Death Battle Predictions: Ghost Rider VS Lobo

In the wake of World War II, a unique subculture within 1950s America rose to celebrate the ideals of freedom and rebellion the open desert roads brought people. Those who chose to burn rubber with their trusted motorcycles at their sides pursued these ideals by themselves and alongside others, inviting a lot of danger along the way. Obviously, the iconography of the outlaw biker would become one that permeated pop culture for decades to come, and helped serve as an influence for our next combatants - two of the toughest sons of bitches in comic book history who have dealt death thousands of times but have never been close to it themselves:

Ghost Rider, Marvel Comics’ vile Spirit of Vengeance. Lobo, the monstrous Main Man of DC. The continuation of the longest-standing rivalry in all of fiction for the next episode of Death Battle will finally determine which one of these nearly timeless beings will ultimately kick the bucket, as these tenacious bikers from opposite ends of the universe are set to test the very limits of their immortality against one another. Will the Last Czarnian make the Brimstone Avenger the latest bastich he needs to put down six feet under, or has the eternal damnation he has avoided for so long finally come around?

Background

Ghost Rider

“I would pray now… a lot.”

Born in Waukegan, Illinois, Johnny Blaze spent his formative years in the Quentin Carnival, where his parents regularly performed - his father as a motorcycle stuntman and his mother as an assistant. He soon found himself an orphan after his mother abandoned the carnival and his father died in an accident, although he would not remain one for long; his parents’ touring partner Crash Simpson offered Johnny a place with his family, one which he enthusiastically accepted. In his teens, Johnny assisted Crash’s performances while coming to view him as his true father figure, and also grew closer to his daughter Roxanne. When Crash was diagnosed with malignant cancer, Johnny turned to supernatural means in hopes of saving his life.

One errant incantation he had invoked caused him to summon Mephisto, a being of pure evil who had posed as Satan himself. The demon agreed to cure Crash’s cancer, in exchange for Johnny’s soul, which he agreed too. Despite this, Mephisto arranged for Crash to die in an accident the following day, having only agreed to cure his cancer - not for him to live; as such, Johnny’s soul was still forfeit due to the deal’s spirit having been kept intact. However, Johnny was saved by the love of Roxanne, Crash’s daughter and his closest friend since childhood. As a final act of spite, Mephisto bonded Johnny to the fallen angel Zarathos; in the presence of evil, he would forcibly transform into the demon’s personal bounty hunter: the Ghost Rider.

Johnny would never completely lose himself to the transformation, and chose to fight back Mephisto’s influence by harnessing the Rider’s power as his own. By harnessing his inner evils, he would serve as a valued member of various superhero organizations, such as the Avengers, Defenders and Midnight Sons; even when Zarathos’ wild nature driving him at times, Johnny’s moral compass and the Ghost Rider’s search for sinners to punish has helped save the universe countless times from all sorts of vile supernatural threats. As of now, Johnny Blaze serves as the King of Hell itself, having deposed of Mephisto by obtaining a power far greater than his while serving as a guiding hand to younger, less experienced Ghost Riders.

Lobo

“Time to liven up the joint!”

Decades ago, there existed the planet Czarnia, a utopia whose adherence to order and peace made them one of the most well-respected societies in the solar system, even rivaling Krypton. Czarnians adhered to a strict moral code that allowed them to keep their people in check and avoid war at all costs, and all seemed right when everything was followed to a tee, and then one fateful day, a child was born - one that would bring about the downfall of everything this nearly immortal race had spent lifetimes cultivating, one so utterly vile and evil that he bit off the fingers of the nurse who delivered him and drove her so mad she had gone insane: Lobo, or as his name means in the Khnud dialect, “one who devours your entrails and thoroughly enjoys it.”

From the moment he was born, Lobo believed he was the only one of his kind in the entire universe, and wanted to prove it with every second he was alive. As a twisted science experiment, he unleashed a plague that managed to wipe out every Czarnian on the planet, making him the literal last of his kind. Proud of what he had accomplished, the then-teenage Lobo adopted the life of a wandering bounty hunter; on his ever-trusted Spacehog, he would travel between planets and fight for the highest bidder. Being nearly immortal helped in his escapades, as no amount of punishment would ever seem to stop the self-proclaimed Main Man from ripping apart every single so-called “bastitch” who dared ever looked at him funny.

While pretty loose with his morals, Lobo does adhere to his own personal code of honor whenever he feels like it. He has fought alongside great superheroes such as Superman, the Green Lanterns and others in the Justice League as much as he’s traded blows with them, he has a particular soft spot for protecting space dolphins, and he prides himself on being able to honor any agreement he is bound to - the letter of it more-so than the spirit. Often times, he has proven himself to be a valiant hero as he is a despised nuisance, but regardless of whatever we or anyone else could call him, Lobo has and always will remain an independent hellraiser who will fight and die for himself alone, truly embracing his nature as a “one-of-a-kind” being.

Equipment

Ghost Rider

Hellcycle

The Hell Cycle is the most common way of Ghost Riders getting around. It was created by Mephisto and is powered/created by hellfire. The Hell Cycle is capable of moving at extremely fast speeds (being able to easily match Thor’s hammer Mjolnir, which moves faster than light), moving up vertical surfaces, as well as across bodies of water. The Hell Cycle will follow the command of the Ghost Rider even when he is not riding it.

Chains

These are chains enhanced by Ghost Rider’s power and can be imbued with hellfire making them even stronger. Ghost Rider is also able to create multiple chains at once. They can be used to tie up enemies as well as be used to increase Ghost Rider’s mobility. They are completely under Johnny’s control and will follow Johnny’s orders at all times.

Hellfire Shotgun

A shotgun that fires balls of hellfire instead of ammo. It also never runs out of ammo due to being tied to Ghost Rider himself. 

Lobo

Hook and Chain

This is Lobo’s signature weapon, made out of a Titanium alloy that makes it extremely durable (it was once able to pull a neutron star without getting destroyed). He mostly uses it to drag enemies closer before finishing them off, or dragging them behind his Spacehog.

Spacehog

This is Lobo’s signature bike that he uses throughout the comics. It is a customized SpazFrag666 that is capable of following him wherever he goes, meaning he can summon it at any time (it helps that only Lobo himself can drive his bike). It’s fast enough to escape a black hole as well as planetary explosions. Also, this being Lobo, it of course has a giant minigun that can destroy anyone that tries to attack it while playing Steppenwolf’s Born To Be Wild for added effect (plus it has weaponry on it that can destroy planets).  

Guns

Lobo loves his guns and he has used many throughout the years:

• Shotgun: In the Injustice series, though sometimes in the comics, Lobo has used a regular Shotgun which is extremely effective at close range
• Alien Revolver: This massive 6 shot revolver is much bigger than your standard revolver
• Alien Pistols: Lobo has used alien pistols in the past, such as the time he once beat a cowboy in a quickdraw 
• Alien SMG: Based on the design of this weapon, it appears to be an SMG. It is capable of taking out many foes at once. 
• Alien Rifle: During his raid on Santa’s workshop, he used a gun in order to take out the guards protecting Santa’s workshop. 
• Deadman-Holding Gun: Specifically built in order to prevent the hero Deadman from escaping… it is pretty efficient at its job
• Trashgun: Lobo built this gun that is capable of destroying most of a planet in a single blast. How’s that for efficiency?

Bombs

• Frag Grenades: One of his favourite explosives are Frag Grenades, and he carries a lot of them. These Frag Grenades are easily capable of incapacitating a target.
• Plasteek: Plasteek can easily be attached to walls and other objects and, with a fuse, can be lit to explode, destroying any door or object in Lobo’s way. 
• Exploding Cigar: Lobo usually smokes a cigar which can easily combust for a surprise attack.
• 8-Ball Bomb: Modeled after an 8-Ball, it has such great explosive power that it can destroy a city. Also, it is similar to a weapon used to a certain fighting game toon… 
• Guilt Grenade: Lobo surprisingly has a Guilt Grenade that allows the target to feel extreme guilt for their actions. 
• Big Bruiser: Lobo created a bomb he can send back in time to kill targets in the past. It also wiped out the dinosaurs.
• Atom Bomb: This nuclear warhead was used by Lobo in an attempt to kill the dastardly Road Runner… expect it didn’t work and he got blown up instead. 
• Big Bomb: This bomb was easily capable of killing Bugs Bunny’s cousin

Miscellaneous Equipment

• Red Lantern Ring: Lobo was gifted a Red Lantern ring by Atrocitus, though he tends not to use it and carries it on a necklace.
• Knives: Lobo while prefers his explosives and guns, he also likes using knives while in combat, though his personal favourite is that he carries a giant bowie knife 
• Pouches: He wouldn’t be a parody of 90’s comics if he didn’t have a boatload of different pouches that he can use to carry things in. Still has less pouches than Pouch Man though. 
• Earpiece: Lobo has an ear piece that makes him immune to psychic attacks, but most beneficially, it plays heavy metal 24/7. 

Abilities

Ghost Rider

Hellfire

Also known as pyrokinesis, Ghost Rider’s hellfire is extremely impressive, as it attacks the soul as well as the physical body. He has numerous applications of this stuff as well.

• Hellfire Infusion: He can channel hellfire into his weapons and vehicles, giving them a significant boost in power
• Hellfire Projection: He can channel hellfire through his eyes, mouth, hands and chest 
• Hellfire Channeling: He can channel the fire from his body into his weapons such as his shotgun.
• Hellfire Forgery: He is able to construct various things such as walls, weapons and his motorcycle
• Hellfire Telekinesis: He can also control hellfire-infused objects through his mind
• Hellfire Attacks: Besides spewing hellfire, he is also able to create hellfire balls, spew out a massive wave of hellfire and create explosions  
• Hell Firestorm: He is able to rain a storm of hellfire down onto his enemies, which is especially useful for taking out multiple foes at once.

Size Manipulation

He can grow large enough to dwarf the likes of Thor. 

Regeneration

Ghost Rider has an extremely impressive healing factor, not on the level of Wolverine but still extremely impressive, as he can be completely healed from having his head blown to bits. While he is basically invulnerable to conventional forms of injury, objects such as weapons forged in heaven by the archangel Zadkiel, can actually harm the Ghost Rider.

Portal Creation

These Hell portals allow Blaze to travel from Hell back to the mortal universe. Presumably, Ghost Rider can take a Hell portal anywhere in the universe. 

Empathetic Reading

Ghost Rider is able to feel the transgression of an individual he encounters by looking into their heart and soul. He can also decide whether or not a person is innocent or evil and in need of punishment which he usually inflicts with the Penance Stare. He can also determine the individual by simply looking into their soul. 

Penance Stare 

This is arguably one of Ghost Rider’s most deadly abilities, though it requires eye contact to work. When Ghost Rider uses the Penance Stare on you, it makes the victim feel the pain they have caused through their sins over and over again while burning their soul. It is an extremely powerful ability, able to nearly kill beings such as Doctor Strange and Doctor Voodoo.

Zarathos

Zarathos is the demon bonded to Johnny Blaze and the one responsible for his abilities. It can take control of Blaze's body either when he's allowed to or when Blaze is knocked out, and is much more powerful than Ghost Rider by himself. Zarathos feeds off souls and can use all of Ghost Rider’s abilities on a much larger scale, including his iconic Hellfire. Doctor Strange speculated that Zarathos easily had the power to defeat World War Hulk and was absolutely terrified of the power he had. He has definitely been shown to be on the level of World War Hulk as he created a gargantuan explosion that hurt the goliath. Zarathos has also beaten universe level characters such as Mephisto.

Lobo

Czarnian Physiology

Czarnians such as Lobo have strength on par with the likes of Kryptonians such as Supergirl and Superman, speed on the level of Speed Force users such as the Flash, and durability that allows them to tank planetary attacks. Czarians also have a weakness detection system that allows them to find an enemy’s weak-point and exploit it, even if it’s an object that Lobo does not know (he will find that object with scent). Czarnians also do not need any food, water, air, or sleep, and he can survive in the vacuum of space without any harm.

Regeneration

One useful feature in particular for Czanarians is their frankly busted healing factor. Lobo is basically immortal at this point, not just because he is banned from heaven and hell, but because if any single cell of him remains, he will instantly regenerate. Using this technique, he can even create multiple Lobos (or Son of Lobos) at once using his blood, meaning you cannot truly kill Lobo. Even if you destroy his physical body completely, his soul is still not able to move on and can possess other beings in order to form them into Lobo’s own image (he once did this with a snail).

4th Wall Awareness/Toon Force

Due to Lobo being a comedic character a lot of the time (he got turned into a parody of the dark edgy anti-heroes of the 1990s), he will interact with the reader. Lobo’s also got some Toon Force on his side. For those who don’t know, Toon Force is basically the ability for the user to bend or overhaul the traditional laws of physics and reality itself at will to fit their own desires for a gag.

Feats

Ghost Rider

Accomplishments

• Became the King of Hell
• Mentored Danny Ketch, Alejandra and Robbie Reyes Ghost Riders
• Joined the Thunderbolts 
• Doctor Strange had an extremely difficult time entering Johnny’s mind
• Defeated Doctor Strange, one of the strongest Marvel heroes, in combat
• Briefly matched World War Hulk before being forced to unleash Zarathos who judged Hulk innocent 
• Zarathos defeated Mephisto who stalemated Galactus and is a confirmed universe buster
• Banished the renegade Archangel Zadkiel down to Hell with the help of an army of Ghost Riders and was thanked by God himself (what a swell guy)
• Destroyed one of Lucifer’s bodies 
• Defeated a demon of Hell and former angel, Kazann aka Micah 
• Defeated Steel Wind
• Holy weapons have no real advantage over him 
• Fought the Avengers, including Doctor Strange, Thor and Man-Thing 
• Defeated Null, the living embodiment of darkness
• Matched Danny Ketch, his half brother and Ghost Rider successor

Strength

• Punched Lucifer a good distance away and through a window
• Punched through the side of a truck, then hurls a car to hit a flying opponent
• Tossed a dude through a window across the street 
• Easily tore through a huge steel door
• Tossed several tons of machinery
• Punched a zombie’s head off
• Stopped a speeding car

Speed

• Caught a bullet in his teeth
• Reacted to a demon charging at him at the speed of his bike
• Blitzes Gladiator
• Destroys zombie Jack O' Lantern's bombs in midair
• Tears through a group of mercenaries in seconds armed with ammunition able to hurt him
• Swung a Motorcycle at 2931

Durability

• Completely bulletproof
• No-sold an explosion of nitroglycerin
• Body remains unharmed after being smashed by World War Hulk
• Merely knocked out for a moment by a spell from Doctor Voodoo
• Survived a series of attacks from the Avengers
• Obviously immune to fire
• Is unharmed by a blast from Pluto
• No-sold a kick from Spider-Man
• Resists the reality warping powers of someone who can kill with a stare

Lobo

Accomplishments

• Killed the dinosaurs 
• Defeated Bugs Bunny's cousin and skinned him (Bugs Bunny would later get revenge on Lobo) 
• Defeated Superman in his first encounter with him 
• Defeated a bloodlusted Zatanna
• Gets into a Slug Match with Etrigan the Demon and is able to fight him equally so much so that they become friends
• Defeated the Martian Manhunter 
• Overpowers Big Barda 
• Overpowered Supergirl, Wonder Girl and Blue Beetle during his fight against the Titans (though he did lose eventually):
• Created a plague that murdered his entire species in one week
• Was sent to Hell… only to wreck everything in Hell and then was sent to Heaven because Hell couldn’t deal with him
• Destroys an intergalactic army
• Fights an entire pantheon of gods in heaven and kills some of them
• Murdered Santa Claus because the Easter Bunny paid him to 
• Defeated Shazam and dragged him around in his bike for a joyride
• Killed Gawd and Dave who created an entire universe they were in and were shown to destroy planets. 

Strength

• Destroyed, lifted and ate a city (it was stated in the comic that the city weighed trillions of tons), before that squeezing it to the size of candy… holy shit 
• Threw Pulsar Stargrave, which is a neutron star
• Punches Martian Mahunter through a wall and then knocks him out by throwing a Green Lantern at him
• Throws Superman into a building with his chain
• Sends Queen Hippotyla (who has been shown to be on Wonder Woman’s level) flying with just a punch
• Breaks through a Guy Gardner yellow lantern construct 
• Breaks Sinestro’s yellow construct 
• Breaks through Star Sapphire's hallucination-inducing crystal
• The battle between Etrigan the Demon and Lobo causes a nearby avalanche 
• Easily breaks through a construct made by Hal Jordan (Hal also states that he would require his full concentration to hold Lobo)
• Scales to Superman, who destroyed the World Forger's masterpiece, a new multiverse, after regaining his strength from stars
• Smashes through a concrete bridge with ease

Speed

• Was able to react to The Flash’s speed and hit him with a hook into his face
• Scales to Captain Atom, who destroyed and recreated the DC universe in a single nanosecond (Calced at 3 nonillion times the speed of light)
• Blitzes Superman 
• Blitzes Guy Gardner
• Fast enough to catch Superman off-guard
• Dodges Guy Gardner’s attack (Guy has been shown to fly at MFTL Speeds)

Durability

• Post-Crisis Superman's strikes don't really faze him.
• Survives rebirth Superman possessed by Eclipso heat vision-ing him
• Tanks a disintegration beam
• Survives being set on fire by a star
• Survives getting blown into bits and regenerates barely a second later
• Lobo and his Spacehog survive atmospheric re-entry
• Tanks a hit from Supergirl, who has been shown to be on Superman’s level
• Shoots himself in the head and is fine
• Tanks an Etrigan's flamebreath 
• Survives Atrocitus’s (Red Lantern) attack
• Survives multiple yellow construct attacks from Sinestro as well as a Yellow Lantern blast
• Tanks an Etrigan magical blast and keeps moving forward 
• Tanks a punch from Shazam
• Gets impaled by a Green Lantern construct 
• Survives quantum lightning breaking spacetime
• Tanks Zatanna’s attacks 
• Is eaten by The Mask, regenerates and breaks out of his stomach
• Regenerates from his soul empowering a snail and turning it into his body.
• Survived inside a black hole.

Weaknesses

Ghost Rider

One glance at Johnny Blaze himself is enough to hint at his nature as a normal human when not transformed, and while Zarathos will do everything in his power to defend Johnny, often taking control of his body and causing an instant transformation when in danger, it still doesn’t change the fact that Johnny lacks Ghost Rider’s inhuman power normally.

His most feared weapon also has its fair share of drawbacks. Proper use of the Penance Stare requires Ghost Rider’s would-be victim to have a soul and a pair of eyes (or even more) to look at directly. Even then, the Penance Stare’s actual effectiveness has often failed, subjected to inconsistencies over several decades’ worth of material. The most common instances are with targets who express no regrets towards their sins; the Punisher is notably one individual who managed to no-sell and be scarred by it on two separate occasions.

Lobo

Lobo is extremely powerful, but this has led him to be extremely arrogant about his own capabilities. When it comes to fight and despite his intelligence, he tends to underestimate his opponents which leads to them getting the better of him, mostly through tricks rather than brute force. Like that one time Bugs Bunny/Road Runner manipulated Lobo into “killing” Road Runner only for them to sue him for destruction of Warner Brothers’s Intellctual Property (yes this happened). Lobo also is a heavy drinker and is often drunk which tends to limit his intelligence in a fight, leading to him making extremely rash decisions which ultimately backfire onto him.

Summary

Ghost Rider

“You have seen the power of my flame to burn, to melt physical substance… but that is the least of the Ghost Rider's power! For my hellfire is that of the fiery pits! If I so desire--mine is the power to char the man's soul, without singeing a hair on his head. And I so desire.”

Advantages:

• Ghost Rider/Zarathos can’t be killed by physical force
• While inconsistent, the Penance Stare could likely affect Lobo, and is arguably the closest shot Ghost Rider has at killing him
• Zarathos when empowered by many many souls is stronger than Lobo
• With Zarathos likely has more experience than Lobo due to its age
• Has more versatile abilities then Lobo 
• Holy weapons are the main weapons to kill Ghost Rider and it’s debatable if Lobo has any

Disadvantages:

• Has an inferior regeneration to Lobo
• In terms of pure stats, Ghost Rider on his own without Zarathos is vastly inferior to Lobo in strength, speed and durability
• movie bad

Lobo

“I'm Lobo, man! When the meanest, baddest suckers in the galaxy need someone offed--they call me! When the Khunds need a planet's leader knocked off before they invade...they call me! When Darkseid needs someone assassinated...you know who he calls?”

Advantages:

• Statstomps Ghost Rider (without either Zarathos or the Spirit of Vengeance directly taking control from Johnny)
• Can’t be killed through physical means, only through the soul
• A much greater variety of weapons and equipment 
• Is resistant to Ghost Rider’s hellfire as he has easily tanked magical hellfire before
• May be resistant to Ghost Rider’s Penance Stare due to feeling no remorse

Disadvantages:

• Is considerably more reckless then Ghost Rider
• Has less experience than Zarathos
• Lacks holy weapons: the Ghost Rider’s main weaknesses
• new 52 bad

Verdicts

ramen noodles

(2020 lads)

i love fighting games i love EVO i love the FGC i love stupid shit like how instant kills in the first Guilty Gear end a match if it lands (also infinites from anywhere)

(Disclaimer: Ramen has died from post-EVO depression. We’ll resurrect him whenever he feels like it; probably depends on the next few episodes. We’ll see. We do know that he would like to express his sincere belief that somehow Nicolas Cage wins this episode, and that Joker from Persona 5 is a well-balanced character in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate for the Nintendo Switch.)

Malcolm Belmont

(Couldn’t Resist using this...Born to be WIIILLLLLD)

“Another Marvel vs DC Fight”

“It’s Ghost Rider vs Lobo”

So another Marvel vs DC Fight, personally i have never gotten the hate behind Marvel vs DC Fights - sure certain ones can feel a bit samey but ultimately most Marvel vs DC Fights are diverse enough that they are interesting at least in moderation (i don’t want tons of Marvel vs DC Fights near each other) and in the case of this fight, this might honestly be one of the most interesting DEATH BATTLE Verdicts i have ever done. This is an EXTREMELY tricky matchup for a multitude of reasons, so I am going to go into a fair bit of detail with it. 

Here’s the thing with this fight that makes it unlike any fight we have seen recently - ultimately the stats of each combatant is not the most important aspect of this fight - it’s the all mighty question - “can they kill each other”. Let’s be honest here - Lobo easily beats base Ghost Rider. 

Not only does Lobo have far more impressive strength feats then Ghost Rider (he once condensed an entire city into a gobstopper and then eat it...yummy but he also scales to characters much higher than Ghost Rider can. Lobo while he may be extremely inconsistent at times (which is honestly most comic book characters) he has shown repeatedly that he can easily take down Members of the Justice League in combat - he’s taken down Superman, The Flash,Wonder Woman,Green Lantern Hal Jordan and Guy Garder, Martian Manhunter,Aquaman. It’s fairly safe to say he scales to them with most of the Justice League at the very least being Solar System Level Destructive Capability with Superman debatably being Universe level. 

Compare that to Ghost Rider whom yes defeated a Universe Buster in the form of Doctor Strange but only did so through using the Penance Stare so he doesn’t scale to him. We do know that Ghost Rider has been able to take on the likes of the Hulk who has busted Planets and has taken on Planet Busters such as Thor and the Sentry but it should be noted that this was only at Ghost Rider’s maximum potential and while Doctor Strange said he would be able to fight the Hulk - there’s a world of difference between being able to fight Hulk and being able to truly beat him. Even if we scaled Ghost Rider to the Hulk (which is fairly dubious all things considered). Lobo’s scaling to the likes of Superman and the Green Lanterns should place him much higher than that. Plus the whole Neutron Star Level feat and Lobo has the edge in Strength. 

Speed also easily goes to Lobo considering that while GR has kept up with most street levels are at massively hypersonic+ and Ghost Rider has beaten plenty of them while Lobo has kept up and reacted to the likes of Superman and the Flash who have displayed massively faster than light feats in the past so Lobo scaling to Superman is warranted which gives him the key edge over Ghost Rider.

Lobo also has the edge in Durability tanking black holes and regenerating from his blood while Ghost Rider has tanked hits from the likes of Thor who has shown planet level destructive capability at the very least (considering he has shown in the comics to be able to easily bust planets). Lobo has also tanked hits from Solar System Level Busters such as Superman and the Martian Manhunter. So Lobo has the edge in durability

So with Lobo having the clear stats edge then you may think that Lobo is the clear winner here..well it’s a little bit problematic. The thing is that - obo has the clear edge over Normal Ghost Rider and would crush him into paste. If i was just judging Ghost Rider vs Lobo then Lobo would win handily but here's the thing - there's also one one extremely important aspect of Ghost Rider left to discuss that makes this fight much more complicated and no it’s not the Penance Stare but I will discuss that later..it’s Zarathos - the demon that Ghost Rider is bonded with.

If Ghost Rider is in severe danger then Zarathos will come out in full power in order to ya know, protect it’s host from a severe case of death so it’s fairly safe to include Zarathos but here’s where the debate gets tricker. Considering Zarathos is a demon - could Lobo even harm a spiritual being such as Zarathos. Well he has shown this in the past such as the time he punched out a spiritual entity in the form of a ghost. This means that’s it’s extremely levely that Lobo could hurt Zarathos even though he doesn’t have any of Zarathos’s main weapons - soul hax and holy weapons. Ultimately it comes down to is Lobo strong enough in order to put down Full Powered Zarathos for good. Zarathos is plenty powerful considering Zarathos defeated Mephisto whose clash with Satannish threatened to destroy the main universe as well as Mephisto's realm and the dimension they were fighting in. Mephisto also battled with Galactus and it was a stalemate. So we should reasonable scale Zarathos to Mephisto right? Well not quite - it has been stated numerous times that Zarathos entire power relies on how many people worship him (which explains why GR can be extremely inconsistent). In the comics while he did beat Mephisto, it was through the assistance of many souls that Zarathos was able to take Mephisto down so reasonable in a DEATH BATTLE ruleset which says no outside help - i very much doubt that Zarathos at his maximum potential which required many souls helping it out will be used.

Ghost Rider at his maximum potential has shown to be on the level of Thor which would put him at solidly Solar System Level at Max. Compared to Lobo who has also taken down Solar System Level feats but there is one destructive capability feat that would put Lobo higher then Ghost Rider is the fact that he broke Green Lantern Constructs - considering Green Lantern Constructs can Survive the Universal Reset of Crisis on Infinite Earths that means that Lobo should at least be Universe Level from that which would put him far above Ghost Rider at his max potential

There’s two ways that Ghost Rider could potentially win this first is the Penance Stare. The thing is that Lobo has Soul Hax Resistance - he’s resisting having his soul burned byu Demons and he considered pleasurable. While it is indeed very debatable if Penance Stare would work, I am leaning towards no it wouldn’t considering Lobo has resisting his soul being burned which is the exact thing that Ghost Rider does to its victims with the Penance Stare.

So, what about Zarathos’s Soul Manipulation, couldn’t that kill Lobo? Well like Zarathos’s power, it is extremely fluctuating and depends on how much worship Zarathos has (like pretty much all of Zarathos’s powers). I would say that we can scale Zarathos’s Soul Manipulation to its Attack Capacity when going full out but without any worship - which would mean that Zarathos’s soul manipulation could work on being Solar System level and higher but likely not anything higher meaning it likely would not work on Lobo due to the fact he’s resisting his soul being torn apart in Hell. 

In Conclusion, this is a very tricky fight and i could see reasonable arguments either way. It’s no secret that Lobo absolutely destroys base Ghost Rider. In terms of Zarathos - it all comes down to interpretation - Zarathos is an extremely inconsistent being and it all depends on how much worship but ultimately Lobo should be generally stronger than him considering he’s fought characters who are close to or are Universal (The Green Lanterns) plus the fact that Lobo can hurt spiritual beings and Zarathos’s main two ways of taking down Lobo for good - his Soul Manipulation and Penance Stare likely won’t be able to work on someone like Lobo who’s resisting those sort of attacks before. While this is indeed close and I could see them going the team of Zarathos and Johnny Blaze the win ultimately i think Lobo is way too strong for Base Ghost Rider and even Maximum Potential Ghost Rider I feel won’t be enough to stop the Main Man from winning this. While this is an extremely close fight and i could see DEATH BATTLE giving it to either character i do think Lobo is the most likely to win this - i think the true HellBlazer of this fight is The Main Man Lobo

So now that’s done, onto the next fight which I am really looking forward to (may have been leaked at RTX) ...so bye guys

Brobuscus

(In celebration of Neo, of all characters, making it into Cross Tag Battle)

Seriously? Neo Politan? I mean, I guess I shouldn’t be complaining about more RWBY characters aside from the main team making it in, but Neo? Instead of JNPR? Or Qrow? You know, the other main characters? Heck, even getting into villains, Cinder, Adam, and Raven, despite me not liking any of them, were more relevant in half a Volume than Neo is in the entire show.

Sorry, off topic. Let’s get into this rather exciting matchup.

Yes, it’s another Marvel VS DC fight, but considering the matchup at hand, and how long it’s been since the last one, I can’t really complain. And this one? Man, this is by far the most excited I’ve ever been for an episode this season. I guess that’s not saying much, but still.

Anyway, Ghost Rider and Lobo. Quite the difficult pairing. Physically speaking, I’d argue that base Ghost Rider, without Zarathos, doesn’t hold much of a candle to Lobo. Sure, he can compete with the likes of Thor, and that’s no small feat, but Lobo can take on Superman and Green Lanterns. This is all both in power and speed, by the way. So, no Zarathos, and Lobo should have no problem overpowering Ghost Rider. But here’s the thing. It’s Zarathos that’s the problem. And before you ask, yes, Ghost Rider would and will be using Zarathos. For one, despite Lobo’s physical advantage, he has no real way to put down Ghost Rider for good. At least, as far as I can tell. Secondly, Death Battle always uses the characters at their maximum potential. So that whole “kill before super” thing, not happening.

So, let’s talk about Zarathos. The power and speed increase this grants is immense. I’d argue enough to be at least on Lobo’s level. But there’s still one big problem. Remember when I said that Lobo doesn’t have a way to kill Ghost Rider? Well, obviously Zarathos still makes that the case, but…...vice versa is true too. Lobo’s regeneration puts Deadpool’s to shame. Heck, he’s able to regenerate from just his soul. Ghost Rider doesn’t have any way to end that for good.

….well, except for maybe one.

Yeah, we’re getting to the Penance Stare. That’s, in my opinion, the biggest and most debatable question we have here. Can the Penance Stare kill Lobo? Well, this is pretty much where any confidence I have comes to an end. The big argument against the Penance Stare working is the fact that Lobo doesn’t give a crap about any of the things he’s done. And this is true, he doesn’t. But here’s the thing. There are numerous instances of the Penance Stare still working on people who have no remorse.

Like this guy

That guy

These guys

And all of these guys

The only instance I remember it not working due to “no regret” is Punisher, but Ghost Rider eventually tries it on him again and it works. So, to me at least, it seems more likely that this would work on Lobo, at least for the most part. And since the Penance Stare can basically destroy souls, then that thing I mentioned earlier about Lobo regenerating from souls wouldn’t come into play. Basically, have Zarathos deal with the body, and the Penance Stare will deal with the soul. And if you want to argue it wouldn’t kill Lobo, but maybe cause extreme pain, that still counts from a Death Battle perspective provided neither have another way to end the fight. Or heck, even if it doesn’t kill Lobo, but Lobo’s physical body is still destroyed. Sure, his soul can go find some random animal or something, but that’s technically still a “death” so to speak.

Like I said, confidence is not something I have for this fight, but a decision has to be made, I guess, so this is what I’m sticking with.

Go, Ghost Rider!!

Carmine

(Literally what other song could I choose.)

So here we are again, another Marvel vs DC herald standoff. Can you guess which side I’m on?

In all seriousness, I share the same sentiments as most of the blog. Lobo absolutely decimates base Ghost Rider, having superior strength, speed, regeneration, and overall brutality. I could easily make the argument that Lobo could beat him in base before Zarathos was an issue, but let’s put that aside.

Zarathos as it stands, likely puts Ghost Rider mostly on Lobo’s level (if we assume he has access to his souls and followers anyway), besides probably speed since he is a DC herald after all. So in all likelihood, I’d still give Lobo a hard fought victory if this was just a head to head tussle with Zarathos. Though that isn’t really all there is to this match.

Yep, the Penance Stare, the ability people are calling the make or break factor of this fight. So what is my verdict on it? Well that it most likely wouldn’t work on Lobo, or even if it did, wouldn’t put him down. The Penance Stare may be one of the most inconsistent, yet important abilities I’ve had to cover. It seems to work on thugs with no regrets or suffering from insanity. Then it seems to have trouble on Captain Marvel, Venom, Punisher, and other bit characters for various reasons, all of which Lobo fits. He’s an alien like the Venom symbiote, which I might add is the main reason cited for why it reacted in an unknown way to the stare, and even on a subconscious level doesn’t care about his sins. So I think it’d have more than a little trouble with him.

Even if it did work, Lobo outright enjoyed his soul being tormented in hell, so much so that he was kicked out for rampaging. Add on his soul being able to regenerate and even sharing strength with his physical body, enough to empower a common snail to fight on his level for example. Then I doubt he wouldn’t be able to survive it.

So it could be a tie, right? Well, not exactly. Even if we really want to say neither have any way to kill each other, Lobo has the perfect way to restrain Ghost Rider. Recall that he has a gun specifically designed to trap spirits. Even if it isn’t technically a death, it still ends with Lobo victorious.

So with all said and done, Lobo has the speed, endurance, and mentality necessary to make Johnny Blaze go up in flames. The Main Man will be killing a mighty angry bastitch come Monday!

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A tie! We haven't had one of these in quite a while. Guess we'll see which cyclist will ride on and which one will be left eating dust tomorrow! See you in a few weeks for the next episode!