I was a kid when the original Ghostbusters came out in 1984, and it was easily one of my favorite movies. I loved the classic cartoon series, and when Ghostbusters 2 came out, the slime-filled bathtub quickly became a source of nightmares for me. But while I loved Ghostbusters 2 minus the nightmares, one thought always nagged at me that I really wanted to see explored.
Walter Peck.
While he did return in the animated series, and actually came back in a significant role in the comics, I think a whole sequel could have been built around his character.
I'm going to start with what we know about his character. He's obviously smart, if holding a very narrow view of the world around him. He's arrogant and vindictive. He's also a smartass, though not on the level of Peter Venkman. So, while not a fleshed-out character, he's not a cardboard cut-out, there's more than enough there to work with.
So now we go to the Original Ghostbusters. Peck works for the EPA, and obviously does not believe in ghosts, calling them hallucinations brought on by the busters drugging people. He insists on having the containment unit shut down, which then explodes, releasing thousands of spirits across New York and heralding the arrival of Gozer. He even follows the movie's events to the apartment building where the Ghostbusters fight the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man, where he gets absolutely drenched in melted marshmallow goo.
Now, let's talk about the obvious immediate aftermath of the movie. Peck would absolutely be fired from his position in the EPA. He would also have no choice but to re-evaluate his disbelief in the supernatural, either doubling-down on his belief that everything was a hoax, or accepting that ghosts are real. Or his mind just breaks with the conundrum of it all.
Pretty sure his mind just breaks. Look back at the end of Ghostbusters. He's standing there, covered in marshmallow slime, and he's laughing. Laughing. Pretty sure he's lost it.
So what do you think an egomaniac who was just driven insane by supernatural events with a lot of time on his hands does? Well, first, he's probably going to be looking for more proof of the supernatural, second, he's probably going to look for ways to get revenge on the people that lost him his job and helped drive him insane.
So he goes in search of powerful supernatural artifacts, and eventually finds himself in possession of a book, possibly even the Necronomicon, that details how to summon and command ghosts and demons. Thus, he begins amassing a supernatural army to return to New York with to wreck his vengeance upon the Ghostbusters.
Thus begins a cat-and-mouse game of Peck summoning more ghosts and more powerful demons to kill the Ghostbusters, while they study the frequency and origins of the sudden surge in supernatural activity to determine what's going on. Eventually, Peck slips up and reveals himself, and the Ghostbusters have to track him down to get the book away from him. In the final confrontation, Peck summons a demon too powerful for him to control, and it breaks loose, forcing the Ghostbusters to not only try and capture Peck, but to stop the demon before it decimates New York.
I think that would have been an awesome addition to the Ghostbuster's franchise, bringing back an old villain, introducing objects of supernatural power, and giving us a great movie to enjoy. It seems like such an obvious thread to grasp too. Unfortunately, we'll probably never know.
Still, it's nice to imagine what could have been, sometimes.
