Plot
The demon Mephisto sends his bounty hunter, the Ghost Rider, to retrieve the contract of San Venganza for control of a thousand dark souls. Seeing that the agreement would give Mephistopheles the power to bring hell to Earth, the Rider refuses and escapes with it.
In 1986, Mephistopheles reaches out to 17-year-old Johnny Blaze, offering to cure his father's cancer in exchange for Johnny's soul. The next morning, Johnny awakens to discover the cancer cured, but his father dies later from burns sustained in a stunt accident. Johnny accuses Mephistopheles of causing his father's death, but Mephistopheles considers his side of the contract fulfilled and promises to see Johnny again as Mephistopheles takes Johnny's soul.
In the present, Johnny has become a famous motorcycle stuntman. He survives a near-fatal crash after leaping over a field of semi trucks. Later, he runs into his ex-girlfriend, Roxanne, who is now a news reporter, and convinces her to attend a dinner date. Meanwhile, Mephistopheles' son Blackheart comes to Earth and seeks aid from the Hidden (three fallen angels bonded with the elements of air, earth, and water) to find the lost contract of San Venganza.
Mephistopheles makes Johnny the new Ghost Rider and offers to return his soul if he defeats Blackheart. Johnny transforms into Ghost Rider, his flesh burning off his skeleton, and kills the earth angel Gressil. He then uses the Penance Stare, a power that causes mortals to feel all the pain and suffering they caused to others, on a street thug, searing his soul. The next day, he meets a man called the Caretaker, who knows about Ghost Rider's history. He assures Johnny that what happened was real and will happen again, especially at night, when he is near an evil soul.
Johnny leaves to find Roxanne, who is reporting the previous night's events on the news. At home, Johnny tries to control his firepower. Roxanne, upset about being stood up, comes to visit before leaving town, and Johnny reveals himself as the Devil's bounty hunter. Unconvinced, she walks away in disbelief. Due to his license plate being discovered at a crime scene, Johnny winds up in prison for murders Blackheart committed. While in prison, Johnny kills several convicts and the air angel Abigor, and then escapes from the police. He returns to Caretaker, who tells him of his predecessor Carter Slade, a Texas Ranger who hid the contract of San Venganza. At home, Johnny discovers that Blackheart has killed his friend Mack and taken Roxanne hostage, intending to kill her if Johnny does not deliver the contract. Blackheart orders Johnny to retrieve the contract and bring it to him in San Venganza.
Johnny returns to Caretaker, demanding the contract to save Roxanne. Caretaker reveals that it is hidden inside a spade. Before giving it to him, he tells Johnny that he is stronger than his predecessors because he sold his soul for love rather than greed. Caretaker reveals that he is actually Carter Slade and leads Johnny to San Venganza. There, he gives Johnny a lever-action shotgun before bidding him farewell. Having finally shaken off the curse, Slade fades into dust as he rides away.
After killing the water angel Wallow, Johnny gives Blackheart the contract. He transforms into Ghost Rider to subdue Blackheart, but is rendered powerless at sunrise. Using the contract to absorb the thousand souls, Blackheart, now calling himself Legion, attempts to finish Johnny off, but is distracted when Roxanne uses Johnny's shotgun to separate them. Johnny shoots Blackheart with the gun, then uses his Penance Stare to render Blackheart catatonic by burning all the corrupt souls within him. Mephistopheles appears and declares the contract is complete, offering to take back the curse of Ghost Rider. Determined not to let anyone else make another deal, Johnny declines, declaring that he will use his power against the demon and against all harm that comes to the innocent. Infuriated, Mephistopheles vows to make Johnny pay and disappears with Blackheart's body. Johnny rides away on his motorcycle, embracing his new life as Ghost Rider.
