The Return of Ghost Roaster, Eons in the Making

In the world of Skylanders, many characters exhibit a wackiness and creativity that isn't matched by a lot of other game franchises. Their uniqueness is part of what makes them memorable, but few characters have made such an indelible mark as Ghost Roaster. To look at, he's certainly cool enough, with his spiky skull head and long pointy teeth, his cartoony over-the-top lapels, and chain mace tail. That's all well and ghould, but it's how he plays that makes him the total package, and why so many have fallen in love with the character.

For starters, his primary attack is him turning into a giant version of his own head, zooming around his opponents and face-bashing into them. He can, of course, use his tail to wail on his enemies as well, if you're in a humdrum sort of mood. But you'll rarely want to. He's voiced by the Crypt Keeper himself, John Kassir, who gives his signature screechy laugh every other time you do the Skull Charge, so of course you never tire of doing it.

It's damn near impossible to get hit while doing a Skull Charge, but if that's not enough, you can also switch to Ectoplasm Mode, which sees you ghosting through enemies and shrugging off their attacks, at a little cost to your health. You'll almost never use that either, because all the smart Ghost Roasters roll with the upgrade path that improves the Skull Charge. You can spawn little ghosts out of the corpses of your fallen enemies, using either your tail, or with your giant laughing head, which will gang up on other nearby enemies. You can then devour those ghosts with your ridiculous skeletal Pac-Man likeness and retrieve some HP. In summary: you deal tons of damage, take very little of it yourself, and then you can heal.

So pretty much, you're invincible.

His neat look, deliciously devilish voice and personality, and completely one-of-a-kind gameplay have made him a fan favorite, which is why you can type in "ghostroaster.com" in your URL bar and see a big website pop up. Yet somehow, he's a part of a group of Skylanders that has mournfully been referred to as "The Forgotten Eight".

These Skylanders from Spyro's Adventure have earned this misfortunate moniker because they've received little to no repose love of any sort. A "repose" is when a character gets a "series 2, 3, etc" makeover with an all-new sculpt, and a new ability. The Forgotten Eight originally included Dino-Rang, Voodood, Sunburn, Boomer, Warnado, Wham-Shell, and Camo. Since this term was first coined a few years ago, Camo has been smiled on in Swap Force with his first and only repose, quietly excusing him from the group. The rest have never seen an upgrade, aside from a couple light-up variants.

Then this was announced:

Ghost Roaster. As an Eon's Elite. With a repose.

Not only that, he's joined by other forgotten chums Boomer, Dino-Rang, and Voodood, all getting their own minor reposes with shiny weapons. Each figure in this new line of Eon's Elite for the SuperChargers generation are meant to resemble their fully upgraded form. Unlike Trap Team's Elites, which were literally the same molds from Spyro's Adventure with a gold base and metallic paint job, these have been tweaked a bit. Their paint isn't metallic, but their base is still gold, and their weapons are super bling. They'll also sport the same resealable cases and lenticular 3D backgrounds as before, too.

The line-up this time only consists of six figures, which doesn't cover all elemental types, but the selection is fantastic, with Slam Bam and Zook making up the final two. And what the new wave lacks in number, it makes up for in quality, and in price at five dollars less than the first run. They're cheaper, and with more effort put into their designs they actually warrant a purchase for those who aren't necessarily completionist collectors but love the characters. Namely Ghost Roaster.

With Ghost Roaster's popularity, I'm sure he'll be one of the most sought-after Elites. It's fortunate then that the first three to come out in November, which are Toys R Us exclusives, don't include him. For the first time, Eon's Elite figures will be available at multiple retailers starting with the second batch in December, including the ghost eater himself, Boomer, and Dino-Rang. This gives fans more of a chance to nab the only other iteration of this character since the Darklight Crypt Adventure Pack released four years ago. The original figure typically goes for $15 to $20 loose, making this Eon's Elite version a pretty decent deal, actually.

It took long enough, but it's finally happened! Eon's Elites are back, they're better, and they're catering to fan favorites, so it's time to rejoice!