- "My name is Legion. For we are many."
- ―Blackheart[src]
Blackheart was a demon and the son of Mephistopheles.
After Blackheart escaped from Hell, he came to Earth in order to find the Contract of San Venganza; so he could overthrow his father, Mephistopheles and become the new ruler of Hell.
Blackheart eventually got into a confrontation with Johnny Blaze, the new Ghost Rider, after kidnapping Johnny's girlfriend, Roxanne Simpson; in order to force Johnny to get him the Contract of San Venganza.
After Blackheart got the Contract of San Venganza, he summoned the 1,000 condemned human souls and absorbed them into himself; becoming Legion. With 1,000 souls, Blackheart was vulnerable to Ghost Rider's penance stare; which ultimately led to his death at the hands of the fiery skeletal entity.
Biography[]
Ghost Rider[]
Blackheart escapes the Underworld to cause chaos in the surface world and overthrow his father. He takes over a bar in the middle of the desert and summons forth the Hidden. After Mephistopheles finds out about his escape, he sends Ghost Rider out to bring Blackheart back. Each time, Ghost Rider lets Blackheart get away while destroying a member of the Hidden.
After every member of the Hidden was destroyed, Blackheart decides to destroy Ghost Rider himself, killing Johnny's best friend in the process. Johnny turns into Ghost Rider and attempts to perform the Penance Stare on him but fails due to Blackheart having "no soul to burn". Blackheart then kidnaps Roxanne and tells Johnny to bring the contract of San Venganza in exchange for her. Johnny goes to San Venganza with the contract but instead of handing it over, he attempts to kill Blackheart.
During the battle with Ghost Rider, Blackheart manages to subdue him long enough to get the contract and summon the souls to absorb them. With the 1,000 souls within him, he turns into Legion. Ghost Rider realizes that he can now preform the Penance Stare on Blackheart due to him being filled with the condemned souls. Which he uses to take down Blackheart once and for all. After doing so, Mephistopheles arrives and presumably takes his son's catatonic body to the back to Hell.
Character traits[]
Blackheart was a cruel, sadistic and ambitious demon, whose aim was to become the ruler of Hell in place of his father, Mephistopheles.
Blackheart also had no pity or moral values; as he was a brutal and violent entity who only knows hate, fear and cruelty.
Powers and Abilities[]
Powers[]
- Demonic Physiology: As a demon, particularly the son of Mephistopheles; Blackheart was an extremely powerful demonic entity who possessed several physical and supernatural attributes.
- Superhuman Strength: Blackheart was much stronger than normal humans and most other demons. He was able to lift a woman with one hand relatively easily. He was also able to overpower Ghost Rider with little to no effort at all; despite the fact that the latter possesses superhuman strength himself.
- Superhuman Speed: Blackheart was much faster than normal humans and most other demons.
- Superhuman Senses: Blackheart's senses were far more greatly developed than normal humans and most other demons. He was able to sense the fear of other humans.
- Accelerated Healing Factor: Blackheart's metabolism allowed him to heal much faster, more extensively, and efficiently than normal humans and most other demons. After becoming Legion; he was able to reform himself after being tear apart by a shot of hellfire from.
- Superhuman Immunity: Blackheart was completely immune to the effects of holy symbols, grounds and light.
- Immortality: Blackheart was immortal; as he could not be killed by natural means.
- Superhuman Longevity: Blackheart did not visibly age. Despite being born prior to the beginning of time; he still maintained the physical appearance of a man in his prime.
- Telekinesis: Blackheart could telekinetically move objects or other individuals without physically touching them; for example, he was able to cause light to flickering by simply raise his hand.
- Sulfur Poison Touch: Blackheart could "poison" anyone who he touches with sulfur; burning them from the inside.
Former Powers[]
- Superhuman Immunity: Blackheart was completely immune to the effects of Ghost Rider's penance stare; because he had no soul to burn; until he became Legion and gained 1,000 condemned souls.
- Immortality: Blackheart was immortal; as he could not be killed by supernatural means; until he became Legion.
Weaknesses[]
- Limited Immortality: After Blackheart became Legion; he became vulnerable to supernatural means; which ultimate lead to the demon's death at the hands of Ghost Rider.
Relationships[]
- Mephistopheles - Father turned enemy; deceased.
- Danny Ketch - Half-brother.
- Johnny Blaze/Ghost Rider - Enemy.
- Zarathos - Enemy.
- Carter Slade - Enemy.
- Gressil - Minion; deceased.
- Wallow - Minion; deceased.
- Abigor - Minion; deceased.
Appearances/Actors[]
- Earth-121347 (1 film)
- Ghost Rider (First appearance) - Wes Bentley
Behind the scenes[]
- Wes Bentley was introduced to director Mark Steven Johnson by Colin Farrell, who worked with the latter in Daredevil.
- Robin Atkin Downes voiced an alternate version of Blackheart in the video game Ghost Rider. The game is not considered canon to Earth-121347.
- In the video game, Blackheart takes on both his human look and demon form from the comics.
- At his neck, he has a black scarf which was not originally part of the costume. Wes Bentley had an open chest with hair and the filmmakers wanted to shave it off and Bentley didn't want to shave it. The filmmakers made a compromise to make a black scarf to cover up his chest hair.
Trivia[]
- In the movie, Blackheart only assumes his human appearance, seen during his first comic book appearance in Daredevil. In the comics, Blackheart's true form is that of a large, black demon with tentacles or quills for "hair", blank glowing red eyes, and a long tail. However, even in the film, he sometimes shows demonic features.
- After becoming Legion, Blackheart's skin turns dark blue, shows sharp fangs and has glowing red eyes; looking a bit more similar to his comic book counterpart.
- The name "Legion", as well as his first sentence ("My name is Legion, for we are many") is taken from the "Gospel of Mark".
- Mark Steven Johnson was impressed by Wes Bentley’s performance in American Beauty and hired Bentley for the role.
- The makeup process for Blackheart took an hour and a half.
- Whenever he gets angry, his voice is digitally altered with animal sounds, including that of a baby jaguar.
- During some of filming, Wes Bentley had laryngitis.