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The Spectral Ghostbusters[5][6] (also known as the Anti-Ghostbusters) [citation needed] appeared in the episode "Citizen Ghost" and are the results of the battle against Gozer, which has manifested into evil doppelgängers of the Ghostbusters by using their old uniforms. In a way, Peter Venkman was responsible for their creation (as they were created from the duties he was too lazy to perform). The mission of the Spectral Ghostbusters was to get rid of the Real Ghostbusters.

History[]

Primary Canon[]

The Spectral Ghostbusters are the old uniforms of the Ghostbusters given life from a combination of psychokinetic energy absorbed from the battle with Gozer and a leakage in the Containment Unit. After the Ghostbusters had defeated Gozer, as seen in the first movie, their outfits were polluted with some leftover residue of the evil god.[7] After they were given their new uniforms, Egon ordered that the outfits be destroyed by Peter.[8] However, Peter was too lazy to do burn them right away and the suits were exposed to some ectoplasm from a leak in the newly-rebuilt Containment Unit (something Peter was supposed to check for).[9][10] This mixed with Gozer's residue and the Ghostbusters' mental imprints.[11] Over time, this caused evil ghostly versions of the Ghostbusters to be born.[12] This new team attempted to take over the Ghostbusters' job by eliminating them.[13] The Ghostbusters forced them out of their headquarters and soon discovered what caused them (to which Peter received the blame).

The Spectral Ghostbusters resurfaced several days later and followed the Ghostbusters back to their headquarters.[14] It was here that the Ghostbusters were at a disadvantage as they only had one pack that was not even fully charged. However, they discovered that the Spectral Ghostbusters' stream blasts are made from their own ectoplasm and that constant use of their streams weakened them.[15] Slimer then went out and drew away their fire until they were weak enough for capture. After the Spectral Ghostbusters were successfully captured, Slimer was accepted as a pet ghost by the Ghostbusters and the old outfits were properly disposed of. Peter later retold the encounter with the Spectral Ghostbusters to UBN reporter, Cynthia Crawford.

Secondary Canon[]

RGB Magazine Summer 1990[]

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As Seen in RGB Magazine Summer 1990 issue

They return and take the uniforms and packs of the Ghostbusters that Peter had thrown away. It is noted that they were using the Ghostbusters' outdated models, as that is why they got rid of them. The Spectral Ghostbusters go on a bank robbing spree, which gets the real Ghostbusters in jail. The Spectral Ghostbusters then go to the Firehouse and planned to open the Containment Unit. The Ghostbusters get released from jail after explaining that the robbers were imposters with their old equipment. The Ghostbusters then get back to the Firehouse and confront the Spectral Ghostbusters and bust them once again.

It is not explained how the Spectral Ghostbusters escaped the Containment Unit after the first time.

Ghostbusters: The Board Game[]

Ghost Card Information[]

Side A[]

  • To Hit: 4 or higher, add a Stream
  • To Trap: 1 Stream per Spectral Ghostbuster on the map
  • When Hit: Move 1 space away from that Ghostbuster.
  • When Trapped: Permanently remove the Spectral Ghostbuster from the scenario.
  • When Missed: Move 1 space in a random direction.
  • Special:
    • (Set-Up) When starting a scenario, roll the Event Die. Place a Spectral Ghostbuster adjacent to each Gate except for the symbol rolled (re-roll on Chaos Symbol).
    • At the end of each round, each Spectral Ghostbuster moves 1 space towards the nearest Ghostbuster. Then, each one rolls a Proton Die against the nearest Ghostbuster within Line of Sight. On a roll of 4 or higher, that Ghostbuster loses 1 XP.

Side B[]

The Spectral Ghostbusters manifested out of the Ghostbusters uniforms via a tremendous amount of absorbed psychokinetic energy from both the battle with Gozer on the rooftop of the Shandor Building and leakage in the Containment Unit.

Dr. Venkman was responsible for properly disposing of the uniforms after the Gozer confrontation, but in putting off that task he unwittingly gave birth to these nasty doppelgangers. Their sole purpose is to eliminate their human counterparts.

Classification[]

Secondary Canon[]

In Ghostbusters: The Board Game, the Spectral Ghostbusters are Class 3s.

Abilities[]

The Spectral Ghostbusters have all the abilities of the real Ghostbusters, but they also have ghostly abilities as well. Their packs also do not have charges as they use their own ectoplasm for the streams.[16] Unlike the Ghostbusters' streams that merely capture ghost by their protons, the Spectral Ghostbuster streams seem to flat out kill their targets. Despite possessing nearly all the equipment of the real Ghostbusters, the Spectral Ghostbusters seem to only use their particle throwers. The Spectral Ghostbusters have only one weakness, their streams are created from their own ectoplasm and constant use of the streams drains their power and weakens them.[17] This weakness is ultimately what led to their downfall at the hands of the real Ghostbusters.

Personality[]

They all seem to all have personalities that match the real Ghostbusters, though they are off the darker variety.[18] The Spectral Ghostbusters seem to think that they are the real Ghostbusters and the real Ghostbusters are impostors. The Spectral Ghostbusters also do not seem to think independently like the real Ghostbusters and only live for their mission. They also seem to have some kind of weakness when it comes to choosing between humans and actual ghost, as they all immediately started to shoot at Slimer upon first sight rather than divert some attention to the helpless Ghostbusters in front of them.

Trivia[]

Appearances[]

Primary Canon[]

The Real Ghostbusters

Secondary Canon[]

Ghostbusters Sega

  • In the Ghostbusters game for the Sega Genesis, similar villains appear as mini-bosses in the penultimate level. The only difference was that they were the other Ghostbusters possessed by an evil ghost rather than creatures spawned from fragments of Gozer. They were either Egon and Ray, Ray and Peter, or Peter and Egon depending on which Ghostbuster the player was playing as.

The Real Ghostbusters Magazine

  • "Summer 1990"
    • They return and go around robbing banks. The story is not canon.

Cryptozoic Entertainment

Also See[]

References[]

  1. Marsha Goodman (1986). Episode Call Sheet and SAG Report - "Citizen Ghost" (1986).
  2. Marsha Goodman (1986). Episode Call Sheet and SAG Report - "Citizen Ghost" (1986).
  3. Marsha Goodman (1986). Episode Call Sheet and SAG Report - "Citizen Ghost" (1986).
  4. Marsha Goodman (1986). Episode Call Sheet and SAG Report - "Citizen Ghost" (1986).
  5. Boyette, Pat (2009). The Real Ghostbusters Complete Collection Volume One Disc Five, "Citizen Ghost" Storyboard p. 112. CPT Holdings, Inc. Action section reads: "Spectral Ghostbusters look down from pole hole!"
  6. "Citizen Ghost" Storyboard Spectral Ghostbusters Reference
  7. Egon Spengler (2009). The Real Ghostbusters- Citizen Ghost (1986) (DVD ts. 4:53-5:01). Time Life Entertainment. Egon says: "Get rid of the uniforms. They absorbed a frightening amount of psychokinetic energy during our battle with Gozer. They have to be destroyed."
  8. Egon Spengler (2009). The Real Ghostbusters - "Citizen Ghost" (1986) (DVD ts. 06:12-06:14). Time Life Entertainment. Egon says: "Did you remember to burn those old uniforms like I asked you?"
  9. Peter Venkman (2009). The Real Ghostbusters- Citizen Ghost (1986) (DVD ts. 6:35-6:43). Time Life Entertainment. Peter says: "Worse yet, there was one last crack in the containment field we hadn't found yet. Energy was seeping out steadily. And the old uniforms absorbed it."
  10. Egon Spengler (2009). The Real Ghostbusters - "Citizen Ghost" (1986) (DVD ts. 14:32-14:41). Time Life Entertainment. Egon says: "As I suspected, the uniforms already filled with ectoplasmic energy from our battle with Gozer absorbed even more energy from the Containment Unit."
  11. Egon Spengler (2009). The Real Ghostbusters - "Citizen Ghost" (1986) (DVD ts. 14:53-14:57). Time Life Entertainment. Egon says: "Whenever you touch something, you leave a mental imprint. Like a fingerprint."
  12. Egon Spengler (2009). The Real Ghostbusters- Citizen Ghost (1986) (DVD ts. 14:42-14:51). Time Life Entertainment. Egon says: "Ectoplasm is like putty. The more you add, the bigger it gets. It was only a matter of time before it... well, literally woke up and walked away."
  13. Peter Venkman (2009). The Real Ghostbusters - "Citizen Ghost" (1986) (DVD ts. 16:48-16:57). Time Life Entertainment. Peter says: "Bad enough we had four specters that looked like us. They wanted to be us. And the only way they could do that is get rid of the originals. Us!"
  14. Egon Spengler (2009). The Real Ghostbusters - "Citizen Ghost" (1986) (DVD ts. 15:10-15:14). Time Life Entertainment. Egon says: "We didn't see them again for several days."
  15. Egon Spengler (2009). The Real Ghostbusters- Citizen Ghost (1986) (DVD ts. 18:54-18:56). Time Life Entertainment. Egon says: "Each time they fire, they weaken."
  16. Egon Spengler (2009). The Real Ghostbusters- Citizen Ghost (1986) (DVD ts. 16:54-16:57). Time Life Entertainment. Egon says: "They have packs that shoot out very destructive ectoplasm."
  17. Ray Stantz (2009). The Real Ghostbusters- Citizen Ghost (1986) (DVD ts. 18:57-19:01). Time Life Entertainment. Ray Stantz says: "Of course! They're made of ectoplasmic energy. The more they use, the less they have."
  18. Egon Spengler (2009). The Real Ghostbusters- Citizen Ghost (1986) (DVD ts. 14:54-14:58). Time Life Entertainment. Egon says: "Whenever you touch something, you leave a mental imprint like a fingerprint."
  19. Marsha Goodman (1986). Episode Call Sheet and SAG Report - "Citizen Ghost" (1986).
  20. Ghostbusters: The Board Game Update #32 3/4/15
  21. Ghostbusters: The Board Game Update #32 3/4/15 "Spectral Ghostbusters Add-on is now available!"
  22. teamlattie Tweet 6/4/18

Gallery[]

Collages[]

Primary Canon[]

Secondary Canon[]

Behind the Scenes Images[]

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