Characters / Saints and Sinners

This is a list of characters as they appear in Saints and Sinners. For information of characters as they appear in Worm, go here.

Work in progress

---

The Ghost Riders

Ghost Riders in general

The bounty hunters employed by Mephisto. With few exceptions, each member made a Deal with the Devil and became subsequently bound to a Spirit of Vengeance. In the cape community, they're regarded as the boogeymen of the cape world for their accomplishments and disregard for the "unwritten rules" and cape engagement overall.

---

• Collective Identity: Before Brimstone, it was initially assumed that there was only one Ghost Rider. As both the arc and certain interludes later reveal, however, there are multiple Ghost Riders, with Taylor being the Ghost Rider of Brockton Bay.
• Curbstomp Battle: Due to them being the strongest capes in the setting. At least one of them humbled Eidolon with a hellfire-infused shotgun blast point-blank to the face, another reportedly fought Behemoth in Cairo single-handedly and even turned sand into glass, and yet another fought Leviathan and left it scarred.
• Dark Is Not Evil: Although they're bound to demons and attack anyone considered a sinner, regardless if they're a civilian or a hero and otherwise, they still fight to protect innocent lives and are more akin to being Terror Heroes.
• Dem Bones: So far, all of them share two distinct characteristics: they either drive a Cool Car or Cool Bike, or ride a Cool Horse, and they're skeletons who are perpetually on fire. This plays into why it's initially believed the Ghost Rider is a single person as multiple people sharing the exact same powerset is unheard of.
• Outside-Context Problem:
  • Unlike normal capes, the Ghost Riders use demonic powers, allowing them to bypass, shrug off, or ignore the effects of most superpowers. Examples include burning through Grue's shadows, grabbing Shadow Stalker while she is in shadow forn, punching through Glory Girl's forcefield while it is up, and leaving hellfire burns that Panacea's powers not only can't heal, but don't even recognize as injuries. They also predate the arrival of Scion.
  • All of the Ghost Riders are this to Cauldron, being called "aberrations" and being outright immune to Contessa's "Path to Victory". This makes them a wild and unpredictable variable, with Taylor being an especially aggravating Spanner in the Works that forces Rebecca to shut down the experiment in Brockton Bay.
• Shrouded in Myth: Very little is known about them, with some (correctly) believing them to be a demon, and Wakanda had a legend that is a fairly accurate summation of what they are (someone who has sold their soul to gain the power to enact vengeance and protect others) and where they come from (the legend stated the man who became a fire demon made a deal with a red-eyed crow, who is obviously Mephisto).

Brockton Bay Ghost Rider

Taylor Hebert

A 15-year-old girl living in the city of Brockton Bay. Three years ago, she went missing after a car crash involving her mother and best friend. She is the current host of Zarathos, a Spirit of Vengeance and the Brockton Bay Ghost Rider.

---

• Adaptational Angst Upgrade: On the one hand, Taylor got powers three years before the unfortunate locker incident and Emma hasn’t turned into a raging bitch. On the other hand, she's a Broken Bird thanks to Zarathos using her body to take down and/or kill any sinner he can get his hands on.
• And I Must Scream: When explaining to the heroes about her powers, Taylor states that she has no say in what she can do because she's not the one in control. As she puts it when Zarathos takes the driver seat, she doesn't get the passenger or shoved in the backseat. She's shoved and locked inside the trunk and can't do a damn thing about it. It's later revealed that this is because she got Zarathos from Robbie rather than Mephisto: Mephisto puts "leashes" on the Spirits of Vengeance, which both allows the host to retain control and keeps the Spirit from burning out the host's body. Mephisto finally fixes this in Brimstone 3.e, allowing Taylor to not only control the Spirit, but actually use some of its power without transforming.
• Anti-Hero: By virtue of being a Ghost Rider.
• Broken Bird: Spending three years as Zarathos' host has done her no favors. Taylor not only had to run away from home out of fear for her friends and parents, but her attempts to try and get Zarathos to stop or dial back ended in failure as he punished sinners with some serious crimes, including people who weren't capes. By the time she's in Protectorate custody, the only time she tried (and succeeded) in stopping him was when Zarathos had Victor and Othalla dead to rights. Her attitude in With a Vengeance hasn't changed much either despite Zarathos now leashed and in full control of her powers, as she's gotten so used to Zarathos doing things she pursues his way of punishing criminals and sinners.
• Dark Is Not Evil: While she's one of the most feared capes in the U.S. and part of a vicious group of supernaturally-empowered vigilantes, Taylor is genuine about her desire to help people. The problem is that Zarathos showed her the absolute worst in people.
• The Dreaded: She and the other Ghost Riders are feared across the globe for being among the strongest capes to ever exist, and for managing to fight the Endbringers on equal footing. In her hometown of Brockton Bay, Taylor is especially feared among the cape population.
• Everyone Has Standards: Broken and jaded as she is, Taylor still has some lines she refuses to cross. Finding out Othalla is pregnant with Victor's child is enough to make her fight back and wrestle control back from Zarathos, if only for a brief moment of time.
• Hellbent For Leather: She wouldn't be a Ghost Rider without one of their signature leather jackets. It also comes with a hood.
• Hero with Bad Publicity: She already got the short end of the stick thanks to being saddled with Zarathos. It gets worse when Piggot, reluctantly following orders from Chief-Director Costa-Brown, outs her as a murderer to the BBPD.
• Inadequate Inheritor: Zarathos views her as such compared to Johnny Blaze, citing her resistance to unleashing his power and letting him have more control, and her defeats at the hands of both Overkill and Vengeance. Carter Slade, meanwhile, hopes she's this, as he really doesn't want to see another Johnny Blaze.
• Mistaken Identity: Due to being Zarathos' host, Vengeance mistakes her for Johnny Blaze and hunts her down. It isn't until after she returns to normal that Vengeance realizes she's not Johnny. He is not happy when he realizes this.
• Took a Level in Cynic: Taylor's experiences as the Ghost Rider have done her no favors thanks to Zarathos, and is under the impression that no one is capable of saving her, not even the heroes.
• Vocal Dissonance: Only while in Ghost Rider form. While in that form, there is nothing to indicate that she is female other than her voice. Combined with the fact that neither she nor Zarathos bothered speaking as Ghost Rider until very recently, this causes people to be surprised by the fact that the flaming skeleton biker has a somewhat feminine voice.
• Weak, but Skilled: Downplayed. With a Vengeance shows that in comparison to Zarathos, who was largely uncontested in Brockton Bay and curb-stomped everything that came his way, Taylor's outing as the Ghost Rider leaves much to be desired as she struggles to beat Overkill, a soulless Cape-53, and gets the crap kicked out of her by Vengeance. While she shows herself to be a quick learner on how to wield the powers of the Spirits of Vengeance, she's otherwise outclassed by her older counterparts.

Zarathos

A demon from hell and Spirit of Vengeance, and among the most powerful. Previously bonded to Johnny Blaze and Robbie Reyes, the latter transferred Zarathos to Taylor for unknown reasons, leading her to become the Brockton Bay Ghost Rider.

---

• The Ace: Bar none one of the most powerful Spirits of Vengeance, to the point that Word of God says that Mephisto absolutely refuses to allow him to run around without a "leash" out of fear of what he might do. Unfortunately for Taylor, this power means that people able to host him are few and far between, and Mephisto needs Zarathos right now, as every other Ghost Rider that has tried to take down the Hellfire Club has ended up dead or worse.
• Berserk Button: Zarathos really hates Mephisto. Upon smelling the devil of contracts somewhere in the city, he starts screaming in rage, and when Mephisto prepares to "leash him", he threatens to flay his skin and wear it like a robe.
• The Chessmaster: The entirety of Zarathos' career in Brockton Bay since bonding to Taylor was part of a plan to kill Coil after his previous attempts ended in failure. In short, he raised enough hell that another Ghost Rider would come to investigate, and since Coil was part of Mephisto's blacklist, they would be obligated to hunt him down as well. All Zarathos had to do after that was get inside the Rig.
• The Corruptor:
  • He's this to Taylor. She initially tried to get him to stop or tone himself down early in their career, but he ignored all those attempts and showed her some of the most vile sinners he came across, up to and including a school teacher who abused his wife and son as well as a dirty cop who raped a poor girl in an alley and left her there for someone else to have fun with. After six months, Taylor stopped trying and let him did as he pleased. At least until she learned Othalla was pregnant. This continues in With a Vengeance where despite now fully in control as the Brockton Bay Ghost Rider, Taylor follows Zarathos' way of doing things when it comes to punishing sinners, criminals, and so on and is disgusted with herself.
  • Zarathos can corrupt anything he touches with hellfire, changing and molding them to suit his needs. He modifies Chris' Alternator Cannon into a hellish railgun and later gets himself a new Hellcycle after stealing a tinkertech bike from a reformed Squealer.
• Even Evil Has Standards:
  • Either this or Characterization Marches On, but the first chapter of the fanfic has a fresh Empire recruit recount how the Brockton Bay Ghost Rider subjected his buddies to the Penance Stare, but settled for beating the shit out of him instead.
  • He is capable of showing mercy to a degree, especially towards younger criminals. While he will still beat them up and often penance stare them, he is far more likely to spare them than adult sinners, as seen with the Undersiders, Rune, and Squealer. Taking into account Purity, it seems he is more likely to spare those he knows will genuinely reform.
• Good Is Not Nice: Okay, good is REALLY stretching it when it comes to Zarathos as he takes great pleasure in punishing sinners of all kinds and calling him a "hero" is even more far-fetched, but he otherwise sticks to dealing with criminals and demons and protects innocent people from them. He shows his current host little respect and calls her weak, all but demanding she let him take back the reigns so he can destroy their enemies.
• Hidden Depths:
  • Despite what Taylor thinks, Zarathos is far from a mindless brute who gets off on punishing sinners. Early in the first chapter, a fresh Empire recruit was spared from the Penance Stare whereas his buddies were, showing he does have some level of restraint. He's also capable of forming complicated plans, as his three-year rampage across Brockton Bay was to attract the presence of another Ghost Rider so they could kill Coil. Mephisto is quite surprised that Zarathos was capable of such restraint, wondering if it was Robbie or Taylor who he learned it from.
  • He's also apparently developed a "taste for the finer things" during his time with Johnny. Like Armsmaster and Gearbox's prototype tinkertech Cool Bike.
• Insistent Terminology: He always refers to Vengeance as Badilino, a previous host who ended up merging with Vengeance over their shared hatred of Zarathos and Johnny Blaze.
• Knight Templar: Easily one of the most dedicated to the task of punishing sinners, and a job he takes great joy in doing.
• Playing with Fire: And hellfire at that, what with him being a demon from hell and all.
• Really 700 Years Old: As a demon from Hell, Zarathos has been around for God knows how long. In his talk with Taylor, Zarathos states he's been around since "the dawn of time" and witnessed not only the fall of Lucifer but also Satan being crowned the king of Hell.
• Used to Be a Sweet Kid: Heavily downplayed. Word of God is that Zarathos was already a vicious Spirit of Vengeance. Bonding to Johnny Blaze and said host rubbing off on him somehow made him even worse.
• Villainous Friendship: Inasmuch as a Spirit Of Vengeance is capable of friendship, it's implied he and Johnny complemented each other well. Too well. He's audibly saddened when informing Vengeance that Johnny is dead.

Johnny Blaze

Johnny Blaze

The previous host to Zarathos before Robbie (and consequently, Taylor). Has not appeared in the story, and his fate is unknown for now, but the way others speak of him suggest he was one of the most brutal Ghost Riders in recent memory.

---

• Adaptational Villainy: Maybe. It's hard to say when he hasn't appeared as of yet, but the way those who knew him talk make him sound significantly less heroic than most depictions, or at least more brutal. When describing Johnny in With a Vengeance, Mephisto says he was a "mean son of a bitch". Word of God is that, for as bad as Zarathos is, "he got a whole lot worse when he found a partner in Johnny Blaze". Zarathos even tells Vengeance that, even if he hadn't become a Ghost Rider, Johnny was bound for Hell when he died.
• The Dreaded: The suggestion that Taylor may be "another Johnny Blaze" distresses both Mephisto and Carter alike; the devil himself and a century-old Ghost Rider are that concerned that anyone like him could be Zarathos' new host.
• The Ghost: Pun not intended. He hasn't been the Ghost Rider for some time and has not appeared beyond a few mentions by characters, and it's uncertain whether he's still alive. With a Vengeance 3 reveals he's been dead fifteen years.
• Noodle Incident: Whatever he did to Michael Badilino when he was alive was so bad that both he and his Spirit of Vengeance merged through their combined hatred of Johnny and Zarathos respectively. Taylor asks Zarathos what Johnny did to piss them off, but Zarathos dismisses her by saying it's irrelevant, much to her annoyance.
• Posthumous Character: According to Zarathos, Johnny died fifteen years before the start of the story and is currently in Hell.

The Phantom Rider

Carter Slade

A cowboy from the bygone days when the United States sought to expand out to the frontier. Initially an outlaw who protected the frontier from ner-do-wells, he became a Ghost Rider to save the life of his brother Lincoln.

---

• Adaptational Backstory Change: Downplayed. Much of Carter's backstory is still very much the same as it was from the comics he originated from. The diverging point was the confrontation with Reverend Reaper, where Lincoln is the one caught in the cave-in and Carter begrudgingly accepts a deal from Mephisto to save his life.
• Big Damn Heroes: Saves Dinah from Coil's mercenaries, preventing her capture while Tattletale, Chariot, Circus, and Trainwreck are robbing the bank.
• Cool Old Guy: He's pushing well past his prime, but any disadvantage or handicaps he might have is mitigated by virtue of being a Ghost Rider.
• Composite Character: This iteration of the character is a mix of his comic book self and the Caretaker. He was the Phantom Rider up until the confrontation with Reverend Reaper and Mephisto offered him a deal to save his brother's life, adopting the Caretaker's Ghost Rider form (with his clothes being altered by the Spirit of Vengeance's corrupting powers).
• Light Is Good: He was this back during his days as the Phantom Rider. It's since become Dark Is Not Evil due to the powers of the Spirit of Vengeance influencing his attire.
• Older Than They Look: Carter doesn't look young, be he certainly doesn't look like he's over a century old, which he is.
• Spanner in the Works: Carter's interference costs Coil the opportunity to kidnap Dinah for her powers. His presence in Brockton Bay isn't chalked up to coincidence, either; Zarathos was raising hell and purposely dragging out the conflict in Brockton Bay to catch Mephisto's attention since Coil's powers prevented Zarathos from capturing and subjecting the villain to the Penance Stare.

Robbie Reyes

Robbie Reyes

Zarathos' previous host. A young man driven by grief and rage at the injustice of his younger brother's death, Robbie Reyes willingly became a Ghost Rider, perhaps one of the most successful among his peers for having killed the Slaughterhouse Nine.

---

• Adaptational Superpower Change: Rather than being a Ghost Rider In Name Only like in All-New Ghost Rider, Robbie is a legitimate Ghost Rider and was even Zarathos' host for a time. Unlike in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., however, he made a deal with Mephisto.
• Ambiguous Situation: It's unclear what happened to him after giving Zarathos to Taylor.
• Cool Car: Drives a Dodge Charger R/T as his vehicle of choice.
• Curbstomp Battle: His "fight" with the Slaughterhouse Nine was little more than a joke, with the only ones even remotely able to give him some level of difficulty being Mannequin and the Siberian.
• Dark Is Not Evil: He's perhaps the most standout example among the Ghost Riders, being clad in leather and dressed in dark clothes, and while driven by revenge, he still holds a great deal of compassion as he saves and embraces a tearful and sobbing Riley after murdering the Nine.
• Good Samaritan: Zigzagged. Annette and Danny Hebert see him as one, even if they never interacted with Robbie, as he was the one who pulled Annette and Emma from the wreckage. Taylor, on the other hand, thinks the opposite since he dumped Zarathos onto her after bringing her back to life.
• Hero of Another Story: Robbie's exploits as a Ghost Rider and Zarathos' then host aren't very detailed, but he is the central focus of God's Gonna Cut You Down, which details how he met Mephisto and his subsequent murder of the Slaughterhouse Nine.
• Revenge: Part of the reason he accepted Mephisto's deal in the first place.
• Unwitting Instigator of Doom: His passing on of Zarathos saved Taylor's life, but because Mephisto wasn't involved in the transfer, it removed the "leash" from Zarathos, allowing the spirit to take over Taylor's body for several years until Mephisto finally intervened.

Ghost Panther

T'Challa

A member of the original Wards under Hero, better known to the public as Panther. Some years prior to the start of the story, T'Challa attempted to defeat the African Warlords and was believed to have died, only to later resurface as a new Ghost Rider.

---

• Amicable Exes: With Miss Militia, who T'Challa was in a relationship with during their Ward days. Both are happy to see each other, and when T'Challa asks if they can start their relationship again, Miss Militia seems willing to.
• Birds of a Feather: He and Miss Militia are both war orphans from another country who became capes in the United States.
• Dark and Troubled Past: In Saints and Sinners, Wakanda was razed to the ground by the Chinese Union-Imperial as part of their attempts to expand. The whole affair is implied to be when T'Challa triggered, and turned into a war orphan that was saved by Hero in the aftermath.
• Dark Is Not Evil: Perhaps the most blatant example. He's a Ghost Rider, yes, but T'Challa stands out as the most heroic and uses the power of the Ghost Rider in a more tamed manner than the others and has become a beacon of hope for the people of Africa. Even before he became a Ghost Rider, his costume was mostly black, and he was extremely heroic.
• Fighting for a Homeland: While he is primarily fighting the Warlords to free the people of Africa, he also wants to take back what little remains of Wakanda, and rebuild his homeland.
• Heroic Sacrifice: A variant. Mephisto makes it clear that, should he agree to become a Ghost Rider, he will go to Hell after he dies, no matter how good he is otherwise. For T'Challa, having the power to help Africa makes that price well worth it.
• Not Quite Dead: It was believed that T'Challa died four years ago. Shortly after Taylor turned herself over to the Protectorate ENE, however, he resurfaced in grand fashion by defeating Moord Nag on live television, and with the power of the Ghost Rider to boot.
• The Paragon Always Rebels: T'Challa willingly left the Protectorate to defeat the African Warlords.
• Rebel Leader: He is the leader of a rebellion against the various Cape Warlords in Africa.
• Right Under Their Noses: After he was nearly killed, his followers hid him in the last place the Warlords would think to look for him: a public hospital.
• Royals Who Actually Do Something: He is the son and heir of Wakanda's last chief, a superhero, and a freedom fighter.

Vengeance

Vengeance/Michael Badilino

Considered "the worst" among the Ghost Riders, this Spirit of Vengeance originally possessed an unknown man before seemingly jumping into a new host in the form of a beat cop in Chicago. Now he hunts Taylor, the current host of Zarathos.

---

• Always Someone Better: Zarathos' muses Vengeance is obsessed with proving his superiority to him and Johnny Blaze.
• Demonic Possession: At the start of With a Vengeance, he jumps into a cop named Sean Howard after his previous host dies.
• Dumb Muscle: Vengeance may be strong, as most Spirits of Vengeance are, but he isn't the brightest. He refuses to accept that Johnny Blaze is dead on the basis that he saw Johnny in Hell, despite Zarathos pointing out that Ghost Riders go to Hell when they die, and Johnny was a bad enough person that he would have been hellbound regardless of if he became a Ghost Rider or not, so of course he would have seen him there.
• Merger of Souls: The current Vengeance is actually a merger of Vengeance and Michael Badilino, one of his previous hosts, brought on by their shared hatred of Johnny Blaze and Zarathos.
• One Degree of Separation: Word of God states Vengeance was the one Assault met back in his Madcap days, as in the one who beat him senseless and would have killed him were it not for Battery.
• The Power of Hate: While other Ghost Riders tap into this, Vengeance is especially driven by it. His hatred for Zarathos was so great, in fact, it led to a Merger of Souls between him and his former host Michael Badilino, who shared the same amount of hate for Johnny Blaze.
• Unknown Rival: If Zarathos is to be believed, Vengeance considers himself superior to the much stronger Spirit of Vengeance and wishes to prove this fact. Zarathos, meanwhile, considers him barely worth his notice.

Alejandra Jones

Alejandra Jones

A Ghost Rider whom Alec encounters in Boston, and the deuteragonist of the side-story Come Hell or High Water.

---

• Action Girl: In the same vein as Taylor, being a fellow female Ghost Rider.
• Cool Bike: She would not be a Ghost Rider otherwise. Even Alec, who admits to knowing zilch about motorcycles, can't deny it's sexy. He's not wrong, either; Alejandra's bike is a Multistrada 1200.
• Establishing Character Moment: Her first scene shows her being accosted by a bunch of thugs in full view of Alec, seemingly more annoyed by their presence than anything else. Her second appearance sees her storm the nightclub Royale and turns into a Ghost Rider in full view of civilians while interrogating a demon disguised as a human.
• Mugging the Monster: Three thugs make the mistake of hassling her at a gas station. In return, Alejandra beats the crap out of them off-screen.

Ghost Rider 2077

David Martinez/Ghost Rider 2077

The protagonist of the Saints and Sinners 2077 side-story. In another world and place, this budding streetkid lives in the crime-infested Night City. Originally no more than a mere student at Arasaka Academy, David's life takes a turn when he and his mother are caught in a car crash but remembers nothing about that day. That very same day, a cyberpsycho bearing a skeletal visage wreathed in fire appears, hunting down members of the Animals.

---

• The Dreaded: Not him, but his predecessor. Per Word of God, Ghost Rider 2077 was a legendary, if not infamous figure during the Time of the Red who raised absolute hell in Night City and on the megacorporations, posing such a threat that Militech and Arasaka pulled an Enemy Mine to get rid of him. When the Spirit of Vengeance possessing David announces his return by searing a message into the Blackwall, even the likes of Saburo Arasaka are put on edge.
• Hero of Another Story: Per Word of God, he's a member of the Spirits of Vengeance, though given that the world of Cyberpunk is separate from the Worm multiverse, it raises the question of how David came to be possessed by a SoV.
• He's Back!: The Spirit of Vengeance within David announces its return in spectacular fashion by searing a message of fire into the Blackwall, shocking and horrifying everyone who learns of it.
  I
  RIDE
  AGAIN
• Laser-Guided Amnesia: David virtually remembers nothing about the day of the car crash beyond going to school. When he wakes up the next day, he's experiencing what he considers a hangover and finds his and Gloria's apartment totally thrashed.
• My God, What Have I Done?: In #1 of the side-story, Lucy finds David in the aftermath of his encounter with Katsuo, admitting to having killed him in a fit of rage. While Katsuo is definitely an Asshole Victim, David is remorseful as he never meant to kill his bully, and by doing so, he's rendered Gloria's hard work in getting him into Arasaka Academy All for Nothing.

Parahuman Response Team (PRT)

Protectorate

Polaris

Kayden Anders

A former member of the Empire Eighty-Eight and ex-wife of Max Anders. Following her encounter with the Brockton Bay Ghost Rider and suffering the Penance Stare, she joined the Protectorate as a probationary member.

---

• Adaptational Heroism: Joined the Protectorate after surviving the Penance Stare.
• Heel–Faith Turn: Aside from her turn to heroism, Kayden is implied to have turned to Christianity. When meeting Grue, he notices the cross hanging from her neck.
• Light Is Good: Her new cape name as a Protectorate member refers to a star in the Big Dipper Constellation, and with her turn to heroism, her powers and motifs all count as this.
• Meaningful Rename: "Polaris" is the name of the outermost star in the Big Dipper constellation, also known as the North Star.
• My God, What Have I Done?: The Penance Stare enforced this on her by making her live and suffer the pain she inflicted on others hurt by her hands, including mothers she killed either directly or accidentally. This is what primarily sparked her defection.

Wards

Shadow Stalker

Sophia Hess

A member of Winslow High School's track team and a former vigilante. A fan of the Brockton Bay Ghost Rider's activities and a close friend of Emma Barnes.

---

• Adaptation Relationship Overhaul:
  • Since she never met Taylor and the latter has been missing for three years, Sophia knows zilch about her beyond the fact that Emma has been looking for her. That, and Sophia is a huge fan of Taylor's cape persona, even though it's shared between her and Zarathos.
  • A minor case with Emma. So far there's no implication of Sophia being The Corruptor to Emma, and is even romantically attracted to her.
• Adaptational Sexuality: In canon she showed no signs of being anything other than straight, here she admits to being romantically interested in Emma.
• Eating the Eye Candy: Shamelessly admits to watching Trent (i.e. Browbeat) workout while he's topless.
• In Love with Your Carnage:
  • She considers the Brockton Bay Ghost Rider her idol and "ideal", even owning several newspaper clippings about their activities. Unsurprisingly, this played a role in the PRT forcing her into the Wards.
  • Sophia admits to Missy in Fistful of Embers that she all but fell in love with Emma after watching her punch an ABB thug in the face.

Grue

Brian Laborn

A founding member of the Undersiders and former freelance villain-for-hire. After a run-in with the Brockton Bay Ghost Rider, he joined the Wards.

---

• Dark Is Not Evil: His power and motif after he joins the Wards as a probationary member. It's also worth noting that Grue prided himself for never getting any civilians caught in his heists. Unknowingly learning an old man did die during one of them via the Penance Stare is what elicits his Heel–Face Turn.
• Oh, Crap!: During the ABB gang war, he freaks out when he hears the apartment caught in the bombing is the same one Aisha lives in. Fortunately she makes it out alive as seen in the PHO post at the start of Brimstone.
• My God, What Have I Done?: Finding out via the Penance Stare that he accidentally got an old man during a prior heist shook him considerably. Enough that he contemplated turning himself over to the PRT and joined the Wards. His conversation with Lisa helped solidify his Heel–Face Turn.

Villains

Coil

Thomas Calvert

A mysterious villain shrouded in mystery with eyes and ears seemingly all around Brockton Bay. He is Zarathos' main target during his three-year stay in the city.

---

• Asshole Victim: Zarathos burns him alive with hellfire while Carter subjects him to the Penance Stare. After which he's sent to hell offscreen. Considering what he was planning to do with Dinah and his treatment of Lisa, it really couldn't have happened to a nicer guy.
• Fate Worse than Death: As if being subjected to the Penance Stare and being burned in hellfire all at once wasn't bad enough, he's also dragged to Hell as evident by Mephisto calling "Beelze" to prepare a "table for one" and how he wants his guest to enjoy his stay.
• Oh, Crap!: He immediately starts to panic when Zarathos takes control of Taylor after sensing Carter's presence in the city and the former starts hunting Calvert.
• Pragmatic Villainy: Calvert's quick to realize that his usual schemes and plans will not work against the Brockton Bay Ghost Rider, given their status as a literal walking force of nature that steamrolls over everyone. As such, he's forced to reorganize his plans to instead work around them, for all the good it does him.
• There Is No Kill Like Overkill: On the receiving end of this. Zarathos and Carter corner him in both timelines, one subjecting him to the Penance Stare and the other burning him alive in scorching hellfire.
• Villainous Breakdown: He was already panicking after Zarathos busts out of the Cell, but was confident he could escape him because of his powers. He's quickly disabused of this notion when Carter corners him in his second timeline while Zarathos has him dead to rights in the primary one and can only beg for mercy.
• Villains Want Mercy: Zarathos corners him in the active timeline and prepares to end him, so he tries pleading for his life. Predictably, Zarathos isn't having any of it.

Mephistopheles

Mephisto

A high-ranking devil in Hell and the Ghost Riders' employer. With certain exceptions, he handpicked each of them and tasks them with hunting down sinners, those who have tried to skimp out on their deals, or individuals in his "blacklist".

---

• Deal with the Devil: Mephisto's bread and butter. Surprisingly, he's quite upfront about what his deals entail and makes it a point to tell the people he's offering power to that, once they agree to the deal, he will effectively own them even after their death. Because Taylor didn't receive Zarathos via a deal with him, he is willing to take him back without also taking her soul...so long as she takes care of the Hellfire Club for him first.
• Demonic Possession: Takes over Emma's body, with the latter's consent, under the promise of removing Zarathos from Taylor.
• Loophole Abuse: Exploits one in his more recent deal. Emma made a contract with him, asking him to remove Zarathos from Taylor. Mephisto originally intended to honor his bargain until he saw Taylor's potential and "leashed" Zarathos instead. Mephisto even admits to using this trope, but also states he honors every deal he's made. In Emma's case, though, he never specified when he would remove Zarathos.
• Red Eyes, Take Warning: Prior to his official introduction in Robbie's interlude God's Gonna Cut You Down, he was called the Red-Eyed Man. He's in charge of finding potential recruits for the Ghost Riders, and is essentially a giant blind spot in Contessa's Path to Victory as it cannot or is unable to acknowledge his presence at all. In the Wakandan legend of the fire demon, he appeared as a red-eyed crow.

The Hellfire Club

In General

• Adaptational Backstory Change: In the Marvel comics, the Hellfire Club was a secret society primarily associated with the X-Men. In ''Saints and Sinners', they're devil-worshipping villains whose members comprise of people who made contracts with devils and rogue demons. Among their number is Satana Hellstrom, a character in the comics who has zero relation to the Hellfire club in the comics.
• Big Bad: They're the main antagonists of Taylor's overall story arc, as Mephisto promises he'll remove Zarathos from her if she deals with them.
• Deal with the Devil: Some of their members consist of people who've made these with the demons of hell. This is also why Mephisto sends Taylor after them, as they have yet to fulfill their end of the bargain or reneged on the deal.
• The Dreaded: They're spoken of with the same vile and revulsion as the Slaughterhouse Nine, if not worse. Mephisto reveals that they've even killed some of the Ghost Riders he's sent after them.
• Fate Worse than Death: It isn't made clear what exactly happened, but Mephisto states that every Ghost Rider he's sent after them is either dead or worse.
• Outside-Context Problem: Much like the Ghost Riders, they use magic and demonic powers rather than ordinary superpowers, making them extremely dangerous to both capes and Ghost Riders.

Satana Hellstrom / The Devil's Daughter

Satana Hellstrom/The Devil's Daughter

A member of the Hellfire Club.

---

• Adaptational Villainy: Downplayed. Whether Satana was an Anti-Hero or a full-blown villain was Depending on the Writer. Saints and Sinners has her as a clear-cut villain.
• Arc Villain: Alongside Vengeance, she's the main antagonist of the With a Vengeance arc.

Other Characters

Jean-Paul Vasil

Jean-Paul "Alec" Vasil

A former member of the Undersiders and child of Heartbreaker. After surviving the Penance Stare at the hands of the Brockton Bay Ghost Rider, he leaves the group and heads for Boston.

---

• Adaptational Badass: Implied. Alec's power seems to have grown in some capacity, as he's now capable of picking up certain details and information about anyone he touches. Delilah, the waitress at the diner he lets hitchhike with him, is described as a "broken girl" and even outed as a parahuman by his power when he touches her hand.
• Bystander Syndrome: Subverted. When Alec comes across Alejandra being accosted by a bunch of thugs, he chooses to instead walk away. While this is done because he doesn't want to attract attention or because he doesn't see what he'd get out of saving her, neither Alec northe thugs never realize the latter are antagonizing a Ghost Rider.
• Dramatic Irony: Alec became a sociopath after being subjected to his family's Master powers for countless years. The Brockton Bay Ghost Rider's Penance Stare, an effective Eye Beam Master power all on its own, undoes the mental neutering his family caused.
• Friends with Benefits: Downplayed. While this is his relationship with Delilah in exchange for having free room and board, the closest they've gotten is snuggling and cuddling with each other.
• Heel–Face Brainwashing: Downplayed and definitely a positive example. Thanks to Heartbreaker and being subjected to his siblings' own Master powers, Alec was rendered into sociopathy and couldn't feel anything towards his victims. The Penance Stare unintentionally undoes all that mental damage and makes him more capable of being empathetic. As he was always a Reluctant Psycho at worst, he's probably the least traumatized of any of the Stare's victims and feels a lot happier and more motivated.
• Hero of Another Story: Alongside Alejandra Jones, he's the protagonist of the side-story Come Hell or High Water.
• Redemption Promotion: His Heel–Face Brainwashing also undoes his chronic inability to think in the long term due to curing his sociopathy, and he is a lot more focused and efficient with his power as a result.
• Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Ditches the Undersiders along with Rachel. Unlike her, he opts to skip town altogether and is heading toward Boston for a fresh start.

Daniel Ketch

Daniel Ketch

A man living far away from civilization. Contessa seeks him out per the Red-Eyed Man's advice to seek information about Johnny Blaze.

---

• Ambiguous Situation: It's unclear whether he was a Ghost Rider himself or if he's simply knowledgeable of them. In any case, he knows something about Johnny Blaze that Mephisto points Contessa to him.

Emma Barnes

Emma Barnes

Taylor's childhood friend, who has been looking for her since her disappearance. During the impending gang war with the ABB, she mysteriously goes missing.

---

• Adaptational Badass: Downplayed. When Emma was accosted by a bunch of ABB thugs, she didn't so much as freeze on the spot as she did punch one in the face and break their nose in the process, showing she had quite the backbone.
• Adaptational Nice Guy: Emma is implied to lack of her more negative qualities due to the changed relationship between her, Sophia, and Taylor. She's actually been looking for Taylor ever since her disappearance, and made a Deal with the Devil to try and get Zarathos out of her.
• Adaptation Relationship Overhaul:
  • Emma and Sophia's relationship seems to be the same for the most part, though its implied that the former never came to develop or share the same mindset as Sophia since she was able to stand up for herself and Sophia only got involved in the scuffle because she needed an excuse to give to her superiors for breaking off from patrol. It's unknown whether Emma is aware Sophia actually sees her in a romantic light.
  • Due to Taylor going missing three years ago and Emma being present in the ill-fated car crash that would have robbed Annette Hebert of her life, Emma is still friends with Taylor and has been looking for her. She even took to learning the occult to find some way to separate her from Zarathos.
• Damsel in Distress: In "Deleted Scene: Sophia Hess", Emma is reported missing and is believed to have been kidnapped by a cape. She's actually being possessed by Mephisto.
• Even the Girls Want Her: In Fistful of Embers, Sophia says she likes Emma romantically.
• Red Herring: Initially, it was believed that Emma might have been playing an antagonistic role as Sophia discovered numerous books on demonology and the occult; things associated with the Hellfire Club, a group of Satanic cape villains. In actuality, Emma summoned Mephisto and asked him to help her free Taylor from Zarathos.
• The Smart Guy: Becomes this for Taylor after Mephisto leashes Zarathos, providing her with research and information on her targets. She also managed to figure out what had happened to Taylor and who to summon to fix it.

Delilah

Delilah

A waitress at a diner Alec stops at shortly after he leaves Brockton Bay. She decides to hitch a ride with him when she learns he's heading to Boston.

---

• Friends with Benefits: Downplayed. She's physically intimate with Alec in exchange for offering him a place to sleep in her apartment, but it's the "lovey-dovey" stuff couples do like cuddling, with no sex whatsoever.
• Ms. Fanservice: Her uniform has a small cleavage window, and her skirt is rather short. Alec thinks she's a total bombshell (but finds her voice slightly annoying) and a pair of lechers in the diner claim she has a nice ass.
• The Runaway: If Alec's power is to be believed; it identifies her as a "sad runaway" and "broken girl".

One-Shot Characters

Characters that appear in What If? one-shot chapters that are not part of Saints and Sinners.

Daredevil

Taylor Hebert/Daredevil II

An Alternate Self of the Brockton Bay Ghost Rider from Justice is Blind. Much of Taylor's life is the same as her Worm canon counterpart, save for an incident in her childhood where she saved a man from being run over by an out of control truck. Said truck's cargo spilled over and splashed onto her face, robbing her eyesight in the process...and giving her new abilities in the process.

---

• Action Girl: Shaping up to be this under the original Daredevil's tutelage. When the one-shot catches up to the present day, Kid Win finds the thugs she beat the crap out of.
• Badass Family: Shared between her and Danny, who in the one-shot is a cape.
• Big Damn Heroes: During a girls day out with Emma, Taylor hears a couple of ABB goons coming up to them. The next scene has Emma gushing over how Emma beat the snot out of them to a couple of amused policemen.
• Birds of a Feather: How Taylor winds up befriending and learning under Murdock. Both wound up blind saving someone, and got powers out of the deal.
• For Want Of A Nail: It's all but stated the ABB goons accosting her and Emma are the same ones who terrorized Emma in canon. Taylor's efforts in taking them out are implied to prevent Emma from meeting Sophia, at least in her Shadow Stalker persona.
• Generation Xerox: She's the second Daredevil, inheriting the title from Murdock.
• No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: In her childhood, she saved a man from being run over by a truck. That very same incident robbed her of her eyesight.
• Red Is Heroic: Wears a bright red jacket with a similarly colored mask to go with it.

Matthew "Matt" Murdock

Matt Murdock/Daredevil

An iteration of the Man Without Fear, hailing from Earth-19529. For unexplained reasons, this elderly man traveled to Earth-Bet, having long retired from crime fighting. As luck would have it, the blind girl he's asked to tutor suffered an incident similar to the one in which he got his powers.

---

• Alternate Self: Like other counterparts to the main 616 Murdock. This iteration of Matt is from Earth-19529, i.e. the Life Story timeline.
• Cool Old Guy: To Taylor, at least. He helps her with her braille studies, teaches her about how the superhero scene isn't black-and-white and becomes her mentor.
• Retired Badass: Murdock's long since retired from his days as the Man Without Fear, though as shown in his training scene with Taylor, he's still capable of kicking ass.

Spawn

Spawn

Formerly known as Al Simmons of the United States military service, a deal with Malebolgia, one of the rulers of Hell, lead this soldier to become a member of Hell's personal army. Now a Hellspawn, Malebolgia dumps him onto Earth-Bet as part of a plan to test his newest soldier and claim the untouched souls of the Worm multiverse.

---

• Call-Back:
  • Spawn turns Skidmark into his personal "scarecrow" to help prove a point to any other scumbag looking to cause trouble for the homeless in the alley he's holed up in. While skinning him from the neck down refers to his Fatality in Mortal Kombat 11, Spawn's words to Skidmark as he crucifies the poor bastard harken back to what he did to the Corrupt Cop in the HBO series.
    "You wanna scare people? Fine. I need a good scarecrow."
  • Speaking of the HBO series, the homeless man the cops are talking to mentions how Spawn had "more guns than the national guard". This line was also taken from the HBO series; a homeless man comments on Spawn's gun collection after he raided a military base's armory in preparation to go after Overkill.
• Fish out of Temporal Water: According to Word of God, Spawn was dumped in Earth-Bet as part of Malebolgia's plans to test him as well as claim the untouched souls in the Worm multiverse.
• Terror Hero: It's Spawn. Just ask Skidmark after Al got done with him.

---