What You Need to Know About Moon Knight, Marvel’s Magical Hero Coming to Disney+ Moon Knight may be getting his own show, but we suspect he’ll be introduced in the next “Doctor Strange” movie Phil Owen and Ross A. Lincoln | August 23, 2019 @ 8:34 PMLast Updated: August 23, 2019 @ 8:42 PM Marvel Comics Friday evening’s Disney+ panel at the D23 Expo was wild, with new shows and movies introduced left and right — including no fewer than three new Marvel shows, all of which will take place in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But while “Ms. Marvel” and “She-Hulk” might grab the biggest attention from MCU fans, the most immediately intriguing announcement, at least to us, was “Moon Knight.” No disrespect to Ms. Marvel and She-Hulk as characters, of course — but they are logical choices to add to the MCU. Moon Knight, on the other hand, is a super weird character and what his place might be in the greater MCU isn’t clear at all. But this sort of oddball choice has worked out pretty well in the past for Marvel. Just look at Ant-Man, who was a similarly strange choice of headliner when his movie was announced years ago. Moon Knight is a fascinating character, because while on the surface he comes off like Marvel’s attempt to rip off Batman, his powers are actually magical, weird mystical abilities tied either to an ancient Egyptian god and the moon — or to his fractured psyche. More on that in a moment. Also Read:Disney+: All the Original TV Shows and Movies Set for Upcoming Streaming Platform (Photos) Created by writer Doug Moench and artist Don Perlin in 1975, Moon Knight debuted in Marvel’s “Werewolf by Night,” where he’s introduced hunting the title character before teaming up with him instead (the two have generally been allies ever since). Moon Knight’s story goes like this: his real name is Marc Spector, and he’s the Jewish son of a rabbi who fled to the United States from Czechoslovakia during World War II. Spector grew up in Chicago and joined the Marines, then became a CIA operative, and then a mercenary after that. While in Egypt on one of his mercenary gigs, Marc ran afoul of his employer and was nearly killed — he only survived when his companions dropped his body in a tomb in front of an idol of Khonshu, the Egyptian moon god. While unconscious, Spector’s spirit met Khonshu, and Khonshu healed his injuries and granted him the power of the moon — basically making him able to survive mortal wounds and giving him super strength at night. But that’s not all. Moon Knight suffers from dissociative identity disorder, or multiple personalities, and he’s got a pile of alter egos, including at one point Captain America (!) and Wolverine (!!!!!!). Because of this issue with his mental health, there’s long been some question about whether Khonshu is actually real, and that question has often been part of the hook for his character arc. But whether or not Khonshu is fake, as established during writer Charlie Huston’s run on “Moon Knight” vol. 3 (in 2006), Moon Knight’s powers are definitely real, and they’re definitely magical. As the mutant The Profiler tells him at one point, it’s either because Khonshu is real, or because Spector’s belief in Khonshu is so intense that he manifested them himself.
I'll stop asking for Alpha Flight after hearing John Bryne saying he hated creating them and they were throw away characters. Way to *hit on ma childhood there JB. This have to do..
I remember being gifted a random copy of Moon Knight as a kid. I think my impression was somewhere in between 'wow, that's cool' and having no idea what was really going on
I'm not pleased with this guy, I think he always slightly overdoes his acting roles. Might work with MK though.
He just sort of comes across as disingenuous and a bit arrogant to me, like he drinks ALL of his own Kool-Aid.
I really like him. When he gets a good role, he is fantastic. His character in SW was trash after TFA, and Apocalypse was the worst movie in history. But go back and watch Drive if it's been a while. He has a small role but does great. I've heard he's great in Ex Machina as well, although for some reason I haven't watched that movie yet.
He is good in Ex Machina. But he plays an arrogant billionaire scientist. which fits his personality well, IMO. Not saying he won't nail this part, but it's a complex role with multiple personalities. I hope he reverses my opinion because Moon Knight has always been one of my favorite non-mainstream Marvel heroes.
I left off Inside Llewyn Davis, which is where most of his acting cred stems from. I think he'll do well as MK. I'm actually surprised he took the role since he apparently so disliked what became of Poe in SW; I assumed he was done with the mouse.
This is an underrated movie. Leo and Crowe are awesome and it has no business being so rewatcheable yet it is.
I thought Mark Strong stole the show in that one, hes so underrated. Leo does well in those 3rd world agent roles. Hes better when hes in kind of an ******* role thats in charge and not just an operative, like in Blood Diamond imo.
Haha, no. She likes tough guys like The Rock, Jason Statham or Chis Evans (as Capt. America). Not sure what she's doing with me.
Some fan drama over Isaac not being actually Jewish to play a Jewish character. I don't see the issue, they're actors. Other people play Jewish people in movies. Jewish actors play non-Jewish roles. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ No offense meant if I'm coming from a place of ignorance. Article mentions that they were considering Shia LaBeouf, who I think is just the right level of crazy to play the character. Oh well. MCU Fans Blast Marvel Over Oscar Isaac’s Casting As Moon Knight Earlier this year, we revealed that Shia LaBeouf was one of the names at the top of Marvel’s wish-list for casting the title role in Moon Knight, but one potentially major drawback was that the actor converted to Christianity while shooting David Ayer’s World War II drama Fury and the studio were looking for a Jewish lead given that Marc Spector’s beliefs are a huge part of his personality and character. Fast forward five months, and Oscar Isaac was announced to be in talks to play the cult favorite superhero in the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Disney Plus series. The news went down a storm with the majority of fans who were excited to see a fantastic and supremely talented actor suit up to tackle one of Marvel’s most complex and complicated figures, but there’s now been a wave of backlash because the 41 year-old isn’t Jewish. That didn’t seem to bother the Coen brothers when they cast him in Inside Llewellyn Davis to great results, and the entire point of being an actor is to disappear into parts that aren’t indicative of personal beliefs or ideologies. Nonetheless, a certain section of the fanbase have blasted Marvel’s casting decision, and you can check out some of the reactions below.
