Marvel’s New Ghost Rider Just Replaced Dracula as the Leader of Marvel’s Monsters & Undead

Warning! Spoilers for Werewolf by Night #1 ahead!The supernatural side of Marvel Comics has gotten intense in recent months, from Agatha Harkness’s return to the Blood Hunt, but it’s Marvel’s newest Ghost Rider who takes the prize for “craziest story.” The first vampire, Varnae and his blood-sucking forces have been defeated, leaving many rebellious vampires without a home. Fortunately, from the shadows, a new lifeline emerges.

Werewolf by Night #1 by Jason Loo and Sergio Dávila follows the newest diabolical venture of the old-school D-list villain turned supernatural threat, The Hood. Having recently acquired the powers of Ghost Rider, The Hood gathers the rest of Varnae’s vampire army in order to maintain their “near-perfect” society.

While Vlad Dracula returns to Vampyrsk, the vampire nation, to rebuild a new country of daywalkers, much of Marvel’s monstrous underground is left without a leader. Doing what he does best, The Hood seizes his next opportunity to turn rubble into a kingdom.

The Hood Has Gone From Low-Level Thug to Supernatural Threat

The Ghost Rider is Amassing a New Vampire Army

The Hood, aka Parker Robbins, was once a low-level thug with dreams of supervillainly. Driven by his ego, and the desire to provide for his family, Robbins consistently fails upwards into power. After shooting a demon to death and stealing its collection of Asgardian and Dark Dimension relics, The Hood embraced the world of the occult he had fallen into, becoming one of Marvel’s most maddened, yet unsuspecting, villains yet. At the precipice of the Blood Hunt, Parker’s powers exponentially evolve when Johnny Blaze’s Spirit of Vengeance is stripped from him and chooses The Hood as its newest host.

As of Werewolf by Night #1,it’s hard to say whether The Hood still has his Ghost Rider abilities, as the Ghost Rider: Final Vengeance series is still ongoing. But with or without the Spirit of Vengeance, Parker Robbins remains a ruthless threat. To Robbins, it was magic that granted him his powers, it was magic that granted him his criminal empire, and it was magic that granted him vengeance. Now, Robbins is seeking out the most powerful magical artifact in existence – the Darkhold – and he’s building a new kingdom to obtain it.

The Darkhold is the Most Important Artifact to The Hood’s Kingdom

A Dark Future is Coming to Marvel

Now calling themselves the “Darkholders,” a title used by the elder god Chthon’s oldest worshipers, The Hood and his fledgling kingdom have taken over Transylvania to begin the next stage in their search for the Darkhold. Unfortunately for The Hood, he’s not the only one looking for the eldritch tome of dark magic. The Scarlet Witch currently has Chthon himself trapped within her soul, while Agatha Harkness has unintentionally reared a living embodiment of the Darkhold. Dark powers are slowly amassing in the Marvel Universe, but The Hood and his legion are preparing.

While this is only the beginning of Parker Robbins’ new crusade to achieve magical domination, he has proven himself in recent years to be more than capable of turning dust into empires. As with all great villains, the heroes inevitably win the battle, but with each failure, Robbins learns more and is driven to push harder. Any creature capable of dominating their will over a Spirit of Vengeance, as Robbins has already done, is not one to be taken lightly. With or without his Ghost Rider powers, The Hood’s rapidly evolving dominion should be something to be feared.