A few weeks ago, Marvel announced that a television show based on the character Moon Knight was in development for the new Disney streaming service, Disney+. That was the final straw for me, when I finally realized I was going to have to give in and pay for this damn Disney+ gimmick.
Why? Because Moon Knight became one of my Mount Rushmore comic book characters when I rediscovered my love for comic books as an adult a few years ago. That is undoubtedly one of the nerdiest things I’ve ever said outside of asking Rooster what she thought the inside of a Pokeball looked like.
Anyway, Moon Knight isn’t exactly your run of the mill superhero. To say he’s “complicated” would be quite the understatement. That’s why I was drawn to the character. So, I figured I’d take this opportunity to write up a brief introduction for those of you in SoBros Nation who might not be familiar with the character.
A lot of people have tried to simplify Moon Knight as “imagine Batman having multiple personalities.” I think that’s a bit too easy, though. The truth is that this character has been made over, and has been written in so many different ways, that he’s come to be several different things.
So, who is Moon Knight? That would be one Marc Spector. Spector is a boxer turned marine turned mercenary. What’s also weird is that Spector actually started out as a villain in the Marvel universe. But, for the purposes of this quick piece, we don’t have to get into all that. As a mercenary, Spector ends up working for Bushman over in Egypt. They uncover a statue of the Egyptian Moon God Khonshu. As is prone to happen in comic books, shit gets sideways, Spector and Bushman end up fighting, Bushman beats the hell out of him and leaves him for dead.
Spector’s heart actually stops beating, and then Khonshu appears to him in a vision and says he’ll bring him back to life as his avatar on Earth. Boom – here we are. The Moon Knight is born, and decides he’s going to become a crimefighter.
Spector creates all of these different aliases for various reasons. Steven Grant is a business man, who has made millions through investments (really, it’s just a front for all the money he made as a merc). Jake Lockley is a cab driver (can’t get a beat on the streets if you’re a billionaire investor). Whether he does this because of his multiple personality disorder or his multiple personality disorder is caused by this has been a point of contention in the past. It’s one of those gray areas.
What exactly are his powers? It varies based on the cycle of the moon. But, as a basic human dude, Spector is a skilled hand-to-hand combatant trained in various martial arts. He’s also a legit acrobat. But, if there’s a full moon, that sumbitch can lift a car. The stronger the moon, the stronger he gets. He also uses a lot of gadgetry, which is what a lot of the Batman comparisons are rooted in. I don’t think you’d call it a super power, but one of my favorite things about Moon Knight is that he’s resistant to psychic attacks because he’s legitimately fucking crazy.
There’s a wealth of inconsistency throughout this character’s history, but those are the basics. If they run with something along the lines of this version of the character, it’ll be excellent. The inconsistency in the source material gives Marvel a blank slate of sorts to do with the character what they will. They’ve proven trustworthy in such a spot before, so I’m pretty pumped for this series to see daylight. There’s still no word on when exactly the show will air.
If you’re looking for some Moon Knight to read in the meantime, I can’t recommend Warren Ellis’ 2014 run enough.
Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD and #BeBetter. “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Nashville, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley
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