Deadpool & Wolverine has fans looking forward to the Merc with a Mouth jumping into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. When Deadpool was under the ownership of 20th Century Fox, the character was allowed to be as R-rated as he wanted to be. When Ryan Reynolds Deadpool was coming to the MCU, fans were worried that he would be held back to fit a PG-13 rating, yet this is not the case. Deadpool & Wolverine is going to be the MCU’s first hard R-rated film and fans couldn’t be more excited. Opening up the door to R-rated movies allows the MCU more freedom to explore new characters and there is one Marvel character that the MCU should give an R-rated adaptation.
R-rated superhero movies have gained a strong track record of success, especially Deadpool and Logan. It’s not that being R-rated instantly makes a movie better, but some characters are objectively better when given the freedom to be violent or crude. Characters like Daredevil and Punisher flourished when Netflix allowed them to be as dark and violent as they needed to be. The MCU has been struggling recently, with many fans divided on the most recent entries to the franchise. Ghost Rider is a character that fans would love to see in the MCU and the only way that can be done is with an R-rating.
Who is Ghost Rider and His History in the MCU
Ghost Rider first appeared in Marvel Spotlight #5 in 1972 and was created by Gary Friedrich, Roy Thomas, and Mike Ploog. Johnny Blaze, the original Ghost Rider, was a stunt driver in a circus until his adoptive father developed cancer. This caused Johnny to look for answers in the occult. As he dove further into the world of the dark arts, he ended up summoning Mephisto. Blaze made a bargain for his soul to save his father from cancer, but this meant that Mephisto just killed him differently. As Blaze lashed out at Mephisto and drove him away, Mephisto bonded Blaze to a malevolent spirit called Zarathos. Bonded with this spirit, Ghost Rider began to punish evil wherever he encountered it, serving vengeance against evil and protecting innocent people. Johnny can transform any vehicle into a flaming, super-fast version and some Ghost Riders have even transformed animals. His most powerful weapon the the Ghost Rider’s Penance Stare. When the Rider stares into his victim’s eyes, he forces them to experience all the pain that they have given to others.
While Ghost Rider has never been officially in the MCU, the Robbie Reyes version of the character appeared in multiple episodes of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. This series was deeply connected to the MCU for its first couple of seasons, even having crossover characters and stories. Yet, the main MCU movies refused to ever acknowledge the existence of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D, making it harder and harder for fans to figure out if the show was actually considered to be canon. Yet, the release of the Official Marvel Timeline confirmed that Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D was in fact not canon, leaving Ghost Rider out of the MCU also. While there are constant rumors about Ghost Rider in the MCU, there is still no official announcement on when or if he will be appearing.
Ghost Rider Has Already Proven the PG-13 Limits the Spirit of Vengeance
Ghost Rider may not have an MCU appearance, but non-comic book fans are already familiar with the character thanks to Nicolas Cage’s outings as the character in Ghost Rider and Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance. These movies saw a flaming rider deal with various criminal elements and while Nic Cage captured the spirit of a man possessed, the movies failed to embrace the more horrific elements of the comics. Ghost Rider is a dangerous and visceral character whose powers by their very nature are violent. He wields flaming chains, burns people with his touch, and unleashes horrific psychological torture on people. It’s impossible to bring these aspects to life within the confines of a PG-13 movie.
Even Ghost Riders’ transformation from Johnny Blaze, or Robbie Reyes, calls for a significant amount of gruesomness. Both the Ghost Rider movies and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D did a decent job of showing the Ghost Rider’s transformation, as his face tears and melts away to reveal the flaming skull underneath, but an R-rated movie could make this one of the most memorable scenes in the MCU. When the Ghost Rider emerges, it not only represents the fear that his enemies should feel, but it shows how Blaze of Reyes both have to “die” and have their sins burned away for the Ghost Rider to emerge and wield his tremendous power.
Ghost Rider is the MCU’s Path to Hell
For a long time, fans of the MCU have suspected that Mephisto is lurking around the corner at many events in the MCU. Every time something strange or mystical happens, fans are looking to see Mephisto appear and claim ownership of the deadly situation. Johnny Blaze is the perfect character to bring the MCU to Hell and finally introduce the Red Devil himself. Ghost Rider’s story is tied to Mephisto, one cannot exist without the other. For the MCU to dive even further into the dark arts, Ghost Rider can be the gateway to that path. Agatha and her spinoff are a great start, but Ghost Rider and Mephisto can further elevate the story of dark magic in the MCU. Even Robbie Reye’s connection to the Darkhold can help tie the Ghost Rider to characters like Agatha or Scarlet Witch, possibly leading to her resurrection.
Ghost Rider is one of the most requested characters for the MCU to introduce and Deadpool & Wolverine provides the opening it needs. Deadpool & Wolverine is hoping to show that R-rated films are viable, even in the MCU. This will hopefully allow for other characters like Ghost Rider to follow the same path. Ghost Rider needs an R-rated adaptation, even Nic Cage thinks so, it would be a disservice to the character for the MCU to have another PG-13 version of the Spirit of Vengeance.
