Robbie Reyes was a young mechanic working in East Los Angeles, California. The neighborhood he lived in, Hillrock Heights, was plagued with gangs and corruption, making life difficult for him and his brother, Gabe, who looked up to him as a hero.
Eager to move to a safer neighborhood, Robbie entered a street race to earn fifty thousand dollars. Unbeknownst to him, the car he used was inhabited by a ghost. As he was taking the lead; however, he was followed by whom he assumed to be the police. Worried about what would happen to Gabe without him, Robbie tried to escape, but inadvertently drove into a dead end. He left his car and attempted to explain himself to his pursuers, only for them to violently open fire upon him, killing him. They attempted to burn the car and Robbie's body; however, as they left, the ghost possessed Robbie, transforming him into a new Ghost Rider.
