CARETAKER

Real Name: Unrevealed

Identity/Class: Human variant (Blood)

Occupation: Guardian of the family line associated with Medallion of Power

Group Membership: Blood (Embyrre, Foundry, Raydar, Seer, Truthsayer)

Affiliations: John Blaze, Doctor Strange (Stephen Strange), Francis Ketch, Jack Russell (Werewolf), Shriker (Jack D'Auria), Suicide (Chris Daniels), Vengeance (Michael Badilino)
    Midnight Sons/Nine (Blade/Eric Brooks, John Blaze, Sam Buchanan, Frank Drake, Ghost Rider/Dan Ketch/Noble Kale, Louise Hastings, Hannibal King, Victoria Montesi, Morbius, Vengeance/Michael Badilino);
    Speakeasy (pawn)
formerly Ghost Rider (Dan Ketch)

Enemies: Broker, Centurious, Death Ninja, Doghead, Fallen (Atrocity, Metarchus, Patriarch, Ranter, Rubach), Danny Ketch, the Lilin (Bloodthirst, Fang, Nakota, Outcast, Parasite, Pilgrim, Scatter, Sister Nil, others), Lilith, Master (Scav), Orb, People of the Dust, Salomé, Zadkiel, Zarathos;
    formerly Vengeance (Michael Badilino)

Known Relatives: Sara (Caretaker, granddaughter), presumably some of the Blood

Aliases: "old man"

Base of Operations: Currently unrevealed;
    formerly a house near a cemetery in the Smokey Mountains of Tennessee;
    formerly a base beneath Cypress Hills Cemetery

First Appearance: Ghost Rider III#28 (August, 1992)

Powers/Abilities: Caretaker as one of the Blood, is apparently immune or highly resistant to aging and conventional disease. He possesses some degree of superhuman strength (enhanced human). His primary weapon is his shovel, which he can use to surprising effect. When needed, he can call on an inner reserve of power, sufficient to physically overpower both Ghost Rider and Vengeance simultaneously. He may only be able to do this do to his connections to the Medallion of Power. In addition, he can extinguish the power of the Medallion within its users, transferring them back to human form instantly.

Height: 6'3"
Weight: 200 lbs.
Eyes: Blue (or brown depending on the colorist)
Hair: White

History:
(Ghost Rider III#42-43 (fb)) - In a time before Atlantis, a group of beings came together to from the Blood. The origins of this group remain unknown. They were allies with the original Spirits of Vengeance, and fought to keep the Medallion of Power from the hands of the demon Zarathos and his ilk.

   The Blood sought to guard the Medallion, but found that the power contained within was too much for any one being to wield. Zarathos attempted to claim the Medallion, but the Blood and the Spirits of Vengeance opposed him. The Spirits merged with Zarathos within the Medallion. The Blood saw only one solution. The Medallion, which could never be destroyed, was instead, shattered. The pieces of the Medallion, and the powers within were placed within the descendants of two human families. The Blood known as Caretaker was chosen to watch over those families.

(Marvel Comics Presents I#145/4 (fb) - BTS) - Caretaker imprisoned the People of the Dust after they were defeated by him and the other Blood. He sealed their prison in the earth under what would become Cypress Hills Cemetery with a sigil and there they had to stay for as long as Caretaker's power existed.

BTS - Caretaker encountered Dr. Strange at least once in the past, earning his friendship and respect.

(Danny Ketch: Ghost Rider#1 (fb)) - Caretaker and three allies (presumably other members of the Blood) had an arcane battle at Cypress Hills Cemetery to retrieve the Medallion of Power from (?) so it would be ready when the next host was. Caretaker put the Medallion on a bike as a gas cap, but noticed that it got damaged during the fight and that a small piece was missing. He told his allies to find the piece, but it was stolen by the Morlock Scav before they could find it. Caretaker was afraid that the missing part could cause problems with the Ghost Rider in the future.

(Ghost Rider III#28) - Caretaker introduced himself to Ghost Rider and Blaze, warning them of an imminent attack by the police. Ghost Rider was at the time suffering from episodes of weakness from the seeming death of his human host, Dan Ketch. Ghost Rider collapsed, and Lt. Badilino prepared to collect his body, but Caretaker cracked him with his shovel, allowing Blaze and Ghost Rider to escape.
As they left, Dr. Strange appeared and he and Caretaker discussed the imminent coming of Lilith.

(Ghost Rider III#34) - Caretaker meets Dan Ketch in the cemetery. He tells Ketch that his need for innocent blood to be spilled before becoming the Ghost Rider is all in his head. Caretaker also advises him to put some distance between himself and his mother and friends.

(Ghost Rider III#35) - Caretaker followed Ketch and chastised him for allowing a young woman to nearly see his transformation. Ketch tried to manhandle Caretaker to force him to reveal what he wants, and Caretaker tossed him across the alley. Caretaker instructed Dan to prevent the Death Ninja from killing Suicide. After Ghost Rider was badly injured in the ensuing struggle, Caretaker again prevented Badilino from getting him, cracking him in the face with his shovel again. Caretaker collected Suicide's remains.

(Ghost Rider III#36) - Caretaker taunted Suicide as he began to regenerate from his skeletal remains. He gave Ketch some more cryptic information and then left.

(Ghost Rider III#39) - Caretaker met with Francis Ketch in the Cemetery. They discussed how things had gone awry, and that Barbara Ketch (Dan's sister) was supposed to have been the one to have become Ghost Rider. Later, Vengeance attacked Caretaker and beat him senseless, using him to draw out Ghost Rider for another battle. Caretaker revived and blasted Vengeance, stunning him long enough for him to convince Ghost Rider to flee. Vengeance then attacked Caretaker again, but Caretaker vanished in an explosion.

(Ghost Rider/Blaze: Spirits of Vengeance#14) - His spirit/astral self appeared and told Ghost Rider to trust the Seer, and that he would reveal his true nature son.

(Ghost Rider III#42) - At the Nightclub, he stopped Seer from revealing too much information. He then goaded Dan Ketch into accepting more of Ghost Rider's power.

(Ghost Rider/Blaze: Spirits of Vengeance#15) - Caretaker recruited Vengeance to aid in the fight against Centurious.

(Ghost Rider III#43) - Caretaker demonstrated his power during a dispute by simultaneously choking Ghost Rider and Vengeance with each hand. He then forced them to work together, and explained the history of the Blood and the original Midnight Sons. He guided them in battle against Centurious, but was as surprised as any of them when Zarathos was unleashed.

(Ghost Rider/Blaze: Spirits of Vengeance#16) - Caretaker led Blaze, Ghost Rider, and Vengeance away from Zarathos, and to the Nightclub. He explained the remainder of the history of the Medallion of Power to them. He then brought them back to the Cemetery and another confrontation with Zarathos. He guided Ghost Rider to access the power of the Medallion, forcing Zarathos, Lilith, and the Lilin back, into a rift into the Shadowside dimension. Believing they had finally achieved victory, Caretaker revealed that Dan Ketch and John Blaze were actually brothers! ...sigh....

(Ghost Rider III#44) - With Zarathos, Lilith, and the Lilin back on Earth, Caretaker convinced the Nine to flee into the catacombs beneath the Cemetery. As Zarathos and the others closed on them, Caretaker tried in vain to get Blaze, Ghost Rider, and Vengeance to leave with him so he could train them further. Dr. Strange showed up and convinced the three that the rest would not be without protection, and so they agreed, bolting through Dr. Strange's portal just seconds before Zarathos broke through Strange's mystic shield

(Marvel Comic Presents I#143-BTS) - Strange's teleportation spell was disrupted by Pilgrim, and Ghost Rider, Blaze, and Zarathos were teleported to Girth and Skitter, who attacked them. Pilgrim then brought himself, Lilith, and Zarathos to the battle, but the heroes escaped into another of Strange's dimensional portals, and Blaze blasted Pilgrim to prevent a similar occurrence.

(Darkhold: Pages from the Book of Sins#15) - Having arrived in Strange's mansion, Caretaker, Strange, and the others debated who the traitor in their midst might be. Meanwhile, the traitor (Morbius possessed by the Lilin Bloodthirst) slew one of their numbers, Louise Hastings, undetected.

(Morbius: The Living Vampire I#16, Marvel Comics Presents I#144-BTS) - Caretaker argued with the Nine, insisting that he must take Blaze, Ghost Rider, and Vengeance away to prevent them from losing the Medallion of Power to Zarathos, while the others wished to present a united front against Zarathos. Morbius/Bloodthirst entered Strange's Sanctum, enabling the rest of the Lilin to enter as well. Caretaker joined the nine in battling the Lilin. Strange managed to temporarily banish the Lilin from his Sanctum.

(Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme#60) - Caretaker was present as Strange obliterated his own Sanctum

(Ghost Rider/Blaze: Spirits of Vengeance#17) - Caretaker brought the Midnight Sons to the Nightclub, and attempted to stop them from risking the Medallion. Blaze, Ghost Rider, and Vengeance overpowered him and went back to Cypress Hills Cemetery for a rematch with Zarathos. Caretaker showed up again in mid-battle and showed the three of them how to access the Medallion's power. Under his guidance, they fought off Zarathos and then closed the rift to the Shadowside dimension, pulling Lilith and her into it in the process. The energy accessed by the three of them proved too much for the Medallion, which shattered.
Zarathos was on the verge of defeat, when the Fallen, who had escaped through the rift before its closure, arrived and channeled their power into him. Caretaker rushed the Fallen, but was overpowered. He sent the Spirits of Vengeance back to the Nightclub and told them to locate the Blood.

(Nightstalkers#15) - Zarathos and the Fallen captured Caretaker and brought him into the catacombs beneath the cemetery. Zarathos began to torture Caretaker in an effort to regain his lost knowledge. The Nightstalkers (Blade, Drake, and Hannibal King) attempted to rescue Caretaker. However, he sent them away, telling them that he could provide a distraction--causing Zarathos to waste time focusing his efforts on trying to get secrets which he would never reveal--and that he could handle a little suffering.

(Ghost Rider III#45) - Caretaker handled the phyiscal punishment he received, but was more injured by seeing Patriarch turn his loyalties over to the Fallen.

(Marvel Comics Presents I#145) - He goaded Zarathos into attacking him. Hovering on the edge of death, Caretaker managed to get a message to Speakeasy, who relayed the message to Blaze and Ketch.

(Marvel Comics Presents I#146/3) - While battling Salomé, Dr. Strange psychically contacted Caretaker, who told him not to worry about him, but to "steer Ghost Rider and Blaze, NOW!"

(Marvel Comics Presents I#146 - BTS) - Metarchus impersonated Caretaker and then attacked several of the nine and the Blood.

(Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme#61) - Caretaker again psychically contacted Dr. Strange, advising him on how to defeat Salomé.

(Ghost Rider/Blaze: Spirits of Vengeance#18) - Ghost Rider, Vengeance, and Blaze entered the mausoleum below Cypress Hills and freed Caretaker, walking into a trap of Zarathos' in the process. Caretaker was unable to stop Zarathos from bring Ghost Rider to another plane, and seemingly killing him in single combat.

(Midnight Sons Unlimited#4) - Caretaker fought alongside the group that became the Midnight Sons, battling and defeating Zarathos and the Fallen. Caretaker led the group to accept the mantle and brand of the Midnight Sons. He then carved a memorial of the event.

(Ghost Rider/Blaze: Spirits of Vengeance#19) - After Blaze fought off Varnae, Caretaker appeared and offered some more of his cryptic wisdom.

(Danny Ketch: Ghost Rider#2) - Caretaker watched Ghost Rider use his Penance Stare on two KKK members at the Cypress Hills Cemetery and tried to talk to him. Ghost Rider transformed back into Dan Ketch and they had a talk about the recent battles Ghost Rider and Blaze had against superhuman beings. Caretaker believed that someone new was behind these superhumans and told Ketch to keep him informed if anything felt off about the Ghost Rider. Caretaker was sure Ketch was keeping something secret.

(Danny Ketch: Ghost Rider#3) - Ghost Rider nearly killed one of Deathwatch's ninjas while interrogating him about whereabouts of Blackout and Stacy Dolan, which Ghost Rider believed they would know because they had worked with Blackout in the past. Caretaker stopped Ghost Rider by hitting him over the head with his shovel and reminded him that they don't want to kill people. Caretaker had a talk with Ketch and promised him to help him find Stacy. He warned Ketch that there seemed to be an overlap of emotions between him and the Ghost Rider, which worried Caretaker. Ketch took off to Rhinebeck, New York after receiving a call from Blaze, who told him that his family had been kidnapped as well. Caretaker promised to meet them there.

   Caretaker traveled to the cemetery at the edge of Rhinebeck and arrived there almost at the same time as Ketch. They entered the darkness created by Blackout around the town and were quickly surrounded by mad locals, but Blaze scared them off with his Hellfire shotgun. Caretaker returned to the graveyard because he was sure Ketch and Blaze could handle Scarecrow and Blackout by themselves, but soon returned to tell Blaze that Ghost Rider was in danger of getting stabbed by Scarecrow. Blaze shot Scarecrow's hand, but while they talked with each other Scarecrow got back to his feet and stabbed Caretaker with the pitchfork in the back. Scarecrow escaped while Caretaker fell to the ground and looked dead to Blaze and Ghost Rider.

(Danny Ketch: Ghost Rider#4) - Caretaker just got up because he was not that easy to kill. Caretaker continued to help Blaze and Ghost Rider find their loved ones, but warned them that the increased powers of their enemies meant that something else was going on, but Blaze didn't want to listen to Caretaker's endless talk about the supernatural. After some arguing Caretaker led them through a crypt in the Rhinebeck cemetery back to Queens because he was sure Stacy and the others were kept there. Caretaker wasn't sure, but he believed that their enemy's power had something to do with Medallion of Power sliver that got stolen years ago. In Cypress Hills Cemetery the Broker, who had made the deals between the sliver-possessing Master and the recent enemies of Ghost Rider and Blaze, appeared and pointed them in the direction of the old chapel where their loved ones were kept beneath. Ketch and Blaze took off to ride into the obvious trap while Caretaker stayed behind to fight the Broker. He nearly had Broker beaten, but they ended their fight when they both felt that the Master had taken back all the power from Scarecrow and Blackout and was going to consume the whole Medallion of Power. Caretaker and Broker both joined the battle against the Master and realized how much stronger he had gotten by just being in the presence of the rest of the Medallion of Power. Ghost Rider prevented the Master eating the Medallion and Caretaker whacked him a few times with his shovel. Before Caretaker could take the sliver of the Medallion from the Master, the Broker teleported the Master away because he still wanted to make some profit and was sure one of his colleagues would know how to remove it. Caretaker explained to Ketch that the missing piece would always impact Danny and Ghost Rider and that he would keep an eye on them.

(Ghost Rider III#53-54) - Dan Ketch caught a glimpse of Caretaker on the streets of New York, but then he vanished. Later, Caretaker appeared to Ghost Rider and showed him how to control the transformation back into Ketch.

(Ghost Rider Annual I#2/3) - Caretaker took in the defeated Witch Woman, to see if he could turn her over to their side.

(Morbius: The Living Vampire I#29) - Caretaker met with Jack Russell and planned the burial (and resurrection) of Morbius.

(Ghost Rider III#58) - Caretaker sent Shriker to assist Ghost Rider.

(Ghost Rider III#60-61) - Shriker revealed he had been trained by Caretaker. Ketch blamed Caretaker for ruining his life and told him to stay away from him.
    Caretaker and Shriker were forced to watch from a distance as Ghost Rider was captured by the Team, and then taken to the Black Hole prison.

(Ghost Rider VI#26 (fb) - BTS) - Caretaker relocated to a house by a cemetery in the Smoky Mountains in Tennessee.

(Ghost Rider VI#26) - Now serving the corrupt angel Zadkiel, Dan Ketch recruited Blackout, Death Ninja, Doghead, and a new Orb to assault Caretaker.

(Ghost Rider VI#26 (fb) - BTS) - Knowing he was doomed, Caretaker mentally summoned his granddaughter, Sara, the last of his bloodline, to take over his mission, as his work on Earth wasn't done yet.

(Ghost Rider VI#26 - BTS) - Dreaming of her grandfather, Sara departed the Sacred Hearts Convent for the Sisters of the Holy Sepulcher and headed towards Caretaker's house.

(Ghost Rider VI#26) - Doghead approached Caretaker's house first, and Caretaker kicked the door open and blasted Doghead to pieces with a shotgun that fired Hellfire. When the Orb fired a blast at him, Caretaker fled back into his house. Orb and Death Ninja entered the house, with the former stepping on a board that set off a trap, and a board full of nails was launched right into his giant eye-head (his head was a real eye, instead of an eye-like helmet as with the previous Orb). Death Ninja attacked next, stabbing a sword through Caretaker's shoulder before Caretaker slew him with a series of Hellfire blasts. Blackout then shoved his clawed hand into Caretaker's abdomen, but Caretaker fought back, shoving Death Ninja's sword into Blackout's crotch. Before Blackout could assault him anew, Ketch arrived and reminded him of the order that he not kill Caretaker, at which point Blackout departed. Ketch criticized Caretaker for being so vague and mysterious, and Caretaker told Ketch he was not his Caretaker but rather the Caretaker of the truth. He further told Ketch that he never intended to become the Ghost Rider and then warned him that the real Ghost Rider was coming.
    Ketch set the house ablaze and departed, while Sara and John Blaze approached.

(Ghost Rider VI#27) - Blaze and Sara arrived at Caretaker's house, and he told them he was dying and instructed them to save his library. As Sara and Blaze headed into the cellar below his house, Caretaker died.
    When Sara touched some of Caretaker's tomes, she absorbed some of his knowledge, and she soon succeeded him as the next Caretaker, guiding Blaze to pursue Ketch through a door to Tibet.

Comments: Created by Howard Mackie and Andy Kubert.

"In a time before Atlantis" would be in the ballpark of 20, 000 BC. For a truly excellent pre-modern era Chronology of the Marvel Universe, check out Robert Wicks' Unofficial Chronology of the Marvel Universe. It is incorrect in one specific spot, however, the sinking of Atlantis was 18000 BC in the Marvel Universe.

Caretaker is another character from Mackie's house of overdone enigmatic characters with attitude. He spent the majority of his time telling everyone how stupid and/or ignorant they were, yet rarely dispensed any definitive information himself.

To quote Howard Mackie about when Danny Ketch: Ghost Rider takes place: "This story is set AFTER Johnny Blaze returns to confront the new Spirit of Vengeance and his host. Blaze is featured heavily in the story as are a few new villains - named the BROKER and THE MASTER - as well as the return of a couple of fan favorites (and my own favorites) BLACKOUT and SCARECROW."

But does this work?

• Blaze confronted Ketch in #13, but it took until #16 that they were friendly with each other. Blaze returned to his family in #18, but promised to return.
  So the mini could take place after #18!
• Deathwatch died (it didn't stick) in #24. He didn't return for real until way after the Ghost Rider series ended.
  So the mini should at least take place after #24!
• Caretaker didn't even meet Ghost Rider or Blaze until #28, but Ketch's spirit wasn't even in Ghost Rider's body at the time and it took until the end of the Rise of the Midnight Sons crossover in #31 to reunite Ketch's spirit with Ghost Rider.
  In the mini Ketch clearly knows Caretaker so it has to be after #31.
• Scarecrow got taken by the Firm after #7 until GR/CA: Fear, but at the end of the special is again taken by the Firm and imprisoned until #38. He escaped with the Firm's other subjects and stays with them until Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme#61, but Mackie admitted to not check what other writers were doing with the characters.
  So it probably takes place after #38.
• Blackout got burned in #3 and a bit more in #15. He even gets to temporarily kill Ketch in #25, but finds his own temporary end in #31 and is gone until he gets reborn in #41 without burns. The burns are a pretty important fact in Mackie's new mini. So the mini could have taken place before #31 in Mackie's plans, but that is impossible due to Caretaker not even knowing Ketch before #31 and Blackout dying overlapping!
  It probably took place after the end of the Lilin's involvement in the Siege of Darkness (Nightstalkers#15 or Ghost Rider III#44 if we ignore all other titles), but before #53 if we pretend Blackout got burned again behind the scenes and healed again after the mini!
• But Ghost Rider (Ketch) wasn't around for a bit after Siege of Darkness and only returned in #50 and still had trouble transforming back into Ketch until #54, but maybe we can just ignore that last part because otherwise there would be no possible moment this series could even take place.
  Which leaves us with issues #50 to #53!
• So if we squint the series likely took place between Ghost Rider III#50 and #53, but Mackie probably wanted it to be far earlier, which doesn't work considering the characters seen in the series!