The Marvel Universe is full of optimistic and warm-hearted heroes who do their best to protect the world that usually hates and fears them. But sometimes, the heroes are almost harsher than even the worst villains they ever challenge. Two of Marvel's most brutal heroes are the cursed Ghost Rider and the relentless Punisher.
Now, CBR is taking a look back at the history of the two characters and what happened when they actually confronted one another to see which one of these Marvel Knights came out on top.
Ghost Rider was created in 1972 by Roy Thomas, Gary Friedrich and Mike Ploog. There have been multiple Ghost Riders across human history, and in recent years, Marvel has followed half a dozen people who were cursed to carry the burden of being the demonic figure. The most iconic version of the character though is Johnny Blaze, who made a deal with Mephisto to save the life of his adopted father. Transformed into an avenging spirit of vengeance, Ghost Rider is a nearly unstoppable force. Only holy weapons have proven to be consistently strong enough to even hurt Ghost Rider, let alone kill him.
Ghost Rider has superhuman durability and strength, capable of fighting off entire teams of Avengers all on his own. He's even gone one-on-one with the Hulk. His control of hellfire allows him to be fearsome against most enemies, but his most devastating ability is his Penance Stare. When he uses it against someone, they are bombarded with all of the sins they've ever committed over their life. The stare is capable of destroying almost any figure and consuming them in anguish to the point of death.
The Punisher was created in the pages of Amazing Spider-Man by Gerry Conway, John Romita and Ross Andru. The character quickly became a fan favorite and was spun off into his own title. Unlike the various Ghost Riders, some vigilantes have attempted to copy the mission of the Punisher for their own goals, but there’s only one Frank Castle. He's even attacked copycats of his actions for becoming murderers. After the loss of his family during a mob shooting in Central Park, the former Marine began a one-man war on crime. Utilizing his wide range of experience with firearms, explosives and various other kinds of weaponry, the Punisher has quickly become one of the most devastating and fearsome figures in the Marvel Universe.
Punisher has confronted everything from mobsters and terrorists to magical figures and supervillains. Despite the best efforts of powerful figures such as Kingpin, Doctor Doom and Norman Osborn, Castle has refused to stay down. He's killed an almost-countless number of enemies over the years,with a variety of weaponry. He's also been shown to be completely unforgiving and unrepentant, completely at peace with his actions and the ramifications they've had on the world.
Famously, the two heroes have confronted each other before in a battle the the Punisher notched a surprise victory in. In the Thunderbolts #29 written by Ben Acker and Ben Blacker with artists Kim Jacinto and Israel Silva, Thunderbolt Ross assembled a team of vigilantes and criminals to serve as the newest incarnation of the team. Punisher worked alongside Deadpool, Ghost Rider, Elektra, Agent Venom and the Leader while going on dangerous missions across the universe.
However, Castle eventually went rogue and targeted each member of the team for their past crimes. When he confronted Blaze, the Ghost Rider got a hold of him and deployed the Penance Stare. Since Punisher didn't regret any of his sins, he turned out to be impervious to the Penance Stare. This gave Punisher the chance to apparently turn Ghost Rider's chains against him and send him back to hell, (temporarily) freeing Blaze from the curse of being Ghost Rider.
However, this is something of an outlier within the Marvel Universe. The Penance Stare has brought down figures like the Hulk, Thor, Doctor Strange and even the Punisher on different occasions.
And of course, the Cosmic Ghost Rider brings parts of both of these characters together. This alternate reality Frank Castle takes on the Spirit of Vengeance and used it in the service of an old Thanos until he traveled to the modern Marvel Universe. That means that even if the Punisher shouldn't be able to survive the Penance Stare, a version of Castle eventually made it another weapon in his arsenal.
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