Did Marvel Just Reveal the MCU's Ghost Rider?

At one point not too long ago, Marvel Television was working on a Ghost Rider series to fit within its proposed VengeanceVerse, a corner of the Marvel stable featuring characters rooted in the publisher's horror output. Out of the shows proposed, only Helstrom ever saw the light of day as Ghost Rider was canceled after Marvel Studios assumed control of Marvel Television. Now, a new comic being published by the House of Ideas could potentially set up a version of the character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Earlier this month, Marvel unveiled The Hood—real name Parker Robbins—would soon receive control of the Spirit of Vengeance, adding the character to a long line of characters that have donned the Ghost Rider moniker. What's interesting enough, however, is that Robbins is also set to make his live-action debut soon at some point in the events of Ironheart. While The Hood gets his powers in the source material from a demon, it's been reported his origins have been tweaked in the series so that he gets his powers from Mephisto, a character rumored to be played by Sacha Baron Cohen.

Mephisto and Ghost Rider's hellish origins go hand-in-hand, and it's not too far of a leap to get from one character from the next. Given the timeline to produce a comic is a long, arduous process, it's possible Marvel initially intended for this comic to released when Ironheart was initially set to air on Disney+ and last year's work stoppages thrust a wrench into the company's synergistic plans.

If The Hood isn't the MCU's Ghost Rider, Gabriel Luna has said he'd be willing to return to the role if the conditions were right.

"I try to stay in the moment. This is interesting, in talking to you, it's the first time I've done some recollection of the experience. You never say no. You always say that it comes down to the story," Luna told us in 2021.

He added, "If it's a great story and it makes sense and if I still feel the way I felt when I was reading for Jed and Moe that first day with Sarah Finn, it was a few years back, if I still feel it's just like breathing, that's what I felt with the character previously, then absolutely."

Ghost Rider: Final Vengeance #1 hits the shelves at your local comic shop on March 13th.