"THULEAN GHOST RIDER"
Real Name: Unrevealed
Identity/Class: Human possessed by a Spirit of Vengeance, Thule citizen (Pre-Cataclysmic era)
Occupation: Unrevealed
Group Membership: Spirits of Vengeance / Ghost Riders
Affiliations: Formerly Zadkiel
Enemies: Demons, Kid Blackheart, Zadkiel
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: None
Base of Operations: A tomb / temple beneath modern day Antarctica (see comments), formerly Thule
First Appearance: Ghost Rider: Danny Ketch#3 (February, 2009)
Powers/Abilities: A gigantic individual, the Thulean Ghost Rider presumably possessed superhuman strength and durability, could generate fire, and could transform his chosen mode of transport into a burning vehicle capable of great speed. In his transformed state, he was unaging, and did not need to eat or drink, having survived at least 18,000 years (and maybe as many as 100,000) as a chained-up prisoner with no warders around to provide him with sustenance.
History: (Ghost Rider: Danny Ketch#3) - The Thulean
Ghost Rider was active tens of thousands of years ago in ancient Thule, but
eventually his Spirit of Vengeance proved too addictive and alive for the
host and seized control of the host's body. Overdosing on the power, his
mind burned away and his soul dissolved, leaving behind nothing but vengeance
and rage feeding on itself. With the power unable to even transfer to another
host, it became trapped in the now insane host body. Restrained by unidentified
individuals, he was imprisoned in Antarctic Thule, where he survived his
own civilization's downfall, the Great Cataclysm and more than twenty thousand
years in captivity, all of it spent screaming into the heedless darkness
of his lonely prison. Some small part of him remained aware of what was happening
to him, and he desperately wanted to die so that the pain would end. Eventually
in the modern era Dan Ketch was brought by the rogue angel Zadkiel's agent
Mr. Eleven to the "Thulean Ghost Rider's" prison, to show him what allegedly
would happen to all Ghost Riders in time. Seeing the "Thulean Ghost Rider"
was quietly weeping and clearly in distress, Ketch took pity on the captive,
and, after transforming into his own Ghost Rider form, he took hold of the
"Thulean Ghost Rider's" head with both hands and crushed his skull, ending
the ancient Rider's life.
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(Ghost Rider: Heaven's on Fire#6 - BTS) - Like all past Ghost Riders, the "Thulean Ghost Rider" was revived to take part in defending Heaven from both the rogue angel Zadkiel and then Kid Blackheart's demon army.
Comments: Created by Simon Spurrier and Javier Saltares.
The "Thulean Ghost Rider's" history and, specifically, the reasons behind his insanity and imprisonment, need to be taken with a pinch of salt, as Zadkiel and Mr. Eleven lied to Dan Ketch about many things to manipulate him into working for them, and the idea that all Ghost Riders were "one temper tantrum away" from insanity like the "Thulean Ghost Rider" was almost certainly one of those lies. So perhaps the "Thulean Ghost Rider" was imprisoned for other reasons, such as disobeying Zadkiel or by his version of Caretaker, and his madness a result of so many years of solitary confinement. Mr. Eleven identifies the "Thulean Ghost Rider's" prison to be in Antarctica, his wording giving the impression that this was also the location of the Thule civilization. However, maps given in various past King Kull stories confirm that Thule was actually the northmost country in the north Atlantic continent of Thuria. Perhaps the civilization had a far-reaching empire in the centuries prior to King Kull's time, and this Antarctic base was a colony - after all, the contemporary civilization of Lemuria definitely had a colony in Antarctica, Pangea.
The script of Ghost Rider: Dan Ketch #3 states that the shackles that hold the "Thulean Ghost Rider" are made out of diamond, presumably the only material both strong enough to withstand his strength and durable enough to not wear away over the umpteen centuries of his imprisonment. It also states that his prison is a mile below the surface of Antarctica.
The Ghost Rider Index identifies this Ghost Rider as being one of the Riders present in a symbolic image in Ghost Rider: Dan Ketch #4; while working on this and other Ghost Rider profiles I now realize that the Index mistook the English Knight Ghost Rider for this one in that symbolic image; they do resemble one another, with helmets that sweep back, but the Thulean Ghost Rider's armor is more ornate and has many more glowing roundels. You can see the image in question being used as the main image in the English Knight Ghost Rider's Appendix entry, and compare it with the other images of that Rider versus the main image on this page.
Profile by Loki.
CLARIFICATIONS:
The "Thulean Ghost Rider" is definitely connected to, but should not be confused
with
but has no known connections to
images: (without ads)
Ghost Rider: Danny Ketch#3, p18, pan3 (main image)
Ghost Rider: Danny Ketch#3, p19, pan3 (headshot, with Dan Ketch head included
for scale)
Ghost Rider: Danny Ketch#3, p21, pan2-4 (Dan Ketch mercy kills the Thulean
Ghost Rider)
Other Appearances:
Ghost Rider: Heaven's On Fire#6 (February, 2010) - Jason Aaron (writer),
Roland Boschi (art), Sebastian Girner (editor)
Last updated: 03/19/14
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
Non-Marvel
Copyright info
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