main image

GHOST RIDER (WILD WEST)

Real Name: Unrevealed  

Identity/Class: Human possessed by a Spirit of Vengeance (19th century - see Comments) 

Occupation: Acting sheriff of Tombstone, Arizona 

Group Membership: (presumably) Spirits of Vengeance / Ghost Riders  (see Comments) 

Affiliations: Rawhide Kid (Johnny Clay)

Enemies: Misbehaving citizens of Tombstone

Known Relatives: None 

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Wild West, including Arizona  

First Appearance:  (Unidentified/possible) Ghost Rider: Heaven's on Fire#6 (February, 2010); (confirmed) Rawhide Kid: The Sensational Seven#1 (August, 2010)

Powers/Abilities: The Wild West Ghost Rider wielded a rifle and chain, and was covered in fire. Like most of the Ghost Riders, the Wild West Ghost Rider presumably possessed superhuman strength and durability. His horse, unlike some Ghost Riders' steeds, was not skeletal, but did discharge fire from its mouth and eyes, and had hooves lined with flame.  

History: (Rawhide Kid: The Sensational Seven#1 (fb) - BTS) - Ghost Rider rode the Old West. Though word of his exploits spread, many believed them tall tales, and the likes of Annie Oakley did not believe he was real. At some point Ghost Rider met and befriended Rawhide Kid. Later, Rawhide sent Ghost Rider a telegram, informing him that the notoriously wild town of Tombstone was without a sheriff due to Morgan and Wyatt Earp having been taken prisoner in Texas, and requesting that he temporarily stand in as sheriff while Rawhide Kid and Annie Oakley went to the Earps' rescue.

(Rawhide Kid: The Sensational Seven#1) - Ghost Rider arrived in Tombstone a few hours later, riding in one side of town moments after Rawhide Kid and Annie Oakley departed out the other end. Striking a terrifying pose, he warned the locals in no uncertain terms that he was the new law in town.   

(Ghost Rider: Heaven's on Fire#6) - Like all past Ghost Riders, in the early 21st century the Wild West Ghost Rider was revived to take part in defending Heaven from both the rogue angel Zadkiel and then Kid Blackheart's demon army (see Comments).

Comments: Created by Ron Zimmerman and Howard Chaykin.

Appearing in a single panel, there's little confirmed information regarding this Ghost Rider. His first official appearance is in Rawhide Kid: The Sensational Seven, but there is a Western-style Ghost Rider who resembles him visible in Ghost Rider: Heaven's on Fire, and in the absence of other evidence (e.g. another cowboy Ghost Rider with the right appearance) I've treated this as the same guy. Even if the guy pictured to the left isn't him, the Sensational Seven GR should still be present bts in Heaven's on Fire, as all past Ghost Riders were supposedly there. Of course, I'm also assuming the Sensational Seven GR hosts a Spirit of Vengeance, and it isn't just a coincidence that he shares the skull-headed, on-fire look of the other guys called Ghost Rider. He's presumably not Caleb, who appeared in Trail of Tears, as Caleb's look was somewhat different and he was active just after the American Civil War, but it isn't impossible that he might be Caleb, a decade or two older and wearing a different outfit. It seems unlikely though, especially as Caleb is also visible in Heaven's on Fire, in the same group shot as the guy pictured on the left.

The dating of his appearance in Sensational Seven, and indeed that series' entire storyline, is somewhat confused. At one juncture, Kid Colt tells Rawhide to ask Wild Bill Hickok to help rescue the captured Earp brothers, and Rawhide informs Colt that Hickok is dead; Wild Bill Hickok died in 1876. However, the story is set after the Gunfight at the OK Corral, which took place on October 26th 1881 - I guess Kid Colt really doesn't keep up with the news! Morgan Earp, present in Sensational Seven, died on March 18th 1882, so presumably the Rawhide Kid adventure and Ghost Rider's brief tenure as Tombstone's sheriff has to take place between November 1881 and March 1882. Except that Billy the Kid joins Rawhide's team, and he died in July 1881. I guess the Marvel universe Billy survived, like the legends claim. Then we've got villain Cristo Pike mentioning the James Gang - Jesse died April 1882, so that at least doesn't pose a problem; the Dalton Gang (not active until 1890! But Frank and Grat Dalton were in their early 20s in 1881, so despite not being criminals or famous at that point, at a stretch Cristo might have meant them. Alternatively, he might have been referring to the real-world Dalton's fictional cousins, the Dalton Gang of the French comic Lucky Luke, bringing them into the Marvel universe); and Tonto (since the fictional Lone Ranger and Tonto weren't created until the 1930s, this might be taken as evidence that Tonto, and presumably Lone Ranger too, exist as real individuals in the Marvel universe).   

Profile by Loki.

CLARIFICATIONS:
The Wild West Ghost Rider is definitely connected to, but should not be confused with

but has no known connections to

images: (without ads)
Rawhide Kid: The Sensational Seven#1, p21, pan1 (main image)
Ghost Rider: Heaven's On Fire#6, p9, pan1 (in Heaven)

Appearances:
Ghost Rider: Heaven's On Fire#6 (February, 2010) - Jason Aaron (writer), Roland Boschi (art), Sebastian Girner (editor)
Rawhide Kid: The Sensational Seven#1 (August, 2010) - Ron Zimmerman (writer), Howard Chaykin (artist), Axel Alonso (editor)

Last updated: 01/14/15

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

Non-Marvel Copyright info
All other characters mentioned or pictured are ™  and © 1941-2099 Marvel Characters, Inc. All Rights Reserved. If you like this stuff, you should check out the real thing!
Please visit The Marvel Official Site at: http://www.marvel.com

Special Thanks to www.g-mart.com for hosting the Appendix, Master List, etc.!

Back to Characters