Almost since the inception of Immortal Monday, my son’s been making requests. A few weeks ago I passed one of these requests by you, and many of you said “why the heck not.” As a result, we are here to talk about one hot customer today. And when I say hot, I mean he will burn you if you’re not careful! I’m pretty sure that when my son asked that we talk about Ghost Rider, he was thinking the focus would be on John Blaze – the character Nicolas Cage made so famous in the movies.
But the story of Ghost Rider goes much deeper than a simple movie, or movies as it now stands. If your knowledge of Ghost Rider goes as deep as the films have been good enough to educate you, then you believe Ghost Rider to be the Devil’s bounty hunter. Yes, films can sometimes be rather misleading. And like I said, the story goes much deeper. Read on and I’ll explain. As you can see, today’s piece is one about demons and the dark side of immortal creatures. No, it’s not pretty, but there are some interesting aspects that might spark a story in you.
Johnny Blaze is the son of Naomi Kale. The Kale family has been bound to the demon, Mephisto, for a VERY LONG TIME. We won’t get heavy into Mephisto as I find him fascinating and worthy of his own post. But let’s just say he is a powerful demon. Johnny Blaze’s and Mephisto’s paths were destined to cross. And when Johnny’s adoptive father was dying of cancer Mephisto saw his opportunity. Disguising himself as Satan, he went to Johnny and offered him the chance to save the man’s life. I probably don’t need to tell you what happened next. After all, we have the Ghost Rider. But, is that really how it happened?
Johnny Blaze believes he’s the only Ghost Rider. Is he? When Johnny signed the contract with Mephisto he managed to save his father’s life – for a day. He’s angry, bitter and unwilling to fulfill his end of the deal. He feels tricked. He probably was. I think most anyone in his position would feel the same. When called to serve years later he’s unwilling and fights it. He finds himself in Cypress Hills Cemetery where he meets Sam Elliott’s character. But what is he? The Caretaker or Carter Slade, Texas Ranger. Another soul who made a deal with the devil. Just not The Devil – a devil. The first Ghost Rider. The movie doesn’t explain this very well, or at all.
In Ghost Rider’s world these are actually two different characters. It looks to me like the script writers on this one played with Carter Slade’s character and layered him with aspects of the Caretaker, putting him in the place and position. The real Caretaker is a member of a supernatural race that’s existed since a time before Atlantis. It’s his place to watch over and protect the families affected within the spiritual bloodline. Sam Elliott’s role may have been looking out for the rider, but I don’t think it went to that much of an extreme.
What does it mean to be the Ghost Rider? The Ghost Rider is the Spirit of Vengeance. The original Ghost Rider was Noble Kale and, per the true Ghost Rider legend (not the one created to fit the movie), each first-born child would carry the burden, or curse. That meant Johnny was probably going to get slammed with the Ghost Rider one way or the other. Only, signing the contract bound him to Mephisto’s bidding.
It all started with a Medallion. That’s right – some Bling. How many times have we heard a story where the characters were fighting over pretty shiny things? Well, this Bling was the Medallion of Power and it was said it could be used to rule all the Earth. Um, yeah. Slightly too powerful for anyone’s well being. In a power struggle to control the Medallion, the nasty demon looking to use it for his own selfish desires was defeated and trapped within the Medallion. But the Spirits of Vengeance, who fought against him, were trapped as well.
It was the Caretaker’s race, the Blood, that saw the Medallion was too powerful to be left intact and decided to break it into shards. They placed the shards into two separate human bloodlines – one of these being that of the Kales. Mephisto, obsessing over the Medallion continued to seek its power despite the inconvenience of the human host. This is how Noble Kale became the first Ghost Rider. Mephisto attempted to bargain with the overzealous Pastor Kale. His goal – to secure the soul of the Pastor’s son, Noble. These attempts would lead to the creation of the Ghost Rider. He kept track of the Kale family bloodline through the years, after having failed to corrupt Noble. He would finally succeed in sinking his claws in when Johnny came along. And so the servitude began and Johnny’s ever tiring search to end his curse.
So, as you see, each generation had a touch of Ghost Rider. It was the unlucky Johnny Blaze that fell into Mephisto’s trap, putting him in a place of servitude.
It’s unfortunate that the second movie went so far off track. My kid still loves it though. Of course, it felt like it was filmed with his generation in mind. Some of the effects were down right cartoonish. But, I still enjoy this trailer and find it rather fun. The concept of Ghost Rider is seriously badass. It’s sad that Hollywood, more times than not, takes a really cool idea and makes them too ridiculous.
In the first movie, after what happens, John Blaze turns his back on his old life. He leaves his sweetheart behind. Year’s later they’re reunited and through the course of events she gains knowledge of what he really is – of his curse.
Would you see past the Ghost Rider for someone you once loved? For Nicholas Cage?
~oOo~
Cool post, Debra! Love the story behind the story.
Thank you, Christine. I learned a lot of interesting facts about the mysterious Mephisto. 😉
Believe it or not, I haven’t seen either movie in its entirety – just bits and pieces while my husband was flipping through channels. I might have to give it a watch next time! Looking forward to the post on Mephisto… 🙂
I don’t know why, but I’ve always had a thing for fire. Maybe that’s why I’m partially drawn to Ghost Rider. Keep my review in mind and don’t take it seriously. The second one, especially. Fire and demons! Yes. I think we’ll give the readers a short break before continuing along that line though. Mephisto will come up soon. 😉
Great post Debra! I definitely didn’t know about the depths of Ghost Rider from the movie! Whenever I see Nicholas Cage I want to laugh. I don’t know why, but when I see him in a movie, I always feel like he is doing an SNL skit of himself. 🙂
I tend to have the same reaction. For some reason it’s hard to take him serious. Something about the way he acts.
Haha! That’s funny, Coleen! I always think of him from “Peggy Sue Got Married.” I loved that movie.
Same with me. What’s up with his voice in “Peggy Sue”? I also always remember his character in “Wild At Heart”, and to this day I can’t tell whether he’s playing it serious or not.
And, Fabio, to think – he became so famous acting like that!
Wow, there’s an oldie. You know, I did like him in “Guarding Tess.” Always liked that movie.
Wow, I had no idea all this backstory was behind the movies. I loved the first one, haven’t seen the second one – yet. I absolutely adore Nic Cage and will watch anything with him in it. I have to say though, I’m way more interested in the Ghost Rider legend than the movie now.
Yes, when I embarked upon this mission I had no idea! LOL. I have to say it is rather fascinating and I can see a lot of potential for stories in several areas. 😉
I never knew the story behind Ghost Rider. I saw the first movie, but not the second. I liked it…it was fine. Especially if you didn’t know the story to begin with. But the true myth is even more fascinating. Love the kid “what happens if you have to pee while you are on fire”? lol. Keep going with the dark side, it’s fun 😀
Aw, Melinda has a dark streak. 😀 That’s alright. I like exploring the dark as well. It’s always good research, right? 😉 My son was talkin about that scene just the other night He loves that part. LOL
I have to admit I never saw the movies, but if I had read your description of what is was supposed to be about I would have! The trailers looked cheesy to me, your description hooks me though. Now I think I’m going to have to see it knowing the back story! Very cool stuff:)
The back story is far more interesting than Hollywood’s interpretation. Such a pity. Like I mentioned, it felt like they were catering to a younger crowd. 🙁 I’m so glad you enjoyed the post.
haven’t seen either movie, but I love this post and all your information. well done.
Thank you, Louise. I appreciate you stopping by.
Debra, I loved The Ghost Rider, but haven’t seen the second movie yet. It was interesting to see the comparison between the movie and the legend. Thanks for sharing all of this fascinating information!
Thank you, Sheila. Glad you liked the comparison.
I haven’t seen either movie either. Those pics are pretty scary, though! Yikes, I might have nightmares from looking at those! I bet you get lots of traffic from Google searches on this post, Debra. It’s excellent. I can’t imagine all the time you put into researching and writing this.
I think Ghost Rider gave a few nightmares in his time. Traffic has been pretty good. You want to know whose traffic blew the lid off this blog? Voldermort. This is a popular stop for the gods, as well. The Elves were very popular on their Immortal Monday. One of these days I will do a post on the search engines that brings people here but really isn’t covered on my blog. 😀
i wonder if i would have made a good superhero? have you been in the desert lately? keep me posted if you do.
David in Maine USA
I think only you can truly answer that question. I believe I’d be a better vigilante. As for the desert, do you mean Vegas again, or just the desert in general? I drive through the desert fairly often to get to the folks house.
This was AWESOME. I didn’t know any of that actually – I had only seen the movie and that was a loooong time ago. I can’t wait until you do a post on Mephisto!
I know, right? I guess it was a good thing the kid pushed me to do this. We all learned something really cool. I want to explore the Kale family further. There are some fasinating possiblities there. 😉
Having seen and enjoyed both operas, Faust and Damnation of Faust, where Memphistopheles plays a major character I look forward to seeing your post about him.
Marvelous character, isn’t he? We might want to clarify for those reading your comment – Mephistopheles is Mephisto. The long and proper name for the demon that has caught everyone’s fancy.
That’s really cool that you got to see both operas. 🙂 Now the heat is on! LOL.
I didn’t realize there was so much more to these movies. I haven’t watched them yet, but this makes me want to (and I’ll be going in with the knowledge I need). Definitely looking forward to the follow up post 🙂
Now you’ll be watching with a different eye. I know I would view it completely differently if I had been armed with this information. Too bad I have such a hard time taking Nicholas Cage so seriously. Thanks so much Marcy.
That was a really crazy movie! Nicholas Cage did a great job of playing the conflicted character. I will have to check out the next one!
Thanks for the review!
You are very welcome. 🙂
I haven’t actually seen the Ghost Rider movie but the backstory got me interested. Deals with the devil stories are fascinating. A post on Mephisto sounds really good.
Glad you like the idea, Reetta. I promise to eventually follow up with Mephisto. 😉
I enjoyed the first movie, and I guess I should see the second one sometime. There’s a lot to this story. Thanks for the interesting post! (And thank your son for the recommendation!)
You’re welcome, Laura. The first movie was, by far, the better of the two. Remember, it is my son recommending the second, not me. I wish Hollywood had taken a more serious approach to the story and filming. But it is what it is.
This was a fabulous breakdown of the Ghost Rider tale. I recall the previews and thinking, “What on earth?” I didn’t know why I should be interested in the story. However, this sounds very intriguing. What a concept! Thanks for your wonderful summary, Debra.
You’re very welcome! As you probably know, you get to see a lot of stuff when you have kids that you normally wouldn’t go see. I probably wouldn’t have researched Ghost Rider at all if it hadn’t been for my son’s persistence. I’m rather glad I did. I filed several ideas away for a rainy day. If only Hollywood had taken a more serious approach to the legend. Now that would have been an interesting movie. Thank you for stopping by Julie.