Avengers: Doomsday Spotlights, Part 18 — Ghost

Ava Starr is not your typical supervillain. In 2018’s “Ant-Man and the Wasp,” we learned that Ava is the daughter of a disgraced quantum researcher named Elihas, whom Hank Pym fired for stealing his plans and research. With no funding or support of any kind, Elihas pushed the limits of his own research until an accident with a faulty quantum tunnel killed him and Ava’s mom, but altered their daughter. She became able to phase through solid matter and disappear/reappear at will. Still, at a very grave cost: as Ava describes it, her cells are constantly tearing themselves apart and putting themselves back together, leaving her in unending pain. S.H.I.E.L.D. took advantage of this and made her a weapon, but former Pym associate Dr. Bill Foster took her in after the organization fell and vowed to help her. Although the Pyms helped Ava in the end, she ultimately worked for Valentina Allegra De Fontaine until joining Yelena’s New Avengers. 

Origins

However, like most of the characters in this series, the Ghost in the comics is starkly different from the one we know in the MCU. For starters, Ghost’s identity still hasn’t been revealed to this day. Not even any parts of his childhood or early life. All we know is that he was once an extremely intelligent and ambitious man, which attracted the attention of a new company called Omnisapient Systems. Quickly realizing his potential, the company’s leaders assigned him to create what would be later known as Ghost-Tech, which was: “a processor that could phase shift and store massive amounts of data, going intangible before it overheats, but still functions in a flux-state” (marvel.com). The project completely consumed his life, as he dedicated his time, energy, and very soul to making a breakthrough. 

But everything changed the minute he met his coworker, Shana. Despite heavy corporate disapproval, the pair grew closer until they began a relationship. In fact, she became another motivation to continue his work; Ghost even abandoned his vacation upon her urging. However, after tragically dying in what was reported as a gas stove fire in her apartment, Ghost went completely off the rails. Aiming to lose himself in his work more than he already had, he infused himself with some of the Ghost-Tech to increase work efficiency. But since it was still connected to the OS’s network, he gained access to top-secret information. His chance encounter with Shana turned out to be a lie: she was paid to get closer to him, but was killed when she was no longer useful to them. Ghost sought to quit OS, but the board attempted to have him killed as well by blowing up his apartment. This would prove to be a costly mistake, as the heat from the explosion triggered the Ghost-Tech inside him and gave him the abilities of intangibility and invisibility. After that, he went on a path of revenge by killing the board members, then became a ghost in almost every respect by wiping out every last hint of his past life and identity. Ever since then, Ghost would swear a blood oath against all corporations, often targeting them during his service as a mercenary. 

Powers, Abilities, and Weaknesses

It is here where the differences between the MCU and comic versions of Ghost become clearer. Ava’s powers are more biological, resulting from an accident that altered her at the cellular level. In contrast, the comic book counterpart’s powers are mainly more technological and even borderline biomechanical—thanks to the suit and infused Ghost-Tech. 

Instead of harnessing quantum energy, Ghost’s suit harnesses a largely unknown particle known as polarized eternons. This allows him to alter the state of his molecules and body density to phase through solid matter, or allow projectiles and heavy objects to pass through him. Neither of these seems to have any detrimental side effects on Ghost’s physical body, which means he can casually ignore the laws of physics at a moment’s notice. Further, to complement his status as a corporate saboteur, Ghost can also disable electronics by phasing through them. But if none of this were terrifying enough, his invisibility makes him undetectable to most kinds of sensory or security technology. And he can also extend his intangibility and invisibility to anyone or anything he touches, which opens up the possibilities to sneak allies in or out of high-risk situations or smuggle valuables out of secure areas with ease. But the best part of these powers is that Ghost can trigger them all without pressing a button. Thanks to his mask, he can mentally link with all of the Ghost-Tech’s systems, allowing him to phase or disappear with a single thought. Ghost isn’t even one of the most dangerous supervillains in Marvel in terms of raw ability, but these powers make him terrifying when you realize how they allow him to infiltrate anything from corporations to prisons and even government facilities.

Even so, that’s not the only thing that makes Ghost a terrifying adversary. Even before he became an almost literal spectre, Ghost was incredibly intelligent and gifted with technology. After all, his impressive knowledge and skillset of coding and engineering were what got him hired by Omnisapient Systems in the first place. And while he may have been paranoid and obsessive, he was also driven and dedicated. All of these combined traits got him to climb up the corporate ladder in Omnisapient Systems until he became their head of technology, and he also pushed himself so hard that he developed the Ghost-Tech in considerably record time. Being smart enough to invent technology that lets you walk through walls is one thing, but being smart enough to make such complicated tech while dealing with corporate pressure and still making it quickly is worthy of recognition. While this is already a very impressive range of abilities, his cunning and strategy should also be recognized. Finding and disposing of OS’s board members was a great start, but to truly cover his tracks, he erased every single trace of his life so efficiently that neither the government nor the superhero community has uncovered anything to this day. Further, he has built up a reputation of being a successful infiltrator and spy (among other things), implying that he has broken into and out of the most secure facilities/software systems on the planet, which takes a whole new level of brains compared to your average bank heist. 

Despite its impressive potential, there are still a couple of caveats. First of all, there’s the Ghost-Tech itself. As the “Thunderbolts” movie showed, sonic frequencies can greatly affect him: either by disrupting his focus or even disabling the suit, both of which make him visible and tangible again. Also, according to marvel.com, quantum pulses can disable his intangibility. This means that such concentrated blasts can interrupt the state his molecules enter when becoming intangible, and also interfere with the suit’s process that makes such a state possible. But even if he ignores these dangers, there’s still one more thing that holds him back (and remains a common theme with these characters): himself. As previously mentioned, Ghost is extremely paranoid and obsessive, and that can be a huge issue during high-stakes missions. Not only does he risk losing focus, but he also risks making erratic decisions that could cost him his goals or his freedom. In addition, his reclusive and untrusting nature makes him reluctant to team up with fellow villains or other allies. For instance, when he once worked for Norman Osborn’s Dark Avengers, he sold the team out to a disguised Black Widow (though he didn’t know this) so he could take down Osborn’s organization, H.A.M.M.E.R., from the inside. Later on, when he joined Luke Cage’s new Thunderbolts team, he informed his supervillain teammates, Crossbones and Juggernaut, and tried to use their next mission as a way to escape the team. Overall, the worst crippling weaknesses aren’t disabling his suit; it’s his own unstable mind and his willingness to backstab friend and foe alike. 

Greatest Feats

Yet, somehow, even a C-list villain like Ghost can make a name for himself. And there is no better example to start with than his first appearance in “Iron Man” issues 219-220 (1987), when the two meet for the first time. It all started when the Roxxon Oil Corporation hired Ghost to sabotage its rival, Accutech Research & Development, to the point of bankruptcy. Ghost successfully infiltrated the company and began his sabotage, but it soon attracted the attention of Tony Stark, who thwarted his efforts and drove him off. Swearing revenge against the billionaire, Ghost set his sights on Stark Enterprises, but his efforts were once again interrupted. However, this time it was by another villain hired by Roxxon (Spymaster) to take Ghost’s place. After an intense battle between Iron Man and the villains, Ghost tricked Spymaster into phasing through a wall with one of his phasing devices to escape, only to solidify him halfway through and kill him on the spot. But even after this disastrous outcome, Ghost still wasn’t done with Stark. Returning to Accutech, Ghost fought against the awaiting Iron Man one last time, but he was completely unaware of the trap Stark had set. Luring Ghost towards Accutech’s beta particle generator (which Roxxon was after the whole time), Stark used the device to discharge electrical energy that disabled Ghost’s suit. However, Ghost still pushed himself to fight Stark despite the setbacks, causing his suit to overheat and force his now-destabilized body through the floor. Of course, Ghost would survive, but he succeeded in making a name for himself. Not only did he successfully infiltrate two high-security corporations, but he’s shown that he’s desperate and stubborn enough to complete his mission at any cost—even if it’s his own life. 

But this next feat is where things get a bit complicated. Once again, Ghost recklessly charges into a plan that could’ve cost him his life, but it also highlights his intelligence and cunning, and even reveals that he has a somewhat moral center. This would occur when Luke Cage formed his own Thunderbolts team (which included villains such as Crossbones, Juggernaut, Mach-V, and Moonstone, along with the hero Man-Thing) to rehabilitate them. Unfortunately, Ghost was not 100% on board with this plan. He was already paranoid that Cage was slipping mind-control pills in their food at the Raft, but he began planning for an escape after overhearing that Cage was planning to disband the team after a tragic incident. So, during a mission when Thor and Iron Man accompanied the team, Ghost cleverly manipulated and disrupted Thor’s hammer. This further disrupted Man-Thing’s interdimensional travel, stranding the group in a whole new reality. During the chaos, Ghost decided to face Iron Man one last time. However, Iron Man stopped Ghost cold in his tracks by revealing that he had shut down Starktech and its subsidiaries. With Stark no longer appearing as the corporate scumbags that Ghost hates with his whole being, he gave up his crusade against the billionaire but, of course, didn’t change his ways. Regardless, two huge, iconic things took place: Ghost was smart enough to manipulate a magic weapon far beyond mortal understanding, and despite his own paranoid and distrustful nature, accepted a logical argument from a now-former enemy. It may not be a full-fledged redemption arc, but it’s a huge step in Ghost’s character, all things considered. 

Despite that, this next feat comes as close to a redemption arc as we’re gonna get. If the previous feat revealed a small piece of Ghost’s heart, then this one would widen the crack. A long time after the Thunderbolts disbanded and Ghost worked with multiple other villain teams, he discovered life-changing information: Shana was alive…in a way. Thanks to Roxxon, her consciousness was kept alive inside a digital memory card. However, Moonstone reached out to Ghost and informed him that she possessed the card. So they made a deal: Ghost would help her build what she called the Aaru Project (which marvel.com describes as a digital heaven to store other consciousnesses), in exchange for the card. In the first stage of their plan, Ghost lures the hero Spectrum and her team Strikeforce to their location, planning to use Spectrum’s energy to power the Aaru Project. But then Ghost realized a devastating truth: the Aaru Project wasn’t the digital paradise. Instead, it was built on blood. Being a former psychologist, Moonstone abducted and experimented on many patients, mostly resulting in their deaths. Not even someone like Ghost was willing to go through with such a deed, so he teamed up with the Strikeforce to defeat her and obtain the memory card, although nothing about Shana’s fate has been revealed since. Again, Ghost always has been and always will be a shifty lowlife with a crusade against corporations. But it’s always refreshing to see that even villains, despite most often never changing their ways, have a moral code of some kind. 

Conclusion

Ghost may not be in the top ten dangerous villains in all of Marvel, but his potential is undeniable. And while the MCU gave Ava Starr a very sympathetic backstory, it feels like her potential is unexplored compared to her comic book counterpart. Granted, she barely had any on-screen appearances, and she is quite a formidable fighter, but I believe fighting comic Ghost would be more terrifying and difficult. Regardless, I’m curious to see how a girl who was broken by unspeakable tragedy faces a man with a soul as cold and dark as his mask.