The Marvel Cinematic Universe began with ‘standard’ Earth-bound superheroics, gradually built up its sci-fi and space opera elements, and then introduced its mystical, magical side. Now, with Phase Four entering full swing, we’re finally getting to see some of Marvel’s idiosyncratic horror pantheon too. Mahershala Ali has been cast (and also briefly heard) as the new Blade, and Sam Raimi’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness promises to lean very much into what Elizabeth Olsen has described as “bonkers horror”. But before that arrives in April, six episodes of Moon Knight, starring Oscar Isaac in the lead role(s), will arrive on Disney+ in March. You may not know the first thing about Moon Knight's story. You may not have heard of him at all. But you should be excited. Why? We’re glad you asked.
1. He’s Marvel’s Batman (except he isn't)
He lives in the shadows, he’s extremely wealthy, and he uses that wealth to buy gadgets and crazy tech to help him fight crime and monsters (although he flies a weird helicopter rather than a Bat-plane). Those are the similarities with DC’s Dark Knight, but there are significant differences too. Principle among those is that, while Bruce Wayne famously has no superpowers at all, Marc Spector has no such limitations. He has Wayne-tech and powers, so he’s pretty formidable — when he can get it together (see point 6). His back-story is pretty different too. Specifically…
2. He has quite the spiritual and mythological heritage
He’s a Rabbi’s son who gets his powers from an ancient Egyptian god of vengeance. That’s a lot. On the one hand, he’s strayed from and returned to Judaism at various points in the comics, but in one famous run from 1984 he was forced to both confront his estrangement from his father, and take down some skinhead thugs as he rescued a rabbi and a sacred Torah from a burning synagogue. On that occasion, he stated that he ‘belongs with the persecuted’ and that he sides with the ‘decent and innocent folk’. It’ll be fascinating to see to what extent Disney is prepared to pursue this - but Netflix’s Daredevil (confirmed as still part of the MCU thanks to Spider-Man: No Way Home and Hawkeye) didn’t shy away from Matt Murdock’s Catholicism, so…
On the Egyptian side, meanwhile, we’re dealing with the beaky Khonshu, who brought Spector back from the dead and gave him mad supernatural fighting skills that only work when the moon’s up. This is why we see a pyramid in the trailer, and why the Moon Knight costume has a distinctly mummy-like vibe.
3. He’s a merc-with-a-mission
Formerly a US marine and CIA spook, the pre-superhero Marc Spector ended up working as a mercenary. His considerable fortune stems from this period of his life, so he was doing pretty well at it and is very far from being a trust fund kid. He was, however, killed by his recurring nemesis, Bushman, while on a mission in the Sudan, which is where he was brought back to life by Khonshu and tasked with doing good works. Violently. So his parents didn’t die: he did. And his mission isn’t vengeance specifically, but... vengeance more generally. In that sense he has some elements in common with the Punisher, and the comics have often been similarly gritty and violent. Don’t expect tortured criminals and severed limbs flying left — this is still Disney+, after all — but it is extremely likely Moon Knight will be several shades darker (and redder) than the MCU's previous shows. The bloody crescent he's grasping on the teaser poster isn't just for show...
4. He has adamantium armour like Wolverine
(Although Wolverine, of course, wears his on the inside). As we see in the trailer, Moon Knight’s bandage-y costume adheres to him in a swirly, ghostly sort of way. He also, however, has a nice line in adamantium plating going on, again thanks to his penchant for expensive and sophisticated gadgetry. So he's not only a supernaturally-charged, trained killer, but one clad in indestructible armour to boot — it’s one more example of the character’s intriguing collision of the supernatural and the earthly-practical.
5. He might be completely delusional
Maybe we should have led with this one. ‘I can’t tell the difference between my waking life and dreams,’ says Isaac in the trailer, giving a hint as to the elements the Disney+ Moon Knight is going to lean into most heavily. For several years in the comics it was left ambiguous as to whether Khonshu actually existed or was purely a figment of Spector’s imagination. While writer Warren Ellis eventually established that he was real (and, if you want the details, a creature from another dimension called the Othervoid, whom the ancient Egyptians had worshipped back in the day) this plays directly into another crucial-but-weird element of Moon Knight…
6. Moon Knight is Marvel’s version of Split
It’s all more complicated than simply ‘Marc Spector becomes Moon Knight’, since Spector actually has multiple alter-egos. Aside from the armoured ghost mummy in the cape, he also becomes a cab driver (the better to gather street-level intel); a business tycoon (the better to move in wealthy circles); and a police consultant (the better to keep tabs on law enforcement), among others. This isn’t just a master-of-disguise game. These are all distinct and separate personalities; symptoms of a dissociative identity disorder. And as the trailer demonstrates, Spector loses time when one of the other guys takes over. This is also why Isaac has a British accent in the bits we’ve seen so far. He won’t be doing that the whole way through: that’s a British guy that lives in his head. Or something.
7. Moon Knight brings Marvel’s horror strand into the MCU
Moon Knight’s first appearance was in Doug Moench and Don Perlin’s Werewolf By Night comics in the 1970s, much as Blade made his debut in Tomb of Dracula. Obviously Blade and Ghost Rider have appeared on film before, but crucially, thanks to rights shenanigans, not yet in the MCU (Mahershala Ali’s tiny voice cameo at the end of Eternals notwithstanding). Moon Knight, then, is at the vanguard of that new influx, arriving a month before Sam Raimi’s similarly horror-fied Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Halloween is starting early this year.
8. It’s got serious talent behind the camera
Continuing Disney/Marvel’s proclivity for bringing in great indie filmmakers, four of Moon Knight’s six episodes are directed by Mohamed Diab, with the other two by Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead. The Egyptian Diab previously made the hard-hitting Cairo 678, Clash and Amira, while Benson & Moorhead were behind the brilliant sci-fi/horror weirdness of Resolution, The Endless and Synchronic.
9. It finally brings Ethan Hawke into the MCU
Having worked with Scott Derrickson on Sinister, it made sense that Ethan Hawke might be a strong contender to star in Derrickson’s Doctor Strange. Hawke has since confirmed that was indeed the case, but that he wasn’t keen on the hoopla and commercial commitment that comes with a multi-film Marvel contract. So it’s great to see him finally take on a - presumably short-lived - role in the MCU. Hawke has said that his villain, Arthur Harrow, draws inspiration from cult leader David Koresh. And while Arthur Harrow himself is a minor character from the comics, there’s fan scuttlebutt that he may here be conflated into some interpretation of more significant Moon Knight bad guy The Sun King.
10. And Oscar Isaac is Moon Knight’s star
This will be Oscar Isaac’s third run-in with Marvel, following his turn as Apocalypse in the fumbled sixthX-Menfilm and his voice cameo as Spider-Man 2099 in Into the Spider-verse. It feels like he’s been building up to owning his own series for some time, and given that he’s essentially playing several distinct characters in this one, he’s clearly seen the potential for Moon Knight to be a fun actor’s showcase. Or to put it another way, he’s fully embraced the chaos…
Moon Knight begins streaming on Disney+ in March.