Ghost Rider in Marvel's Midnight Suns
"All of our Midnight Suns have powers that are rooted in darkness but used for good," informs Marvel's Midnight Suns narrative director Chad Rocco. In the case of Ghost Rider, Firaxis could channel an origin story grounded in pure evil and demonic mischief. "One of the specific comics that our game is based on is 1992's Ghost Rider/Blaze: Spirits of Vengeance in the Rise of the Midnight Suns event, which is also one of the most famous Ghost Rider comics. It featured both previous Ghost Riders: Johnny Blaze and Danny Ketch.
(A 'Danny Ketch'-inspired look for Ghost Rider, artist: Seamas Gallagher)
(Final and early concept explorations for Ghost Rider's head, artist: Dongmin Shin)
"However, because our game is a contemporary retelling of that storyline, we felt that featuring the newest Ghost Rider, Robbie Reyes, would help cement our narrative in the present. Since Robbie Reyes is not yet as iconic as Ghost Rider, we also had the opportunity to really play with the character and make him our own.
"We tried to design Robbie in a way that felt very classic and very sleek to visually link him to the previous Ghost Riders and that nineties punk aesthetic with black leather, chains, and styled hair. His depiction in our game is very much Danny Ketch combined with Robbie Reyes. Robbie's storylines in the comics are extremely dramatic, and we felt that imbuing him with more Danny would help us capture that level of adrenaline in his appearance and narrative. For example, Danny Ketch's Spirit of Vengeance was depicted as a completely 'other' being that he carried inside of him, and we wanted our Robbie to have a similar experience. When he transforms, he really becomes this alternate Spirit of Vengeance persona. He's completely driven by justice, consumed by it, and even in his daily life he has to carry the weight of that dark power residing within him."
While this wouldn't be the first time that Ghost Rider has teamed up with friends, Firaxis considered how similarly haunted companions might synergise, with darkness in common. "This is a struggle shared by all the Midnight Suns, and Robbie was the perfect vehicle - pun intended - to symbolize that," teases Rocco. "The Midnight Suns are a force of justice and a force of good, but many of their powers are sourced from darkness and the demonic. Their powers are very raw, with this undercurrent of wildness, especially compared to heroes like the Avengers, who deploy their powers in a much more controlled and considered way. However, this also allows the Midnight Suns to stand side-by-side with the more established heroes, because while they are lesser-known characters in the Marvel Universe, they feel just as powerful. Their power comes across as almost limitless because it's drawn from such a wild, unbounded source."
(Artist: Seamas Gallagher)
How, then, to harness limitless power in a game? "When you think of Iron Man, Captain America, or even Wolverine, their attacks tend to be very precise and very measured, whereas the Midnight Suns channel this overwhelming, untapped power and let it rip. In our game, when Robbie summons his Hell Charger, there are flames everywhere, he's hurling chains, the car is bucking like a horse, and hellfire takes over your entire screen. You feel the fury. It's the perfect visualization of the difference between the younger Midnight Suns and Marvel's more mainstream heroes. Robbie Reyes embodies that tension, which is an important narrative thread that runs through the game."
Marvel's Midnight Suns - The Art of the Game (2023)
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