Challenger is a demonic supervillain from the Marvel comics. He is an enemy of Ghost Rider, he was an agent of Marvel's "Satan" (Mephisto).
History[]
Ghost Rider and the Son of Satan succeeded in exorcising the demons of Legion from Katy Milner, but then found her surrounded by an impenetrable force field. The Challenger appeared and told the Ghost Rider that he could save Katy's life only if he underwent a challenge without the help of any others. If he failed, he would lose his own soul as well.
The Ghost Rider undertook the challenge, which initially consisted of a variety of stunts, as well as reliving some of his past experiences. He then fought simalacruma of a number of his previous foes, including the Aquarius (The One Man Zodiac), the Miracle Man, Orb, Snake Dance, and the Trapster, and then of his allies, such as the Thing and the Champions of Los Angeles. Ghost Rider was defeated by a kiss from a doppelganger of the Black Widow, which siphoned away his energies.
Blaze awoke in the realm of the Challenger, who revealed his true form, and demanded that Blaze surrender his soul due to his failure. Blaze figured that if Challenger had the power to do so, he could just take Blaze's soul. He refused to surrender and attacked the Challenger. During the course of the battle, he also determined the Challenger was using illusions against him , and that the Challenger was only as powerful as Blaze believed him to be. Ghost Rider blasted the Challenger with hellfire and defeated him, allowing himself to return to Earth unscathed. Upon returning, the force field over Katy faded away, as did her illusionary self, revealing her to be Roxanne Simpson.
Powers and Abilities[]
Challenger had vast mystical powers in line with that of a high-ranking demon, though nowhere near as powerful as a Hell-Lord such as Mephisto.