Have you ever danced with an Egyptian god by the pale moonlight? Well, Moon Knight has, and unlike a certain Dark Knight whose famous movie's quote I just paraphrased, he actually has super powers to go with his arsenal of moon-themed gadgets.
Now streaming on Disney+ Hotstar, Moon Knight stars Oscar Isaac as Steven Grant, a mild-mannered Londoner who works in a museum gift shop and is plagued by continuous blackouts and mysterious memories of a life somehow separate from his own.
Steven later discovers that he has Dissociative Identity Disorder and shares a body with Marc Spector, a former mercenary and the ruthless avatar of Khonshu, the Egyptian god of the moon and vengeance. Steven now has to figure out how to live with and work together with his other personality in order to stop a nefarious plot to change the world by a certain Dr Arthur Harrow (Ethan Hawke).
Despite being created by Marvel writer Doug Moench and artist Don Perlin back in 1975, Moon Knight is arguably not one of Marvel’s most recognisable superheroes. In fact, he has even been dismissed as Marvel’s poor man’s Batman.
However, what makes Moon Knight so interesting in the comics is the lead character’s multiple personalities. In the comics, Spector had two other identities – millionaire entrepreneur Steven Grant and cab driver Jake Lockley, but for the TV show, only two of these personalities are retained (for now) – the original Marc, and Steven, who has been reimagined as a mild-mannered gift shop assistant in London.
Much of the first episode of the series is spent establishing the dual personalities and the link between the two, with mere glimpses of Moon Knight in his suit for now. However, the introduction of the basic premise of these dual personalities is done brilliantly through a masterfully inense and somewhat zany performance by Isaac.
We've already seen the first four episodes, but since only the first episode of the series is streaming right now, we won’t give away too much. But trust us when we say that the series really gets into the psychological battle between Marc and Steven, with Moon Knight, and Isaac really outdoes himself in more ways than one.
In Arthur Harrow, he also has a worthy opponent, as Hawke’s cool, calculating and even-tempered villain proves to be an excellent foil to the chaos of Marc/Steven/Moon Knight.
As far as the TV shows in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) go so far Moon Knight is arguably the most disconnected of the lot so far. The Falcon And The Winter Soldier was about the legacy of Captain America, WandaVision, Loki and What If... set up the Multiversal shenanigans leading up to the upcoming Doctor Strange And the Multiverse Of Madness, while Hawkeye helped establish a successor and tie up loose ends for the Avenging Archer.
Moon Knight has nothing to link it with the other shows, and this works very much in Moon Knight’s favour – while we have no doubt that he will eventually connect to the other MCU movies and shows in some way in the future, for now, it is good enough to stand on its own without being beholden to the canon and mechanics of the MCU.
Having seen the first four episodes so far, we can safely say without spoiling anything that this is an intriguing psychological thriller that has its fair share of superhero action, and held up by strong performances by Isaac and Hawke. The first episode is a bit of a slow-burner, but stick with it, and you’ll be greatly rewarded.
Moon Knight is now streaming on Disney+ Hotstar.
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Summary:
An MCU series that benefits from being not connected to the MCU (yet)
