Ghost Rider: Four on the Floor

Robbie Reyes: Ghost Rider by Felipe Smith

by Felipe Smith, Danilo Beyruth (Illustrator), Tradd Moore (Illustrator)

Robbie Reyes is back! And it’s hell on wheels as the Ghost Rider makes his roaring return! When a mysterious object from space crash-lands in southern California, some of the brightest minds in the Marvel Universe are drawn to Robbie’s backyard — including Amadeus Cho, the Totally Awesome Hulk! What mayhem will be unleashed as the high-octane hothead comes face-to-face with the jade genius? And with Robbie still possessed by the ghost of his evil uncle, Eli, who’s really in the Ghost Rider’s driver’s seat? A giant, purple space monster will walk the Earth, but who’s that on Ghost Rider’s trail? None other than the Wolverine! With Silk and the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. along for the ride, it’s time to strap in and start your engines — this one’s gonna be a scorcher!

COLLECTING: GHOST RIDER 1-5

Genres: Comics, Marvel, Graphic Novels, Superheroes, Comic Book, Fantasy, Adventure

120 pages, Paperback

First published July 11, 2017

About the author

Felipe Smith (フェリーペ・スミス)

Reviews

[Sam Quixote · Rating 2 out of 5]

Felipe Smith hasn’t been the Ghost Rider writer for long but he’s already run out of ideas! Ghost Rider, Volume 1: Four on the Floor instantly relegates Robbie Reyes and the Spirit of Vengeance to supporting characters IN THEIR OWN SERIES in favour of Korean Hulk and female Wolverine. The title should really be Ghost Rider Team-Up or better yet Arbitrary Diversity Superheroes!

The pitiful “story”: a purple power-absorbing baddie (so basically DC’s Parasite?) is the drearily generic villain-of-the-week there only to give Hulk and Wolverine something to hit. The subplot stars an even more forgettable side character in a Latino gangster working at Robbie’s bodyshop who’s trying to go straight. And, as if Ghost Rider’s presence couldn’t be more undermined, Silk and the Agents of SHIELD cameo too (the latter probably only because Ghost Rider recently appeared on the Agents of SHIELD TV show).

Ghost Rider’s entire story in this one is that his powers marginally increase when he’s angry – pathetic! Besides a pointless and boring fight with Hulk, Felipe Smith ends up repeating stuff we’ve seen before as Robbie/Eli fight gangsters while Robbie tries to do right by his (sickeningly cutesy in an OTT Disney-esque style) disabled brother, Gabe (so brave – sobs!). Smith/Marvel really don’t know what to do with this character, do they?

I quite liked Danilo S. Beyruth’s art and Tradd Moore’s art in the backup was outstanding as always – that panel of Robbie waking up transforming into the Spirit of Vengeance was awesome – but Felipe Smith’s script was utter shite from start to finish. Like most of the current Marvel line, Ghost Rider is a flaming pile of garbage!

[Scott · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars

Four on the Floor intermittently worked as a fun, sort of lightweight -- if you ignore the tiresome, bleeped-out cursing and occasional street-gang violence -- fusion of action / horror story. The 'Ghost Rider' character - formerly daredevil motorcyclist Johnny Blaze, but now the hot-rodding <ahem!> muscle-car mechanic Robbie Reyes from East LA, appears to work best when part of an ensemble. (Maybe he should just join the new Champions?) Here he partners - or it is gets lost in the shuffle? - with the new Hulk, the new Wolverine, web-slinger Silk, and agents of SHIELD to battle a menace that is reminding more than one reviewer of the shape-shifting creature in director John Carpenter's film The Thing. So at least the teamwork of these not quite 'super-friends' was good.

[Chad · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's interesting that Ghost Rider can't even star in his own book. Half of each issue is totally Awesome Hulk Team-Up where they pick up an additional character each issue. Hulk, and then female Wolverine, then Silk, then the Agents of SHIELD all try and track down a purple version of the creature from John Carpenter's The Thing. Maybe they should have teamed up with Kurt Russell and a flamethrower instead.

Ghost Rider's is a supporting character even in his half of the story. It's mainly about a dude who got out of prison and is trying to go straight while Robbie Reyes stares him down.

The art isn't very good either. When he draws Gabby, Wolverine's sister, it looks like she has tape stuck to her face instead of scars. Wolverine looks like she's wearing a 70's Halloween mask with the rubber band in the back. The more I think about this book, the more I hate it.

[Garrett · Rating 1 out of 5]

When Ghost Rider stories go wrong, they go savagely wrong, and this volume simply does not work. Editorially shoehorned into the world because the character was on ABC's Agents of SHIELD show (I'm assuming), this incarnation is not even the one most fans will know - and that could be one of two; Johnny Blaze or Danny Ketch. This is Robbie Reyes, who somehow has an onboard consciousness riding shotgun of a dead uncle (Firestorm?) and who really has no character depth. The story hinges on a big purple DNA draining monster (who is NOT the Super-Adaptoid) and leaves an unresolved cliffhanger. It also features so many guest stars - Amadeus Cho's Hulk, Laura Linney Wolverine, Gabby, her clone, Agents Coulson and May of SHIELD, Silk, one of the alternate Spider-people, and so on to the point that this should have touted as a team book, because GR's time on the page is super limited by comparison to his guest stars, supporting cast, and villains. The art's pretty.

[Juan · Rating 2 out of 5]

If I gave this book an unbiased review, it might be more favorable than I am willing to give. Unfortunately, I read some other opinions and must agreed with what I read. A series like this appears to have been quickly drawn up to take advantage of the Ghost Rider character being played on in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. I hear the earlier works of Robbie Reyes were more fascinating. With this volume, it felt like Ghost Rider was only a supporting character in a book with his name on the cover. The story focused more on the eventual team up with Amadeus Cho Hulk, X-23 Wolverine, and Silk. I guess the sales were not good enough to keep the book beyond a one and done. It is pretty understandable. The overall bad guy of this volume was pretty disturbing by most standards.

[Alex E · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one is a bit of a throwaway tale about Ghost Rider having to fight a monster that gets stronger with the more DNA that it ingests from people around it. However, the book turns into a team book which includes Amadeus Hulk, Wolverine, and Silk. So it's a bit of a play on the New Fantastic Four team from back in the 90's. And while it was fun to see this team take shape and take down the bad guy, there was this sense that Felipe Smith, didn't have enough of a story for just Ghost Rider, so he throws these other heroes in as a form of padding. Not to say it wasn't fun, just seemed like we could've explored Ghost Rider a bit more.

It was a good way to show off how power Ghost Rider is, as he takes so much abuse from not only the villains, but the other members of the team as well, without breaking a sweat. His power seems to be growing, and this book really showed off how strong he is getting.

Overall, the book is an enjoyable read, but not really anything of substance. I would say read this as an easy quick read if you like Ghost Rider.

[Brandon · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's a modern update of the "New Fantastic Four" where Ghost Rider, Spider-Man, Wolverine, and Hulk are now replaced by Robbie Reyes, Cindy Moon, Laura Kinney, and Amadeus Cho. I like that! They're great characters and I like seeing them more, the problem being that for a "Ghost Rider" book the dude is barely in it. Half of each issue is Robbie doing his own thing, the other half is Hulk and Wolverine doing their own thing, and even with numerous run-ins they don't really "team up" until the end. Ghost Rider doesn't get to do much, and has the least interesting story.

The comics can be good sometimes, with some neat art (the action scenes and shapeshifting body horror of the enemy are the best) throughout. But I didn't like the humour, how the characters acted, and a lot of the facial expressions. When the superheroes are being superheroes it's neat, but outside of the action it's a let-down.

[Emma Gear · Rating 3 out of 5]

A second series following the All-New Ghost Rider, Robbie Reyes! And it's... okay. After the first run dealt with a lot of the young heroes problems with his new life as a hero, and the troubling origins of his powers, the followup focuses more on the evolution of him as a character.

And it's not great. The biggest reason it's not ideal is that it just doesn't really feel like Robbie's story. After a mysterious organism is unearthed deep underground Amadeus Cho (The Totally Awesome Hulk) is brought in to examine it. The mysterious being makes contact with a nearby lab rat, and instantly evolves using the rats traits to become essentially a feral purple rat. This would not be so bad if Cho did not make the mistake of sticking his tongue out at the thing to taunt it, where it proceeds to bite him, and evolve once again to become very hulklike in its abilities. SO the villain is essentially a mindless organism that is extremely dangerous because it can evolve instantly, and that's made worse when you get into the fact that there are other superheroes staying around nearby! With the hulk augmenting its abilities, the organism is able to get a taste for Laura Kinney's blood, and then even samples a bit of Silk's powerset.

And like I said, this doesn't really feel enough like it's Robbie's story. He sort of takes a backseat for large portions of the story to focus on the adventures of Amadeus, Laura, and Silk as they work together to try and stop the weird organism. They attempt to recruit Robbie as well, but he declines and works from the side throughout. There's also a great side story with a reformed convict who starts working at the same garage Robbie does. The man has done some extremely terrible things in his previous life but he swears he's gone straight since then, and does not want to get involved in anything bad.

I feel like this run could have been better salvaged by just one more issue. After the fifth everything wraps up very nicely, but a further examination of Robbie's newfound abilities, what it means for him, as well as giving better closure to Ramon's character arc. It's just lacking a lot of what made that first run work so well, but I'm still giving it a 3 because I do like Amadeus, Laura, and Silk as characters. If you like them too, you won't hate this. If you're indifferent or ONLY here for Robbie then you'll walk away disappointed.

[Jennifer Juffer · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’m not quite sure why this volume is under “Ghost Rider” when it seems to be mainly focused on Amadeus Cho, The Hulk.
Yes, it’s a Team Up. I get that part of the title. “The Four”.

It’s actually somewhat of a humorous book. However, many points are lost. Completely lost.
I can’t help it.
I feel like it’s full of ingredients that don’t match with broken eggs that turned into an undercooked omelet.

[Kurt Lorenz · Rating 3 out of 5]

With so much focus on The Totally Awesome Hulk, All-New Wolverine, Silk, and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. this seemed like it was supposed to be one of those fifth week special issue crossovers rather than a Ghost Rider series. Entertaining, but I would have liked to see more Robbie Reyes character development rather than a team-up.

[Fizzgig76 · Rating 2 out of 5]

Reprints Ghost Rider (Limited Series) #1-5 (January 2017-May 2017). Robbie Reyes finds “Eli” is getting harder to control. As the Ghost Rider begins to take over more aspects of his life, Robbie discovers the hiring of a former ex-con gang leader named Ramon could lead to danger for the garage and his neighborhood. Meanwhile, the Totally Awesome Hulk has accidentally unleashed an unknown creature in Los Angeles with the ability to absorb powers. With Hulk, Wolverine, and Silk trying to track and stop the creature, the absorbing of Ghost Rider’s powers could mean creating an unstoppable enemy.

Written by Felipe Smith, Ghost Rider: Four on the Floor is a Marvel Comics limited series collection. Following the Secret Wars limited series Battleworld: Ghost Racers, the series features art by Danilo S. Beyruth.

Robbie Reyes doesn’t do much for me as Ghost Rider. It isn’t necessarily the characters, but the stories. In the attempt to keep Ghost Rider a “local hero”, it feels like repetition of the same story: Robbie tries to keep control of Ghost Rider while battling gang members (kind of some of my same issues with Punisher…who often just fights drug dealers over and over again). This story is even worse in the fact that Ghost Rider feels like a guest star in his own series.

Ghost Rider is kind of the framework of the story, but the real story seems to be about Hulk’s battle against the very Venom-esque organism that gains the powers of those it bites. The series in general feels like a showcase for the “next-gen” comic book characters by adding “All-New” Wolverine and Silk to the roster of Hulk’s team (along with Agent Coulson and May from S.H.I.E.L.D.). While Ghost Rider fits in with this next generation team, he isn’t really brought into it and just happens to cross paths with them a few times. As a result, it feels like Ghost Rider is sidelined in the story.

The series is also a limited series. By making it a mini-series, I kind of expect more from it. To necessitate a stand-alone series, I feel it needs to big bigger and bolder than simply a Ghost Rider storyline. A similar technique was used for Venom in the 1990s and it kind of feels like it diminishes the character by making repeat attempts by having a new first issue every few issues. If “Four on the Floor” was the first storyline in a new Ghost Rider series, I’d feel a bit better about the lack of character development and action.

Ghost Rider: Four on the Floor is a pretty poor storyline. It never feels like any of the players involved in the story ever get to really develop into rounded characters (even if Hulk, Wolverine, and Silk are just guest stars). The series needs to do better to develop the Reyes character (simply putting him in shows like Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. isn’t enough for a comic draw when comics are so easily cancelled). I hope that future stories will be more developed and less of a showcase for other heroes.

[Blythe Penland · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this book was a flamin' hot new read. I've never encountered any Ghost Rider mention or material before, so I thought I'd find out more. I haven't found as much as I thought I would, but let's just say I am intrigued by Robbie Reyes and his secret identity. I commend Robbie for being the primary caretaker of his little brother, Gabe, but I do think that having him around the auto shop all the time can be dangerous. Gabe didn't deserve to be yelled at by Ramón, but there's got to be a safer option where Gabe can go while his brother's working. I don't think I'm clear on the whole pinkish-purple rock that attaches itself to the DNA of something, copies it, and uses it to "adapt" or "survive." I mean, seriously, what was that thing? I really want to know. Hopefully, Amadeus Cho or someone at S.H.I.E.L.D. will find out because that thing was creepy, gross, and came off as a copycat. Watching it have the powers of Hulk, Wolverine, and Silk, as well as the faces of Phil Coulson and Agent May was unsettling, to say the least. On top of it all, Ghost Rider didn't seem to have a problem with the thing at all. Kind of makes you wonder what Uncle Eli means when he says that Robbie's experience growing pains and his power will only increase. By the way, I personally love that Robbie has two different colored eyes. Very Bowie-esque. I don't support Eli's methods of madness or his anger. There is a time and a place to let the beast loose, but it rarely comes to fruition. Amadeus' crush on Laura was adorable, but I'm not sure if this is the Laura I know in reference to the All-New X-Men, which means I can't totally ship it. I couldn't help but notice the parallels between Robbie and Laura, though they had little to no interaction throughout the whole novel. They both have powers that can be scary when not under control. They also have a younger sibling that they each look out for. Even crazier is that Robbie's brother's name is Gabe and Laura's sister's is Gabby. I still don't trust Ramón exactly, but I think that he's truly making an effort to stay away from old habits. And I respect that. The last part of issue 5 confused me. Who was the girl who rode the skateboard? Because I've got a pretty good feeling she wasn't Rhonda Rubens, whoever that is. And how on Earth was she faster than the Ghost Rider car? Something to find out more about later, I guess. I recommend this book to those looking for second chances.

[Guilherme Smee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sem dúvida, Robbie Reyes é o meu "Motoqueiro" Fantasma preferido. Ao menos, ele é mais identificável para nós, latinos. Talvez, por essa razão, ele não tenha feito muito sucesso nos Estados Unidos. Este encadernado é a segunda série do personagem, que só durou cinco edições. Ainda assim ela reuniu uma versão repaginada do "Novo" Quarteto Fantástico lá dos anos 90. Dessa vez, Reyes, X-23, Amadeus Cho e Teia de Seda fazem parte da formação. Uma coisa interessante que todos esses personagens têm em comum, somando-se a Kamala Khan, Sam Alexander e Miles Morales, é que todos eles dão muita importância para os personagens que cercam os heróis - como era feito tradicionalmente com os heróis, antes da Michaelbayzação dos quadrinhos. Assim, uma trama bobinh como a que temos aqui: de um elemento capaz de copiar poderes de quem absorve o DNA, pode se tornar bastante interessante, justamente pelas subtramas e a relação entre um personagem e outro e seus coadjuvantes. Também vale dizer que nesse encadernado quem assume a arte é brasileiro Danilo Beyruth, com um traço muito mais legal que o dos encadernados anteriores.

[Adam Fisher · Rating 3 out of 5]

Picking up after the previous two Volume run of "All-New Ghost Rider", we get this story, which despite being named "Ghost Rider", only has him as part of the story.
A strange purple material drops from space and is being investigated. Interaction with it causes it to gain the form and powers of the person/thing touched. Unfortunately, one of the first creatures it comes into contact with is the Totally Awesome Hulk! Hulk chases it, and off our story goes.
It basically boils down to a team up between Hulk, Ghost Rider, All-New Wolverine, Silk and some of SHIELD. Gaining a new ability, Robbie takes it out eventually.
This story was light, predictable and contained none of the darkness and violence that should be in a Ghost Rider comic. AND.... can we please get back to the days of GH being able to talk?!
Recommend, but only for die hard fans.

[Scott Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not sure what to think. Ghost Rider's never been the traditional hero in any incarnation, but this particular incarnation makes almost no sense to me. Clearly this isn't aimed at me as the audience.

That said, if you're not reading it expecting anything that resembles the traditional Spirit of Vengeance in anything more than surface looks, this is a pretty darned creative concept. The art looks good too. Unfortunately in this particular volume Robbie Reyes is pushed into the background in his own book by a surfeit of guest stars who set about doing stupidly random hero monster bashing in the foreground while the interesting stuff--character moments etc. between Robbie and others in the auto shop where he works--is all happening in the background. Perhaps if that stuff were foregrounded I'd be more excited about this.

[Joey · Rating 1 out of 5]

I got this book because I thought Robbie Reyes' Ghost Rider seemed like a cool character. I was totally right, this incarnation of the spirit of vengeance is badass. It's a shame that the story, special guests, and even the human it's tied to are all god-awful. Robbie and his little brother have a relationship similar to the brother's in Big Hero Six, except it's ten times more cringe-worthy. X-23, who's now the all-new wolverine, shows up for effectively no reason at all, but to sell another book. Also Silk, a spider character no one asked for, teams up as well for promotional reasons. Then to round out the "diversity is a strength" crew, Amadeus Cho's Hulk is there. This Hulk might be the worst created character ever to disgrace comics.

[Sean · Rating 2 out of 5]

Anything of promise from the previous volume is completely missing here. The dichotomy between Robbie and Eli was interesting and had so much promise. In this new volume, which was quickly cancelled, we get just a bit of that but a revolving door of guest stars for no reason. None. It was awful. Also, Felipe Smith is the same writer as last volume and creator of these new characters yet he seems to forget Gabe's age and afflictions. Embarrassing. The art was decent. Overall, this book was unneeded but these characters have potential.

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Don't discoveries like this make you HAPPY?"

as much as i enjoyed this, it just all felt so out of place. wolverine was ooc the whole time. amadeus felt more like the main character than robbie. the power-absorbing alien didn't really feel like a ghost rider villain, and it definitely didn't feel like the right villain for a 5 issue arc where robbie didn't even interact with most of the characters.

[Hunter Lambright · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think the hard thing about this book is that it's not really a Ghost Rider comic. It's another attempt at the "New Fantastic Four" model. It doesn't really work for me. And after reading All-New Ghost Rider, I was really, really hoping for any kind of villain other than something massive that needs punched. I miss the various spiritual heaven/hell-based villains from Ghost Rider past.

[Vicky · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was an okay read. It had an interesting ensemble of characters that I don't think were utilised that well - plus I think it was a tad overboard considering half of them don't really add anything to the story and ended up overshadowing Robbie in his own run. They didn't even really team up and nothing felt explored or dived into.

[B · Rating 3 out of 5]

Does kind of feel like the goal was to "see cool characters in action" rather than tell a story.

Anyone else disappointed that the author needed someone with spider powers in Las Vegas and chose . . . Silk?

[Dani (ダニ ¦ 다니) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5

There wasn't enough Robbie Reyes in this Volume but it was an entertaining read. Not as good as the first run but still enjoyable. Hopefully, there will be more Robbie Reyes in the future. Really love this character ♥

[Albert · Rating 1 out of 5]

sorely disappointed, especially with the promise of team up

[Daniel Butcher · Rating 2 out of 5]

This feels much more like a team-up book than a Ghost Rider book.

Some plot things "just happen" making the story not work well for me.

[Kris Ritchie · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF after one issue. Meh.

[Heather Allen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nah.

[Colin Parfitt · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very good first entry in the new Hulk, Wolverine, Silk team (featuring Ghost Rider)

Sadly not a very good Ghost Rider book. Why make the Ghost Rider a supporting character in his own book?

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

Somehow it manages to feel too rushed and spread too thin at the same time. It includes some of my favorite characters though so it's still a decently entertaining read

[Joshua Williams · Rating 2 out of 5]

a book of B listers from the D list team champions? what could go wrong? or right...

[Nicholas Brozey · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was cute and fine - Just felt like it was for kids more than it should have been