GHOST RIDER

Devin Kalile Grayson

October 24, 2000
Prepared for Stuart Moore
Working title: THE HAMMER LANE
Proposal for six-part miniseries

Take heed; for he holds vengeance in his hand,

To hurl upon their heads that break his law

GHOST RIDER: THE HAMMER LANE

THE ONLY QUESTION WORTH ANSWERING:

Semi-charmed kind of life

Lets start here: when last seen, Ghost Rider, the spirit of vengeance, occasionally
inhabited the corporeal form of mortal Johnny Blaze. No matter what you make of the
last thirty years of GR continuity, one thing seems clear though arguably cool and
heroic, hosting the spirit of vengeance is a pain in the ass, bringing immeasurable
danger and grief into Johnnys life and the lives of those he loves. How could he
possibly want anything other than to shake the whole nightmare off by now?

Gimme six issues, and Ill tell ya.

THE PREMISE:
Life in the Fast Lane

This time around, for reasons well soon see, Ghost Rider does not chat nor angst nor
even recognize the gradations of revenge. He avenges. Period.

Riding solo from New York to Sturgis (and the ber-biker-rally that happens there every
August), following a seemingly endless chain of vengeance (and biker bars), Ghost
Rider nobly evens the score on a biker hit-and-run at the beginning of our series, only to
be ready to kill guys for tipping Harleys by the series climax.

Johnny quickly comes to realize that hes losing control over his mortal bodys
otherworldly guest, and while the building adrenalin rush that comes with GRs actions
is inhumanly addictive, Johnny knows he has to put on the brakes. But in an
increasingly violent world, how do you stop or even slow down the spirit of
vengeance? At a loss and progressively more at risk as he continues to lose control
over his transformations, Johnny finds himself hiring another badass biker to kill Ghost
Rider, no matter how, no matter how much, no matter what. Now all Johnny has to do
is put his feet up on the pegs and wait.
Of course, it doesnt take the hired gun long to realize that Ghost Riders only real
vulnerability.is Johnny Blaze.

In the end, amidst roaring Harley engines, gunfights, and increasingly lethal bar brawls,
Johnny learns that the only thing that can stop vengeance is forgiveness.

And hes got a lot to forgive himself for.

THE BREAKDOWN:
Weekend Warriors Need Not Apply

CHAPTER 1/ BOOKS ONE AND TWO: ONE BAD DAY

We open with Johnny (or Danny see wrap up section) enjoying a normal day of his
normal life. Hes maybe twenty now, has an office job -- things are quiet. Not so quiet
though that the jaw grinders cant start to stack up: three angry calls from girlfriend
Chloe, two insubordinate co-workers, and one bad run-in with the boss later, Johnny--
ravenous for release--storms into the corporate garage and climbs into his very own
mean machine: a 1992 Geo Hatchback.

Things sure have gone downhill.

But nearby in the garage he spies someone elses beautiful chopper. We go close on
Johnny to see the spark in his eyes and then cut to our splash page: Ghost Rider rides
again!

At the very first biker bar he hits (which Johnny is almost thrown out of until GR
emerges and no more of that homoerotic gas-cap rubbing, okay? These switches now
happen in response to the scent, if you will, of the unavenged), Ghost Rider is sent after
a truck driver allegedly responsible for a fatal motorbike hit and run. Neither Johnny nor
Ghost Rider have any qualms about chasing this ignoble quarry for miles of asphalt, to
finally avenge the dead biker. As his last request, however, the trucker begs Ghost
Rider to settle a score on his behalf and quicker than you can say everyone hates
somebody, Ghost Rider is off after the immoral rig-runner who has his drivers so high
on speed and the fear of illegally withheld wages that they dont dare stop for accidents.

The rig-runner breaks the backs of his drivers because he owes money to vicious drug
lords who have threatened to cut off his hands and tongue if he doesnt pay up fast.
The drug lords are acting like animals because theyre trying to scare away a suspected
undercover Narcotics Officer. The good-guy narc-squad detective wants the drug gang
brought down because their trash was responsible for the death of his teenage
son.on and on spin the wheels of revenge, and although Ghost Riders in it for the
long haul, Johnny is beginning to realize that his methods are sometimes less than
heroic and that maybe more significantly, he has once again lost all control of his life.
His job and girlfriend have long since become casualties of the road, and more and
more hes starting to doubt his grip on his mind, not to mention his soul. Whats a
sweater-boy with a Hell-fire-wheeled Harley to do?

Book two ends with Johnny courting the services of a crotch-rocket-riding gun for hire;
Tom Gunmetal Gray, a burly biker with a reputation for shooting straight and walking
away from all the worse wrecks unharmed. The mission: destroy Ghost Rider, no matter
what it takes.

CHAPTER 2/ BOOKS THREE AND FOUR: BEING THE BUMPER

As badass as Gunmetal is, Ghost Rider doesnt seem terribly worried as he continues
on his ceaseless mission to right wrongs with icy stares and Hellfire. Johnny keeps his
eye on the rearview mirror as Ghost Rider chases down a Kentucky cop who let dealers
leak their poison into the poorer section of the good cops hometown (this time with the
assistance of a local biker chapter, all too happy to help Ghost Rider take on the fuzz).

In his quest to carry out his mission, Gunmetal stays close on Ghost Riders trail of
vengeance. Eventually recognizing that hell never get Ghost Rider from the back,
Gunmetal supersedes the chain of vengeance by himself becoming the villain who
needs to be avenged (specifically, he gets to a corrupt cop before Ghost Rider does,
torturing and maiming him, so that the wounded cop has no choice but to send Ghost
Rider after Gunmetal). Though this trap proves ineffectual (Ghost Rider manages to
avenge the maimed cop without getting killed by Gunmetal), Johnny learns two things:
first, the hired gun hes unleashed is significantly more immoral and dangerous than
Ghost Rider, and second, said immoral and dangerous guy has come to realize that
Ghost Riders only true vulnerabilityis Johnny Blaze.

When during their next encounter, Johnny finds Gunmetal firing at him, he realizes he
needs help from the very being he set up.

CHAPTER 4/ BOOKS FIVE AND SIX: A LIFE LESS ORDINARY

Now contacting Ghost Rider through sweat-soaked nightmares and in dirty bar mirrors,
Johnny--the weight of guilt over GRs unholy actions crippling him--fears that he himself
has become someone to whom vengeance must be served. Desperate to reel in the
chain of destruction hes started, not to mention save his own life, Johnny is considering
letting the hired gun take him out when he crosses paths with a mentor archetype in
this case a wizened old bike mechanic he met briefly in chapter one, who suggests a
more creative way to fight vengeance: forgiveness.

Having not yet read Zen and The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, Johnny isnt quite sure
what to do with this newfound insight. His first instinct is to beat Ghost Rider to the next
scene of vengeance and warn the marked men off--but, of course, Johnnys very
presence only insures Ghost Riders safe arrival, and blood continues to spill. By this
time, Ghost Rider is avenging men who have had their beers knocked over, and
Gunmetal is shadowing Johnnys every move chasing him out of roadside diners and
motels until the already freaked out Johnny cant have a meal or a full nights rest
without fear of being fired on by a man he hired, or facing retribution at the hands of a
spirit he betrayed.

In the midst of a fantastic showdown between Ghost Rider and Gunmetal (by now were
in Mississippi, on the eve of the Sturgis rally, and we play this last beat like a Western
showdown), Johnny comes to understand that its himself he needs to forgive. But for
what? The pain hes let his loved ones suffer in the shadow of this mystery? The lives
his flame-skulled alter-ego has ruined or taken?

or maybe just for, despite everything, not wanting to be normal. Maybe Johnny needs
to forgive himself for loving this life and never wanting it to end.

With the psychic gap between Johnny and Ghost Rider thus bridged, Ghost Rider kicks
Gunmetals ass just in time to let Johnny Blaze ride, triumphant, in the Sturgis rally, now
a biker through and through

until its time for Ghost Rider to ride off into the sunset, ready to avenge tomorrows
wrongs.

THE WRAP-UP:
OKAY, GREAT, BUT WHAT IF THEY WERE ALL CATS?

I dont think we need to explain how Ghost Rider works -- the more we ride the line
between mythology and psychosis, the better. Maybe GRs a demon (or angel) from
Hell, but then again, maybe Johnnys just NUTS. Answering that is like delineating what
Batman carries in his Utility Belt it steals too much magic.

With that in mind, Ive let Ghost Rider be the only supernatural in this story, but it would
be easy enough to let Gunmetal make a deal with the devil (or a succubus, or whatever)
early on in exchange for super powers. Obviously a mere mortal has very little chance
of felling Ghost Rider, and as is we hint at Gunmetal having moderate mutant abilities,
but all of that works as a plot point in this story, so it isnt necessary to fix unless were
craving additional skull-heads, which would be easy enough to throw in.

I had also just finished this proposal when I got an email from Joe mentioning that he
prefers the Johnny Blaze Ghost Rider. I actually sort of agree: Blaze is more of a
swashbuckling character, he has a cooler name, and most importantly, hes probably
the alter-ego that comic civilians best recognize. His fall from stunt rider to office clerk
makes a maybe even more dynamic opening, and it would be super easy to do this
same story with him instead of Danny. To play devils advocate, the use of Danny does
two things for us: it follows the do no harm continuity rule without demanding much of
anything in the way of continuity catch up (bringing Johnny back in might leave us with
a little more explaining to do), and it gives us a stronger contrast between Ghost Rider
and his host. From what little Ive read, it seems clear that Johnny is more of a Hawkeye
or Gambit, while Dannys pure Pre-Supermodel-Marriage Peter Parker. Both choices
have merit, and neither make any significant difference to the structure of the story, so I
leave the selection entirely up to you.

Last but not least, whatever the final fate of Ghost Rider, this project has tremendous
cross-marketing potential. Its no secret that I am much less familiar with Marvels
characters than DCs but Ghost Rider I know...not from comics, but from pop songs,
tattoos, and the back of biker jackets. Hardcore fanboys will no doubt want more
continuity than what Ive offered here, but Ill be honest with you my goal here is to
give Ghost Rider back to the people who have loved him regardless of who wrote what
about him when. Hes one of the few from our medium who has transcended, and I
think we should honor that, be it with ads in Easy Rider, or promotional give-away
temporary tattoos.

Course, it aint MY wallet. ;-)

Thanks for your time! I look forward to hearing your thoughts.

Can you have a buddy movie with just one guy?