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Who would you consider the "leader" of the Ghostbusters?

posted 6 years ago by TMC-4 (19416)
22 replies | jump to latest

My natural first instinct would be to say Peter since Bill Murray is first billed, Peter was the one who suggest to Ray that they (after them and Egon got kicked out of Columbia University) should go into the business for themselves, and is sort of the main and most natural "salesman" of the Ghostbusters. Also, at the end when Louis Tully has part of the terror dog statue covering his head, Peter directs them to "go check on that little guy".

On the other hand, I you can also argue that Egon is more of the "leader" since he's obviously the most mature, cautious, and serious minded of the team. He also gave crucial information like the origins of Dana Barrett's apartment and its connection with Gozer, as well as warning Peter and Ray the dangers of "crossing the streams".

[–] AP (5258) 6 years ago

Peter seemed to be the leader while Egon seemed to be the brains of the group.

[–] csweetleaf2 (3537) 6 years ago

Egon IMO is the leader because he knows what is best for the team

[–] pioneergrrrl (2389) 6 years ago

It does not make him the leader though. Peter is the one out and about--the face (good or bad depending on situation) so he would be the one who people associate with the group.

Egon and ray developed the equipment. Winston helps repair it.

[–] crc32 (2584) 5 years ago

I agree egon was the smartest in the group but he always acted as a consultant. He clearly would have been the better leader but he never tried to take charge. Peter wasn't much of a leader but he was clearly the dominant one in the group which is a shame as he was an underachiever and at times didn't have the teams best interests at heart.

[–] Otter (24464) 6 years ago

I think each of the three main characters thought he was the leader!

Obviously Winston realized the others considered him to be the hired help, not a leader.

[–] Bosdog6777 (817) 5 years ago

Egon was the leader and had such strong leadership qualities that he let Venkman think that he was the leader to help his precious little ego to maintain team morale

[–] [deleted] 5 years ago

I kind of thought it was the Dan Ackroyd character since he's the one who cooked the whole thing up.

[–] crc32 (2584) 5 years ago

Ra Stanza(Dan Ackroyd) fronted the money so it was his decision to purchase the firehouse which may have led you to think he was the leader.

"This place is great I'm gonna go get my stuff".

[–] [deleted] 5 years ago

I'd say , as major stake holder, that does make him boss / owner , whils a guess Peter can be chief manager , or ceo

[–] GreenGoblinsOck8 (7401) 5 years ago

I disagree. I will probably get flack but although I like him a bit, Peter is my least favorite Ghostbuster. Ray and Egon built the equipment including the Containment Unit. Ray built the Ecto 1. Winston, in the cartoon atleast, maintains the Ecto 1 and helps with the equipment. Peter talks to the press and writes the bills. That's it.

[–] TMC-4 (19416) 5 years ago

Egon in the movie was giving Peter signals to the hotel concierge regarding their fee. So in that regard, that gives me the subtle inclination that Egon was really the one calling the shots.

[–] Sandman81 (1501) 5 years ago

I never took that as Egon being the boss, but more that he knew how much they needed to stay afloat. So he signaled Venkman, who acted as the mouthpiece/salesman of the group, and Peter was able to make it happen.

I don't think any of the 3 were really the leader. They all had their strengths and contributed to the group in their own ways.

[–] Otter (24464) 5 years ago

[deleted]

[–] Master (1494) 5 years ago

Ray Stantz and Egon they would of done the Ghostbusting thing without Peter
Egon was the Brain Ray was the Heart and Peter was the mouth

[–] TMC-4 (19416) 4 years ago

And Q5, that children's psychology group who ruined The Real Ghostsbusters saw Winston as little more than the driver of the Ecto-1.

[–] GreenGoblinsOck8 (7401) 4 years ago

I agree. The show sucked when they changed the show so that nobody could be mean to Slimer, Janine couldn't act mean towards anybody, and my absolute least favorite thing, making Slimer the main character. I never liked Slimer much. My favorite episodes as a kid were ones where either Slimer was not in them like Drool the Dogfaced Goblin and Ghostbuster of the Year or ones where Slimer only had a small role like Night Game, Lost and Foundry, Bird of Kildarby, The Revenge of Murray the Mantis, and Cry Uncle. I admit though those are the only episodes I remember as a kid cause they were ones we bought on VHS in the 90s. I was born in 1986 so I was too young to watch the goid episodes from the first 2 seasons. I have the 5 volume Box Set on DVD though only cause back in 2010, the 3rd Volume containing the last of the 2nd season episodes wasn't available.

[–] TMC-4 (19416) 3 years ago

Each had their own role so to speak. Ray and Egon to quote the videos below, were "book smart" while Peter was "street smart". This made Peter the perfect spokesperson for the Ghostbusters like when he was talking to the hotel concierge or the mayor. Peter had this slick, huckster, used car salesman vibe and he was (having a degree in psychology), intelligent enough to see Walter Peck for his bullshit right away.

https://www.sfdebris.com/videos/films/ghostbusters.php

https://www.sfdebris.com/videos/special/walterpeck.php