Ghost Rider's MCU debut is painfully obvious

Ghost Rider is one of my favourite Marvel characters; he’s definitely in my top three. I loved the Nicholas Cage films when I was a kid - and even when I realised how goofy they were as I grew older, I still think they’re good fun.

That said, I think it’s criminal that we haven’t seen Ghost Rider in another film since, especially with how many MCU projects are coming out nowadays. We did get a Ghost Rider in the Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D series but its place in the MCU canon is questionable. It’s about time we got a proper Ghost Rider in the MCU and rather than have him introduced in Avengers: Doomsday or Avengers: Secret Wars as a passing cameo, I have a better idea.

Ghost Rider’s MCU debut should be in a Scarlet Witch film. While it hasn’t been officially confirmed by Marvel Studios, a solo film starring Elizabeth Olsen’s Scarlet Witch is set to be on the way at some point, if she doesn’t reappear in the next two Avengers films first.

The last time we saw Wanda Maximoff was at the end of Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness, after she’d gone on a brutal killing spree in an attempt to steal America Chavez’s powers. While her reasons weren’t entirely malicious, she just wanted her kids back, she did a lot of bad stuff along the way, even abusing the power of the Darkhold to cross into other universes. She was somewhat redeemed by the end of the film, as she gave up on her endeavours and presumably died as her temple collapsed, but this is Marvel so nobody ever stays truly dead…

Disney

If a solo project is on the way, I think it’d be a great time to introduce Ghost Rider as one of the antagonists. Why? Hear me out… Wanda could survive having a monument to her sins dropped on top of her and accidentally warp herself out of there at the last moment. She’d then awaken in another universe, perhaps due to some leftover energy from America Chavez.

All would seem reasonably fine; Wanda is content with living a life of solitude due to what she’d done, but fate has other plans. The Ghost Rider, the Spirit Of Vengeance, is on the prowl for her, sensing the death and destruction she’s caused and seeking retribution for the innocent lives she’s destroyed.

It could be an excellent opportunity to really dive into the horror of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Powerwise, Ghost Rider is more than a match for Scarlet Witch, and in her weakened state, you could argue he’d very easily crush her in a one-on-one confrontation. The film would follow her using the last bits of power she has escaping Ghost Rider, who functions like a Terminator in the sense that he’s always on the move.

In true MCU fashion, it could be revealed that Ghost Rider is more like a secondary antagonist with a greater threat pulling the strings, forcing the pair to settle their differences by the end of the film, with Wanda’s redemption as a character.

Personally, I think that’d be a far better way to introduce the character than through a mindless cameo, or by just dropping him into the current MCU events with no context for who/what he is. Ghost Rider’s motivated by vengeance and vengeance alone, with one of his most memorable appearances, in my opinion, being in the old Fantastic Four cartoon. The episode showed the Fantastic Four and Thor battling Galactus, and struggling until Ghost Rider is lured into the fray and effortlessly turns the tables. He’s a force of nature, and should be treated as such.

Columbia Pictures

All of this hinges on whether Scarlet Witch is actually getting a solo film, which I hope she is as I’d love to see more of her in future films. If not though, there’s also talk of a Midnight Sons film in development, of which Ghost Rider will be featured, surely? While I’d love for more of the focus to be on him rather than a new team, I’d settle for that.

The real question is: who will play him on the big-screen? There are plenty of choices but personally I’m onboard with that Ryan Gosling fancast…