fandomhigh_ooc | Fandom Spotlight: Ghost Rider (movieverse)

Once upon a time, back in 1972, Marvel decided to start publishing a supernatural comic based loosely on a popular song called "Ghost Riders in the Sky" and an updated version of a western hero. Ghost Rider managed to get decent enough sales to warrant its own monthly series, and put out issues filled with supernatural western motorcycle stunts and bad dialogue until the mid-eighties. It was brought back in the mid-nineties with a new guy as the title character, and published about a decade worth of x-treem crosshatched supernatural adventures with a ridiculously convoluted storyline and character background, and more spinoffs than you can count. And then that series was cancelled in the late nineties, and then brought back a few years ago with the first main character as the title character and more convoluted adventures--

But this Fandom Spotlight has very little to do with that comic.

Ghost Rider is a movie that was released to theatres in February of 2007 by Marvel Pictures, which was directed by Mark Steven Johnson and starred Nicholas Cage. Since the comic was so complicated that no sane person should dive right into them, the producers decided to create a story by combining three different comic series published by Marvel: the 50s western Ghost Rider, the 70s Evil-Knievel-esque Ghost Rider, and the 90s urban Ghost Rider. The final result isn't all that good (watch Spider-Man if you want a good superhero movie), but it sure is RAD. (Spoilers ahoy!)

Okay, It is RAD! But what is it About?

The basic plot premise of Ghost Rider is a simple enough one to follow. Devil makes a deal (which does not at all involve going to Georgia and playing a fiddle, sorry), Devil gets double-crossed, Devil gets angry, and Devil does something about it.

Except it really doesn't end there. Mephistopheles, being the cranky old thing that he is, waits a while before he gets around to actually getting the powerful contract of San Venganza that ran away from him back, and he gets his hands on the soul of a young boy by the name of Johnny Blaze, who trades the aforementioned soul for his father's health to restored to him. The Devil, being the Devil and all, isn't the sort of nice, honorable guy to uphold his pacts very well, and in the end, Johnny finds himself without a dad, riding off into the sunset on his dad's old bike and leaving his girlfriend standing alone on a hill.

What a happy start to our tale of demons and vengeance!

Another fast-forward: Johnny is now a grown man, and he's made quite a name for himself in the stunt-biking circuit, not sure if he'd been dreaming about selling his soul all of those years or not. Wouldn't you know it, that's the perfect time for his long-lost love to show up. And then for the Devil to show up to collect on his part of the deal. And for the Devil's son to decide that perhaps he'd like it all to himself, actually. So much for second chances?

It would seem that Blackheart, Mephistopheles' boy, has enlisted the help of the Hidden; a trio of fallen angels who have taken on the traits of the elements that they've been hiding in since they were banished from Heaven, to aid him in collecting the deal that his father was cheated out of oh so very long ago. His plan is rather straightforward. He'll collect this contract, which contains the power of a thousand souls, an entire village gone to Hell, and he'll use that power to take what is rightfully his. Only it isn't rightfully his until the End of Days. Greedy brat.

So, we have Blackheart and the Hidden looking for the contract, Johnny has his bouts of spontaneous combustion and riding around on a Hellbike, and Mephistopheles spends the whole movie being generally cranky and pushy. Also, there's some old guy who spits a great deal, a lovely love interest, and wacky hijinx galore. This movie is meant to be taken with a grin on your face, because, honestly, it's a movie splice of three different comic book series, with some guy driving around on a flaming bike and beating on things with flaming chains and shotguns. And if 'Legion's' opening line doesn't make you snort whatever drink you have in your mouth at the time, then you are a stronger person than I.

Or, if you're bent on viewing it as a serious film with good, wholesome morals to the story, look at is as a sort of Beauty and the Beast meets The Devil Went Down To Georgia thing. Your villains aren't always clear, your heroes are sometimes even less clear, and there's a curse to be had... But in the end, what's done for love is what means the most. Awwwwwww.

Also, you wouldn't believe just how much Texas looks like Melbourne, Australia.

Our Characters!

Johnny Blaze (Matt Long/Nicholas Cage): The movie version of Johnny Blaze is actually a smush up of two different versions of the Ghost Rider. He has the name, backstory, and occupation of Johnny Blaze from the 70s series, but the looks, powers, and setting of Danny Ketch, the star of the 90s series. Johnny grew up in a carnival, and soul his soul in an unsuccessful attempt to save his Dad from dying. Johnny has since grown up to be an adult and is now a bizarrely popular stunt rider who fills stadiums with his stunt shows. He just wants to forget completely about his past, but he's forced into living out the conditions of the the deal he signed as the Devil's Bounty Hunter. And the main condition is...

The Ghost Rider (Nicholas Cage/a boatload of CGI/Some Stunt Guy with a very small head): The Ghost Rider is Johnny's supernatural alter-ego. You won't have a hard time telling them apart -- the Ghost Rider is the flaming skeleton in the spikes and leather who is obsessed with punishing the wicked with soul burnings and chain whippings. Johnny and the Ghost Rider are not really the same person. The movie isn't clear on what exactly the Ghost Rider is, but in the comic, he's an ageless demon named Zarathos who is bound to Johnny's soul. Over the course of the movie, Johnny has to learn how to control the Ghost Rider's powers to fight the badder guys.

Mephistopheles (Peter Fonda): Mephistopheles is both the version of the Devil in this universe, and the guy from Easy Rider in glitter and nice jackets. He wants to get his hands on a powerful contract that someone ran off with long ago. He also wants to punish his son for being an uppity boy who's trying to destroy the world without Daddy's permission. And he's perfectly willing to use Johnny as a pawn to accomplish his goals by making the biker one of his Riders.

Blackheart (Wes Bentley): Blackheart is a spoiled brat, plain and simple. He's the homeschooled kid with the rich dad who takes a good look around now and again and says, despite the fact that he's practically living in the lap of luxury, 'you know what? My dad sucks.' And he figures he'll do something about it. He's arrogant, smug, conniving, and downright mean. And he also happens to be the son of the Devil. Which means that wanting his inheritance right now right now right now means that it comes in the form of Hell on Earth, and he's gonna throw a few hissyfits along the way to get it. Real mature, Blackie. Fortunately, the biggest physical indication that he isn't human is his tendency to show off some really nasty teeth. ... Unlike the comic book version, who is large, purple, has no mouth, and is also possessive of a tail and prehensile head-tentacles. Be glad that guy isn't in your school.

Roxanne Simpson (Raquel Alessi/Eva Mendez): Roxanne is the long lost Latina love of Johnny's life (and very alliterative). Her Dad owned the carnival that the Blaze family worked at, and she was ready to ride off into the sunset with Johnny before his Dad died. After being left in the rain, Roxanne grew up to become a well-respected TV reporter who covers everything that's related to the plot of the movie. Roxy is the kind of girl who carries a magic 8-ball in her purse, and isn't afraid to fire a shotgun at an overpowered demon woobie.

Carter Slade (Sam Elliot): Slade is a mysterious old cowboy kind of guy who lives in a graveyard. (*SPIT*) He's a combination of two very different characters: the old school western Ghost Rider/Night Rider/Phantom Rider from the 50s series (who went through a lot of name changes), and a mysterious Caretaker guy from the 90s series. In the movie, Slade was a Rider 100 years before Johnny became one, and was the only Rider to manage to escape from Mephistopheles. He might have a pretty good idea where the contract is hidden. His official fan nickname is the GOPCGR: Grizzled Old Prospector Cowboy Ghost Rider. (And no, the two of us did not make that up.) (Though we kinda wish we had.)

The Hidden: Gressil (Laurence Breuls), Wallow (Daniel Frederiksen), and Abigor (Matthew Wilkinson): The Hidden are a trio of Angels who fell back around the same time Mephistopheles did. It is said that when they fell, some fell into the desert, some into the water, and some into the sky and remained there, and eventually they took on the properties of the elements that they fell into. Blackheart sees potential in these three. They make excellent lapdogs.

Barton Blaze (Brett Cullen): Johnny's dad, and a driving force throughout Johnny's life, even after his own is ended. He knows that his boy is young and foolish, and he wants nothing more than to raise him right. If this means keeping a secret from him that could hurt what's left of their two-man family, then so be it. He really just wants to be a good dad. He smokes a whole lot, and develops lung cancer from it.

Grace: Yes, the main motorcycle in the movie has a name. Bikers. Grace is a Harley-Davidson that belonged to Johnny's Dad, and was given to him just before his Dad dies. Grace has the 'good fortune' of being picked by Mephistopheles to be the Rider's rider as well, so when Johnny's flesh melts off, she turns into a weird looking Hellcycle. When she doesn't have flaming tires, Grace is also an exact copy of the Captain America bike from Easy Rider with a different paint job.

Mack (Donal Logue): After he leaves home, this guy is the closest thing to a friend Johnny has. Granted, it's really a business relationship, but Mack does seriously worry about his buddy Blaze. After all, the guy has been reading all sorts of comparative religiosity crap, and it's all getting so very creepy. Isn't it? Besides, someone has to hang around to mess with Johnny's love of monkeys and jellybeans and Karen Carpenter.

Bonus: Seriously, what is the deal with you guys and combining Ghost Rider/My Chemical Romance? The two have nothing in common!

Well....

Around the time that Ghost Rider was in theatres and the two GR muns were getting interested in it, My Chemical Romance had a video called I Don't Love You out in high rotation on the music video channels. It was decided that Blackheart and MCR lead singer Gerard Way looked identical and were likely the same person. The idea kept getting bigger and sillier over the summer months, and eventually spilled over into FH. We're sorry about that.

(Note from Blackheart-Mun: Let it be known that I had no idea who MCR was at the time, and when Hotshot here mentioned it, my initial reaction was, "Who?" That this momentary mention of a band led into me actually liking the group because some dude looked like a guy in a movie is neither here nor there. I'm not a fangirl, ssh.)

(And then that led to Blaze-mun here going from having seen their videos on TV now and then to becoming a huge fan who owns all their albums, has seen them live, and is in on all the MCR-injokes. Um.)

(Blackheart-Mun just owns one CD and draws them as snails. Really, it's best not to ask.)

(Blaze-Mun enables the snail drawings, and has come up with strange stories about them as superheroes. Long live Bob Bryar's Solo Project!)

(Blackheart-Mun is waiting for the masses to start throwing bricks at us and our little house made of crack.)
(Blaze-Mun is pretty sure that all the other FH players are looking at us funny by this point. We're usually not this crazy in public, honest!)

In conclusion, if you're looking for a deep, well-crafted movie with high production values, brilliant acting, and a plot that will cause you to rethink the priorities in your life ... this is totally not the film for you. On the other hand, if you're looking for a fun popcorn flick that you can heckle and enjoy, I definitely recommend that you rent this movie and check it out. Be sure to heckle. You might need to watch it twice in order to heckle it properly. Throwing popcorn at the screen helps, sometimes. So does pointing and saying "YOU."

(Blackheart-mun recommends the extended cut. Not because it has added Blackheart scenes or anything. What? He throws a hissyfit that wasn't in the theatrical screenings ~~that we may or may not have seen four times or so~~ and it kills me every time.)
(Blaze-mun also recommends the Extended Edition, especially for the very informative documentaries that helped her write that first paragraph without having read any of the comics. And it was only three screenings, since we didn't make it to the fourth.)

(Right. We saw TMNT instead. But that's an entirely different spotlight. Also, we should never write these things at nearly three in the morning. We're no longer allowed. Says I.)

FOR MORE INFO! (IE: Ending this on a useful note!)

Ghost Rider on IMDB

Ghost Rider on Wikipedia

Official Website!

Get the movie from Amazon (or the other version )