Unlike Spider-Man, the Hulk, or Captain America, Moon Knight is a more obscure character who’s rarely appeared outside the comics. But among die-hard Marvel aficionados, Moon Knight has become a major fan favorite in recent years. So in honor of his arrival to the MCU, it’s time to look back at Moon Knight’s comic book roots to see exactly why he has such a devoted following.
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Moon Knight, aka Marc Spector, first appeared in 1975, making his first appearance in issue #32 of the horror comic Werewolf By Night. Created by writer Doug Moench and artist Don Perlin, Moon Knight was initially conceptualized as a mercenary hired to capture series protagonist Jack Russell, only to later take pity on him and join forces against his employers. But when the character spun off into his own solo comics, he was wildly reimagined into a pulpy, Batman-esque hero.
Moon Knight’s origin story — as recounted in 1980’s Moon Knight #1 — tells the tale of Marc Spector, a member of a mercenary band led by the ruthless soldier of fortune Raoul Bushman. Marc turns against Bushman when he murders an innocent archaeologist, but winds up beaten and left for dead in the Egyptian desert. After wandering through the desert, Spector ends up succumbing to his wounds in the temple of Khonshu, the Egyptian god of the moon. However, Marc is miraculously revived after his death, and believes that Khonshu saved him so that he could fight for vengeance in his name. And so, Marc Spector became Moon Knight, the Fist of Khonshu, donning a white-cloaked costume and wielding a massive arsenal of weapons — from spiked gauntlets to crescent-shaped darts to a high-tech, multi-function truncheon — in his fight against evil.
After returning to America, Marc used the wealth he amassed from his mercenary days to start a new life for himself as the charming playboy Steven Grant. In addition, Marc created the alias of the grizzled taxi driver Jake Lockley in order to gather info for his investigations. Throw in his costumed identity as Moon Knight, and Marc Spector is now juggling four separate personas. Throughout his original comic series, it’s repeatedly suggested that Marc has a tenuous grip on reality — not only does he treat his alter egos like separate people, it’s heavily implied that Marc’s visions of Khonshu are mere hallucinations. Later writers would further develop this idea by establishing that Marc has lived with Dissociative Identity Disorder his whole life, and that his alter egos are actually fully-fledged alternate personalities.
However, while the validity of Marc’s DID has never been in doubt, his relationship with Khonshu is another matter entirely. For most of Moon Knight’s history, it’s been ambiguous as to whether Khonshu is a real entity who truly did raise Marc from the dead and speaks to him through visions, or if these visions are just hallucinations caused by Marc’s mental illness. But regardless of his origins, Khonshu is often an even greater threat to Marc than the villains he fights, isolating him from his closest friends and pushing him to become even more ruthless in his pursuit of vengeance.
The Moon Knight comic that’s largely responsible for his boom in popularity within the past decade is the six-issue 2014 run by writer Warren Ellis and artist Declan Shalvey. Ellis radically reimagines Moon Knight and his characterization — before, he was a brooding and unhinged vigilante, often claiming that he wears all white because he wants his targets to see him coming. But under Ellis’ pen, Moon Knight becomes a classy, cool-headed, and polite detective. For many of his cases, Moon Knight trades his cloak and armor in for a simple white suit, going by “Mr. Knight”. Taking up Khonshu’s role as protector of overnight travelers, Moon Knight spends each issue doling out vengeance to those who would harm anyone walking the streets of New York after dark. The resulting comic is part police procedural and part horror anthology, and the results are stylish, trippy, and awe-inspiring.
The next volume of the comic, the 2016 run by Jeff Lemire and Greg Smallwood, builds upon the foundation of the previous volume to create something even more captivatingly strange. Lemire and Smallwood’s 14-issue epic eschews the episodic format to delve deep into Marc Spector’s psyche, showing just how broken and distant he’s become thanks to Khonshu’s manipulations. This story paints the most detailed picture yet of Marc Spector’s characterization, depicting him as a lost and lonely man haunted by his violent past, who’s forced to confront the reality of his own mental illness in order to reconnect with his loved ones and move forward towards a better, happier life.
The currently ongoing Moon Knight comic from writer Jed McKay and artist Alessandro Cappuccio showcases the next step in Marc’s character development. After finally breaking away from Khonshu’s influence, Moon Knight has founded the Midnight Mission, a congregation where anyone in need can come to him directly for help. No longer separated from those around him, Marc has embraced his role as part of a larger community. Not only that, he’s also started going to therapy regularly after recognizing the importance of his mental health. He still has plenty of villains to worry about, of course, from vampires to haunted houses to rogue priests of Khonshu. But after being isolated for so long, Moon Knight is no longer alone in his fight against evil.
Right now, it’s unclear how much of the Moon Knight series will be drawn directly from the comics. However, it’s been shown that the Mr. Knight costume will be making an appearance, and Marc’s DID will seemingly play a major role as well. The Moon Knight comics have been many things, but at their best, they’re the story of a man with a dark past who is doing his best to help those in need and become a better, happier, healthier person. Few people can say they’ve fought as mercenaries or encountered moon gods, but the struggle to become one’s best self — especially in the face of mental illness — is one that countless people can relate to. And if the Moon Knight TV series can capture that, it’ll be a worthy addition to the MCU.
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