The Four Color Media Monitor

USA Today says there's a new protagonist who'll take up the role of the supernatural biker:

The new Ghost Rider has the same need for speed as his predecessors but with a totally different set of wheels.

Robbie Reyes is the kid driving an otherworldly muscle car and sporting the familiar racing suit and flaming skull head. He's the spirit of vengeance in Marvel Comics' All-New Ghost Rider, writer Felipe Smith and artist Tradd Moore's reinvention of the popular cult comic-book character.

"We're tapping into the spirit of the property, taking it in a new direction and coming out swinging," Moore says.

Much too late, of course. They destroy their continuity, characterization and consistency and then expect us all to overlook that? Not anymore.

All-New Ghost Rider, which makes its debut Wednesday, offers a teenage protagonist with a wholly different set of problems. Robbie's world revolves around his little brother, Gabe, who is confined to a wheelchair. A quiet sort, Robbie tries to keep Gabe safe from the violence on the streets of their East Los Angeles neighborhood, but one night, Robbie enters an illegal street race that goes south and ends with him transformed into Marvel's newest hero.

Marvel editor in chief Axel Alonso says Robbie has a lot in common with Peter Parker's Spider-Man, who learns that great power comes with great responsibility. But Robbie also has to deal with the temptation of riding with a speed demon in tow.

"Typically, past Ghost Riders have felt the Spirit of Vengeance to be a curse and personal burden," Smith says. "Robbie finds himself in a very difficult situation when he meets his Spirit and, rather than a curse, finds it to be somewhat of an opportune blessing."

I've got a feeling they'll do everything to ensure it'll be a failure nonetheless. As for Alonso's comparisons with Spider-Man, they've all said that, yet recent iterations have proven otherwise. In fact, since the mid-90s, even Peter Parker hasn't been himself, recalling the Clone Saga fiasco.

Even though his ride is different, Robbie has a style that's heavily reminiscent of Blaze, who, Alonso teases, will cross paths with the newcomer sooner than later.

I wonder if this succession has something to do with the lawsuit involving Ghost Rider's creator Gary Friedrich two years ago? Good question. But we're at a point where too few are left to care about a new protagonist in an old role, and even that's starting to get old, with little or no convincing effort made to produce character development that works.

Labels: bad editors, Ghost Rider, marvel comics, msm propaganda