Ray Stantz

Ray Stantz is one of the main characters from the Ghostbuster franchise.

Dr. Ray Stantz was one of the original Ghostbusters and was one of the most devoted to the pursuit of studying the paranormal. He usually wore a tan uniform with slightly darker tan trim. He sometimes earlier on wore gloves and Ecto Goggles. He came back in Extreme Ghostbusters, but instead wore a blue uniform and pink trim (Egon's old uniform).

Personality
Ray is the heart of the Ghostbusters. He sometimes will act a bit like a kid (he watches cartoons, reads comic books, plays with action figures, and in the episode "Mr. Sandman, Dream Me a Dream" it is shown that he believes that the Easter Bunny exists).

Abilities
The main equipment used by the Ghostbusters to capture ghosts is the proton pack: a reportedly unlicensed nuclear accelerator which fires a proton stream that polarizes with the negatively charged energy of a ghost, allowing it to be held in the stream while active. The proton packs' particle throwers were originally portrayed as wands worn on each arm. In current versions, it consists of a hand-held wand (neutrino wand as described and scripted by Aykroyd, also called a proton gun or particle thrower within the franchise) connected to a backpack-sized particle accelerator. The Proton Stream can also fire a hard-hitting boson dart which can be fired alone or collided with the Proton Stream to fire a Boson Collider.

The Slime Blower is seen and developed in the movie Ghostbusters II; this piece of equipment is a metal tank strapped to the back of its user, with an attached sprayer used to project streams of the psychomagnetheric mood slime that has been reinforced with positive emotions so as to neutralize its negatively reinforced counterparts. In Ghostbusters: The Video Game, the slime blower is modified to shoot positively charged slime, and can also shoot slime tethers, the slime tether in turn can be attached to one object, then the other end to another solid surface to pull that heavy object (also used to open heavy doors) which usually would be difficult to move without use of some tremendous amount of force, so the slime tether helps get the job done. The Ghostbusters can also attach one end of a slime tether to a ghost, then attach the other end to a nearby already deployed ghost trap allowing for a quicker trapping of a ghost. A toy slime blower was released with the Kenner Real Ghostbusters toy line. In the Ghostbusters comics, the Ecto-Splat is a flamethrower-like device that fires a hard jet of ectoplasm, which can damage or dissipate ghosts.

The Shock Blaster is the close-range weapon of the Ghostbusters arsenal. It fires a blast of stripped dark matter particles that diffuse quickly when they come in contact with the outside world. The Ghostbusters use the Shock Blaster for fighting close-proximity entities and inhabiting swarmers. The Shock Blaster also fires a Stasis Stream which fires a high-capacity stream that hypobond to ectoplasmic matter. If a Ghostbuster trains the stream on a ghost long enough, he can actually stop it entirely.

The Ghostbusters also use equipment to hunt and find ghosts. The PKE meter is a handheld device that locates and measures psycho-kinetic energy (PKE), which is an environmental byproduct emitted only by ghosts. The device's most prominent feature are winged arms that raise and lower in relation to the amount of PKE detected while a digital display gives an exact reading for the operator. The giga meter is a device similar to the PKE meter featured in Ghostbusters II. As explained by Egon in the original script, the giga meter measures PKE in GeV, or giga-electronvolts. Ecto-Goggles, sometimes known as Spectro-Visors, are a special pair of goggles that visually trace PKE readings. They are particularly useful in helping the wearer see normally invisible ghosts. There is also a Ghost Sniffer only seen used by Venkman in the first movie. A toy Ghost Sniffer was released as part of the Kenner Real Ghostbusters toyline.

In the Ghostbusters fiction, ghosts cannot simply be destroyed. Instead, they become temporarily destabilized. However, from their encounter with the Gray Lady in the first movie, Egon devises several pieces of equipment that are used to trap and contain ghosts.

The trap is a box with a split, hinged lid, remote-controlled by a simple pedal switch, attached to the end of the box by a long cable. When a ghost is brought close to the trap (usually by means of the proton pack), the ghost trap is activated by the foot switch. Its lid then opens, and a force field draws the ghost inside. When the ghost is captured, the trap emits smoke and a strong, bad smell. Characters are advised to refrain from looking directly at the trap when it is activated. The ghost can then be transported to the larger, more permanent containment unit. More than one ghost can be stored in a trap, but a maximum number has never been established, nor for how long a ghost can be held. A captured ghost can be released from the trap by opening it.

The Ecto-Containment Unit, also referred to as the Containment System, is the large facility in the basement of the Ghostbusters' headquarters. It was developed after Dr. Spengler and Dr. Stantz made their first actual contact in the basement of the New York Public Library with the ghost of its librarian Eleanor Twitty, who is referred by them as the Gray Lady. Data from that experience indicates they could capture and hold ghosts indefinitely. This idea makes the Ghostbuster business possible. All captured ghosts are stored in the containment unit. The unit itself utilizes a high-voltage grid of lasers to do its job. Turning off the protection grid without following proper procedures will result in a catastrophic and explosive release of all ectoplasmic entities and psycho-kinetic energy stored in the unit. The containment unit has an easy-access slot, where the ghost can be transferred from the trap into the unit's containment field.

Trivia

 * Ray has an aunt named Lois. Two of his uncles passed away while he was a Ghostbuster, Gaylord and a distant uncle named Andrew McMillan.
 * Ray's ancestors hail from both Russia and Scotland. Possibly has a Jewish background (Russian Orthodox).
 * The Russian part of the Stantz family came to America in the 1860s.
 * Ray's humorous personality, as well as physical appearance was based loosely on actor Louie Anderson-including the voice.
 * Ray was born in 1959. He also has a fondness for pop culture from the 1950's.
 * Ray's second grade teacher was named Mrs. Millikan.
 * Ray used to have a Dopey Dog stuffed animal.
 * Ray was always told by Aunt Lois to deal with a bad dream by telling himself it's only a dream so he could take control of it.
 * Ray still believes in the Easter Bunny and lamented in having to blast a nightmarish version.
 * Ray has a birth mark under his chin.
 * While living in Morrisville, Ray had the weirdest pets.
 * Ray knows sign language. He interpreted Egon when he was signing the Sleeping ghost in Hollywood.
 * In "Take Two ", Ray shows some fondness for the Deadly Dr. Crawly films and the movie "Nerds in Space."
 * Ray was born in the Bronx.
 * Just to annoy Peter, Ray named the green ghost "Slimer."
 * During the Doomsday Door incident, Ray had season tickets to the New York Mets.
 * In the February 26, 1986 first draft of the "Knock, Knock" script, Ray instead had season tickets to the New York Yankees.
 * Ray enjoys a good mystery.
 * Ray admired Max Palopolis... until he met him.
 * Math was always Ray's weakest subject.
 * While making a calculation, Ray misplaced the decimal point.
 * Ray took clarinet lessons instead of swimming lessons
 * Ray reveals he built three cars in his last year of auto shop class.
 * Ray has a tuxedo in pea soup green.
 * Ray won a free helicopter lesson in 1976.
 * When Ray was a child growing up in the Bronx, he used to borrow books from Mr. Howard.
 * Ray moves his lips when he reads.
 * Andrew McMillan, Ray Stantz's uncle, is revealed to be Scottish.
 * Ray dreamed of going to MJN Studios for a long time.
 * Ray hates small planes.
 * Ray attributes his ability to understand Slimer from growing up watching Lassie movies.
 * Ray went to horror movies during his childhood.
 * Ray reveals he read Spooks Illustrated when he was a child.
 * Ray learned about Charles Foster Hearse's collection of books on the supernatural after watching an episode of "Haunts of the Rich and Famous," and always wanted to see it.
 * In "The Revenge of Murray the Mantis," Ray was still an unlicensed pilot.
 * Ray and Winston both like game shows.
 * Ray has multiple degrees and hopes to win a Nobel Prize.
 * Ray once ate half a cookie slimed by Slimer.
 * Ray's favorite comic is Captain Steel.
 * Ray Stanz reveals Captain Steel was his hero and one of the reasons he became a Ghostbuster.
 * Ray is a member of good standing with the Official Captain Steel Junior Crimestoppers Club.
 * Ray once played on a team against the Miskatonic University's football team, the Slugs. He recalls the experience as "slimy."
 * "Nerds in Space" is one of Ray's favorite movies.
 * Ray is the only person to have a limited edition of a Captain Steel comic.
 * Ray used to be a Boy Scout.
 * "Muffy and the Meatheads" is Ray's favorite show.
 * Ray was once tricked into thinking he was guest speaker at a comic book convention.
 * While in the grip of the animated street made by Boogaloo above Times Square, Peter points out he can see Ray's house.
 * Ray enrolled in Paranormal Studies at Columbia University. One of his professors attempted to spend the night at Heck House. He survived half the night and was rendered catatonic.
 * Ray has seen The Great Strazinski's show a dozen times.
 * When Ray was a child, he wanted to be a stage magician performing at the Magic Palace.
 * Ray once owed Peter $5.
 * Ray owned a sailboat he named the "SS Pollywog."
 * Ray was never good with dice.
 * "The Sammy K. Ferret Show" was a favorite program of Ray and Slimer.
 * Ray has begun teaching himself how to play a tuba as of the events of "Not Now, Slimer!".
 * Right before the Apshai incident, Ray received his ant farm in the mail.
 * Ray wears contact lens.
 * Egon and Ray were kicked out of New York State University in 1982 for trying to reanimate the dead.
 * Ray is referenced twice more in "The Sphinx" after Egon's story about being expelled from New York State.
 * Pat Fraley filled in as the voice of Ray for two recording sessions of "Back in the Saddle, Part 2" when Frank Welker was unavailable.
 * Ray appears on the RI cover of Ghostbusters Volume 2 Issue #8.
 * On the subscription cover of Ghostbusters Volume 2 Issue #16, Ray makes a non-canon cameo.
 * On page 1 of Ghostbusters 101 #4, in panel 2, Patty Tolan's flight suit is based on the one worn by Ray.
 * On page 18 of Ghostbusters Crossing Over Issue #2, Ray wears civies based on those worn by his counterpart in The Real Ghostbuters. He previously wore them in Volume 2 Issue #5.
 * On page 21 of Ghostbusters Crossing Over Issue #2, Ray's file photo are from "Mrs. Roger's Neighborhood".
 * Ray is mentioned in The Real Ghostbusters' bio on the 33rd Crossing Over Virtual Trading Card, posted on June 12, 2018.[91]
 * Ray appears on Cover A of Ghostbusters Crossing Over Issue #6.
 * On page 6 of Ghostbusters Crossing Over Issue #7, in panel 4, Ray's hair is miscolored blonde - a nod to the animation errors on The Real Ghostbusters.