Marvel is re-launching some of their most interesting peripheral characters. We’ve seen Moon Knight, which was seriously kick-ass, and this week brings Ghost Rider, which is not. Marvel has decided to reboot Ghost Rider again, and this time they’re kind enough to strip away anything even remotely fun about the character. What makes Ghost Rider work is his kinship to the old west, the lone rider, the gunslinger out for justice. Marvel have taken that and turned it into an episode of The Fast and The Furious.
Meet Robbie Reyes, the new Ghost Rider. He doesn’t know it yet, but he will become the latest member of the burning skull club. Reyes is a good guy who has suffered some bad breaks. He’s poor, living in the ghetto with his crippled brother. There are no parents, so all the responsibility falls on Robbie. There are local hoods who beat up his crippled brother, only to be thwarted by Robbie. That is, until the hoods pull guns and proceed to beat Robbie up.
To make ends meet, Robbie is an ace mechanic, one who moonlights as a street racer. Decked out in all black with a black helmet, Robbie “borrows” a hot rod from where he works and enters a racing contest for fifty grand. Right as he’s about to win a new life for himself and his brother, Robbie’s car is chased by helicopters. Fearing they’re the cops. Robbie tries to outrun them, but is finally cornered in an ally. Robbie exits the car with his hands up, and his unloaded on by rapid-fire machine guns. Laying dead in a pool of his own blood, Robbie’s skin begins to glow, and his head bursts into flames. The new Ghost Rider then gets into his ghost hot rod and speeds off. Yep, that’s the story. It brings cliché to a new level.
Outside of the story drawn from bad action movies, writer Felipe Smith has decided to take away the most iconic thing about Ghost Rider – his motorcycle. Now, he has a hot rod. An urban youth driving a hot rod. That’s not Ghost Rider, that’s some other character. If Smith wants to take away the motorcycle, why not the flaming skull, too? Let Ghost Rider have a really neat helmet that looks like a flaming skull. In fact, screw the demon thing, just let him be a pyromaniac with an over developed sense of justice. I have no issue with Robbie Reyes – I think the character stepping away from southern white boys is a solid idea – but keep Ghost Rider what he has always been. If nothing else, leave him his bike.
Tradd Moore handles the art, which is perfect for what Felipe Smith is doing. The work has a modern feel, blending parts of anime and underground comic book art sensibilities, with an urban graffiti feel. Moore’s work has an original hook to it, as well as an interesting way of communicating movement. His dynamics are really odd, as is his line work and sense of anatomy. Mixed with the vibrant colors from Nelson Daniel and Val Staples, Ghost Rider looks great. It’s too bad the story is so unappealing.
(2 Story, 4.5 Art)
