Marvel’s Most Underrated Ghost Rider Embraced an Entirely Different Genre

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Ghost Rider is Marvel Comics’ premiere horror character, with the Spirit of Vengeance being one of many supernatural antiheroes introduced in the Bronze Age of Comics. Since then, there have been numerous new takes on Ghost Rider, most of which are bonded to demons or similar ghouls. Ironically, one of the most interesting incarnations of this character is in a completely different genre, making him the star of one of Marvel’s most underrated 1990s comic books.

Ghost Rider 2099 was a futuristic equivalent to the hell-raising cyclist of the present, but he was quite different from characters such as Johnny Blaze and Danny Ketch. Removed from the paranormal, the character reinvented the concept of Ghost Rider through the lens of cyberpunk science fiction. His grisly adventures were very similar to a “post-cyberpunk” novel that’s itself an iconic part of the genre.

Ghost Rider 2099 Was No Mere Spirit of Vengeance

In the case of Johnny Blaze and most other versions of Ghost Rider, the character is meant to be a supernatural “Spirit of Vengeance.” This sees Ghost Rider using hellish chains and a powerful “Penance Stare” to inflict justice upon sinners. Likewise, despite his ghoulish appearance, Ghost Rider is a force for good who goes against the demonic ambitions of people such as Mephisto and other denizens of Hell.

This puts him firmly in the dark world of magical and monstrous Marvel characters, between the mystical Doctor Strange and the bestial Werewolf by Night or the vampire-hunting Daywalker, Blade. As a result, most Ghost Rider stories are also in the supernatural genre, a mix of horror and aspects of the Western genre (especially if Johnny Blaze is involved). Despite this precedent, that wasn’t how Ghost Rider 2099 portrayed the character, which made sense given the setting.

The protagonist was Kenshiro “Zero” Cochrane, with this former hacker having his consciousness downloaded into a robotic shell after his death. Thus, he was a skeletal android not possessed by a demon or anything else based on the supernatural. Thus, while his missions and vendettas were based on vengeance, he wasn’t a true Spirit of Vengeance and lacked any real ties to the Ghost Rider legacy of old. It’s mainly due to his skeletal appearance, tendency to ride a motorcycle, and the flame-like light that his head emits that he’s compared to the classic versions of Ghost Rider. He doesn’t even seem to know who the classic characters Johnny Blaze, Danny Ketch, Zarathos or Mephisto were, so he’s a legacy character in name only.

Ironically, he could still uniquely tie into the “supernatural.” Ghost Rider 2099’s alter ego once stole information for the “D/Monix Corporation,” and the cyberspace element that “resurrects” him is a digitized landscape and organization known as Ghostworks. This uses lingo and science fiction concepts to reinterpret the horror elements of the character’s history through a cyberpunk lens. There were no true mystical, magical, or mythological elements/characters in the series or the 2099 imprint, and this truly hoped to separate Zero Cochrane from his modern-day counterparts.

This also prevented a contrived narrative that would have otherwise just aped what was done with other versions of Ghost Rider. Instead of repeating the same beats, he stood on his own as a character who also jumped off the popularity of the Ghost Rider brand. Thus, he was more than just a cheap cash grab and a rather clever reimagining of what was once one of Marvel’s biggest properties.

In many ways, Ghost Rider 2099 embodied the 2099 imprint and what it meant to Marvel in the 1990s. For one thing, the line only included 2099 revisions of some of the most popular Marvel characters then, which is why the Avengers and related Marvel heroes largely lacked 2099 books or reimaginings.

At the time, Ghost Rider was far more popular than Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, cementing them as a somewhat “lesser” brand until they were pushed through the original Ultimate Universe. Ghost Rider was perfect for a cyberpunk redux, with his chainsaw and general aesthetic in this futuristic timeline having all the gritty grime expected of the genre. Cyberpunk is known for being “hi-tech and low life,” with Ghost Rider 2099’s adventures showcasing the seedy underbelly of Transverse City.

The car-based city the character lived in looked like something ridiculous out of the magazine Heavy Metal, stressing how inhumane and less than domestic this time period was for certain characters. As in most cyberpunk fiction, there was also a strong emphasis on hacking, which was seen in the cyberized world of Ghostworks and in how important digital information was for Zero and his compatriots.

The Alchemax Corporation loomed large in this timeline, with the power of evil corporations also a big thing in the Ghost Rider book. This was everything that people loved about Peter David’s Spider-Man 2099, albeit with even more sarcastic and unique slang. Several faux swear words were exclusive to the comic, truly giving the sense that this was a living, breathing future. As a result, the 2099 timeline felt like a true world unto itself and not just a cheap gimmick.

A Cyberpunk Classic Has Many Parallels to Ghost Rider 2099

The cyberpunk fiction genre was going strong in the 1990s, and it was seen in science fiction novels and several classic anime and manga. Some of these seminal stories inspired later cyberpunk works, namely one novel that is considered a post-cyberpunk book. 1992’s Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson plays with the tropes of the then-burgeoning cyberpunk genre while using the story and characters as a treatise on the very nature of language and culture.

This is reflected mainly in the digital, coded nature of the book’s technologically-driven world, as well as the exclusive and odd slang used by the characters. It’s essentially a narrative lexicon in the sci-fi genre, with many also seeing it as incredibly prescient for its time. For instance, the main character (who’s given the cheekily sarcastic name of Hiro Protagonist) is comparable to a modern-day gig worker such as a food delivery driver, and there’s the general sense that the abundance of advanced technology has done little to benefit many people’s lives.

Both protagonists are couriers of sorts before the impetus of the story’s action takes place. Likewise, they’re also of mixed-race half-Japanese ancestry, evoking the zeitgeist of the time. The 1990s saw a rising fear of Japan’s ascendance, particularly in terms of its cultural and technological power, due to the prevalence of Japanese electronics, automobiles and even the growing popularity of anime. Zero Cochrane and Hiro Protagonist represent this forgotten cultural element, with samurai swords doing the same for the general sense of Japanese “exoticism” inherent in the media at that time. In both stories, criminal organizations rule the day, with the D/Monix Corporation and Alchemax being comparable to the Italian mafia, which controls much of the future in Snow Crash.

Most importantly, both Snow Crash and Ghost Rider 2099 examine how cyberspace and the Internet might be used for secondary realities. The Neal Stephenson novel has online video games and activities similar to social media and online games of today, again showcasing how prophetic it was. These games have different subcultures and ways to connect with people, even if the friends made there aren’t otherwise known in real life. This is somewhat similar to Ghostworks and how beings similar to Ghost Rider 2099 relate to each other.

When potential romantic activities are suggested, Zero tells his possible partner that he hopes she “has the bandwidth.” It’s one of many ways things are related through a virtual lens, with everything now more relevant than ever. Sadly, both works also share a slight lack of notoriety. Despite its importance and popularity, there has yet to be an adaptation of Snow Crash, keeping it somewhat obscure within mainstream pop culture.

Likewise, the Ghost Rider 2099 character is fairly forgotten, appearing only sporadically in modern Marvel comic books. Thankfully, Marvel recently released an omnibus collecting the entire Ghost Rider 2099 series, letting fans download and upload the entire comic book at their own pace.

“}]] The 2099 timeline heavily reimagined Ghost Rider, removing the supernatural aspects to create the perfect antihero for the cyberpunk comic book.  Read More