Ghost Rider Finds A New Host In Agents Of SHIELD Season 4 Finale

05/16/2017 11:45 pm EDT

MAJOR SPOILERS FOR THE AGENTS OF SHIELD SEASON 4 FINALE FOLLOW

The fourth season finale of Marvel's Agents of SHIELD brought Ghost Rider back after a prolonged absence and Spirit of Vengeance did not disappoint. However, fans were likely not expecting Ghost Rider to leave Robbie Reyes for another host, even if it was only for a brief time.

AIDA's use of the Darkhold to build a human body out of dark matter is what attracted Ghost Rider's attention back to the plane of Earth. Ghsot Rider being empowered by the same energy as AIDA also meant that he was the only one who could harm her beyond her ability to heal. This was good news for SHIELD, but the problem was that AIDA's teleportation ability made it easy for her to stay out of the reach of Ghost Rider's Hellfire chain.

Coulson decided a new plan was needed. They'd use the Darkhold as bait to lure AIDA. In order to make sure AIDA didn't flee, Coulson had the idea of hiding the Ghost Rider in an unexpected host.

AIDA came for the Darkhold, as expected. For a moment, it seemed as if AIDA also killed Jemma Simmons. But then plan unfolded. The Simmons AIDA killed was just an LMD. The real Simmons opened fire on AIDA to her distracted, giving Coulson a moment to grab hold of her. At first, AIDA believe there was no threat from Coulson. That confidence lasted just long enough for Coulson's face to melt away and reveal the Ghost Rider underneath.

AIDA tried to teleport away, but the Ghost Rider's grip was too strong. He stayed with her through each jump and eventually melted AIDA's new body to ash and bone.

Once the job was done, the Ghost Rider returned to Robbie Reyes. Robbie noted to Coulson that there was only one reason that the Ghost Rider agreed to swap hosts. Coulson indicated that he understood, but would like the reason to remain secret until he was ready to reveal the truth to the rest of his team.

This isn't the first time that Ghost Rider has borrowed a SHIELD team member as host in Agents of SHIELD's fourth season. During the first half of the season, when Robbie Reyes was trapped between dimensions, the Ghost Rider left him and attached itself to Mack instead.

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