
of "Clara Blaze," appeared in Ghost Rider II#78, where Johnny provided
a BTS appearance of Naomi by commenting on how she had left when he was
a child. It was unclear whether Naomi once took the alias of Clara Blaze or whether Johnny was merely dreaming that name.
The flashback seen in Ghost Rider VI#5 was hard to
place in Naomi's history. In Ghost Rider III#-1 (1997), she mentions
having heard that Barton Blaze had died but the flashback in Ghost
Rider VI#5 (2007) takes place the night that Barton got into the
accident that killed him. My only explanation would be that Naomi was
still around when Barton got into the accident but then left before
learning that the accident had cost Barton his life. Therefore, I
placed the flashback just prior to the Ghost Rider II#78 bts flashback
that mentions her leaving. Since earlier flashbacks showed her knowing
that her bloodline was cursed to host Noble Kale as the Ghost Rider,
perhaps Naomi was already spooked by Barton's fiery accident and when
Johnny was sleepless, she was further scared that her curse was
catching up to her and she left.
Profile by Proto-Man.
CLARIFICATIONS:
Naomi Kale has no KNOWN connections to:
images: (without ads)
Ghost Rider III#93, p6, pan1 (Naomi Kale as spirit, main image)
Ghost Rider III#93, p8, pan1 (Naomi Kale as spirit, headshot)
Ghost Rider III#-1, p9, pan1 (Naomi Kale in human form)
Ghost Rider III#-1, p19, pan1 (Naomi Kale with Noble Kale controlling her form as Ghost Rider)
Appearances:
Ghost Rider II#78 (March, 1983) - J. M. DeMatteis (co-plotter, script),
Bob Budiansky (co-plotter, pencils), Kevin Dzuban (inks), Tom DeFalco
(editor)
Ghost Rider III#84 (April, 1997) - Ivan Velez, Jr. (writer), Pop Mhan
(pencils), Jason Martin, Karl Story (inks), James Felder, Tom Brevoort
(editors)
Ghost Rider III#-1 (July, 1997) - Ivan Velez, Jr. (writer), Javier Saltares (pencils), Keith Aiken (inks), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Ghost
Rider III#89 (October, 1997) - Ivan Velez, Jr. (writer), Javier
Saltares (pencils), Andrew Pepoy (inks), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Ghost
Rider III#90 (November, 1997) - Ivan Velez, Jr. (writer), Javier
Saltares (pencils), Andrew Pepoy (inks), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Ghost Rider III#91 (December, 1997) - Ivan Velez, Jr. (writer), Javier
Saltares (pencils), Andrew Pepoy (inks), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Ghost Rider III#92 (January, 1998) - Ivan Velez, Jr. (writer), Javier
Saltares (pencils), Mark Texeira (inks), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Ghost
Rider III#93 (February, 1998) - Ivan Velez, Jr. (writer), Javier
Saltares (pencils), Mark Texeira (inks), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Marvel Encyclopedia HC Vol. 5: Marvel Knights (2004) - Blade &
Ghost Rider section - Barry Reese (writer, research), Syd Barney-Hawke
(contributing writer), Javier Saltares (Naomi Kale profile art), Jeff
Youngquist (editor)
Ghost
Rider VI#5 (January, 2007) - Daniel Way (writer), Javier Saltares
(breakdowns), Mark Texeira (finishes), Axel Alonso (editor)
Ghost
Rider: Finale (January, 2007) - "Acabado" story - Ivan Velez, Jr.
(writer), Javier Saltares (pencils), Mark Texeira, Klaus Janson (inks),
Tom Brevoort (editor)
First Posted: 05/07/2015
Last updated: 05/06/2015
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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