A new Moon Knight waxes with an upcoming TV show and regular comic series

With the Moon Knight TV show premiering tomorrow, we take a look at the most recent attempt to give the hero a regular series. – Photos: Marvel Comics

If you are one of those who did not enjoy The Batman or enjoyed it too much because of its “thought-provoking” nature, then prepare yourself for the upcoming Moon Knight series, which premieres on Disney+ Hotstar tomorrow (March 30).

Just to be clear, Moon Knight is not Marvel’s version of the Dark Knight, and neither is he close to any of the different Batman incarnations we have seen since Adam West donned the cowl.

What distinguishes Moon Knight from Batman is that he offers a twisted perspective of what the Dark Knight could end up like if he didn’t manage his multiple personas correctly.

Since I have covered the Moon/Dark Knight comparisons before in the past as well as a review of his comics history, this week we focus on Moon Knight’s present-day comic book adventures instead.

While I don’t expect the present comic run (i.e. Vol 9/2021) to reconcile with the TV series, it is still reassuring to note that Moon Knight’s perennial problems with a “higher order” (aka Khonshu) and himself remain unchanged.

Moon Knight (2021) #1-9

Writer: Jed MacKay

Artists: Alessandro Cappuccio and Federico Sabbatini

This latest series is Marvel’s ninth attempt (excluding two mini series) at a regular Moon Knight series the character was created back in 1975.

It wasn’t that the earlier series were failures, as most of them introduced new milestones and dimensions to this complicated character. However, due to his complexity, Moon Knight is one character that you actually need an occasional break from.

Of course you won’t be going anywhere soon, you just got your own TV show! – Photos: Marvel Comics

Fortunately, MacKay (Black Cat, Magic The Gathering, Strange) has made sure that this series is less complicated than its predecessors, as it focuses on (only) two of Moon Knight’s personas – Moon Knight and Mister Knight, and reduces the other identities (Marc Spector, Steven Grant, and Jake Lockley) to mere flashbacks/references.

The premise here is that Moon/Mr Knight is a free agent, finally. By “free”, we mean he is currently free from the clutches of Khonshu (who has been imprisoned in Asgard’s dungeons after the Age Of Khonshu event). With that, Moon Knight’s first act of freedom is to establish the Midnight Mission – a one-stop centre to help his neighbours from any evil deeds and doers, ranging from vampires to rodent clones.

In between crime-fighting, Mr Knight even attends therapy (here’s where the origin and flashbacks appear), while his vampire assistant (Reese) runs the mission’s operations. This is certainly a far cry from the days he had a knockout assistant-cum-lover (Marlene Alraune) and a trusted confidant in Jean-Paul Duchamp aka Frenchie.

Nevertheless, this new series offers lot of plot (and sub-plots), character developments, and action-packed moments in every issue, which were also prominent (minus the vampire assistant) in all the other past series.

So, why do we think this series fares better than most? Well, if this is your first Moon Knight series, then you won’t be able to tell the difference, but if you have been a regular “Moonie”, you can take solace in the fact that Moon Knight has another shot at a new series, a new supporting cast (removing the excess historical baggage), a new operational set up, and new villains!

Hunter’s Moon

For decades, Moon Knight’s most notable villain equivalents have been Bushman, Midnight Man, Shadow Knight, Khonshu himself, and... Moon Knight’s other multiple identities, brought about by his struggles with Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID).

Frankly, these confrontations were fast becoming too predictable. Hence, the introduction of Hunter’s Moon (Dr Badr – Khonshu’s new “Fist”, or avatar) is refreshing, and the having a common “power source” with Moon Knight offers that “yin-yang” perspective.

Hunter’s Moon proves to be a worthy adversary for Moon Knight this time around.

Eager to please his master/lord, Dr Badr is persistent in getting Moon Knight to reclaim his faith in Khonshu by any means necessary even if he breaks Moon Knight in the process. Fortunately, their meetings within these nine issues was heavily focused in the first third of the story arc, otherwise their endless whining about about the pros-and-cons of being Khonshu’s fist would have really been annoying.

One advantage that Badr has over Marc/Steven/Jake is that he’s a bona fide medical doctor – he even uses his medical expertise to save Moon Knight’s life after a life-threatening battle with a new villain named Zodiac. While this “brotherhood” moment complicates their rivalry, it does provide an interesting spin to their future direction.

The only qualm I have about Hunter’s Moon is the need for an apostrophe in his name... hey, Sailor Moon didn’t need one, did she?

Money for nothing

Another major development in this series is that Moon Knight has lost his wealth, presumably his entire fortune, due to a hacking orchestrated by Clarke/Rampage.

While most people would have been extremely peeved by this, Moon Knight’s reaction is the opposite as he feels that “no wealthy priest has ever been good”.

Without his money, however, we’re not sure how Moon Knight will pay for his therapy sessions or his vampire assistant, but at least for now he is getting by with the support of his friends and neighbours, and (get this!) a self-repairing mystical building, The House of Shadows. (Think of it as the Danger Room (X-Men’s training room) but with spookier home decoration).

We’re not sure if it comes with a magic porridge pot, but it should help Moon Knight continue his midnight missions for a while, rather than operate from a bar.

Moon Knight always made sure the moon was right behind him before posing for any photos.

Full moon rising

For now, there doesn’t seem to be a link between the TV series and the current story arc, with a focus on the Marc Spector and Steven Grant personas. Even then, the Steven Grant in the TV show isn’t even like the one in the comics, having been retconned from a wealthy billionaire to a humble, bumbling gift shop assistant.

Moon Knight's Avengers-links were touched upon with the appearance of Tygra.

With the current arc focusing more on the Moon Knight and Mr Knights personas, this may not work as a jumping on point for potential fans of the TV show. However, the “neighbourhood-ecosystem” that houses the Midnight Mission reminds me of Matt Fraction and David Aja’s Hawkeye series, as well as Daredevil’s dedication towards keeping Hell’s Kitchen safe.

Nevertheless, to broaden Moon Knight’s horizons, the occasional visits by ex-West Coast Avenger teammate, Tigra, serves as a reminder that Moon Knight did once served time amongst Earth’s Mightiest heroes. So, although the TV show is currently disconnected from the main MCU, here’s hoping he’ll show up to help out the Avengers in the future.