Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Hellverine #5 (2025)Despite years of serving vengeance and infernal justice, the Wolverine. Akihiro has finally confronted the Devil face-to-face and succeeded in moments at a game Johnny Blaze spent decades trying to win. Now, the Hellverine has claimed his demon as his own, a feat that Blaze only recently accomplished. Comparatively, the X-Man is the smarter Spirit of Vengeance.
In Hellverine #5 (2025) - by Benjamin Percy and Raffaele Ienco - the son of Wolverine, Akihiro, has been dragged to Hell by Mephisto as punishment for the mutant’s disobedience.
When Mephisto resurrected Akihiro with Bagra-ghul, he forged an informal contract with Akihiro to slaughter and raise monuments of suffering in the Devil’s honor. However, Akihiro is laying the foundations for a new path that walks away from the rage of his past and Mephisto’s infernal machinations. In one final act of rebellion before being damned to eternal servitude, Akihiro pulls off what took his fellow Ghost Riders 52 years to accomplish.
Wolverine’s Son Beat The Devil At His Own Game
Hellverine #5 (2025) - Written By Benjamin Percy; Art By Raffaele Ienco; Color By Bryan Valenza; Lettering By VC’s Travis Lanham; Cover Art By Kendrick Lim
When Johnny Blaze first made a bargain with Mephisto to save the life of his adopted father, he unknowingly signed over control of the Ghost Rider to the Devil’s service. Johnny, much like Akihiro, already held a spiritual propensity for the Spirit of Vengeance that would eventually bond to his soul. For Akihiro, Wolverine had already bonded with the demon Bagra-ghul, priming the spirit to seek out Akihiro next. For Johnny Blaze, he was already the next to inherit his family’s portion of Zarathos’s power; the Devil merely found an opportunity to capitalize on Blaze’s incoming tragedies.
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However, while both individuals came to possess their malformed Spirits of Vengeance under similar, unwitting circumstances, the Hellverine beat the Devil at his own game far quicker than it ever took the Ghost Rider. In a final attempt to free himself from Mephisto and Bagra-ghul’s influence, Akihiro now calls upon a brief lesson from Doctor Strange and carves a “possession cipher” sigil into the demon’s chest. In moments, the X-Man is engulfed in flames as Akihiro claims ownership of Bagra-ghul, thus freeing himself from the only leverage Mephisto had.
Both Johnny and Akihiro Learned How To Break Away From Their Contracts
Johnny Blaze Took Decades To Accept His Curse
Realistically, Akihiro accomplished in five comic issues what it took Johnny Blaze 52 years to pull off. In Ghost Rider: Final Vengeance #6 (2024) - by Benjamin Percy and Danny Kim - Johnny Blaze and Zarathos have their first “heart-to-heart” in years, finally accepting that they are both victims of the Devil’s schemes. They acknowledged their mutual hate but accepted their need to remain bonded. In the face of their combined resolve, Mephisto relinquished his control over Johnny and Zarathos and officially decreed that they “belong to each other.” That said, both souls, now ed as one, fell into a new contract.
Mephisto has little leverage when he doesn’t control the demon inside the host.
Johnny and Zarathos’ new deal with Mephisto aside, they are both free from the Devil’s ownership. This was a monumental change for the character, who, up until this point, had spent his entire comic career trying to free himself from the Ghost Rider’s curse. Johnny finally realized that, once bonded, he and his Spirit of Vengeance would never be free of each other, and instead embraced his other half entirely. It’s through this radical self-acceptance that the Ghost Rider was freed from the Devil’s control. Mephisto has little leverage when he doesn’t control the demon inside the host.
Ghost Rider Always Had The Supernatural Resources Akihiro Used
The X-Man May Just Be Smarter Than Johnny Blaze
Compared to the lifetime’s worth of horrific traumas, desperate struggling, and excruciatingly infernal pain that Johnny Blaze endured to claim ownership over his Spirit of Vengeance, Akihiro did the exact thing in only a fraction of the time. But when looking at the two heroes’ varied approaches, it’s not hard to understand why Akihiro freed himself so quickly. Unlike Blaze, Akihiro accepted his fate as the Hellverine. He may not enjoy his current situation, but he’s found solace in the opportunity to do genuine good and quell the demons of his past. More importantly, Akihiro used his brain.
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Johnny Blaze had 52 years to figure out how to best the Devil. He has allied with Marvel’s most extraordinary supernatural powers, like Doctor Strange and Doctor Voodoo. At any point in time, Blaze could have approached these sorcerers to work together and discover what Akihiro took moments to figure out. Instead, his short-sightedness only caused him greater suffering. Meanwhile, Akihiro paid attention to Strange’s lessons and studied his hellish tomes. Despite not being in Marvel’s paranormal wheelhouse, Akihiro took advantage of the resources Strange had provided him.
While Johnny Blaze will always be Marvel’s most iconic Ghost Rider, he isn’t exactly the brightest, at least compared to the son of Wolverine.
Hellverine #5 is now available from Marvel Comics.
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- Created by
- Roy Thomas, Gary Friedrich, Mike Ploog
- First Film
- Ghost Rider
- Latest Film
- Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance
- Cast
- Nicolas Cage, Eva Mendes, Wes Bentley, Sam Elliott, Ciarán Hinds, Idris Elba, Gabriel Luna, Peter Fonda, Violante Placido
- Movie(s)
- Ghost Rider, Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance
- Character(s)
- Johnny Blaze, Roxanne Simpson, Carter Slade, Mephistopheles, Blackheart, Robbie Reyes, Moreau (Ghost Rider), Nadya
The Ghost Rider franchise revolves around the Marvel Comics character Ghost Rider, a supernatural anti-hero who gains the ability to transform into a flaming skeletal figure and ride a hellfire-fueled motorcycle. The most famous Ghost Rider, Johnny Blaze, is a stunt motorcyclist who makes a deal with the demon Mephistopheles, transforming him into the Ghost Rider to battle evil spirits. The franchise includes two films starring Nicolas Cage as Johnny Blaze, exploring his fight against demonic forces and his internal struggle with the curse.
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- NAME
- James "Logan" Howlett
- Alias
- James "Logan" Howlett
- Created By
- Roy Thomas, Len Wein, John Romita Sr.
- POWERS
- Retractible claws and Adamantium skeleton. Superhuman senses, stamina, and strength. Healing factor and longevity.
- Franchise
- X-Men, Marvel
- Age
- 197 (in the MCU)
The human mutant Wolverine (a.k.a. Logan) was born James Howlett, blessed with a superhuman healing factor, senses, and physiology. Subjecting himself to experimentation to augment his skeleton and claws with adamantium, Logan is as deadly as he is reckless, impulsive, and short-tempered. Making him the X-Men's wildest and deadliest member, and one of Marvel Comics' biggest stars. He's played in Fox and Marvel's movie franchises by Hugh Jackman.
