STRUWWELPETER
Real Name: Unrevealed
Identity/Class: Human possessed by a Spirit of Vengeance, presumably German citizen
Occupation: Unrevealed
Group Membership: Spirits of Vengeance / Ghost Riders
Affiliations: Formerly Zadkiel
Enemies: Gunrunners, demons, Kid Blackheart, Zadkiel
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: Shock-Headed Peter
Base of Operations: Hamburg, Germany
First Appearance: Ghost Rider: Danny Ketch#3 (February 2009)
Powers/Abilities: Struwwelpeter had fingernails that projected from his hands like knives. Like most Ghost Riders, he presumably possessed superhuman strength and durability, could generate fire, and could transform his chosen mode of transport into a burning vehicle capable of great speed.
History: (Ghost Rider: Danny
Ketch#3 (fb)) - Upon taking a host body in Germany, a Spirit of Vengeance
had then tuned into the local zeitgeist to choose an appropriate shape to
take (see comments), and had chosen that of Heinrich Hoffman's children's
character Struwwelpeter (Shock-Headed Peter). Armed with terrifying bladed
fingers, he stalked the Hamburg nights singing nursery rhymes while he hunted
down gunrunners and other criminals.
(Ghost Rider: Danny Ketch#4 (fb)) - At some point Struwwelpeter was destroyed.
(Ghost Rider: Heaven's on Fire#6 - BTS) - Like all past Ghost Riders, Struwwelpeter was revived to take part in defending Heaven from both the rogue angel Zadkiel and then Kid Blackheart's demon army.
Comments: Created by Simon Spurrier and Javier
Saltares.
Since Struwwelpeter only appeared in a couple of panels, there's very little information known about him. He's not explicitly named in the comic, but the revelation that Spirits of Vengeance adopt "memeforms" (idea forms) based on local myths and legends that have entered the public consciousness, combined with his nails and being described as "Shockheaded" provide sufficient clues to identify him as Struwwelpeter, something confirmed by both the script of the issue and the Ghost Rider Index. The script also mentions that this Ghost Rider also takes cues from some of Heinrich Hoffman's other horrific fairytales, though it doesn't specify which. Given his bladed hands and his hellfire, I wouldn't be surprised if he took inspiration from Die gar traurige Geschichte mit dem Feuerzeug and Die Geschichte vom Daumenlutscher, involving, respectively, a protagonist who burned to death and one who had body parts (the thumbs he kept sucking) sliced off by a roving tailor - hmm, looking at Struwwelpeter's ornate collar, he does seem the kind of avenging spirit who appreciates the work of a good tailor.
It isn't specified exactly in which time he operated, but the script identifies him and the other Ghost Riders shown in the same vision as being "contemporary." However, it seems he was already slain by the time Ketch saw him in a vision, since GR:DK#4 depicts him in a symbolic groupshot of Ghost Riders who have been destroyed, and he was definitely no longer active by Ghost Rider #30, when a discussion between Caretaker (Sara) and the Ghost Rider's Molek and Bai Gu Jing confirms the identities of the tiny handful of surviving Ghost Riders, none of whom includes this guy.
Profile by Loki.
CLARIFICATIONS:
Struwwelpeter is definitely connected to, but should not be confused
with
but has no known connections to
images: (without ads)
Ghost Rider: Danny Ketch#4, p15, pan1 (main image)
Ghost Rider: Danny Ketch#3, p10, pan1 (Struwwelpeter seen from behind,
finger-knives more clearly visible)
Other Appearances:
Ghost Rider: Danny Ketch#4 (March, 2009) - Simon Spurrier (writer), Javier
Saltares (art), Axel Alonso (editor)
Ghost Rider: Heaven's On Fire #6 (February 2010) - Jason Aaron (writer),
Roland Boschi (art), Sebastian Girner (editor)
Last updated: 03/19/14
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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