San Diego Comic-Con is directly upon us and even though Marvel Studios has yet to come to the party, Marvel has already been winning big with headlines thanks to their Luke Cage and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. panels. The latter had just begun production on season 4 before going down to the 4 day event, and although a majority of the panel itself was spent reflecting on what has already happened, they ended it a vengeance. That’s right, the smallest, and somewhat forgotten/abandoned, corner of the MCU is bringing us Ghost Rider next season, but probably not the one you are thinking of.
Instead of the more traditional version of Johnny Blaze, S.H.I.E.L.D. will be giving us the Robbie Reyes version and has already cast Gabriel Luna in the role. The topic of whether Ghost Rider should have come to the show in the first place is a topic for another day, but now that he is officially coming, what can we expect? Reyes is the least popular Ghost Rider and his All-New Ghost Rider comic got canceled after only a year on shelves, not giving the public much time to get to know him. His trade paperback volumes are available for purchase online, but in case you are not familiar with Robbie Reyes, we are here to help you out a bit.
Who Is Robbie Reyes?
In the comics, Robbie, legally Roberto, Reyes is a young mechanic that is doing what he can to stay out of trouble with the law and watch out for his brother, Gabe. The reason he looks after Gabe so intently is the fact that his brother is confined to a wheelchair. When Robbie tries to give his brother a better life, he enters a street race and that is where is origin begins. The race goes terribly wrong and ends with Robbie dying at the hands of gunfire. Luckily for him, the car he was driving was possessed by a ghost that then left the vehicle to possess Robbie, thus making him the All-New Ghost Rider. As Ghost Rider, his most interesting confrontation was with Mr. Hyde – who as already appeared on the show played by Kyle MacLachlan – so maybe a Johnson family reunion could happen as well.
How Can He Be Involved?
When we do get to meet Reyes on the show, I expect a similar origin to be the case, but so far we have not seen S.H.I.E.L.D. be too interested in street races or ghosts so what brings him into the story? My guess is Daisy. At the end of season 3, Daisy has gone through a shift and instead of helping the people S.H.I.E.L.D. wants her too, she is helping whoever she wants. Just like how she helped Charles Hinton’s family get back on their feet, through some scenario Daisy meets Robbie and she learns about his struggles and brother and wants to help, unknowing of the powers he has. Then, once Robbie’s powers either first arrive or are first shown to her, Daisy shares her story with him and offers to help mentor him. However, when she sees the dangers that lie with his abilities, it forces her to go back to S.H.I.E.L.D.
Taking this suggested path or one similar would make the introduction of the character feel natural and not a forced tie-in or inclusion to make the series feel part of the MCU. If done correctly, Ghost Rider will do just that naturally. They just have to tell a great story that makes us care about who Robbie is and feel for why he is doing it. Making it about who Robbie is as opposed to him being thrust into the story will not only please viewers who have stuck through from the beginning and the new ones that will check it out strictly to see if Ghost Rider can work on network television.
If you are interested in learning more about him, All-New Ghost Rider Volume 1 and 2 are available on Amazon. Let us know if you are excited for Robbie Reyes to join the show in the comments below!
Season 4 of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. will premiere on Tuesday September 20th at 10 p.m. EST on ABC.
