The demon Mephistopheles sends his bounty hunter of the damned, the Ghost Rider, to retrieve the contract of San Venganza for control of a thousand corrupt souls. Seeing that the agreement would give Mephistopheles the power to bring hell on Earth, the Rider refuses and escapes with it. In 1986, Mephistopheles reaches out to 17-year-old Johnny Blaze, offering to cure his father’s cancer in exchange for Johnny’s soul. The next morning, Johnny awakens to discover the cancer cured, but his father dies from burns sustained in a stunt accident. Johnny accuses Mephistopheles of causing his father’s death, but Mephistopheles considers his side of the contract fulfilled and promises to see Johnny again.Ghost Rider 2007.
Mephistopheles’ son Blackheart comes to Earth and seeks aid from the Hidden (three fallen angels bonded with the elements of air, earth, and water) to find the lost contract of San Venganza.In 2007, Johnny has become a famous stunt motorcycle rider. He runs into his former sweetheart Roxanne Simpson, now a news reporter, whom he abandoned after his father’s death. He convinces her to attend a dinner date.
Mephistopheles makes Johnny the new Ghost Rider and offers to return his soul if he defeats Blackheart. Johnny transforms into the Ghost Rider, his flesh burning off his skeleton, and kills the earth angel Gressil. He then uses the Penance Stare, a power that causes mortals to feel all the pain they have caused others, searing their soul, on a street thug. The next day, he meets a man called the Caretaker, who knows about the Ghost Rider’s history. He assures Johnny that what happened was real and will happen again, especially at night, when he is near an evil soul.
Johnny leaves to find Roxanne, who’s reporting the previous night’s events on the news. At home, Johnny tries to control his firepower. Roxanne comes to visit before leaving town, and Johnny reveals himself as the Devil’s bounty hunter. Unconvinced, she walks away in disbelief. After brief imprisonment for murders Blackheart committed, Johnny kills the air angel Abigor and escapes from the police. He returns to the Caretaker, who tells him of his predecessor Carter Slade, a Texas Ranger who hid the contract of San Venganza.
