The Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. season four finale is going to be piping hot. Everyone’s favorite flaming skull has returned, and just in the nick of time. Robbie Reyes a.k.a. Ghost Rider (Gabriel Luna) shockingly reappeared at the end of last week’s penultimate hour to join the fight against robot-turned-human AIDA (Mallory Jansen), after Fitz’s (Iain de Caestecker) rejection broke her heart and set her on a path of fiery vengeance.
To celebrate Ghost Rider’s return in the season four finale, Marvel has been counting down some of Luna’s favorite Ghost Rider moments from this season. As Luna told Nerdist, his top pick comes from episode six, “The Good Samaritan.” The scene in question involves Robbie, trying to escape his capture with Daisy (Chloe Bennet) by S.H.I.E.L.D., revealing the secret of his possession to his little brother Gabe (Lorenzo James Henrie). That moment was a huge one for his character, and signaled a shift in his relationship with his brother.
But why did Luna pick this moment as his favorite? As he told Nerdist: “The origin story. Enough said,” following up the comment with a series of fire and skull emojis.
The special effects employed in the scene, in which Robbie transforms into Ghost Rider in front of Gabe for the first time, also play a part in why it is Luna’s favorite. “There is a cool detail in the way we did the transformation in the containment unit before the fight with Mace [Jason O’Mara],” he said. “I had the idea that to emphasize ‘the Beast’ emerging I wanted to do a version where the skin begins to burn and flake away I shake it off like a dog. I asked our VFX supervisor Mark Kolpack, ‘Is that possible, dude?’ And he gave the best answer ever: ‘Go for it, bro.'”
Robbie hasn’t been seen on Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. since the season four midseason finale, when he heroically sacrificed himself in a quantum explosion, saving the rest of the S.H.I.E.L.D. team. After having struggled with his identity of villain vs. hero, it was an amazing character evolution moment to see him choose the path of good. And now that it’s clear that it wasn’t actually the end for Robbie there’s no telling just how much he’ll be able to accomplish in this second chance at life.
Since Fitz warned the S.H.I.E.L.D. team that human AIDA can’t be stopped (what with all her newly gained Inhuman powers of teleportation, ability to shoot energy out of her hands, and rapid healing), it’s pretty fortuitous that the Spirit of Vengeance suddenly walked out of a portal in the abandoned S.H.I.E.L.D. base, right in time for the finale, “World’s End.”
Granted, it can’t be a coincidence that it was right after AIDA used the Darkhold book to borrow power from the dark dimension that Robbie returned from his imprisonment therein. It’s safe to assumed that Ghost Rider will end up being the key to finally defeating AIDA. No human can stop AIDA, but maybe a possessed demon with an affinity for black leather jackets and American muscle cars can!
What do you think of Luna’s pick for his number one favorite Ghost Rider moment? What do you think he’ll do in the season finale? Tweet me your thoughts at @SydneyBucksbaum!
Images: Marvel/ABC
What’s in store for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3?
