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Considering the massive success of Marvel’s newest movies and shows, the MCU seems unable to fail. There was a time, however, when Marvel’s superhero movies weren’t quite hitting the same stride. In 2007, just one year before the launch of the MCU, Ghost Rider was released starring Nicolas Cage. This movie and its sequel soon became recognized for being strange, wild, and rather out-there adaptations the likes of which likely won’t be seen again from Marvel.
Originally having his Marvel comic debut in 1972, Ghost Rider’s alter-ego was initially stuntman Johnny Blaze. After executing a spell in an attempt to save his surrogate father, Blaze accidentally summoned the demon Mephisto. Blaze subsequently made a deal with Mephisto to cure his surrogate father’s cancer. Despite being astoundingly healthy the next day, his surrogate father soon died after a motorcycle stunt went wrong. Blaze felt tricked and was outraged, but found himself able to do nothing.
The true punishment came when Blaze’s debt was called upon and, after being bonded with the demon Zarathos, he would then turn into the spirit of vengeance known as Ghost Rider. Mephisto would send Blaze against his will on missions to destroy various demons. The transformations weren’t controlled by Blaze and, happening nightly, he soon was forced to withdraw from normal life. Blaze would go on to eventually gain control of the power, and other riders would eventually take the mantel for the same deal as Blaze.
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While the Ghost Rider movies initially follow this trajectory, they soon go off the rails due to various plot, acting, and casting decisions. Cage portrays Johnny Blaze with an unending charisma, and his portrayal of the skeleton on the motorcycle is fairly accurate as well. There are moments, however, where Cage is given the freedom to show where his talent lies: portraying crazy.
His first transformation scene is an extended, intriguing sequence reminiscent of a werewolf transformation seen in other films. Cage gives this his all, and his acting truly sells that his very skin is burning off. While this sequence is admittedly incredible, it’s actually the normal moments of him being Johnny that just feel somewhat off. He consistently delivers lines, as previously stated, with charisma. However, this charisma seems to stem more from Cage’s confidence in his acting rather than any actual appearance of the character.
Despite these few oddities, the first Ghost Rider movie is actually a fairly standard superhero film. He gets his powers, learns his responsibilities, connects with his love interest, and saves the day against ultimate evil in the end. What makes the initial Ghost Rider have such an impact on Marvel’s movie history is that it led to a sequel. In this sequel, Cage’s acting was untethered from the vision of the first movie, and the story itself seemed to become untethered as well.
Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance had its wide release in 2012, just months before the MCU’s Avengers, and was met with widespread disapproval. The plot, while having some potential, is ultimately difficult to follow and a little insane. There are several instances of convenience, and the Ghost Rider seemingly gains the ability to “hellify” anything he touches. While this makes for some cool action scenes at times, they sadly aren’t enough to support just how slow and unsteady the rest of the story is.
Cage’s acting in the sequel could be described as reminiscent of a drug addict going through withdrawals. This movie’s Johnny is clearly unhinged, and this is portrayed in a way that only Cage can do. He goes off on several tirades that would make you cross to the other side of the street if you saw him up ahead. This odd acting truly detracts from Johnny as a character. It is so distracting and out there that it’s both a surprise and equally unsurprising when the climax relies on a sacrificial child screaming the spirit of Zarathos back into Johnny Blaze.
It’s not hard to see why these movies don’t quite stick with people the same way other Marvel character movies have. These don’t really come across as Ghost Rider movies and instead come across as Cage acting like a demon for a grand total of three and a half hours. The performance is off-the-wall and memorable in its own right, but so incredibly different from Marvel’s other outings of the time.
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The character of Ghost Rider has since been reacquired by Marvel Studios and has made an updated appearance in Agents of Shield. This Ghost Rider is a different version, however, as it’s actually Robbie Reyes who holds the mantel after Johnny Blaze passed it on to save Reyes’s life following a street racing incident. This portrayal of the character has been received far better, and he was a major part of the fourth season of the show.
While the existing Ghost Rider movies never found widespread acclaim, they do exist in a certain bubble of boldness. In a time when the MCU was in full swing and the hype train was speeding down the tracks, these movies were brave enough to still give a smaller character like this a shot. While it didn’t necessarily work out this time, there’s always a chance that the Spirit of Vengeance will be given a chance to ride again.