In order to drum up excitement for Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., which they really need to do given how many people have tuned out of the show lately, Marvel Studios has decided to introduce Ghost Rider in the upcoming fourth season. There’s just one problem – it’s a different take on the character than we’re used to seeing, which means he may not even have his iconic motorcycle to ride on.
Reports coming out of Comic-Con tell us that Marvel won’t give us Johnny Blaze, or even Daniel Ketch. Instead, we’re getting Robbie Reyes, the Marvel NOW! version of Ghost Rider who drives a 1969 Dodge Charger dubbed the Hell-Charger, due to the fact that it’s imbued with hellfire.
Comic Book Resources describes the character as such:
Reyes took up the Ghost Rider following a misunderstanding that resulted in being gunned down in the streets. He was revived by the ghost of Eli Morrow, his estranged uncle and Satanic serial killer. Permanently bonded with the Spirit of Vengeance, Robbie satiates Eli’s thirst for murder by killing only those with truly evil souls. When he is not in his transformed state, Robbie takes care of Gabe, his developmentally disabled brother, and attends high school. This iteration of the character swaps out Ghost Rider’s iconic motorcycle for a sleek black Dodge Charger.
Gabriel Luna will be the man to play Ghost Rider on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and speaking at Comic-Con, Head of Marvel TV, Jeph Loeb, had this to say about the importance of introducing him at this time in the show’s run.
“Season 4 will unquestionably be the series’ biggest, most ambitious story yet, and it all begins with the introduction of one of our greatest legacy characters in Ghost Rider,” Loeb said in a statement. “When the Spirit of Vengeance rides into S.H.I.E.L.D., it’ll change everything.”
While rumors had been pointing to the character appearing on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. for a while now, there were also rumblings that he might show up in his own Netflix series. Personally, I think that would have been a much better option, and would have resulted in a darker and grittier take on the iconic anti-hero – one that probably would have given us Johnny Blaze.
Still, with the rights for Ghost Rider back at Marvel now, we’re excited to see what they do with him. ABC might not be the best place for Reyes to show up (especially since the network is likely to cancel the show if it doesn’t turn things around this season), but we feel pretty confident that at the very least, the results will be better than what we saw from Sony’s two disastrous films featuring the character.