Anyone who follows Marvel's more obscure heroes knows that the
Moon Knight is a character with a tragic history and an incredibly complex backstory.
Marc Spector and his various identities will debut in Marvel's Cinematic Universe in a solo series on Disney+, which is planned to be released sometime between 2021 and 2022.
In the comics, the hero not only sports several iconic looks but is also known for being the avatar of
Khonshu, an Egyptian god of the moon and vengeance.
Created in 1975 by
Doug Moench and
Don Perlin in the pages of
Werewolf by Night #32, the character has many stories and brings several elements that will be groundbreaking for the Marvel Studios franchise. For this reason, we have selected here a brief guide for you to understand a little more about the
Moon Knight!
Moon Knight Origins
Born in Chicago,
Marc Spector was the son of a rabbi. He had always been rebellious and nonconformist with life and consistently trying to conquer a better place in the world. As an adult, he joined the Navy and did some occasional work for the CIA. After leaving the military, he becomes a mercenary and goes on increasingly glorious and deadly missions, traveling all over the globe.
On one of these trips, he finds himself in Egypt. He is betrayed by one of his fellow missionaries (
Raul Bushman) and ends up being killed near a peculiar statue - a figure of
Khonshu, the Egyptian god of the moon and revenge. The deity took pity on the dying man and decided to resurrect him, turning Marc into his champion - a fighter and avenger for the weakest.
Thus was born the
Moon Knight. He returned to the United States and joined forces with several essential allies, such as
Jean-Paul DuChamp (the "Frenchie"),
Marlene Alraune, and
Bertrand Crawley. He develops some secret identities in his adventures to get away from the mercenary life and get closer to the criminal underworld.
In his first story in the comics, he is hired by the
Committee, a nefarious organization that wishes to hunt down
Jack Russell, the anti-hero known as
Werewolf. Initially, this leads to a showdown between the two. But they eventually realize that they need to ally to stop the criminal organization. So the two become allies, although they do clash from time to time.
Moon Knight Psychological Problems
One of the defining features that make
Marc Spector different from all the other characters in Marvel, or comics in general, is his greatest weakness: severe psychological problems, including
dissociative personality disorder. This basically means that he has multiple personalities, which "appear" every time he requires one of them to come out.
At the beginning of his stories, he was split between three distinct personalities: the mercenary
Marc Spector (his base personality), the millionaire playboy
Steven Grant, and the grim cab driver
Jake Lockley. Over time, he incorporated other personalities, although the first three are the only ones still depicted today. He even wore different costumes at one stage, to be the
Moon Knight and
Mr. Kinght.
All this makes the character's story very rich and interesting. We never know if Marc is, in fact, Khonshu's avatar or everything is just signs of psychological problems caused by his mental illness. This is very well explored in
Moon Knight #8, a comic book that shows Marc Spector locked up in a sanatorium and forced to accept that all the adventures he has lived were nothing more than delusions.
We also know that part of this "madness" is due to
Khonshu's own influence on Marc's life. The god is known to have four "faces" - the Discoverer, the Welder, the Defender, and the Watcher. It is suspected that Spector cycles through these personalities, which causes him to become even more immersed in his own psychic problems, almost as if Khonshu catalyzed this.
Moon Knight Moon Knight Powers And Abilities
Marc Spector's psychological issues have always made us question a bit his own beliefs and activities as
Moon Knight.
For years, it was believed that he possesses a considerable increase in strength during full moon nights while being weaker during new moon periods. Some also say that he is immortal due to the pact made with
Khonshu.
And while these "superhuman" powers are difficult to determine for obvious reasons, it is important to remember that Marc possesses various human skills and expertise. For example, he is an expert in
investigation,
interrogation, and
weaponry due to his work as a mercenary. In addition, he is a pilot known for using various vehicles in his missions, including ships, planes, and boats.
He has also trained his brain to be
very resistant to pain, besides being a master in martial arts and mastering several languages exceptionally well. Despite his abrupt personality changes, he is also generally seen as a friendly figure, which is why he has been part of several heroic teams, such as the
Avengers, the
Secret Avengers, the
Heroes for Hire, and
The Defenders.
Moon Knight Enemies
In the comics,
Moon Knight has many enemies that may end up making an appearance in Marvel's Cinematic Universe. Few are truly memorable, but I've picked out three here that are worth mentioning.
The first of these is the
Werewolf I already mentioned above. Jacob Russoff was a cursed man who ended up becoming a lycanthropic creature. He initially fights the transformation but eventually embraces it and becomes a kind of anti-hero, using the savagery and grandeur of his animal form to put fear into his enemies. He and the Moon Knight have a fascinating "friends and rivals" dynamic.
Another important villain in Marc's story is
Raul Bushman, a mercenary from a small country in Africa who became famous for being very effective in his line of work, even though he was completely evil and mentally unstable. He abandons Marc Spector to die at Khonshu's statue, and the two end up meeting a few times again over the years.
The third memorable villain is
Scarlet Fasinera, an anti-heroine known as the Stained Glass Scarlet. Fasinera was a nun who decided to pursue vigilantism after being forced to execute her own son. Very violent and uncontrollable, she ended up clashing with Spector over the years, even trying to kill him a few times.
Moon Knight in The Marvel's Cinematic Universe
In 2019, it was announced that Marvel Studios would be developing a
Moon Knight series for Disney+, following the model of recent and upcoming releases like WandaVision and Loki. The series is expected to be six episodes long and will explore the origins of
Marc Spector and how he was transformed into
Khonshu's avatar, becoming the Moon Knight.
So far, we have some sparse information about the series and its production. We know that
Jeremy Slater (the creator of The Exorcist and The Umbrella Academy series) is developing the scripts. At the same time,
Mohamed Diab and the duo
Justin Benson and
Aaron Moorhead are expected to direct some episodes. During Disney Investor Day last year,
Kevin Feige said that the series would explore much Egyptian mythology.
However, the biggest attraction of the series is its protagonist.
Oscar Isaac (Poe Dameron from the new Star Wars trilogy) will play the
Moon Knight.
The
Moon Knight series does not yet have a release date. However, it is believed that filming will begin later this year, and the first season will be released next year, further expanding the territory of the Marvel Cinematic Universe on Disney+.
