Dr. Raymond "Ray" Stantz is the deuteragonist of the Ghostbusters film series and one of the original Ghostbusters and was one of the most devoted to the pursuit of studying the paranormal. He appears in all major forms of the Ghostbusters franchise, however like Peter and Winston, he is a guest on Extreme Ghostbusters.
Background
Personality
Development
Appearances
Films
Ghostbusters
Before they were kicked out of the University, Ray devotes a lot of his workday to interviewing people who had some sort of encounter with the paranormal. After the entanglement with the library ghost, Ray is more motivated to continue on with that type of work. When the guys are let go by Dean Yager, he is initially crushed, primarily concerned with his academic integrity, financial stability, etc. Ray had briefly worked in the private sector beforehand, and knew it wasn't conductive to his line of work, as they expected notable results.
After talking with Peter Venkman and Egon Spengler, they all decide to try hunting ghosts full time. Ray even mortgages the house he was born in to provide the starting capital to get the company started and buy the firehouse. In addition, he rummages through used car lots to find a suitable vehicle and repair it to make the Ecto-1.
Dr. Stantz also has the distinction of being the first Ghostbuster to meet Slimer. Unlike his other continuity, however Ray drops his cigarette in fear. He then resorts to proton blasting, after his call for assistance is unheard by Venkman.
Ray accidentally chooses the form of Gozer's appearance because of his childhood times at Camp Waconda. Despite his initial attempt at negotiations, he ends up fighting Gozer with his Proton Pack. After reversing the particle flow to force Gozer back into his realm, Ray is concerned about the other guys' welfare after the explosion, and then celebrates with them all afterward. Although this was short-lived by the, "ungrateful, yuppie larvae!" representing the city, county and state of New York City.
Ghostbusters II
In the second film, the Ghostbusters are forced out of business, and put under judicial restraining orders, prohibiting them from their work. Ray spends his time running his bookstore, Ray's Occult Books. However, when Dana Barrett comes to Egon and later Ray about her baby’s carriage rolling away into the street, it becomes clear that something supernatural is happening underneath New York.
Digging up the street where the stroller stopped at First Avenue, Peter and Egon lower Ray down; he discovers a river of pink slime below the city. He collects a sample of the slime as Peter and Egon are detained by the police; as they pull him up, he accidentally causes a city-wide blackout. The next day, they go to court and are found guilty, but when the judge’s tirade causes the ghosts of two convicted murderers he sentenced to death in the past to appear, he rescinds the judicial restraining orders and dismisses the case in their favor in exchange for capturing the ghosts. Thus, the Ghostbusters are back in business.
The group experiments with the slime they obtained underground, and observe that it reacts to human emotions. When Dana comes over to Peter’s place after slime appears in her bathtub and attacks her and Oscar, he calls Ray and Egon about it, to which Egon reveals that he researched a painting that Peter mentioned at the Manhattan Museum of Art, leading Ray to assume that the slime may be related to the painting, before they go to Dana’s apartment to investigate the bathtub.
The next morning, they go to the museum, encountering opposition from Janosz Poha, the head of the Restoration department, forcing Winston to restrain him, while Peter photographs the painting. Ray and Egon examine the photos in their lab back at HQ. Running one of them through the spectronalizer, the photo turns into a demonic-looking version of Vigo above the river of slime Ray saw underground. Suddenly, the photos and the room catch fire. Fortunately, Winston breaks through the locked door and puts out the fire with a fire extinguisher.
Egon, Ray, and Winston go to investigate the subway to try and find the source of the river. They encounter creepy heads and then the ghost of a train that Egon believes to be the old New York Central “City of Albany”, which derailed in 1920 and killed hundreds of people. Ray then discovers a hole, leading to the river of slime. As Winston tries to determine the depth, he gets pulled in and swept away, prompting Ray and Egon to go after him. Climbing out of a storm drain, Ray and Winston get into a fight until Egon realizes the slime is affecting them, and it is flowing right to the Manhattan Museum of Art.
They then go to Peter as he's having dinner with Dana to inform him what they've discovered, but are forcibly removed from the restaurant. Meeting with Mayor Lenny, they try to inform him of the situation, to no avail, and are committed to the psychiatric ward at Parkview Hospital. They are later let out when Oscar is kidnapped by Janosz and brought to the Museum so Vigo can take over his body and resurrect.
After an unsuccessful attempt to break through the slime barrier surrounding the museum, they use positively-charged slime to control the Statue of Liberty and break in. After hosing down Janosz, Vigo appears in human form; the Ghostbusters try to catch him with their Proton Packs, only to be immobilized. The crowd outside then begins singing, weakening Vigo and trapping him back in his painting. He then possesses Ray, forcing Egon, Peter, and Winston to hose him, destroying Vigo for good in the process. Upon regaining consciousness, Ray proclaims he loves his friends, and he and the others are then given the key to the city.
Ghostbusters: Afterlife
Ray is initially seen in video footage recounting the events of 1984, and Phoebe Spengler later calls him while in jail; she informs him of Egon's death and her connections to him, to which Ray tells her what happened to the Ghostbusters since 1989. He and the others reappear to help Phoebe, her mother, brother, and Podcast battle Gozer once more. Gozer initially cripples them, but Egon's ghost lends a helping hand, and through teamwork, they manage to trap her for good. As they celebrate their success, Ray congratulates Podcast for his heroic contribution and reveals that he is his sole subscriber.
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire
Video Games
Ghostbusters: The Video Game
In Ghostbusters: The Video Game, Ray is one of the senior 'busters. He is voiced by none other than Dan Aykroyd and thus is similar to his movie counterpart. He is still the wide-eyed enthusiast and still more than eager to expand his knowledge in regards to researching the paranormal. More than once he asks the Rookie to collect samples and take readings for later research. Ray is also the most vocally supportive of the Rookie.
It is mentioned that the mortgage for the Firehouse is in his name. His selection for the Stay Puft form of Gozer's "Destructor Form" was mentioned in a quote "It wasn't me this time, I swear it!" when the 'busters see that Stay Puft is, once again, terrorizing New York. Ray is the most visibly shaken to see Mr. Stay Puft again.
Ray is shown to possess skill in operating nautical vessels (i.e.: migrant sponge observation, mentioned earlier) as he's the primary navigator on Marine Ecto-8.
Relationships
Gallery
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