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***[[IDW Publishing Comics- Transformers/Ghostbusters: Ghosts of Cybertron 4|Issue #4]]
  
***[[IDW Publishing Comics- Transformers/Ghostbusters: Ghosts of Cybertron 4|Issue #4]]
 
****Mentioned by Peter Venkman on page 2 and 5.<ref>[[Peter Venkman]] (2019). [[Ghostbusters IDW Publishing Comics|IDW Comics]]- "[[IDW Publishing Comics- Transformers/Ghostbusters: Ghosts of Cybertron 4|Transformers/Ghostbusters Issue #4]]" (2019) (Comic p.2). ''Peter Venkman says: "Sure, we don't have all the scanning toys out here that we do at the station, but I think Janine was getting hives thinking of you both trying to fit in the entryway, shame you can't, y'know, shrink."''</ref><ref>[[Peter Venkman]] (2019). [[Ghostbusters IDW Publishing Comics|IDW Comics]]- "[[IDW Publishing Comics- Transformers/Ghostbusters: Ghosts of Cybertron 4|Transformers/Ghostbusters Issue #4]]" (2019) (Comic p.5). ''Peter Venkman says: "I'm starting to think Janine was right to worry about you."''</ref>
  
****Mentioned by Peter Venkman on page 2 and 5.<ref>[[Peter Venkman]] (2019). [[Ghostbusters IDW Publishing Comics|IDW Comics]]- "[[IDW Publishing Comics- Transformers/Ghostbusters: Ghosts of Cybertron 4|Transformers/Ghostbusters Issue #4]]" (2019) (Comic p.2). ''Peter Venkman says: "Sure, we don't have all the scanning toys out here that we do at the station, but I think Janine was getting hives thinking of you both trying to fit in the entryway, shame you can't, y'know, shrink."''</ref><ref>[[Peter Venkman]] (2019). [[Ghostbusters IDW Publishing Comics|IDW Comics]]- "[[IDW Publishing Comics- Transformers/Ghostbusters: Ghosts of Cybertron 4|Transformers/Ghostbusters Issue #4]]" (2019) (Comic p.5). ''Peter Venkman says: "I'm starting to think Janine was right to worry about you."''</ref>
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***[[IDW Publishing Comics- Transformers/Ghostbusters: Ghosts of Cybertron 5|Issue #5]]
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****Mentioned by Winston Zeddemore on page 18.<ref>[[Winston Zeddemore]] (2019). [[Ghostbusters IDW Publishing Comics|IDW Comics]]- "[[IDW Publishing Comics- Transformers/Ghostbusters: Ghosts of Cybertron 5| Transformers/Ghostbusters Issue #5]]" (2019) (Comic p.18). ''Winston Zeddemore says: "And you do owe Janine a few repairs..."''</ref>
 
*[[IDW Publishing Comics- The X-Files: Conspiracy: Ghostbusters|The X-Files: Conspiracy: Ghostbusters]]
  
*[[IDW Publishing Comics- The X-Files: Conspiracy: Ghostbusters|The X-Files: Conspiracy: Ghostbusters]]
 
*[[IDW Publishing Comics- Ghostbusters: Deviations|Ghostbusters: Deviations]]
  
*[[IDW Publishing Comics- Ghostbusters: Deviations|Ghostbusters: Deviations]]

Revision as of 06:27, 2 February 2020

"Ghostbusters, whaddaya want?!?"

- Janine Melnitz; Ghostbusters

Janine Melnitz was the receptionist that worked for the boys in grey at the Firehouse. She, like the four Ghostbusters and Slimer, is usually present in all Ghostbusters media.

History

Ghostbusters

Janine was the first person hired to work at the Firehouse. She staffed the phones and kept track of appointments, calls, messages, etc. She showed a romantic interest in Egon Spengler, but he didn't return her advances. While initially extremely bored with her job and seemingly indifferent to the business, the moment she received an urgent plea for assistance from the haunted Sedgewick Hotel, she roared out a joyful "We got one!" and enthusiastically activated the muster signal for the primary staff.

Once the boys picked up more and more clients, she began to complain of being overworked. After Dr. Venkman implied that perhaps she'd find more pleasure in another low-wage job, she took offense, but stopped her complaints. When Walter Peck showed up to shut down the storage facility, she tried to stop them, but the Police Captain, along with all of Walter's paperwork, gave her no choice. Before the explosion at the firehouse, she kept watch with Egon Spengler over Louis Tully.

After the guys blow up the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man, sending Gozer back to its own dimension, Janine is seen at the entrance of the building, hugging Egon, as he heads to the Ecto-1.

Ghostbusters II

In late 1989, Janine was re-hired following the Ghostbusters' capture of the Scoleri Brothers during their trial. She soon responded to a new phone call. After hearing what the customer says, she smiled and replied, "Yes, we're back." In the weeks after, the Ghostbusters were flush with business. In one instance, she was entrusted with two Traps by the guys and walked off to deposit the ghosts in the Containment Unit. She becomes attracted to Louis Tully, the staff accountant.

Venkman hired her to babysit Dana Barrett's son Oscar while he went on a date with Dana. When Louis asked her out, Janine had to decline but invited him to instead come with her to babysit. They ended up making out in Peter's apartment. Later, when the Ghostbusters are stuck at the Manhattan Museum of Art, she lends Louis one of Egon's uniforms.

Ghostbusters: The Video Game

Janine retains her job of monitoring the phones at the Firehouse, arranging appointments, and the other secretarial work involved in keeping the Ghostbusters business operating. She is seen in the scene before the Rookie is introduced, she is holding calls, and gets a rather odd one when a customer wants to know if they can contact a dead relative to get the combination for a safe. If the Rookie sticks around for a while between investigations, he can overhear some of Janine's phone calls, including some complaints of having used up all of her float holidays, copier problems, a mix up involving ordering dragon blood, and general remarks on the franchising of the Ghostbusters establishment.

On Thanksgiving morning, Janine's favorite pair of pumps broke and Lester's was out of her favorite flavor of tea, chamomile. While the Ghostbusters were returning from Shandor Island, Janine was rendered unconscious. When she came to, Ilyssa Selwyn was missing, the Containment Unit was shut off again, and the Firehouse in shambles. She attempts to explain what happened to the team when a NY News 6 report reveals tremors at Central Park.

Secondary Canon History

IDW Comic Series

Janine attended elementary school at P.S. 47 and had two dates for her senior prom on June 16, 1977. She worked the register at a Big Greaser before applying to the Ghostbusters. During the interview with Peter, Janine saw Egon for the first time, and was instantly in love with him. She quickly agreed to take the job before Peter even offered on account she could smell desperation a mile away. At some point after the Shandor incident of 1991, Janine broke up with Louis Tully.

Janine arrived at the Firehouse unaware three of the four Ghostbusters were murdered hours earlier. She found Peter inside, who was really Fred possessing the body, and clued him the Ghost Traps were in the storage room next to the Containment Unit. Fred then knocked Janine unconscious and gathered up the Ghostbusters' equipment.

After Koza'Rai banished the Ghostbusters, only Janine Melnitz was left. He banished her to Versailles, France in the year 1780. Armed with only a Proton Pack, Janine was teleported into the middle of a party. While the people didn't believe she was from the future, they hired her to deal with the ghost of Leonardo da Vinci. Without a Trap, Janine reasoned with Leonardo and convinced him to use his skills for a greater cause. Ghostbusters Versailles was born. After recruiting three employees, Janine's team went on many busts; including taking on Morgan Le Fay, singing Gargoyles of Notre-Dame, Viking Ghosts, and a Slime Entity. She also had a brief one night stand with one employee. Upon capturing the Slime Entity, Janine learned four of its victims were the original Ghostbusters, who arrived earlier in search of her. Janine agreed to return with them to the present, if she got a promotion.

On one Christmas Eve, while the Ghostbusters went to see Woodrow Wainwright Fraser III, Peter had Janine work through until midnight and guard their $1 million check payments. When the Ghost of Christmas Present brought the team and Fraser to the Firehouse, Janine looked extremely angry while taking phone calls despite being paid time-and-a-half.

During one Halloween day, Janine is less than pleased with Ray and Peter's cost of living increase offer on the grounds her job is anything but typical. After witnessing Artie Lester's $50,000 proposal rejected by the team, Janine secretly calls Lester and takes him up on it herself. She arrives to the Tobin Mansion and discovers Lester did not cancel his Halloween gala. Clad in a modified uniform with Winston's Proton Pack, a Ghost Trap, and a P.K.E. Meter, Janine investigates and finds Sam Hain in a secret passage. However, she loses the trap and becomes stuck in a supernatural soft spot between reality and the nether realm.

While the Ghostbusters crash onto the Hain Estate, Janine figures out the circumstances surrounding Hain's death and manages to empathize with him. Ray bursts into the room and wrangles Sam Hain. As Egon pulls Janine from the soft spot, she tells them to stand down and promises Hain they would give him a proper burial. Hain accepts and goes back to the other side just as the spot closes at midnight. Janine then kept the remainder of Lester's $50,000 fee after the funeral costs were paid.

During the Infestation, Janine is the unlikely hero who indirectly reveals a solution to the dozens of escaped Poltergeists and Zombies by throwing a loaded Trap at a Zombie's head. The trap opened and the Poltergeist was drawn to the soulless Zombie. Both were changed, one could now be kept indefinitely in the Containment Unit while the Zombie could now be safely dispersed without the threat of Necrotic Slime being spread.

In one of Ray's precognitive dreams, Janine was talk show host of "The Ja'nine Show" and a segment featured the Ghostbusters. The next day, Janine received a flower bouquet from her boyfriend, Roger Baugh. She and Winston allowed Alan Crendall to confide in them about a paranormal curse that turned out to be Slimer. Hours later, she summoned the Ghostbusters to meet with a visitor named Jim Silver, who was possessed by Idulnas. Several weeks later, Janine broke up another argument between Peter and Peck. Ray noted she seemed to be behaving overly aggressive. One week after the Fantastic Land case, Janine visited Peter in the hospital on the way to a Yoga class. After Peter gloated about his perfect health, Janine handed him a gift from Ray and left smiling as Peter voiced his "appreciation."

About a week later, Janine and Roger bumped into Egon outside of Delgado's Gym. This was the first meeting between Egon and Roger. After Egon abruptly walked off, Janine already sensed Egon was busy thinking of something else - the ambient P.K.E. in the Tri-State area. Towards the end of summer, Roger took Janine out on a date to attend a special performance of Don Giovanni for charity at the Metropolitan Opera House. Janine became irritated and took the unwitting Roger away from the Firehouse for dinner after the guys gave him a hard time. The date came to end when the Phantom of the Opera manifested. Janine called up Ray but the Ghost Smashers arrived first.

In the fall, Janine was shocked when Egon asked her if she was trying to make him jealous by dating Roger. Egon went on to say that he'd noticed over the years she made advances on him, then tried to date someone who shared superficial characteristics with him, but eventually got bored, dumped them, and resumed aggressive flirtations. Egon once made a flow chart of her process for contrasting purposes while he was studying a haunting at a chapel in Yonkers. Janine was insulted and stormed off.

In February, when the Ghostbusters were abducted, Janine formed a new team with Kylie Griffin and Special Agent Melanie Ortiz to find them. After three months, the growing ghost population became a problem. Janine took up a call from a repeat customer named Mr. Parker. The trio captured the Jail Jaw Ghost but were arrested. Walter Peck convinced the Mayor and his staff to let them go and allow them to continue their work. Janine possessed irreplaceable security access to the Containment Unit and remained on the team. She was forced to accept Peck's conditions of taking on a PCOC liaison, taking part in PR events, and accepting Ron Alexander on the team.

Janine did not get off to a good start with the liaison, Jack Hardemeyer. The provocative coveralls he made the team wear angered Janine. She protested they would be regarded as a punchline and wouldn't be taken seriously. To her further dismay, Jack had the regular coveralls stored away and the team was forced to go out in a call in the other ones. Upon returning back, she showed Jack how spending over one hour running through brush did to everyone's legs. Janine threatened to call out Jack on talk shows as a sexist ratbag if he didn't get them back their regular coveralls. Jack countered with putting Ron in shorts, too, but Janine simply yanked harder on his tie. Jack acquiesced and Janine went off to take a shower.

The next day, Janine was visited by a ghostly Swedish ancestor and informed she was to face the Grendel at midnight as part of a test of bravery handed down from generation to generation to those in his bloodline. Jack wanted to make an event of it but the Ghostbusters kept the details of the test secret. On Jack's instructions, Ron outfitted Janine with something flashy. He introduced an upgraded Compact Pack with Boson Dart capability. The New Ghostbusters were called to something "hinky" in Midtown Manhattan. Just after they wrapped up their bust, the Grendel manifested at 6 pm. After tossing Melanie and Ron, the Grendel chased after Janine. Janine called up Kylie, who was away on a consult, and solicited advice on how to defeat the Grendel. Kylie advised her to stand up to the Grendel. Janine fired a Proton Stream but it broke free. Irritated by its resistance, Janine fired a Boson Dart and dispersed its left arm. While it was in shock, Janine wrangled and trapped the Grendel. The ghost ancestor reappeared and angrily informed Janine she failed the test. Apparently, she was supposed to face the Grendel not knowing if she would die or not. Taking advice from Kylie was against the rules. During the stand off, a rip opened and detonated the ghost. The original Ghostbusters had returned from their interdimensional prison. Overjoyed with their return, Janine kissed Egon on the lips then apologized.

After the Collectors' incident, Janine settled back into her role as secretary and coordinating with PCOC. The Draugar came up with a plan to take Janine's soul and offer it to Hel to payback their debt. While watching television at Roger's Apartment, Janine was suddenly immobilized and began discharging Yellow Slime from her eyes. While Roger went to get help, Janine began floating in mid-air and was completed covered in the ectoplasm. Egon's attempt to neutralize it with positively charged Psychomagnotheric Slime failed. Egon and Roger took Janine to the Firehouse where Egon attempted to utilize his Gris-Gris. Nothing happened to Janine after contact was made. Instead, Egon and Roger ended up transported in Janine's mind and worked their way from the fringes to where Janine was being held. Egon managed to convince the Draugar to return them all to their bodies then he trapped them. Roger was disturbed from walking through her memories and elected to talk about it over racquetball on Thursday.

After her ordeal on the mental plane, Janine began having weird dreams about a fat man with sunglasses. Janine went to Ray's Occult Books and consulted with Kylie. She wanted to make sure nothing was left behind in her head after Egon and Roger rescued her from the Draugar. However, there wasn't any material on the subject. Their conversation was interrupted by Peter's arrival. Despite claiming vacation time, Janine was annoyed when Peter insinuated it was unpaid personal time then sick time at best. She returned to the Firehouse and found Egon looking over results from a self-analysis. Janine couldn't make any sense out of Egon's concerns and went to go lay down.

During Winston and Tiyah's wedding, Janine received an unexpected call from Dana Barrett. Janine set up a meeting at the Pequod's on Columbus the next day. Recalling a photo of Oscar from last Christmas, Janine reminisced about when he was just a baby. When Dana showed Janine her leg wound, Janine became alarmed and thought it should have been an official call to the Ghostbusters. However, upon listening to Dana's desire to keep Oscar safe, stay away from Peter, and not get sucked into another supernatural event, Janine honored her request to have the incident investigated discreetly. Janine assured Dana she would send associates who wouldn't tell Peter anything then shifted to small talk about her rejoining the Philharmonic. However, their conversation was broken up when several vehicles outside Pequod's began floating. Janine took a rain check with Dana and called in the Ghostbusters. Later that day, she sent Melanie and Kylie to see Dana. Janine took part in the Tiamat battle and Hart Island investigation.

As the battle against the possessed Ray worsened, Janine called an ambulance to tend to the injured Kylie and implored the Ghostbusters to finish things up. Janine left the Firehouse in Ecto-1b with Dana and Louis after the ambulance took Kylie into custody. Afterward, she was asked by Roger to move with him to San Francisco, where he accepted a teaching position. Janine had too much New York in her blood and stayed. She was recently signed to write a memoir about her experiences working with and around the Ghostbusters tentatively set for a Christmas release. On September 14, Janine was one of the personnel contracted to help Special Agent Ortiz deal with Hedylogos at the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Missouri. While the Ghostbusters busted a Class 5 ghost, Janine called Kylie to the Firehouse to examine the newly built Dimensional Inverter. She hailed the Ecto-1 radio and paraphrased Kylie's findings. Janine brought up a tray of Pequod's coffee and took an immediate liking to April O'Neil, who was overcome by current events, namely a dimensional breach, ghosts, Casey Jones being possessed, and a bunch of guys who go around shooting particle streams. Janine consoled her and assured her there was nothing so weird it can't be overcome.

Irritated with Peter and dealing with invading entities, Janine point blank blasted one of the Thralls of Chi-You with the Compact Pack. Even Raphael was impressed. Musing a raise was in order, Janine was further irritated when Peter brushed it off for discussion next quarter. As both teams said their goodbyes, Janine and April hugged. One day, while bent over at her desk looking at files, the Ghostbusters returned but they were Ghostbusters from a parallel dimension. As they went upstairs, Winston Zeddemore promised to take care of his dimension's Janine's haunted Janine's Apartment. Janine was confused and soon after, the Ghostbusters returned from a case. The two sets met and conferred. She answered a call about a Poltergeist at the Bronx Zoo. She went down to the basement to alert the guys and thought she heard Roger's voice but it was the parallel Egon. She apologized but the parallel Peter remarked at least she was consistent in this universe. She got in Peter's face and asked him to "elaborate" on the comment. Egon intervened and inquired about what she was going to tell them. While Ray was taking P.K.E. readings in the alternate Ghostbusters' dimension, Janine returned to the basement. She heard the alternate Janine and asked if her voice sounded like that or not. The alternate Egon and Ray were hesitant to answer her.

Proteus appeared in the Firehouse and shot a beam at the Ghostbusters. While they ran off, Proteus was amused and implored them to run. Without considering the consequences, Janine threw her whale paperweight at Proteus' head. Proteus retaliated by blasting her and Kylie. They found themselves in Tokyo. The duo made their way to the Embassy of the United States in Tokyo for help getting back to New York. She was eager to get home before the weekend since she had plans. Janine promised that if any local ghosts were affected by the event, she would send someone to clean it up. Janine and Kylie faced a bureaucratic gauntlet of paperwork in order to return home. Janine filled out government forms for three days and did zero sightseeing. They finally returned to New York shortly after the Ghostbusters encountered the Sandman on Staten Island. Janine was not pleased to return home to discover more unfinished and unfiled paperwork. Her work space was set up at the Warehouse while repairs at the Firehouse continued. Jenny Moran paid Janine a visit and informed her repairs were almost done and PCOC was erring on the side of safety to keep OSHA happy. Janine begrudgingly admitted she missed the Firehouse. Jenny then asked how Japan was. Janine read her the riot act. Jenny asked her why she didn't just hire someone to pick up some of the load. Janine revealed there was too much bureaucratic red tape involved and it got harder and harder to hire with every Class 7 incident that happened. Jenny implored Janine to start looking for a new hire and she would take care of the red tape. Janine was shocked then hugged Jenny.

Janine drove the Ghostbusters to Teterboro Airport with Ecto-1. She didn't take too well to Kaia May, Erland Vinter's assistant, after asking how long the Ghostbusters would be gone and subsequently being ignored. Winston asked Janine not to kill Kaia since nobody else spoke Italian. Winston reminded her they couldn't gone for more than two weeks per their contract and would call ahead if they were returning sooner. Ray waived to Janine and thanked her for the ride. While Peter, Ray, and Winston were on Poveglia, Janine and Jenny held open interviews at the Firehouse starting at 2 pm local time. After two hours, Janine was on a couple "maybes" but noticed one applicant, who could type 65 words per minute, would solve her office problems rather than address the issue of not having enough to send out on busts. Janine was relieved to learn Jenny spoke with Melanie the other week and got her to agree to put in time between out of state investigations. Janine admitted she felt none of the applicants knew what they were in for if they got hired.

Kevin was hired. But Janine had difficulties getting him certified as a back up Ghostbuster. Janine brought Melanie up to speed on the Ghostbusters' new international contract. She was eager to take some cases off the back burner but Melanie revealed she was only in town for the day. A new FBI case came up. And she wanted Egon and Kylie's help. Janine was not pleased then asked how bad it was. Melanie showed her the file. Making the best of things, Janine assigned Melanie to take care of two back burner cases with Egon and Kylie - one in the Bronx and one up in Harlem. Melanie could ask them for their help then. Melanie found it all rather convenient. Janine pointed out she could have put her down for the sewers. Janine went with Peter and Winston to the dimension occupied by the Ghostbusters they recently met to enlist the parallel Egon's help in deciphering the notes of their Egon, recently dispersed by Loftur Þorsteinsson. She didn't take kindly to Peter hitting on the parallel Janine. Upon their return, Janine took parallel Egon upstairs to read the research. Peter tasked Janine with calling on the Chicago Ghostbusters to help with the search for the key and map to the Rauoskinna.

Janine and Jenny handled all the calls, including a bothersome Poltergeist in Gracie Mansion. After the bust, they met with Peck at the PCOC office to discuss the request for reimbursement of nearly $400,000 stemming from the chartering of jets to Chile and Japan on short notice to find the Rauoskinna. A day and half after the Ghostbusters procured the Rauoskinna, Peter, Janine, and Melanie went to the Renaissance Pizzaria. Some time after 5:48 pm, Ray and Jenny arrived. From outside, Ray yelled that "he" was here. Peter mistook Ray's declaration for the latest manifestation of President John F Kennedy's ghost. Janine explained to Melanie he kept appearing asking for something better than Idlewild to be named after him and they started ignoring him. Melanie wasn't surprised. Janine took part in the Ghostbusters' meeting with Loftur and subsequent journey through Hell. After they were teleported to Craig Liath, Aibell called in her favor from Peter and asked for the Rauoskinna. Janine was resistant to complying because she wanted the others to make sure there was nothing in the book that could help restore Egon. As a token of good faith, Aibell restored Egon to life. Janine hugged the confused Egon. Jenny felt the book was too dangerous and destroyed it at the cost of her life. Infuriated, Aibell sent everyone back to Central Park where Jenny manifested as a ghost. The next day, Janine sent the Ghostbusters to the Bronx to look into a case of a dog-eating-toilet. She wasn't having any of Peter's quips and requested they not track anything back to the Firehouse.

As fall came, paranormal activity increased once again. Being stuck with inventory did little to improve Janine's mood. Janine's niece Cait Banner and Cait's best friend Zoe Zawadzki came to the Firehouse to try and convince her to move the Torres family up the waiting list. Janine cited the principle of triage and informed the girls that the Ghostbusters had to after the worst first. Much to her chagrin, the phone rang. While Janine went to answer it, Cait and Zoe "borrowed" a Trap and a P.K.E. Meter. She soon noticed they were gone and worried Cait and her friends were going to do something stupid. She called Peter and Ray to check on the children. They were surprised with Ray's offer to teach them how to be Ghostbusters. Peter corrected Ray and said they were waiting to see how they handled a real life-and-death situation, apologizing to Janine. Janine made them take up Ray's offer. She later called up Kylie and informed here there was a Class 5 ghost in Queens. A week after an incident on Coney Island, Peck informed the Ghostbusters of a fine from the EPA that would put them out of business. Peter say it as an opportunity to expand operations. He cited Cait, Evan, and Zoe but Janine cut him off and stated he wasn't sending them out on busts. Peter clarified himself and presented his idea for a fantasy camp that would double as a recruiting program.

Janine and Kevin watched the Ghostbusters 101 commercial before it aired. Janine couldn't believe it was happening. She predicted the onslaught of legal wrangling and stupid questions they were going to be flooded with was going to be a big damn headache. Kevin mentioned Melanie heard about it and said the FBI will want to negotiate a dedicated class. Janine was bewildered she got wind of it so quickly and wanted to know how but Dr. Carla Parker interjected and asked for Peter. She introduced herself and her son Garrett Parker then clarified they spoke with Peter recently about a potential spot in his 101 pilot program. Janine revealed Peter was out on a call then stopped and asked what pilot program she was talking about. Kevin chimed and explained it was what Peter was calling the arrangement between Ray and Cait, Evan, and Zoe. Janine tried to ease out Carla by saying Peter was overstating things but Carla insisted he was quite clear the Ghostbusters were teaching a small group of teenagers about ghosts. She revealed Garrett's father was very ill and Garrett was having a hard time dealing with it. Janine felt sorry for Garrett and told Kevin to introduce him to the others while she went over PCOC paperwork with Carla. Cait and Zoe convinced Jenny to give them a break so they could help with Garrett's orientation. They showed him the Interspatial Teleportation Unit in the basement. Garrett was almost pulled through the portal but Zoe closed it. Janine saw everything and was irate. Cait knew what was going to happen next. Janine angrily yelled at them to get back upstairs then they were going to have a long "talk".

A couple weeks later, Janine spotted twin Statues of Liberty from Battery Park. She called Jenny. Jenny informed her Cait didn't blow anything up in the Warehouse and three of Peter's 101 cadets busted a ghost without incident. Janine asked for Ray but he left to authenticate a collector's item at the book store. She asked Jenny to get a hold of him while she called the others. During a meeting between the team and another from an alternate dimension, Janine informed a bewildered Erin Gilbert they had interns, a branch in Chicago, and liaison agent with the FBI. Kevin Beckman kept answering the phone and telling people he tagged everything that belonged to his team's Firehouse so no one would get confused. Janine took the phone away after he called Ray. She noted Beckman kind of reminded her of a Labrador Retriever then informed Ray that Egon and Abby left to collect data and Melanie was on her way from the west coast as soon as she could get a flight. Ray, in turn, informed her they cleared up Ellis Island but asked her to call the Fire Department on the special line as soon as possible because several buildings had caught on fire.

After a press conference, Peck went to the Firehouse and exclaimed the matter of the dimensional bleed was not well in hand. Janine told him she was sure he was overreacting. Peck stated he saw the Mayor change into a different man and back. He demanded one of the Ghostbusters to come down and provide a comprehensive update. Jillian Holtzmann couldn't resist the chance and messed with Peck. She joked she could steal a soul with a kiss. He told Janine to keep her away from him until things were resolved and to be kept in the loop. Holtzmann made a crack about redheads not having a soul so he didn't have to worry. Janine warned her to watch it but mused she was going to fit right in then gave her a call that just came in from the Bronx. In the morning, Melanie touched base with Janine. Janine didn't bother translating what the Ghostbusters told her and simply relayed that something was pulling two worlds together and they had a plan to fix it. Melanie barely understood it all but knew enough that there wouldn't be another scary beam of light in the sky. Janine manned the phones and dealt with a lot of panicked people. She even spoke to the Queen of England. She heard the Ultimate Mobile Trap leaving and walked to the front, realizing Melanie arrived. She immediately recruited her to help with the phones. Only Tanaka was impressed she talked to the Queen. After the Ghostbusters crossed the streams on a breach to seal it and split the two dimensions, Beckman thought he was becoming one with the universe again. Janine noticed he said "again."

Janine accepted a box delivered from the Kung Fu Hustle Supply Emporium to the Firehouse and brought it up to the third floor for Egon to verify. She was concerned to see Donatello in distress from a fault in the Experimental Mental Communications Device. Egon admitted it was partly his fault but Donatello downplayed it. Janine suggested he sit down for a bit but Donatello insisted there was no time for that because he could feel the Collectors searching for the Turtles. Donatello opened the box and revealed his plan to make proton-powered versions of the Turtles' weapons. Egon and Janine waited for the others to cross over back to the Firehouse. She and Michelangelo hugged. Michelangelo revealed they got to see their mother. Janine wanted to hear all about it but Donatello handed out the Proton Weapons and explained the plan to capture the Collectors. Janine was present in the basement when the Turtles used the teleportation unit to return to their dimension. She asked them to say hello April for her.

Janine was present when Kylie was analyzed after her precognitive dream about Connla's plans. Egon lied about the nature of the readings but asserted they took dreams seriously. Peter contended he never took his seriously. Janine added they all learned that lesson already. Peter brought up the ghost had an Irish accent and hinted at a connection to Kylie like with Janine and the Draugar. Egon doubted it. Kylie revealed her great-grandfather chose her family's surname when he immigrated to America because it had a good ring to it. She realized something and ran off to double check her theory. Janine yelled out to leave the Dream Analyzer Helmet on the front desk. She signed and reckoned Ray had too much of an influence on her. Peter thought Egon was more to blame. Janine went to Peck's office for an 11:15 meeting. He started by saying he appreciated that she came. She didn't understand what was going on that couldn't be said over the phone. Peck steered the discussion to the death of Jenny and how she was now considered an unreliable resource. He and PCOC needed certainty, especially in the face of the Ghostbusters' ongoing exploration of the multiverse. Janine tried to downplay recent events but Peck recalled the dimensional bleed incident and Gozer of examples of the dangers that befell them. He surprised her with an offer to succeed Jenny as the new liaison.

Peter unknowingly helped cause an overload when he deposited the Trap, during a diagnostic, just as Ron and Holtzmann secretly tested their Remote Access Teleportation Unit. Janine and Jenny went to a hospital a few blocks away from the Firehouse to check on Peter's progress or lack of. They stopped at Pequod's stand. Jenny stated she hated hospitals. Janine wondered why since she was dead and couldn't be overcharged anymore. She apologized and admitted she never thought how the place would make her feel. Jenny told her it was fine but revealed she could sense things she would rather not sense. She detected Peter was fine for the most part. Janine joked she wasn't worried until she got an ugly stack of paperwork for his next of kin. Before Jenny could ask further about the next of kin, Janine revealed to her that Peck offered the liaison job. Jenny was surprised and told her she would be great at it since she knew the ins and outs of the business better than anyone else and knew how to keep the Ghostbusters in line. Janine wasn't so sure the trade offs were worth it: a say in things and a lot of freedom for new responsibilities and a little more money. Jenny advised her not to make decisions based on maybes but she was interrupted. Jenny sensed something came for Peter. She entered the mental plane. Peter regained consciousness with the other Ghostbusters, Janine, and Jenny by his side but with news of the current situation. Two days later, Janine was present at the meeting of Ghostbusters at the Warehouse.

The Ghostbusters of 50-S asked why they didn't use the teleportation unit to travel back in time to prevent the accident from happening. The discussion started to get out of hand after the Extreme Ghostbusters joined in. Janine heard enough and whistled. She yelled at everyone to listen, shut up, and pay attention. She smacked Peter in the head for mentioning they met their future selves once. Egon thanked her and reiterated the teleportation unit could not time travel but time was a dimension they could access in so far as they went to parallel realities that could be further ahead or further behind what they knew as the present but no action they took had an effect on their timeline. Egon later convinced Janine to participate in the retrieval mission. Kevin went in her place to the PCOC offices to update Peck.

A field team consisting of Ray Stantz of Dimension 68-R, Gabriel Sitter of 50-S, Janine Melnitz, Ron Alexander, Patty Tolan of 80-C, and Garrett Miller of 68-E arrived in a parallel dimension. They canvassed a circus but Garrett was possessed by the Hungry Manitou and it generated a Giant Murder Clown construct around themselves for protection while it fed. Ron proposed they use Proton Grenades. Janine objected but Ron pointed out he said they should have left Garrett behind but she said it would be okay. He had no sympathy for Garrett and his cockiness and threw a grenade. The Murder Clown retaliated and fired deadly projectiles that resembled ice cream cones. Patty tackled Ron out of harm's way. Ray 68-R and Gabriel wondered why he wasn't fired yet. Janine stated they wanted him where they could keep an eye on him and were waiting for memory erasing technology to be perfected by Egon. Ron quipped it would never be finished since Egon tested it on himself and they didn't want him selling everything he knew to the highest bidder. Ron was stopped mid-sentence and realized three of the Murder Clown's projectiles had pierced his chest and stomach then he fell over. Janine told Gabriel her Ghostbusters captured the Manitou in Schenectady and it wanted to eat them, not kill them right away. Gabriel hoped she meant that as a euphemism.

The Giant Murder Clown wasn't weakening. Janine knew they needed something else to take it down. Ron came to and told Gabriel to cut his Proton Pack off and call the "fat guy" over. Gabriel assumed he was talking about Ray 68-R. Ron explained the Proton Grenade stunned it but blowing up the Proton Pack would be strong enough to free Garrett. Ray 68-R threw the pack into the air and ordered everyone to shoot it. Patty asked if that was safe. Janine pointed out she was asking that kind of question only now. The explosion dispersed the Giant Murder Clown and freed Garrett. Blinded by the dust, Janine asked if it worked then Gabriel told everyone to look, to her annoyance. Garrett and Gabriel captured the Manitou. Janine checked on Garrett but got annoyed when he continued to refer to her as "ma'am" even after she said it made her feel old. She reckoned they should find Garrett's wheelchair and probably take Ron to a hospital. Before Ron could react, Patty warned they would leave him stranded if he said another word. Janine declared it was such a disaster and remembered why she hated going out into the field. Ray 68-R was surprised and revealed his dimension's Janine loved to bust ghosts. Janine reckoned she didn't have much common sense. They opened a portal home but only Ron returned to the prime dimension. The others were redirected by Tiamat to the Collectors' Limbo.

Rather than serve her, they fought back. Winston came up with an ad hoc plan to utilize the remaining Trap-Gates to strip Tiamat's P.K.E. and send it to random dimensions then trap her. Janine was one of the seven to use a Trap-Gate on her. A few days after the field teams of Ghostbusters returned to the prime dimension, Janine met with Peck at a Pequod's. Peck wanted an answer in regard to his offer to her to become the next PCOC liaison. Janine started by presenting conditions to be met upon her acceptance of the offer. She wanted to keep her desk at the Firehouse, keep her own schedule, do the least amount of meetings, and an extra $15,000 on top of his previous offer plus her current office salary. Peck found her conditions absurd but they both knew finding someone with the necessary skills was difficult. Peck sighed and accepted. He welcomed her to PCOC and they shook hands.

Janine was not pleased Peter pulled a fire alarm at Penn Station to clear out civilians and reminded him that was the kind of stuff she had to smooth over with the city. Peter reminded her she took the PCOC liaison job because she wanted the extra responsibility. Janine corrected him and stated she wanted the extra money because she wasn't paid what she was worth. Janine shifted back to the topic and asked if the Atlantean Priest Ghost was a threat because she had PCOC reports to file. Peter told her to tell Peck he knew a place when he could file the reports. Egon interrupted them and explained he and Ray believed the ghost intended to summon a primordial being to both attack and destroy Manhattan. Janine was naturally concerned. Egon explained summoning a god wasn't as simple as flipping a switch and they had time on their side. He also already deduced it was attempting the summoning in Battery Park at dawn.

Janine was not pleased to have a giant alien robot standing inside the Firehouse. It was not because he was an alien. She was concerned about him putting holes in the sheet rock because the contractors always ripped them a new one every time they needed repairs. Ectronymous Diamatron claimed he would never damage anything. His left arm accidentally bent a beam. Janine made herself a cup of tea. Ectronymous introduced himself. She told him to call her Janine and couldn't believe that was his name. She refused to call him that over and over. Ectronymous couldn't believe it since it was just eight syllables. Peter bet he didn't know anyone with a full name longer than five. Ectotron was at a loss. Peter suggested a change. Janine remembered Robo-Buster was taken and thought of Ectobot. She remembered "Tron" and came up with Ectotron. Ectronymous conceded he could live with that. Janine told him to fix the support beam. He took a knee and asked Ray if she was how all of humanity was: open-minded and unfazed by those who are different. Ray told him Janine was a special case. Starscream phased through the doors and saw differently. He thought humans were all small, soft, and stuck in one shape. Janine was alarmed and reached for the Proton Grenade in her drawer. Winston had her stand down. Starscream was insulted and headed upstairs.

Ectotron made contact with his leader, Optimus Prime while Janine answered a call and learned Mr. Colchamiro had another supernatural infestation. Janine was happy to do business with him again but suggesting getting the property cleansed. After they returned, Optimus Prime stepped inside. Janine asked Optimus if he needed a towel or some turpentine. Optimus declined but asked her what the phrase "When in Rome" meant. Janine informed him it meant to blend in like the locals. Optimus took it under advisement. Peter returned with news that Starscream was gone.

Ghostbusters: Sanctum of Slime

Janine's role in Ghostbusters: Sanctum of Slime was limited to a few panels in three cinematics.

When Ray and Egon come to conclusion to let the junior team investigate the Sedgewick Hotel, Janine calls them. She is later present when everyone observes the shards of the Relic of Nilhe and celebrating victory over Dumazu.

Dimension 50-S

Janine interceded in the conversation between the two teams about a day off and announced there was a call about a haunted house that appeared out of nowhere in Bayside, Queens. She added there was a video posted online about it.

Animated Series

She started off much like her film counterpart in character but with green pointy glasses. Later season saw her becoming less tough and more motherly as the show wanted to give good role models. To read more about the animated version of her, go here.

Personality

Janine is highly sardonic with her eccentric bosses, while taking her job in such an unusual business in stride. As such, no matter how strange circumstances become at work, she is largely unflappable. Her hobbies included racquetball and reading.

In the first film, Janine showed romantic interest in Egon, but by the second film, begins a relationship with Louis Tully.

Description

In Ghostbusters II, Janine's appearance is very different from the first film; she now has red hair, a new hairstyle, and wears humongous glasses. This new look was perhaps influenced by the Real Ghostbuster cartoon series, which was popular at the time.

Trivia

  • Sandra Bernhard was offered the role of Janine Melnitz.[1]
  • In the Ghostbusters II August 5, 1988 draft, Janine left an office temp job before coming back to work with the Ghostbusters.[2]
  • In the Ghostbusters II August 5, 1988 draft, Janine did not babysit.[3]
  • At the start of Welcome to the Hotel Sedgewick, the third message on the Firehouse answering machine is for Janine, from a Mark she met at a "I have a crush on my boss but I'm afraid to tell them" seminar.[4]
  • During the events of Ghostbusters: The Video Game, Janine has a boyfriend evidenced by the picture frame on the left side of her desk.[5][6]
    • The boyfriend is modeled after a friend of someone on the Terminal Reality staff
    • Originally, Winston was in the picture frame.
  • Janine's favorite flavor of tea is chamomile.[7]
  • On February 13, 2015, the 6th stretch goal of Ghostbusters: The Board Game, $525,000, was also introduced: Janine Melnitz.[8]
  • On February 15, 2015, Janine Melnitz was unlocked.[9] Janine's figure was later changed to pink.[10]
  • On her Ghostbusters: The Board Game character card:
    • Janine's employee ID # is listed as 111 89 0603.
    • Mentions she is an occasional Ghostbuster like in the IDW Comics continuity
    • Mentions she is a little bit psychic, a nod to the first movie when she tells Egon of a prediction he's going to die
  • On the Ghostbusters Annual 2015, regular cover, Janine is wearing the outfit seen in Ghostbusters Chapter 21 "Out of Biz"
    • Janine's book is about her racquetball hobby
  • Janine once bet and lost $20 to Kylie that Ray didn't have a personal life.[11]
  • In Ghostbusters (2016 Movie), there are nods to Janine's "Whaddya Want?!" line from the first movie:
  • In Ghostbusters International #8, Janine is wearing an outfit her animated counterpart wore in The Real Ghostbusters episode "Ragnarok and Roll"
  • On page 19, panel 6 of Ghostbusters International #10, Janine has a mug with a tea bag in it, a nod to her love of chamomile.
  • On page 21 of Ghostbusters International #11, Janine is wearing an outfit from the first movie, notably when she gets the call from the Sedgewick Hotel.
  • In Ghostbusters Annual 2017, on page 31, Janine is wearing the yellow tank and orange skirt worn by her counterpart on The Real Ghostbusters.
  • Cait Banner is Janine's favorite niece.[12]
  • In her bio in the Dramatis Personae of Ghostbusters 101 #1, it is mentioned Janine enjoys pilates on Thursdays.[13]
  • On page 3 of Ghostbusters: Funko Universe, Janine wears her black overall skirt and has her hair do from Ghostbusters II.
  • Janine's outfit in Ghostbusters 101 #3 to Ghostbusters 101 #6 is from a deleted scene in the first movie of her talking to Egon while he works on equipment.[14]
  • Janine appears on the Regular Cover of Ghostbusters 101 #5
  • On the Subscription Cover of Ghostbusters 101 #5, near Janine has an "84" is on her jacket, a nod to the year of the first movie. The pose of her embrace with Egon is a nod to when Janine tells him her premonition of his death.
  • On page 1 of Ghostbusters: Interdimensional Cross-Rip, a Post-It Note from Janine appears on the dashboard.
  • Janine appears on Cover B of Ghostbusters 101 #6.
  • The back of the Ghostbusters 101 #6 RI Wraparound Photo Cover has Janine Melnitz from the 1984 movie, Chapter 08 "Bug-Eyes Thing," when she first talked to Egon.
  • On page 8 of Ghostbusters 101 #6, in panel 5, on Janine's desk is a cup of tea - nod to her love of chamomile tea.
  • On page 20 of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles/Ghostbusters Volume 2 Issue #2, Janine's new look is based on her appearance in Ghostbusters: The Video Game, Stylized Versions.
  • On Cover B of Ghostbusters Crossing Over Issue #2, Janine is wearing a yellow outfit with dots worn by her animated counterpart in The Real Ghostbusters episodes such as "Janine's Day Off".
  • On page 4 of Ghostbusters Crossing Over Issue #2, Janine is wearing a coat her animated counterpart wore in The Real Ghostbusters episode "Ghost Busted" when they found Slimer mistakenly helping a jewel thief.
  • On May 15, 2018, Janine was featured on the Crossing Over Virtual Trading Card #25.[15]
  • On May 22, 2018, Janine was mentioned in the Crossing Over Virtual Trading Card #27, featuring Kevin Tanaka.[16]
  • On Cover B of Ghostbusters Crossing Over Issue #3, one of the Spectral Ghostbusters is a doppelganger of Janine.
  • Janine was mentioned in the 101 Cadets' bio in the 38th Crossing Over Virtual Trading Card, released on June 28, 2018.[17]
  • On page 21 of Ghostbusters Crossing Over Issue #5, it is revealed Janine hasn't met Egon 68-E because the others recognized his resemblance to Roger.[18]
  • Janine appears on Cover B of Ghostbusters Crossing Over Issue #6.
  • Janine appears on Cover B of Ghostbusters Crossing Over Issue #8 in her first outfit from the first movie.
  • On page 13 of Ghostbusters Crossing Over #8, in panel 2, on top of the filing cabinets is Janine's box of Chamomile tea.
  • On page 20 of Ghostbusters Crossing Over #8, Janine's business suit is visually based on one briefly worn by Janine at the start of The Real Ghostbusters episode "Egon on the Rampage".
  • On page 1 of Transformers/Ghostbusters Issue #3, Janine is wearing her outfit from the first movie when the Containment Unit was shut down.
  • On page 2 of Transformers/Ghostbusters Issue #3:
    • Janine makes tea, a nod to her love of chamomile tea from Ghostbusters: The Video Game.
    • Janine mentions the 1982 movie "Tron" and that she liked it.[19]
    • Janine comes up with the Ectotron name.
  • On page 3 of Transformers/Ghostbusters Issue #3:
    • Janine keeps a Proton Grenade in her drawer.
    • In panel 5, on Janine's computer screen is the shot of Unicron on Primacron's computer seen in the middle of the Transformers episode "Call of the Primitives" when Oracle tells the origins of Unicron.
  • Janine stars in a series of online spots advertising the features of Quickbooks. In the "Happy Business: Ghostbusters Payroll Taxes" online spot, released on December 27, 2019, Janine is listed on payroll and is paid $1,246.36 by direct deposit.

Appearances

Secondary Canon Appearances

References

  1. ↑ Harold Ramis (2005). Ghostbusters- Commentary (2005) (DVD ts. 1:27:01-1:27:04). Columbia TriStar Home Video. Harold Ramis says: "Remember you offered Sandra Bernhard Annie Potts' role? "
  2. ↑ Aykroyd, Dan & Ramis, Harold (1988). Ghostbusters II (August 5, 1988 Draft) (Script p. 44). "Peter Venkman says: "Look, Janine, I know you left a very good position as an office temp and we appreciate your coming back, but you'll have to bear with us while we get things straightened out, okay?"
  3. ↑ Aykroyd, Dan & Ramis, Harold (1988). Ghostbusters II (August 5, 1988 Draft) (Script p. 60). Paragraph reads: "On their way out, they pass Louis on his way to the apartment to baby-sit."
  4. ↑ Mark; At start of Welcome to the Hotel Sedgewick, Firehouse 2nd Floor Answering Machine Message 3 of 7 (2009). Ghostbusters: The Video Game (Realistic Versions) - Firehouse (2009) (PC/PS3/Xbox 360). Terminal Reality. Mark says: "Hi, Janine. This is Mark. We met the other night at the "I have a crush on my boss but I'm afraid to tell them" seminar. I was wondering if you would be interested in a job as my personal assistant. Call me."
  5. ↑ Janine's photo frame
  6. ↑ Wide shot of Janine's desk
  7. ↑ Grab from Ghostbusters: The Video Game Central Park Cemetery opening cinematic
  8. ↑ Ghostbusters: The Board Game Update #9 2/13/15 "Sub-creatures! Gozer the Gozerian, Gozer the Destructor, Volguus Zildrohar, the Traveler has come! Choose and perish!"
  9. ↑ Ghostbusters: The Board Game Update #11 2/15/15 "Ghostbusters, What Do You Want?"
  10. ↑ Ghostbusters: The Board Game Update #12 2/15/15 "A couple notes..."
  11. ↑ Winston Zeddemore (2016). IDW Comics- "Ghostbusters International #2" (2016) (Comic p.18). Winston says: "Janine bet Kylie $20 that you didn't have a personal life. You can bet she let everyone hear about it when she lost."
  12. ↑ Janine Melnitz (2017). IDW Comics- "Ghostbusters Annual 2017" (2017) (Comic p.31). Janine says: "Can't even make an exception for my favorite niece."
  13. ↑ Dramatis Personae (2017). IDW Comics- "Ghostbusters 101 #1" (2017) (Comic Dramatis Personae page). Line reads: "Enjoys pilates on Thursdays."
  14. ↑ Spook Central Ghostbusters Deleted Scenes page
  15. ↑ TomWaltz Tweet 5/15/18
  16. ↑ TomWaltz Tweet 5/22/18
  17. ↑ TomWaltz Tweet 6/28/18
  18. ↑ 68-E Memo (2018). IDW Comics- "Ghostbusters Crossing Over Issue #5" (2018) (Comic p.21). 68-E Memo reads: "Janine noticed a similarity in appearance to Roger and Spengler of 68-R during the Proteus incident; as Spengler 68-E looks even more like Baugh; we haven't introduced him to Janine. (Dr. Venkman felt that might be the most comfortable solution for Janine, and we concur.)"
  19. ↑ Janine Melnitz (2019). IDW Comics- "Transformers/Ghostbusters Issue #3" (2019) (Comic p.2). Janine Melnitz says: "Tron sounds better. I liked that movie, too. How 'bout Ectotron?"
  20. ↑ Peter Venkman (2014). IDW Comics- "Ghostbusters Volume 2 Issue #20" (2014) (Comic p.8). Peter says: "Okay so Winston got away and Janine took the car to--"
  21. ↑ Spectral Incident Report (2016). IDW Comics- "Ghostbusters International #4" (2016) (Comic p.23). Spectral Incident Report reads: "Considering the time-sensitive nature of the case, a decision was made to "deputize" local Special Agents Johnson and Mitchell and provide them with access to Ghostbusters equipment (approval granted by Janine Melnitz, director of the Ghostbusters' home office)."
  22. ↑ Peter Venkman (2019). IDW Comics- "Transformers/Ghostbusters Issue #4" (2019) (Comic p.2). Peter Venkman says: "Sure, we don't have all the scanning toys out here that we do at the station, but I think Janine was getting hives thinking of you both trying to fit in the entryway, shame you can't, y'know, shrink."
  23. ↑ Peter Venkman (2019). IDW Comics- "Transformers/Ghostbusters Issue #4" (2019) (Comic p.5). Peter Venkman says: "I'm starting to think Janine was right to worry about you."
  24. ↑ Winston Zeddemore (2019). IDW Comics- " Transformers/Ghostbusters Issue #5" (2019) (Comic p.18). Winston Zeddemore says: "And you do owe Janine a few repairs..."

Gallery

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Primary Canon

Secondary Canon

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