What's the deal with Moon Knight?

You know the drill, we've done this before with The Batman and Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, it's time for a pre-release round up for Moon Knight. Moon Knight is less than a month away but much like the majority of people you might still be a little unclear and that's ok, the details surrounding the series have been a little thin on the ground. I'm here to get you caught up and with any luck you'll be an expert on all things Moon Knight in five minutes time.

The Moon Knight series serves as an origin story for the Egyptian themed hero and will begin with Steven Grant having not yet become the titular hero. Moon Knight's abilities are as follows: he's an expert detective, he's an expert martial artist, and he can utilise high tech equipment such as his moon shaped throwing knives. Does that sound familiar? Yes, Moon Knight is extremely close to being Marvel's Batman, that's not to say that he's just a copy though because there are some very interesting twists and quirks to the character. In the series Steven Grant is a retail worker who shares a body with Marc Spector who is a violent mercenary. In the comic books he also shares with Jake Lockley (a New York cab driver) and Mr Knight (basically just a mild mannered suit and tie wearing version of Moon Knight). It seems that Mr Knight will also make an appearance (although it's unclear if this is just a visual costume thing or if it's the whole character) but Jake Lockley will likely not appear just yet. If you're confused about how these characters are all one person then be confused no longer, Steven Grant has dissociative identity disorder and so like in the movie Split he can switch between these different identities and utilies their skill sets and 'experiences' in different scenarios. The best way to put it is that Jake Lockley (the cab driver) might come into play should the hero need to gather information at street level because of his street smarts and job whereas Marc Spector might come into play in a high stakes action based scenario. If you find it easy to separate between Batman and Bruce Wayne you should find this easy enough.

We don't know much about characters but we'll definitely be seeing at least three Moon Knight personalities, Ethan Hawke as Arthur Harrow and an assortment of Egyptian gods. Arthur Harrow (the villain) is a scientist who specialises in pain tolerance, how that will play out in the series isn't clear but it will likely mean that Moon Knight will eventually have to face off against a feelingless Ethan Hawke (like Kick Ass). Khonshu was revealed in trailers but his role in the series isn't known either, it's probably the case that much like in the comic books Khonshu will be the one that grants Moon Knight his abilites and suit after resurrecting a dead Marc Spector and electing him as his champion. We might also get to see Anubis who is traditionally a villain in Moon Knight, he probably won't play a huge role but watch out for an Anubis versus Moon Knight fight. There are also very new rumours of a Bruce Banner appearance but my feeling is that this will be more of a cameo than anything else, maybe just to bring Moon Knight into the wider MCU. The character section of this article isn't so easy as the other ones have been purely because the cast has pretty much been kept under wraps and there is only one full trailer so it's hard to work out who's who.

As a general rule Marvel MCU movies tend to have a pretty cookiecutter paint by numbers approach (something Matt Reeves rcently alluded to when talking about why he hasn't done a Marvel movie) but for the most part the Disney+ shows haven't quite done that. WandaVision was very distinct as was 'Loki', 'Hawkeye' and 'Falcon and Winter Soldier' were a bit more generic but even they had their own styles. Moon Knight looks like it's going to be leaning into the slightly more mythological sides of the character and fully embracing the stuff that makes him so unique, I was always worried that he would become a bit of a Batman clone but so far it doesn't look like that will be the case. If you've always been on the fence about the Marvel projects Moon Knight might serve as a great jumping on spot as it seems to be signalling the start of a whole new side of the MCU with Werewolf by Night being the next of that side of the Marvel universe to drop. There's every chance that Werewolf by Night is set up in this show, the characters have crossed over before, in fact Moon Knight's first appearance was in Werewolf by Night #32 so watch this space.

Expect some very intricate and ornate Egyptian style sets for this one, think Raiders of the Lost Ark. Distinct sets and costumes will set Moon Knight apart from the rest of the MCU similarly to how Wakanda and Black Panther's set design and costuming did, it might hold less wider cultural significance as Egypt and Ancient Egypt is something that has been explored before but it's going to be just as unique and aesthetically unique.

Since Moon Knight is a pre-existing character there is background reading that you can do. Think of this as the homework section! Like last time I'll link five comic books that I think you should check out before the series drops on the 30th of March but unlike last time this time I'll get a little monetary kickback out of any you might decide to buy (if you buy it directly from the link)!!!

Moon Knight Vol. 1: Lunatic this is the book that got me in to the character, it's a difficult starter one but it's worth picking up immediately if you want to get to grips with the character.

Moon Knight Vol 2.: Reincarnation this is a sequel of sorts to the first recommendation, the first one stands alone but this builds on it and gets straight into the whackier side of things, much like the first one the artwork alone is enough to make it worth picking up.

(there is a third volume but I haven't yet read it so won't class it as one of the five)

Moon Knight Vol. 1: From the Dead features Khonshu, Mr Knight, Jake Lockley, Marc Spector, and Steven Grant and serves as a great entry point to getting to grips with the main chaaracters appearing in the show. The artwork is great (most Moon Knight comics are) so if you're new to comic books that's a huge bonus.

Avengers by Jason Aaron Vol. 7: Age of Khonshu sees Moon Knight go against the god that granted him his power, Khonshu. Khonshu does the classic Ultron/Thanos cliche and decides the best way to save the world is to destroy it which sees Moon Knight have a crisis of faith leading to a conflict between the two. One to pick up just in case they decide to go down the Khonshu villain route in the series, and if they don't it's still a good read.

Werewolf by Night #32 is Moon Knight's very first appearance. It doesn't hold up to the modern comic book standard but it's a fun read. Plus you can pick it up digitally with the link for under £2, that's literally pocket change. It has to be woth a go.

We're at the end of the article but the soundtrack deserves a mention with Kid Cudi's Day 'n' Nite being in the trailer I had to put something about that somehow. Moon Knight is definitely going to be one to watch this month even if you're not a Marvel fan. Thanks again to Cloven Hoof member and contributor Oscar Bowskill for help with the topic, to become a member click this link here (it's free). Check back here for more things Moon Knight later this month.