Ghost Rider: A Brief History of the Character. Comic Review: The New Ghost Rider

Continuation of the fantastic story "Ghost Rider" created on the basis of the character of the anti-hero from the comics of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

The release date of the film "Ghost Rider 3" has not been set, the production of the third part was stopped, due to low ratings in 2013.

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As we remember, back in 2007, the first film with Nicolas Cage in the title role was released on wide screens, critics literally smeared it on the wall with negative reviews, with a budget of 130 million, the fees amounted to 228 million.

Five years have passed, Columbia Pictures decided to shoot a sequel, inviting the same actor to the main role, but cutting the budget to 57 million.

The second film was also coolly received, it received even more negative reviews, was nominated for the Golden Raspberry Award in the Worst Actor nomination, but fortunately for Cage, he did not win then.

Not to say that the sequel turned out to be completely terrible, in the USA the film paid for itself, and the world box office amounted to 150 million, which is three times the cost.

However, no one is in a hurry to create a triquel, there can be many reasons for the box office, criticism, and the actor himself in an interview expressed his unwillingness to appear in the third part, although he is an ardent fan of the comic book.

But the star "" and "" he does not exclude the release of "Ghost Rider 3" without his participation.

In May 2013, Marvel returned the rights to the franchise, but representatives of the studio said that they did not plan to make another film about the Ghost Rider in the near future.

This is understandable, the series about The Avengers and "" is ahead, in addition, the studio is restarting "Spider-Man" again by buying the rights from Sony Pictures, preparing "", "" and other films.

Fans of the comic book will still be able to meet their hero in the 4th season of the series "", his first appearance was in the fourth series, the ability to turn into a burning skeleton appeared in the mechanic Robbie Reyes.

Plot

The storyline of the film is characterized by the phrase "Once the main character made a deal with the devil for the sake of his father's love."

In the center of the plot is an ordinary guy Johnny Blaze, a motorcycle driver who earns a living by various tricks, just like his father did in his time.

Joni's father is seriously ill and quits his career, then Mephistopheles comes to the still little Blaze and offers to make a deal so that he sells his soul in exchange for his father's recovery.

After some time, dad still dies, and Joni forgets about the terrible contract, but mystical abilities appear in him more and more often.

Ghost rider (Ghost Rider), a symbiosis of a human and a demon, first appeared in Marvel comics in 1972 and quickly gained popularity. The most famous Ghost Rider was John Blaze, an extreme biker and descendant of an ancient family, whose ancestors owned the Medallion of Power, an artifact that Mephisto, the Satan of the Marvel Universe, wanted to get his hands on. John's father died early, and his mother, in an attempt to save her son from a family curse, gave him to a foster family, but later she learned from Mephisto that Johnny was destined to become a Ghost Rider and nothing could change his fate.

Over time, John also lost his foster family - his father, "Crash" Simpson, fell ill with cancer, and his mother died after an unsuccessful trick. John, trying to save his adoptive father, became interested in the occult - and called Mephisto. Mephisto cured Crash of cancer for a fee in exchange for John's soul (Crash died soon after in an accident). Mephisto already wanted to take Blaze's soul, but he was scared away by the power of his pure love, Roxanne, Crash's daughter. And then something strange happened - at night, John began to turn into the Ghost Rider, which greatly amused Mephisto. However, Mephisto's attitude towards this changed when he learned that John began to use his newfound powers to fight evil.

The Ghost Rider boasts superhuman strength (it will definitely lift 25 tons), almost complete invulnerability (only weapons made in Paradise can really injure him), accelerated regeneration (in case they do get hurt). In addition, the Ghost Rider is able to emit hellfire from his hands, eyes, and mouth, capable of burning not only the body, but also the soul. He is armed with a chain that is able to lengthen and almost incapable of breaking, and he can also shoot chains from his mouth. And the Racer's main weapon is the Punishing Gaze, forcing the victim to experience all the pain he has ever caused to others. Few people are able to survive this, but there are characters who are not subject to the Punishing Gaze. Immunity to the Punishing Gaze does not have any regularity - complete psychos, or creatures that believe that the pain they inflicted were of a good nature, or simply very powerful creatures, can have immunity.

Ghost Rider wasn't always a "lone wolf". For some time he was on the Los Angeles Champions team. In addition to Racer, there were Hercules, Angel, Iceman and Black Widow. The team did not last long, and shortly after its dissolution, Ghost Rider began to take control of Blaze's body. However, Blaze found a way to get rid of Zarathos, a demon that embodies the power of vengeance and is the demonic form of the Ghost Rider. He married Roxanne, who bore him two children and they lived happily ever after. Almost.

Danny Ketch and John Blaze

John Blaze learned of the existence of a new Ghost Rider, Dan Ketch, fought him - and became his mentor. It was later revealed that Dan is Blaze's brother. Zarathos returned to John and Blaze became the Ghost Rider again. However, this time, Blaze and Zarathos reconciled over time, and turned into a new, improved and stronger Racer. It was later revealed that the Ghost Rider is not exactly a demon. He is an agent of Paradise. And the fallen angel Zadkiel became his enemy. After a battle with Zadkiel and his Black Pack, Jon once again expelled the Racer from himself, and then merged with him again.

Having managed to stay in "civilian" life as a biker, accountant and actor, Blaze joined the Thunderbolts (Thunderbolts). He managed to get rid of Zarathos again and merge with him again (and more than once), and during one of the skirmishes with the Avengers, Rogue touched Blaze and became the new Racer. Temporarily, until Blaze merged with Zarathos again.

Danny Ketch, Blaze's brother, became the Ghost Rider when he touched the medallion that hung on his motorcycle. This medallion turned out to be an ancient magical artifact. After using the Racer's powers to take revenge on the criminals who killed his sister, Danny unknowingly became "engaged" into this lifestyle and began to "Race" professionally. For some time, he with Wolverine, Spider-Man and the Hulk replaced the Fantastic Four. It was later revealed that it was not Zarathos who "feeded" him, but Noble Cale, Danny and John's ancestor, who became the Spirit of Vengeance. Danny's main enemy was Blackheart, a powerful demon, the son of Mephisto, who dreamed of taking his father's place in Hell.

Over time, Ketch expelled the Ghost Rider from himself, but after that he began to yearn for his former strength. Therefore, he found a way to receive small portions of power from a single magical being, which brought him to "overdose". In an effort to get rid of this scourge, Ketch entered the service of Zadkiel, who tasked Ketch with absorbing the power of all the Ghost Riders from around the world in order to purify their souls. True, Zadkiel did not say that after that he was going to absorb all this power in order to attack Paradise. Blaze had to fight Ketch after he absorbed the powers of several unknown Racers. However, after several skirmishes, Ketch was brainwashed, and both Racers, enlisting the help of the souls of the dead racers, dealt with Zadkiel.

In relatively recent comics, attention has shifted to the new Ghost Rider - Robbie Reyes, who prefers Car Racing. Robbie was a simple street racer, but he became the owner of a car in which a ghost lived. He was killed by mysterious people, then burned, but the ghost from the car moved into Robbie's body and revived him. However, Robbie was in no hurry to fight evil, instead he used the demonic car and acquired skills in order to earn money from street racing. Enraged, Ghost Rider took control of Robbie's body. As it turned out, this Racer is not the Spirit of Vengeance, but a satanic offspring that kills people.

Ghost Rider (Danny Ketch) has appeared in the Hulk and Fantastic Four animated series, in the latter of which he stabbed Galactus with his Punishing Gaze, causing him to nearly die, and Mister Fantastic had to resuscitate him. John Blaze also appears in the animated series The Hulk and the Agents of W.D.A.R., where he won in battle.

Two films were released about the Ghost Rider, in both the role of Johnny Blaze was played by Nicolas Cage, who, by the way, is an ardent fan of comics in general and the Ghost Rider in particular. At the moment, the rights to the character are owned by Marvel Studios, which is in no hurry to prepare a new solo film about the Ghost Rider, but the character appeared in the fourth season of the series "Agents of SHIELD".

Opinion on the comic "The New Ghost Rider" from screenwriter Felipe Smith.

As Ghost Rider prepares to make his series debut "Agents of SHIELD", and Marvel is preparing a new comic about him, there was a great reason to look back just a little bit and remember who he is Robbie Reyes why its Ghost rider not exactly Ghostly, and where at all Johnny Blaze?

New Ghost rider appeared in 2014. Then Marvel was faced with the task of updating, modernizing and rejuvenating the hero for a new generation of readers. That is why it was decided to radically rethink the character. It is natural that the rethinking began with the vehicle. If Johnny Blaze And Danny Ketch switched from horses to motorcycles, then Robbie Reyes sat behind the wheel of a car whose engine and wheels are burning with hellfire. Instead of deals with demons, there is a miraculous resurrection as the start for a ghost race. And the problems Robbie solves are completely different than the previous Racers.

All 12 issues of The New Ghost Rider comic are essentially extended character origins. Great attention has been paid to the fact that Robbie Reyes should be responsible for his incapacitated brother Gabe. It is for the sake of his brother that Robbie is forced to plow at work and participate in races, just to knock out an extra dollar for comics or drugs for Gabe. And besides, Robbie is completely alone. If Peter Parker was Aunt May, and Bruce Wayne If there is Alfred, then Robbie Reyes can only rely on himself in this world. When Reyes is killed due to a combination of circumstances and resurrected by the mysterious spirit of Eli, who grants him the power of the Ghost Rider, the newly minted Rider is in no hurry to be a superhero. Robbie still remembers that his main responsibility is at home, waiting for his brother to play with him. And this is what immediately makes Robbie a rather multifaceted and interesting character with real problems. A teenager who is forced to become an adult not for himself, but for the sake of the one he loves.

But, of course, we open Ghost Rider comics not only for the protagonist's problems. . Mr Hyde, he is Calvin Zabo decided to leave New York, where superheroes are on every corner, to start his march around the world with East Los Angeles. To do this, he created pills that expose those who take them to an uncontrolled and dangerous mutation. With this army of mutants, Zabo is going to prop Los Angeles under him first, and then everything else. It is Hyde / Zabo, as well as his monsters, who will become the first enemies of the Ghost Rider. The funny thing is that Zabo has already met Racer-Blaze before, which he himself recalls when meeting with Robbie. An encounter with Hyde leads to a local war, in the center of which is the new Ghost Rider.

But that's not all the problems. Mysterious Eli, which gave Robbie powers, turns out to be the spirit of a murdered maniac-sadist-Satanist. Having miraculously cheated death, Eli returns with the help of Robbie to the world of people, and, of course, longs for bloody retribution over his offenders. Eli feeds on Robbie's negative feelings, pushing the guy into increasingly dark and creepy things. And the more Robbie gives in to his anger, the closer he is to losing control of himself. It is here that the appearance is perfectly entered Johnny Blaze as Robbie's mentor and mentor. Johnny not only gives Reyes some good advice, but also explains the essence of his power and the difference with his own. It ends on a high note - team-up two Racers.
The comic eventually combines both the fight against monsters and the internal demon, thirsty for blood. And that's not to mention how deeply worked out the life and responsibility of Robbie himself. And all this in the setting of sunny Los Angeles, with gangs, races and a little madness.


The series was developed by three artists Cast: Tradd Moore, Damion Scott and the screenwriter Felipe Smith. Without a doubt, the favorite of the series is the art of Tredd Moore, which perfectly combines hot dynamics and style with a touch of madness inherent in the Ghost Rider. His drawing is full of drive, the action is inventive and beautiful, and every frame with the Racer is so good that you can even hang it on the wall. In second place will be Felipe Smith, whose art, although not distinguished by drive, like Moore's, is not deprived of beauty and accuracy. The outsider in the series is Damion Scott. His drawing is too noisy and sharp, and the wild storyboard only exacerbates the situation, because it makes it even more difficult to navigate where and what happens on the pages of the comic. And this is especially pitiful, because the middle of the series fell under his brush, where there is a team-up with Johnny Blaze. Instead of a beautiful image of two Racers, you will often be forced to look at a mess of black-white-orange colors.

If you want to get acquainted with the comics, then we hasten to please you, because the publishing house "Comme il faut" published all 12 issues in 2 paperback volumes. In the first volume you will find a gallery of covers, as well as some information about creating a character. The second volume is deprived of additional materials.

Ghost rider Robbie Reyes is a great character for a new reader. A young guy with a cool car and a burning skull. At the same time, he is not a one-sided tracing paper and a hero without fear and reproach. The character is made according to a formula invented back in the distant sixties of the last century, when a comic book about a strange guy in a red and blue suit climbing walls fell on the shelves of shops. This is a character with a lively character, real problems and a big heart. The new Ghost Rider is not in vain chosen for integration into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, because it is he who fits best into its setting, and Johnny Blaze And Danny Ketchu direct road to Netflix. Fortunately, no one cancels the presence of several Racers at the same time. Not everything new is bad. The Reyes comic isn't perfect, but it's full of great ideas, and Robbie himself could easily become the hero of a new generation of comic book lovers. And this is very good. Just open the comic and find out for yourself.

Engines at full speed, pedal to the floor, the road is waiting, and with it a new one. Ghost rider.