A New York court has denied the creator of the Ghost Rider character, Gary Friedrich, the rights to the supernatural hero, Film School Rejects is reporting. The writer claimed he only signed away the comic book rights to the character to Marvel. However, he said the rights to any other places in which Ghost Rider appears, including the successful 2007 Nicolas Cage film of the same name and its upcoming sequel, ‘Angel of Vengeance,’ should revert back to him.

Friedrich worked as a freelancer in the early 1970s for the House of Ideas. Part of his work included creating Ghost Rider, a motorcycle stuntman whose soul is taken by the Devil, and as a result, develops a flaming skull to defeat demons. The writer was fine with Marvel using Ghost Rider however they wanted for numerous years, but once the film garnered $230 million, he wanted some of the profit.

But when New York judge Katherine Forrest looked at Friedrich’s contracts with Marvel, she declared that the Ghost Rider rights belonged to the studio and not the writer. Forrest added that the legitimacy of Marvel’s claims “could not be clearer.” So when the studio releases ‘Ghost Rider: Angel of Vengeance’ in February 2012, it won’t have to split its profits with Friedrich.

Written by: Karen Benardello