Marvel Kills a Ghost Rider

The most notable Ghost Rider throughout the history of Marvel Comics, Johnny Blaze, was exiled to the underworld not long ago, charged with taking over for Mephisto as the king of hell. He may not like it much, but Johnny is in charge of hell and can't rejoin the other riders back on the surface, leaving Robbie Reyes as the "main" Ghost Rider being used in the current books. However, there are still other riders out there, they just haven't seen the spotlight much over the last few years. Thanks to the events of Absolute Carnage this week, a couple of Ghost Riders took center stage once again, with one of them meeting their end at the hands of Cletus Kasady.

WARNING: This article contains major spoilers from Absolute Carnage: Symbiote of Vengeance #1! Continue reading at your own risk...

In Absolute Carnage: Symbiote of Vengeance, a tie-in to Marvel's Absolute Carnage event, Johnny Blaze sends an astral projection to Earth to find fellow Rider Danny Ketch. He asks Danny to find Alejandra Jones, another Rider living in South America. She played host to a Symbiote at one point so she's a target for Carnage, Johnny wants to make sure she's protected.

Long story short, Danny finds Alajendra and they fight Carnage together, but it doesn't end well for Alejandra. Carnage accomplishes his mission, ripping out her spine and consuming it in order to add her Codex to his growing collection. She's sent to the section of hell reserved for Spirits of Vengeance where she meets up with Johnny. He ends up helping her possess a small girl in the village where Carnage found her, fighting off the villain and keeping the other people safe. That process only lasts a little while, though, and Alejandra returns to hell.

The book ends with Johnny telling Alejandra he has a few Spirits he wants her to meet, revealing an entire army of previous Ghost Riders. This of course sets up the new Ghost Rider series launching later this year.

What did you think of this Absolute Carnage tie-in? Are you looking forward to the new Ghost Rider series? Let us know in the comments!