Ghost Rider (Robert Reyes)

## Ghost Rider

### Alias

Robbie Reyes, Skeleton Driver, Robot Racer, Roast Rider, The Leyend of Hillrock Heights[2], La Leyenda[2]

### relatives

Alberto Reyes (father), Juliana Reyes (mother), Gabe Reyes (brother), Elias Morrow (paternal uncle, deceased)

### Base of Operations

Hillrock Heights, East Los Angeles, California

### eyes

Brown (right) & Green (left)None (as Ghost Rider)

### origin

Human bonded with the Spirit of the Serial Killer Eli Morrow

## History

Robbie Reyes was a young mechanic working in East Los Angeles, California. The neighborhood he lived in, Hillrock Heights, was plagued with gangs and corruption, making life difficult for him and his brother, Gabe, who looked up to him as a hero.

Eager to move to a safer neighborhood, Robbie entered a street race to earn fifty thousand dollars. Unbeknownst to him, the car he used was inhabited by a ghost. As he was taking the lead; however, he was followed by whom he assumed to be the police. Worried about what would happen to Gabe without him, Robbie tried to escape, but inadvertently drove into a dead end. He left his car and attempted to explain himself to his pursuers, only for them to violently open fire upon him, killing him. They took an unknown substance that had been hidden in his car and attempted to burn the evidence, including Robbie's body; however, as they left, the ghost possessed Robbie, transforming him into a new Ghost Rider.[3] The Ghost Rider gave chase and managed to take out a handful of Robbie's attackers, though some of them got away.

Robbie awoke the next morning, believing the events had simply been a nightmare; however, he soon found that one of his eyes was now orange. Concerned, he returned to the workshop where the car had been, Canelo's Auto and Body. While attempting to take it out for another drive, he was confronted by two thugs, who worked for the owner of the car. Robbie became the Ghost Rider again and attacked them, before driving to a junkyard and reverting. The Ghost Rider appeared as Robbie's reflection, and Robbie asked the Rider what it is, to which it responded; "The real question is... what are *we*?".[4] The demon revealed itself to be a spirit named "Eli", and offered Robbie a chance to seek vengeance towards those who have done wrong. After some brief thought, Robbie acceptd.

Robbie later returned to the garage where he worked, to find his boss murdered and the car stolen. Eli claimed to know who had done this, and Robbie transformed into the Ghost Rider. The Rider teleported to the car and merged with it, attacking the drug cartel who had stolen it. He prepared to finish them off, when their leader suddenly took some mysterious pills and mutated into a massive, hulking creature.[5] Robbie won the battle after a brutal fight,[6] though was soon confronted by Mr. Hyde. He managed to defeat Hyde as well,[7] and quickly became a protector in the eyes of local residents. Unwilling to become a vigilante, Robbie began using his powers to make money off of street races, which allowed him to work less and spend more time with Gabe, much to Eli's dismay.[1]

This new-found fame caught the attention of the original Ghost Rider, Johnny Blaze, who traveled to Los Angeles to confront the new Rider, intercepting Robbie just after Eli's influence caused him to accidentally kill a street racer.[8]Eli, completely assumed control of the new Rider, escaped, and gradually took over Robbie's body in his human form to seek out revenge on a Russian mob boss named Yegor Ivanov. Eli was revealed to *not* be a Spirit of Vengeance , but rather a Satanic serial killer who murdered and dismembered at least 37 people in rituals before he was fatally shot by the police in 1999, and who lived in the house that the Reyes brothers took to living in.[9] After Johnny subdued Eli with a Penance Stare, he briefly spoke with Robbie, warning him that he must take care not to let Eli reawaken; however, Robbie rushed home, discovering that Eli, in his body, had left Gabe alone and hungry on the floor, a trauma that caused Gabe to mentally regress, becoming detached and unfocused.[10]

Robbie later fought off Mr. Hyde's gang. When Robbie permanently bonded with Eli's spirit, he told Eli that they would dispose of anyone who has an evil soul.