Special Agent Melanie Ortiz

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Special Agent Melanie Ortiz
Occupation:	FBI Agent, Liaison, Ghostbuster
Appeared In:	Ghostbusters Volume 1 Issue #11 Ghostbusters Volume 2 Issue #1 Ghostbusters Volume 2 Issue #2 Ghostbusters Volume 2 Issue #3 Ghostbusters Volume 2 Issue #4 Ghostbusters Volume 2 Issue #5 Ghostbusters Volume 2 Issue #9 Ghostbusters Volume 2 Issue #10 Ghostbusters Volume 2 Issue #11 Ghostbusters Volume 2 Issue #12 Ghostbusters Volume 2 Issue #13 Ghostbusters Volume 2 Issue #14 Ghostbusters Volume 2 Issue #15 Ghostbusters Volume 2 Issue #16 Ghostbusters Volume 2 Issue #17

Special Agent Melanie Ortiz is a FBI agent and partner of Special Agent Jim Savage. She later joined Janine Melnitz's Ghostbusters team. Melanie currently serves as a liaison between the FBI and Ghostbusters.

History

During one summer, Special Agents Savage and Ortiz converged on the Ghostbusters in Roswell and attempted to dissuade them from investigating any further. Melanie became embarrassed over Savage's squabble with Egon Spengler and also managed to ignore Peter Venkman's advances. After Savage was assaulted by the Roswell Army Ghosts, Peter and Melanie went along with him to a local hospital. Melanie was worried Savage would end up institutionalized over his obsession but Peter assured her he would be alright.

The morning after, Peter met up with Melanie at Roswell's Belda'r Cafe to inform her the ghosts were captured and to warn her about the paperwork she would have to deal with because of the incident's relation to paranormal activity. Peter extended an invitation to Melanie for a date in Manhattan but without outright accepting, she gave him directions to Las Vegas.

Months later, in February, Ortiz made the trip to New York to visit Broadway and call in the dinner Peter owed her. She downplayed any romantic notions for coming. As they arrived at the Ritz Cafe in Central Park, a green demon manifested. Ortiz noted how it sort of looked like Peter. Before long, the demon grabbed Peter. Ortiz reached for her gun but Peter advised her to warn Egon. She watched as the demon and Peter vanished. Ortiz was placed on mandatory leave due to "psychological trauma" of Peter's "disappearance." She decided to stay in New York and help find the Ghostbusters. Ortiz stayed with a friend named Mark, whose hair grew back after an undisclosed incident with her.

Three months later, Ortiz donned the Compact Pack for a bust. She missed the target, the Jail Jaw Ghost and shorted out the pack. Ortiz ditched the pack and was slimed by the ghost. Oritz "borrowed" Kylie Griffin's Particle Thrower and wrangled the Jail Jaw Ghost, allowing Janine to trap it. After the bust, the three were arrested. Walter Peck justified leaving Ortiz on the team because she had advanced law enforcement training as a federal agent. She was skeptical of Peck's conditions to letting the team stay in business but Janine concluded they had no choice. A few days later, while out on a case, Ortiz decked Ron Alexander after he fired on the ghost of Gareth Dibello and barely missed his intended victim. Recalling the Dibello case from her stint at Quantico, Ortiz taunted the ghost and exclaimed how all his victims were found and laid to rest. Dibello became enraged and flew straight at her. Ortiz barely kept him away with one Proton Stream while Kylie trapped him. Ortiz wasn't too comfortable with Dibello not rotting in Hell for the grizzly murders he committed but Janine countered he'd have to stew in the Containment Unit knowing his victims were found.

After the Ghostbusters returned home and the Collectors were dealt with, Ortiz resumed active duty with the FBI and returned to New Mexico. Ortiz' partner Jim was also cleared. Despite being in a shoot out, Ortiz was surprisingly unexcited by the action. She began to realize her idea of excitement had changed. In late October, Peck made a deal with the FBI. In exchange for having Ortiz on loan as a Ghostbuster, she would serve as a liaison between the FBI and the Ghostbusters. On October 30, she was driven to the Firehouse by the Zombie Taxi Driver. They arrived just after a flash of Red Lightning manifested. While the Ghostbusters went out on more calls, Ortiz had to stay behind and work on a waist-high stack of paperwork.

On the night of the Day of the Dead, Ortiz accompanied Ray and Egon to Bushwick. Surprised by a celebration taking place at Central Avenue and Bleecker Street, she was less than pleased with the others' dispassionate response. When an irate man attempted to assault Egon for the capture of his cousin's ghost the year before, Ortiz intervened. She placed the man in an arm lock and tried to defuse the situation. When Egon made things worse, Ortiz showed her FBI badge and gave the man the option to be arrested for assault, booked, and have everything put on the record. The man declined and walked away. The trio was suddenly confronted with the appearance of a projection of Santa Muerte. While Peter, Winston and Kylie were on their way with equipment, Ortiz tried to create a diversion. It didn't go well and Ortiz ran for her life. Peter opened fire on the projection but it split into two. Ortiz took the last Proton Pack but was skeptical it was indeed the Santa Muerte. After Kylie trapped two of the three projections, the Ghostbusters split up and searched for the P.K.E. source.

15 minutes later, Melanie and Ray found a home drenched in slime. They ran upstairs and found Jasmine and Jasmine's Mother floating in stasis. Ray noticed the symbol on Jasmine's altar was the problem. Melanie shot the altar and destroyed it. Santa Muerte was no longer tethered and left the home. Jasmine and her mother were restored to normal but Rodefhiri made his move and tried to drag Jasmine into a portal under her bed. Melanie flipped the bed over and ordered Ray to help the mother hold onto her daughter. Thinking quickly, Melanie tossed a Trap down the portal and opened it. Rodefhiri was startled and the portal was closed, severing the Trap from its cord. A few weeks later, Melanie went with Egon and Peter to Rhinebeck to investigate the Sinterklaas Ghost. As Melanie and Peter chased after the ghost, she came up with a simple plan. Peter would enter the home through the front door and distract the ghost while Melanie would enter through the back and trap the ghost from behind. Melanie was delayed by the family dog but sneaked through the kitchen. She jammed a Trap in the ghost's chest and captured it.

In late December, Melanie's theory about the connection between the Red Lightning and Bogeymen was finally corroborated by Egon. She was amused to see Egon had Kylie hooked up to the Aura Video-Analyzer to collect data on the lightning's effect on young people. Once it was determined a powerful Bogeyman was going to make a move, Melanie immediately asked why New York was the epicenter and when it was going to happen considering the small time table to narrow down possible sites where the Bogeyman could strike. While Egon already figured out it would on New Year's Eve, they still had to figure out the where. Peter and Melanie went to the East Village to visit a friend of Peter's, a Gypsy Witch. Melanie wasn't convinced this was the proper venue but Peter insisted she was a legitimate psychic and he brought Melanie along just in case things got "weird." The psychic was possessed and revealed Rodefhiri was going to attack children at Times Square. The Ghostbusters went to the Times Tower roof and confronted Rodefhiri. Despite Egon's warning, only Winston and Melanie shielded their eyes from the Bogeyman. Winston came up with a plan. He let Rodefhiri take his fear and managed to overcome it. Winston blasted Rodefhiri in the face and ordered Melanie to throw out a Trap. Rodefhiri recognized Melanie and refused to be trapped. The Ghostbusters used five Traps to capture him.

In late January, Melanie reported to Agent Edward Norris' office at the Jacob K. Javits Federal Building to go over her report about the Rodefhiri incident during New Year's Eve. Much to her dismay, Melanie went over it with him 100 times reportedly. Norris ordered Melanie to go over it until he understood it and had no more questions to ask because it was her duty as a liaison between the Ghostbusters and FBI. At the end of the report review, Norris inquired about what came of Rodefhiri. Melanie embellished the truth and revealed the entity was left in individual Traps then sealed in crates filled with cement and stored in outside facilities. In reality, the Ghostbusters simply deposited the crates into a river. Norris was pleased with the review and dismissed Melanie. However, he informed her she was scheduled to return the next morning to answer questions about the report from the Deputy Director.

Melanie was part of the team that filled in for the Ghostbusters during the wedding of Winston Zeddemore and Tiyah Clarke. During the ceremony, the team responded to a call from Bates CPA, PC. After Kylie tricked the Five Points Killer into releasing its victims, Melanie assigned Kylie and Rookie to take the victims to safety while she and Ron searched for the ghost. Ron was injured by the ghost and suffered a minor concussion. Melanie decided to do one more sweep of the floor before leaving with Ron but the ghost appeared behind her. Melanie quickly ducked as Rookie fired on the ghost and Kylie trapped it. The next day, Melanie and Kylie were dispatched by Janine to investigate Dana's Apartment. Melanie asked Dana Barrett some questions to rule out intention and to go over the incident with Tiamat. Melanie met up with Kylie later that day at Ray's Occult Books to see what she found on Tiamat. In the evening, she suited up and gathered at the entrance to Dana's apartment building with the other Ghostbusters.

A couple weeks later, Melanie was among those who joined the Ghostbusters in confronting Vigo on Hart Island. Once she sighted the island on Marine Ecto-8, Melanie stopped Ray and advised everyone to nix the small talk and stay on point. She donned a prototype Proton Pistol for the case. At the potter's field, while the others debated how the Scoleri Brothers and Vigo could have escaped, Melanie took point and fired first. She blasted Vigo square in the face. Instead of retaliating against Melanie, Vigo shot at Peter whom he recognized as "the vandal" who drew on his painting.

Trivia

• Erik Burnham stated Melanie was never a stand-in for Dana Barrett nor a new love interest for Peter Venkman.
• Melanie Ortiz is visually based on a combination of Paz Vega and Sofia Vergara.
• On the Subscription Cover of Ghostbusters Volume 2 Issue #1, Melanie's photo is to the right of Janine.
• Melanie is detail-oriented.

Appearances

IDW Comics

• Ongoing Series
  • Volume 1
    • Ghostbusters Issue #11
  • Volume 2
    • Ghostbusters Issue #1
    • Ghostbusters Issue #2
    • Ghostbusters Issue #3
    • Ghostbusters Issue #4
    • Ghostbusters Issue #5
    • Ghostbusters Issue #9
    • Ghostbusters Issue #10
    • Ghostbusters Issue #11
    • Ghostbusters Issue #12
    • Ghostbusters Issue #13
    • Ghostbusters Issue #14
    • Ghostbusters Issue #15
    • Ghostbusters Issue #16
    • Ghostbusters Issue #17

Gallery

As seen in Ghostbusters Issue #11

As seen in Ghostbusters Volume 2 Issue #1

As seen in Volume 2 Issue #1

As seen in Volume 2 Issue #1

As seen on Volume 2 Issue #1 Cover D

As seen on Volume 2 Issue #1 Cover RI

As seen in Volume 2 Issue #1

As seen in Volume 2 Issue #1

As seen in Volume 2 Issue #1

As seen in Volume 2 Issue #1

As seen in Ghostbusters Volume 2 Issue #2

As seen in Volume 2 Issue #2

As seen in Volume 2 Issue #2

As seen in Ghostbusters Volume 2 Issue #9

As seen in Volume 2 Issue #9

As seen on Ghostbusters Volume 2 Issue #10 Regular Cover

As seen in Volume 2 Issue #10

As seen in Ghostbusters Volume 2 Issue #11

As seen in Ghostbusters Volume 2 Issue #12

As seen in Volume 2 Issue #12

As seen in Volume 2 Issue #13

As seen on Volume 2 Issue #13 Cover RI

As seen in Ghostbusters Volume 2 Issue #14

As seen in Volume 2 Issue #14

As seen in Ghostbusters Volume 2 Issue #15

As seen in Volume 2 Issue #15

As seen in Volume 2 Issue #17

As seen in Volume 2 Issue #17