Ever since Disney+ announced an onslaught of new Marvel films and television shows that would start streaming on Nov. 12 of last year, it seemed like Marvel would never stop releasing new material riveting to superhero media lovers. One new show from this announcement was “Moon Knight.”
“Moon Knight” dropped on Mar. 30, and it is based off of the comic character of the same name from the mid-1970s. In the comic books, the protagonist is Marc Spector, a former CIA operative and Marine who turns to mercenary work. After being left for dead, Spector is revived by the Egyptian god Khonshu and becomes the crime fighter known as Moon Knight, who also has dissociative identity disorder (DID). In the first episode of the Disney+ series, the plot centers on a Moon Knight alter ego named Steven Grant (Oscar Isaac), a British gift shop worker who begins experiencing strange visions of another life. Grant encounters cult leader Arthur Harrow (Ethan Hawke), who attempts to convince Grant to embrace his inner darkness by relying on the scales of justice with the aid of Egyptian demoness Ammit.
Moon Knight was originally supposed to appear in the second season of “Blade: The Series,” but the series kept switching between different directors due to time constraints. Eventually, the idea of a series devoted to the Moon Knight character fell on writer Jeremy Slater of “The Umbrella Academy” who selected Egyptian director Mohammed Diab to direct four episodes of the show. The filming crew of “Moon Knight” was mostly Egyptian due to the character’s nature being focused on Egyptian mythology.
Upon viewing the first episode, I was absolutely blown away by the different approaches that Marvel had taken into making the series. One approach I really liked was the idea of having the main character diagnosed with DID. We often don’t see a lot of fictional stories about a character who has multiple personalities in media. But Marvel is no stranger to this, as popular characters like Jean Grey and Bruce Banner have multiple personalities. Marvel did something completely different in making the pilot episode of “Moon Knight” about one of the alters of Marc Spector, and Oscar Isaac did a great job with the presentation of his switching personalities.
I also really enjoyed the dark tone that the show was trying to convey. Making a show based on Egyptian mythology was a nice touch, as it has often been portrayed in a negative way or in a way that is not executed well. The only exception to this is the 1999 Stephen Sommers remake of “The Mummy.” I loved how the show took such risky steps into making it feel more like a suspense series while still being action-packed and not losing its important superhero aspects. I almost felt like I was watching a DC show. This is what I like about Marvel — their willingness to take such risky approaches and almost imitate DC.
The only big gripe I have with “Moon Knight” is that the show left me with more questions than it did answers, especially since I had never heard of the character before the show. I believe this can be solved in future episodes. The show drops one episode per week up until May, which is a detract from other Marvel shows that drop multiple episodes a week.
All in all, the first episode of “Moon Knight” started off with a big bang, and it is a great addition to Phase Four of the MCU. Hopefully the show dishes out more action-packed episodes and more exploration into the character of Moon Knight.
Title: “Moon Knight”
Starring: Oscar Isaac, Ethan Hawke
If you like: “The Mummy,” anything by Marvel
Where to watch: Disney+
Shamrocks: 4.5 out of 5
