main image"MATADOR GHOST RIDER"

Real Name: Unrevealed 

Identity/Class: Human possessed by a Spirit of Vengeance, probably Spanish citizen (see comments)

Occupation: Unrevealed 

Group Membership: Spirits of Vengeance / Ghost Riders

Affiliations: Her bull

Enemies: Zadkiel, demons, Kid Blackheart

Known Relatives: None 

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Probably Spain (see comments)

First Appearance: Ghost Rider VI#31 (March, 2009)

 

Powers/Abilities: The "Matador Ghost Rider" presumably possessed superhuman strength and durability, as well as immunity to conventional small arms, and could generate fire. She wielded a sword (possibly an estoque, the curved sword matadors use to kill the bulls in the ring), and rode a gigantic hellfire-enhanced bull which had several lances sticking out of its shoulders.

  

History: (Ghost Rider VI#31 (fb)) - The Matador Bear Ghost Rider was one of dozens of Ghost Riders who operated in different countries across the world. At some point she was destroyed or died of natural causes (see comments).

 

(Ghost Rider: Heaven's on Fire#6) - Like all past Ghost Riders, the "Matador Ghost Rider" was revived to take part in defending Heaven from first Zadkiel and then Kid Blackheart's demon army, standing alongside Marinette Bwa Chech, Caleb and one of the crew of Tank 666. After the battle, Heaven lit up as God returned, and the resurrected Ghost Riders returned to their eternal rest.

 

Comments: Created by Jason Aaron and Tan Eng Huat.

The "Matador Ghost Rider" appears in Ghost Rider VI#31 as part of a montage image of international Ghost Riders that Caretaker (Sara) sees in her mind. Arguably it is a vision rather than a flashback, and certainly it provides no non-visual information about her or her history, so the Ghost Rider Index neither listed it as a flashback nor included it in the chronologies of the characters depicted. However, for Appendix purposes, I've listed it in the history, if only because it counts as her first appearance.

With so few appearances, there's little to go from in the comics when it comes to defining details about this Ghost Rider. Luckily the script for Ghost Rider #31 provided a tiny amount of extra information, albeit not that much - apart from confirming her gender (something not immediately clear visually), it notes that she is a matador (hence the profile title, a descriptor rather than name) who rides a fire-snorting bull. Seen in Caretaker (Sara's vision) after she states that she now has six thousand years of Ghost Rider history crammed into her head, it isn't even clear if the "Matador Ghost Rider" operated in the present day or distant past, but Sara's statements that they are "all gone now" at least confirms she is no longer active. Since at least two others in the same vision were present day Ghost Riders (Yokai-Raida and Shoba Mirza), it might be the case that all those seen were recently active, in which case the "Matador Ghost Rider" might be one of the victims of Dan Ketch's Ghost Rider pogrom that took place between Ghost Rider: Dan Ketch#3 and Ghost Rider VI#30.

The "Matador Ghost Rider" is presumably from a country where bullfighting is part of the public consciousness, hence her Spirit of Vengeance adopting that form, though it is interesting to have a women adopt this form as women are still largely not accepted as bullfighters. On the other hand, she is riding the bull, which is somewhat contrary to the concept of matadors who would normally be considered antagonistic to bulls - perhaps her human identity was against bullfighting and tried to protect the bull she rides in her transformed state, which would make the matador iconography somewhat of an ironic statement. While she could be from Central or South America, or Portugal, I suspect she is meant to be from Spain, which is still the place most people think of first when they think of matadors.

Profile by Loki.

CLARIFICATIONS:
The "Matador Ghost Rider" is definitely connected to, but should not be confused with

but has no known connections to

"Matador Ghost Rider's" bull

The "Matador Ghost Rider's" steed was a gigantic bull empowered by the Spirit of Vengeance.

 

--Ghost Rider VI#31, (Ghost Rider: Heaven's On Fire#6

 


images: (without ads)
Ghost Rider VI#31, p13, pan1 (main image)
Ghost Rider: Heaven's On Fire#6, p11, pan1 (in Heaven)
Ghost Rider VI#31, p13, pan1 (bull)

Other Appearances:
Ghost Rider: Heaven's On Fire#6 (February, 2010) - Jason Aaron (writer), Roland Boschi (art), Sebastian Girner (editor)

Last updated: 03/20/14

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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