That burn you felt Monday night around 10 p.m. was new life being given to Marvel/ABC’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. courtesy of the flames of Ghost Rider.
And not just any Ghost Rider, the Robbie Reyes version.
Ghost Rider is a character that just hasn’t found his way during Marvel’s current streak of live-action pop culture success. Two Nicolas Cage movies (2007’s Ghost Rider and 2011’s Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance) flamed out, although we did get that cool, heavy metal guitar-infused trailer for Spirit of Vengeance.
In Reyes, a Ghost Rider who has a souped-up, flame-spitting muscle car instead of a motorcycle, Marvel and ABC get something that Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. has lacked: a big Marvel name.
Most of Marvel’s heavyweights can be seen only in Marvel movies or on Netflix. Your chances of seeing Thor, Iron Man or Spider-Man on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. are slim to none. Sure, you’ll hear them mentioned (Ultron came up in Monday night’s season premiere), but we’re not seeing those big names. It’s part of the reason that despite entering the show’s fourth season, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. isn’t as buzzed-about as shows like CW’s The Flash, a series that gives fanboys instant superhero gratification.
Robbie Reyes showing up (played by Gabriel Luna) will hopefully change that. This is the most buzz that’s hovered over an episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. in some time. Perhaps producers will see that and write in more of these special guests.
Marvel Comics has made headlines over the years for making changes to many of its well-known characters, from the half black/half Puerto Rican Miles Morales to an Asian Incredible Hulk to a female Thor to a black Captain America. Reyes, a young Los Angeles-born Latino, is the first of those major comic-book changes to make it to a live-action adaptation. His appearance Monday night on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. was heavily hyped online and many fans of this current iteration of the Rider, created by writer/artist Felipe Smith, were thrilled to see him in action.
The adaptation is a mirror image of Reyes/Ghost Rider’s 2014 debut in the pages of Marvel Comics, including the leather jacket and the disabled little brother that Reyes has to take care of that could turn out to be the Ghost Rider’s only true weakness if exploited. If you enjoyed this Ghost Rider’s comic book beginnings, this episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. shouldn’t have disappointed you.