When Scott Lang, Hope van Dyne, Hank Pym and the rest of the Ant-Man gang return in Ant-Man and the Wasp later this year, they're going to have their hands busy, and not just because the FBI will be on their tails. At San Diego Comic-Con last year, two of the sequel's villains were announced: Sonny Burch, played by Justified's Walton Goggins, and Ghost, played by Killjoy actress Hannah John-Kamen. Of these two, we got our best look at Ghost yesterday in the first Ant-Man and the Wasp trailer through a quick look at her in costume and a couple of even quicker shots of what could be the moment when she obtains her powers. But who exactly is this Ghost, and what can we expect from her in Ant-Man and the Wasp? Well, as is the case with any other Marvel character being brought to the big screen, looking to the comics will help shed light, though in this case, the Ghost in the main Marvel universe is a man rather than a woman.
Introduced in 1987's Iron Man #219, Ghost started out as one of the Armored Avenger's foes, but as the years have passed, he's developed into more of an anti-hero figure. Ghost's real name has never been revealed, and he doesn't go by any other alias, so we still only know him by his phantom-themed moniker. From what little has been revealed about Ghost's past, he started out as a data engineer for a computer corporation, and he developed a series of computer chips called GhostTech that could phase into intangibility before overheating. His invention made the company rich, so the suits in charge persuaded this man to keep up his productivity through bribes, gifts, favors, etc. However, when the corporation's leadership had the man's lover killed, he used his GhostTech to build a stealth suit that would allow him and any object he touched to become intangible or invisible, though not at the same time. With these new abilities, he killed the corporation's leaders and began his career as an industrial saboteur.
Along with its phasing and invisibility features, Ghost's suit is also equipped with state-of-the-art technology that make it easy for him to hack into electronics and disrupt electromagnetic signals, making him one of the best people you could hire to sabotage a competing company, steal secrets, etc. Ghost crossed paths with Iron Man for the first time when the antagonist was hired to infiltrate Accutech, a company that Tony Stark had recently bought. That kicked off their adversarial relationship, but in recent years, Ghost has also become closely affiliated with the Thunderbolts.
Usually depicted as a team of consisting of reformed super villains and anti-heroes (yes, think of it as being similar to DC's Suicide Squad), Ghost was recruited for Norman Osborn's sinister iteration of the Thunderbolts during Dark Reign. However, Ghost later betrayed Osborn, and as a result, he was brought onto a later iteration of the Thunderbolts, though he still hasn't retired from his corporate espionage career. Outside of the comics, Ghost has appeared in animated TV shows like Iron Man: Armored Adventures, Avengers: Ultron Revolution and the newest Spider-Man animated series, as well as the video games Marvel Heroes and Marvel: Avengers Alliance 2.
Which brings us back to Hannah John-Kamen's Ghost in Ant-Man and the Wasp. So far no specific details about this version of the character have been officially revealed other than the fact that like her comic book counterpart, she'll at least be able to turn intangible, as evidenced by the shot in the Ant-Man and the Wasp trailer of her hand becoming blurry. It remains to be seen if this ability will come from her suit or if she'll be able to use it naturally. Regardless, I suspect that John-Kamen's Ghost will remain in the sabotage business for Ant-Man and the Wasp. Assuming Walton Goggins' Sonny Burch has the same corporate ties that his comic book counterpart does, perhaps he'll hire/partner with Ghost and have her steal Hank Pym's shrinking technology. I'm also skeptical that this Ghost will go on to join an MCU version of the Thunderbolts, but that's okay, because with her abilities, she'll make a challenging foe for Ant-Man and Wasp to defeat in this story.
We'll see Ghost in action when Ant-Man and the Wasp buzzes into theaters on July 6. For more information about what the MCU has coming up, check out our Marvel movies guide.
