History
Zarathos was an angel, sent initially to protect mankind from evil entities. However, Mephisto set a trap for him and dragged him to Hell. He was tortured for years and years. The sin of all of mankind was used to forge the instruments of his torture, leading to him being corrupted and driven insane by his desire for revenge - both against Mephisto, and against mankind for its sins. His desire to protect the (mostly) innocent among mankind was forgotten, and replaced with a twisted lust for punishing the guilty. From there on, Zarathos would punish, burn, and devour the soul of anyone who had sinned - no matter how small the sin or the age of the sinner.
Mephisto at some point bound the fallen angel to Johnny Blaze to create the Ghost Rider, hoping he could use the Rider to keep his own legions under control and thwart any attempts at a rebellion in Hell. However, Johnny's conscience compelled him to manipulate Zarathos into doing good. Zarathos' search for his original self aided Johnny in this path. Yet, Johnny found it difficult to control Zarathos' lust to punish the guilty. The longer the two remained bound without Zarathos able to take his revenge on Mephisto, the more Zarathos' lust for punishing human sin at any cost became. And the more Zarathos hungered to devour souls, the harder it became for Johnny to control and contain him.
Johnny eventually had Zarathos exorcised out of himself, believing it necessary to protect Nadya and Danny from the fallen angel. However, Mephisto returned under the guise of "Roarke." And after he had captured Danny to turn him into the Antichrist, Johnny and Nadya both realized they still needed Zarathos.
Johnny and Moreau attempted a rescue of Danny, but were captured by Blackout. Danny seized the opportunity of their capture, upon learning he had the same powers as Mephisto/Roarke, to restore Johnny's bond to Zarathos. The two, upon re-merging, immediately became Ghost Rider once again. As Ghost Rider, Zarathos wasted little time annihilating Mephisto's allies. With the deal having been altered by him being in Johnny via Danny rather than via Mephisto, he finally had the power to punish Mephisto himself. Succeeding in this goal, Zarathos was relieved of the burden that had tortured him in Hell. He was then restored to his former angelic self, yet apparently chose to remain with Johnny as a blue-flamed Ghost Rider to protect mankind.[1]Attributes
Powers
- In his time as a fallen angel, Zarathos possess hellfires seen through the Ghost Rider. Later after reverting back to his angelic form, he may possess holy fire in a form of blue flames through Ghost Rider again.