Warning: Contains spoilers for Fantastic Four Annual #1!Ghost Rider's iconic bike has officially been thrown aside for a surprising new fiery ride. The Spirit of Vengeance, best known as Ghost Rider, has arguably one of the coolest designs out of any Marvel Comics hero. The image of a skull completely surrounded by flames has grown to be absolutely iconic as he uses his abilities to send sinners to Hell in exchange for saving his father's life. However, his bike has gained a reputation among fans as well. The Hell Cycle is as inseparable from Ghost Rider's identity as his flaming skull is. It's the perfect way to capture the style of a biker from Hell, but now Ghost Rider has ditched his beloved bike for something a bit more improvised.
In Fantastic Four Annual #1 by Zac Gorman and Alan Robinson, Ghost Rider is pitted against the Fantastic Four's Human Torch as the next pair of heroes to fight in Agatha Harkness' Contest of Chaos event. The two find themselves in what appears to be Hell, but is actually an illusion to force a chaotic fight between the two. When the Rider comes out, Torch realizes his flame powers are ineffective against him and decides to fly away. To keep up, Ghost Rider punches through the illusion to find an alternative to his Hell Cycle and finds something that's "good enough:" an old hippy van with a Lisa Frank-esque unicorn decorating the side.
Ghost Rider's Hippy Van Proves How Epic His Hellfire Really Is
This isn't the first time that Ghost Rider has traded in his Hell Cycle for a different ride. At one point, he actually turned a literal dinosaur into his new motorcycle, giving it a hellish new look to match his iconic style. However, none are as surprising as his conversion of an old-school van to his ride of choice. What starts out a pretty silly looking vehicle turns out to be a perfect substitute for his Hell Cycle as it grows spikes and even redesigns the unicorn to give off a menacing vibe. Even the headlights of the car show his anger as they appear to take the shape of angered eyes with fire shooting out. It's proof that Ghost Rider can make any vehicle cool as long as he applies his hellfire to it, and this ridiculous van is no exception.
Ghost Rider Missed His Chance to Have an Even Cooler Ride Replacement
As epic as the souped-up van is though, there's an even cooler vehicle in this issue that isn't even Ghost Rider's but could very well be part of his garage. As Torch flees from the Rider, he comes across a Hell Train decorated with an enormous ram skull in the front and powered by the flames of Hell itself. It's where the two have their final confrontation, but the fact that Ghost Rider isn't in control of it himself is a missed opportunity. Johnny Blaze's Ghost Rider is best known as a daredevil Rider who can do some of the most incredible moves while hunting down sinners. This suggests that he could pull off some incredible moves with the Hell Train to not just win his fight against Torch, but to absolutely destroy him. Whether he could conjure tracks to move it in different directions or cause it to flip in unexpected ways, Ghost Rider not taking control of the train is ultimately what makes him lose his battle to Torch as the story draws to a close.
Even though the Spirit of Vengeance finds the silliest ride imaginable to use as his new ride in this story, this doesn't mean the Hell Cycle is being hung up forever. Ghost Rider has always found ways to put himself back on the road. This is no exception as he picks up his fiery new ride for his fight against the Human Torch, but only temporarily so he doesn't ditch his iconic bike forever.
Fantastic Four Annual #1 is available now from Marvel Comics!
