Agents of SHIELD S04E01

    Last Night, the Spirit of Vengeance made its Marvel Cinematic Universe debut on Agents of SHIELD. Ghost Rider officially exists in the same universe as Captain America and Daredevil. And it was incredible, from the duality of Robbie and the Rider, the Flaming Skull, the Flaming Car, and the transformation between them. But more than that, he was introduced in a well put together episode. 

    The episode starts with a action sequence like a horror movie. Originally it looks like Quake is the one drawing suspense. Her face isn't shown, the cuts are around her actions, we only se the reactions of the gangsters Quake is tracking. But no, she is not the focus. This mysterious black muscle car comes driving in, and shot at by a gangster with a Rocket Propelled Grenade. As the car flips over, the tires and engine burst into flames. But this is no ordinary car. It is the car of "The Rider". As quake uses her powers to protect a bystander from the mysterious character, we see a flaming skull get in the car and drive off after he has killed several gangsters. 

    Then we get to see the SHIELD agents hard at work. Coulson and Mack are field partners, May is training other Agents, and Fitzsimmons are back working on science together. All of these characters seem like their old selves, with Fitz still mistakenly calling Coulson "Director", May with her Desert-dry humor, Simmons still being Simmons, Mack with his crazy, probably useful gadget ideas, and Coulson still showing his fatherly instincts for Daisy/Quake. But things are different now. Yo-yo is now an independent asset for SHIELD, Simmons has to report everything to the new director, the New director is super paranoid (as he probably should be), Coulson is no longer allowed to go after Daisy/Quake, and Yo-yo Mack seems to be the new Fitzsimmons ship-wise. 

    On more Technical Aspects, there were lots of cool tracking cam moments. However, it was probably sometimes too shaky. The CGI of the Flaming Car, Flaming Skull, and the Transformation from Robbie to Ghost Rider was top notch. The fight choreography was great. 

    On the whole, I thought it was a fantastic way to start off the new season. The Ghost Rider and the SHIELD gang have me pumped for the next episode and the rest of the Season. 

SPOILERS from Now On. 

    One of the most interesting angles about this ghost rider is the duality of Robbie Reyes and the Spirit of Vengeance, and the transition between the two. Robbie doesn't seem to be an altogether bad guy, not even really an anti-hero. I love how he helps his little brother. The Spirit of Vengeance starts to take control and Robbie's eyes start glowing. Then when the Spirit takes full control, the flaming skull burns off Robbie's skin. 

    The magic stuff in the box I originally thought would be related to the Berserker staff from Season 1. However, given its effect on May, I now think it is going to be the Doctor Strange tie in, as the victims of the stuff see what looks like the Doctor Strange villain's eyes as the eyes of other people.