Marvel Mythos and Media #1 - Ghost Rider, Part One

Mythos:

Hello, all. This is the first installation of what will be a regular column here at Geek Force Five entitled Marvel Mythos and Media. These articles will take in-depth and fun looks at some classic Marvel characters. While I’ll have some interesting information for you, I’ll also try to keep things lighthearted, and we’ll even chat about movie and other media versions of the characters. Enjoy!

Some men are born with it all: chiseled good looks, wavy blond hair, and mutton chops that could cause most nineteenth-century gentlemen to drop their monocles in unbridled jealousy.  Welcome to the early history of the original Ghost Rider: Johnny Blaze, one of the more interesting Marvel characters created in the seventies.

Even when pensive, it’s important to look your best.

Why is the original seventies Ghost Rider worth a look? Influenced by two amusing fads, this character became a cult figure that’s prevalent to this day (as evidenced by the movie, which we’ll talk a little about later on in this article with a chance for you, the reader, to respond!). More than any other comics publisher, Marvel has always given birth to characters that reflected the culture of the time. With Ghost Rider, they clearly blended two influences that were causing boys in the seventies to frolic in glee.

First, the trick motorcycle setting is a clear homage to the Evel Knievel craze that struck a chord with many young boys of the seventies. For those too young to recall, Knievel destroyed his body through numerous motorcycle stunt rides. Legions of boys owned the Evel Knievel stunt cycle, a popular toy. Search eBay or wiki the old codger if you’re truly curious. 

Second, Ghost Rider needed a heavy dash of something taboo, so the “demon” and “supernatural” craze of the seventies gave the comic an edge. The seventies, after all, were the time when horror and horror fiction took root and became wildly successful. Stephen King’s millions of dollars will surely attest to that.

So, with those influences in hand, Roy Thomas, Gary Friedrich and Michael Ploog created the character of Ghost Rider. Ghost Rider first debuted in Marvel Spotlight #5 (1972), the issue upon which this column focuses, and was soon granted his own series after a successful run. While the writing is spotty, the art is marvelous in stretches, showing clear influences, like the heavy inking style, from the fifties era of horror comics.

In the beginning, there was a boy named Johnny Blaze, an orphan with a tough run of luck. Like most orphans, he happened to be adopted by the owner of a trick motorcycle troupe; in Johnny’s case, this man was Crash Simpson. Let’s just let that sink in for a moment; a man in the dangerous world of trick motorcycling allowed himself to be gifted with the nickname “Crash”. Luckily for Johnny, Crash’s beautiful daughter, Roxanne, is the lovely girl in the photo above, his love interest, so Johnny has a very hot forbidden love situation with his adoptive sister. Crash seems to be supportive of this semi-incestuous situation, if one can translate being less gruff as supportive.

Even uncontrollable sobs can’t wreck that hair.

Unfortunately for Johnny, his adoptive mother, Crash’s wife and Roxanne’s mother, died in a tragic motorcycle explosion when Johnny and Roxanne were practicing their act. On her death bed, she made Johnny swear never to ride in a show again. As shown below, Johnny managed to warp her words to the point where he didn’t feel guilty: she didn’t say don’t practice, she just said don’t let anybody see it in a show. So, Johnny became an expert trick rider by practicing alone.

I tried to come up with a witty caption for ten straight minutes and failed, still in awe.

In the motif of superheroes such as Spider-Man, one of the first heroes who found himself heaped with tragedy upon tragedy, disaster seemed to follow Johnny. Roxanne’s father, Crash, his own adoptive father, admits he’s dying from a mysterious malady that will apparently lay him out in exactly one month. The specifics of this disease are never given, but the vintage seventies-era haircuts in these shots are quite amusing and realistic.

Not to be overly crude, but doesn’t it look like Johnny is cutting a really painful fart?

Without Crash to run the show, the Simpson family business will be run into the ground. Crash laments his need for a son in front of Roxanne and Johnny. In response, Johnny can only refuse Crash’s thinly-veiled offer to take the business, unable to tell them of his promise. Instead of pointing out the fact that women’s liberation is indeed taking place and she could take over, Roxanne screams that Johnny is a coward for refusing and states that they’re through. Crash kicks Johnny out of his trailer, hiding any emotions he might have over the situation. Clearly, Johnny’s life is a mess, but everything could return to normal if Crash were somehow healed. So, in the midst of one panel, he hits upon the obvious answer that I ignored in my first stages of a recent bout with unemployment.

Hospice is for quitters!

Who reads of the “miracles” of Satan while growing up? What the hell was Crash putting in this kid’s head?!

Satan proves himself to be remarkably punctual and the deal with the Devil is complete. Johnny is warned that in exchange for Crash’s cure from his “deadly disease”, the Devil will return soon to collect. A scant few days later, Crash dies attempting a record-breaking motorcycle jump, leaving a nice looking corpse with some killer abs. While I would be riding a tiny wave of invincibility after beating a seemingly terminal disease, I don’t think I’d be pushing my luck that far, Crash. Predictably, Johnny blames Satan and not his adoptive father’s crazy devotion to stunt-riding.

Satan has huge hands.

Would you make a deal with the Devil for those abs?

The Devil used some sketchy logic, stating that he did cure Crash’s disease, and that it wasn’t his fault that Crash was killed during the jump. Whether the Devil played a direct hand in Crash’s death or not is negligible, as Johnny’s soul was still forfeit. His punishment? Getting a demon of vengeance grafted to him that gives him an awesome look, superpowers, and a penchant for going around and fighting people. Way to teach those kids not to barter with Lucifer, Stan Lee. Thus begins the saga of a character that melts continually under the heat lamp of logic. 

Media:

Like his comic appearances, Ghost Rider’s forays into other media have been inconsistent at best. Let’s just take a cursory glance.

Video Games
Ghost Rider has been a supporting character all the way back to Marvel games featuring more famous characters. The only game that’s of note is the wildly fun and successful Marvel: Ultimate Alliance that was released for Xbox 360, Wii, and PS3. Featuring a bevy of Marvel superheroes, this game is a must-own for any Marvel connoisseur. 

Ghost Rider’s solo exploration into video gaming was inspired by the 2007 movie starring Nicolas Cage. This game had its share of problems. Inspired by the extremely successful God of War style of gameplay, the game tried to make Ghost Rider a fun to play 3D character with a wealth of moves and button presses while battling demons. It proved to be an utter failure. Play it only out of morbid curiosity. Finding a cheap copy would probably be easy.

Movie
Despite the fact that his acting annoys me, I respect Nicolas Cage. I truly do. I’m an avid comic collector with a so-so collection that’s approaching $10,000. I have some nice pieces. However, Nicolas Cage possesses a collection that’s so full of wealth it’s referred to by serious collectors as “The Nicolas Cage Collection”, a collection of books that makes me want to drool as it breaches the millions of dollars mark. Also, when he wanted to make it on his own and not off his famous uncle’s rep, Nicolas Coppola became Nicolas Cage because of his love of the comic book superhero Luke Cage. What is there not to love about that?

However, after years of his pandering for the part of Superman, he ended up with the more manageable Ghost Rider. My hopes were high until I saw the trailer. Then I actually viewed the movie and felt like weeping. 

To be fair, I’ll start with the positive notes. The basics of the origin are intact. There is a Johnny Blaze and he does make a deal with the devil to save his ill father. The deal goes awry, and there is even a Roxanne. A few touches added to the origin are forgivable. The original Ghost Rider didn’t have chains, but production added them for effect. The history of other Ghost Riders is touched upon as well, a neat idea that has never been fully plumbed in the comics. Also, the villains are Ghost Rider legit. There’s a Satan, and his son Blackheart does eventually make his way into Ghost Rider canon.

However, the casting is off. The creepy kid with the camera from American Beauty is the son of Satan? Satan is Peter freaking Fonda? The dried-up hippie from Easy Rider? Seriously? Nicolas Cage sulks his way through the movie, trying to appear so serious that he seems to be forgetting this is a comic book and he’s supposed to be having fun. Even while sulky, any deeper metaphors that could be examined are left for dead. Instead, we’re granted a flat and terribly acted action flick?

This begs the question that Chris, the founder of our feast, posed to me in an e-mail. Can being that much of a comic geek actually hurt the movie? Let’s think about this and use some comparison.

Let’s short-list some of the more unforgivably bad comic movies:

• Daredevil (the project of supposed fan Ben Affleck)
• Ghost Rider (starring the aforementioned Nic Cage)

Okay, how about the fantastic?

• Spider-Man 2 (starring a confused and disinterested Tobey Maguire)
• Iron Man (starring Robert Downey Jr., who was far too drunk and high during the 80s to have ever read comics)
• The Dark Knight (starring heavy British and American actors who don’t seem like they curl up with trade comics during the cold months)

Okay, I know I’m tipping the scales by not mentioning some movies that were merely mediocre, but it seems to me that the best movies are made by actors that approach the material from the standpoint of ignorance and an ability to adapt the character to not only the screen, but the time. Heath Ledger didn’t go for Jack Nicholson, or, God forbid, Cesar Romero. He made it his own. 

Also, making a movie faithful to a mediocre comic will result in a mediocre movie, won’t it? Every comic has had a bad run, and adhering to the worst of it can only hurt. Was this the case in Ghost Rider?

What do you think? Let me know some of your thoughts on this in the comments.

Please return next time as we continue our look into:

*All images used are from Marvel Comics’ Essential Ghost Rider Volume 1.