Moon Knight is my favorite superhero, and after spending years gushing over this character to my friends, I was excited to hear a Moon Knight TV series is slated for release on Disney+ in the next year or two. He’s not exactly a household name as far as superheroes go at this point in time, so I would like to introduce the character and talk about what makes him great as well as what I hope to see in the series.
Marc Spector is an ex-marine and mercenary who was left for dead in Egypt before being “resurrected” before a statue of the Egyptian Moon God, Khonshu. Interpreting his “resurrection” as divine intervention, he adorns himself in white vestments of Khonshu and becomes his avatar of vengeance. Upon returning to America, Spector adopts three new identities: millionaire Steven Grant, cab driver Jake Lockley and costumed crimefighter Moon Knight. This dynamic was played straight for years of publication, but over time, writers began to interpret and mold the character into something unique. Khonshu is increasingly suggested to be not the Egyptian god, but either a cosmic entity toying with Spector or a voice in his head, a figment of his imagination to justify his violence and vigilantism. His personas stop being roles that he takes on to blend into society and communicate with the criminal underworld and become dissociative identities he cannot fully control. This ambiguity of what Khonshu is to Moon Knight and the psychological realism of a man playing different roles for so many years is the key essence of a modern Moon Knight story.
Let’s get this out of the way: yes, Moon Knight is a lot like DC’s Batman. He’s a brooding millionaire/billionaire haunted by his past who exacts “justice” against criminals at night; however, whereas Batman’s sense of justice comes from a revenge against a criminal society that killed his parents, Moon Knight’s sense of justice comes from a desire to atone for his past crimes against humanity, ironically perpetuating the cycle of violence he profited off of for years. Moon Knight’s violence is sadistic, preferring to permanently injure his foes, the dregs of society like rapists and murderers, in departure from similar street-level heroes like Daredevil, aligning him most closely to Marvel’s dispenser of indiscriminate murder, The Punisher; but his violence is also masochistic, as he, on some level, believes being on the receiving end of the violence he spawns will offer him atonement for his past sins. The best Batman storylines suggest these ideas, but Moon Knight storylines consistently employ these ideas and frequently force the character to answer for his hypocrisy, making him suffer real consequences for his past crimes and destructive behaviors, leading to his friends and loved ones distancing themselves from him.
One of the lowest points in Moon Knight’s career, Huston and Finch’s The Bottom storyline, provides a perfect point of entry for newcomers to the character and should be the primary source which an adaptation draws upon. In this story, Moon Knight is at his most bloodthirsty, and he kills his longtime nemesis, his former mercenary group’s one-time leader, The Bushman, the man who left him for dead. The two men fall off the building they fight on, killing Bushman and breaking Moon Knight’s legs in the process. Moon Knight then gives into Khonshu’s demands to cut the face off of Bushman’s dead body to take as a trophy, before succumbing to his injuries and unhealthily coping through alcohol and painkillers, leading him to abusing his longtime love interest Marlene Alraune and his best friend and pilot, Jean-Paul “Frenchie” DuChamp. Khonshu, taking on the appearance of Bushman, begins to torment the debilitated and downtrodden Spector through hallucinations and threatens to revoke Spector’s status as avatar if he does not kill more and invoke more fear. Other Moon Knight stories have brilliant elements as well, but it is from this point I want to base a live-action adaptation.
The “weird” elements of Moon Knight, such as his supernatural relation to Khonshu and his struggle for identity, are handled thoroughly in runs from Ellis and Shalvey, Wood and Smallwood, and Lemire and Smallwood. In these storylines, Moon Knight returns from obscurity once again, first at his most stable in years as he navigates both real world and dream worlds to aid all “travelers by night,” then Moon Knight as his most unstable as he flashes in and out of his different personalities while fighting orderlies in a real world mental hospital interspersed with dream world agents of Khonshu’s rival Egyptian God-like entities. These psychologically driven stories provide robustness to Moon Knight’s character and refine past themes of madness and instability into struggles for identity and mental health, which I believe need to be included in a modern depiction of the character.
Now that I have identified what makes a good Moon Knight story, I will speak my opinions more directly as to what I would like to see in the upcoming Disney+ series, which is expected to begin production in the next year or two at the time I write this. First and foremost, we do not need an origin story. Moon Knight’s origins are intentionally vague and frequently reimagined, so showing them clearly on-screen undermines the crucial ambiguity to his character. Instead, I suggest his backstory be shown through non-linear flashbacks spaced throughout the series that give slightly differing accounts of his origin which tie into the themes of each episode. For example, if an episode is focused on his past as a mercenary, give an account of him committing war crimes overseas. If an episode is focused on religion, give Spector’s perspective of hearing Khonshu’s voice and his resurrection. If an episode is focused on his identity, give the formation of his Jake Lockley and Steven Grant personas. If any of these accounts appear irreconcilable or inconsistent, good; that’s the point. I don’t want these flashback moments to take up too much time or be too glitchy and modern horror inspired, but I would like them stylized and strange nonetheless. These bits and pieces of information represent Spector’s past that he is trying to distance himself from, so these scenes of the past could show onscreen whenever a character is forcing him to confront his past actions instead of showing them through the typical avenue of dream sequences.
With my opinions on presenting Moon Knight’s origins taken care of, I would next like to talk about the overall tone I would like to see in the Disney+ adaptation. In the last decade, TV studios have been quietly adapting similar dark comic book and graphic novel properties while the big screen gave us more flashy, spectacular adaptations. Among the properties with tones and elements I would like to see borrowed from are FX’s The Strain, for its modern interpretation of the classic horror archetypes; AMC’s Preacher, for it’s similar modern interpretations as well as its darkly humorous characters; Marvel and Netflix’s The Punisher, for its themes of war’s perpetuity and trauma; FX’s Legion, for its depiction of hallucinatory reality and mental health; and SyFy’s Happy, for its black humor, and its more lighthearted depiction of hallucination and mental health. These shows are dark and violent and weird and sometimes humorous, all of which I believe a Moon Knight adaptation should be. One character who I believe can best use these characteristics is Khonshu himself. As Khonshu’s hold over Moon Knight waxes and wanes, he can range from a nuisance humorously begging the hero to be more vicious to a visually horrific creature intimidating him to confront his past and demanding the hero be more violent to an existential cosmic horror threatening to destroy his psyche if he does not participate in its grand machinations. I think an evolving depiction of Khonshu throughout the series would be an excellent way to show the history of the character and explore Moon Knight’s identity.
If the Disney+ series isn’t going to be a true origin story, and if the series begins with Moon Knight in a state of inaction wherein his friends have distanced from him, then there needs to be an inciting incident to bring him back into herodom. I have several ideas as to what that inciting incident might be, but one general pattern from the comics sticks out to me: an old adversary reemerges, the adversary captures or endangers ones of Spector’s friends, and he must don the mantle of Moon Knight once again to defeat this adversary, rescue his friend and begin the process of healing his relationship with that friend. Over the decades, Moon Knight has accrued a rogue’s gallery of villains ranging from traditional horror villains to armed-to-the-teeth mercenaries to psychological horrors to dark reflections of himself. Rather than start with someone cerebral like the nightmare inducing Morpheus or a Moon Knight mirror like Black Spectre, I think the series should start with the type of classic horror from which Moon Knight originated and should begin with his first adversary from the comics, Werewolf by Night. Moon Knight first appeared in Werewolf by Night issue 32, in which a group of businessmen dubbed “The Committee” hire Moon Knight to capture Jack Russell, the titular Werewolf by Night, but the two teamed up to beat The Committee in the next issue. Drawing upon the 2006-2009 run again, (specifically The Bottom 1-6 and the issue #20 one shot) I want to see a “rematch” of this story in which The Committee has already acquired The Werewolf and are somehow using him or werewolves produced by him to commit crimes (like in the issue #20 one-shot) and enact revenge against Moon Knight, capturing one of his former companions in order to draw him out in a fight against the original Werewolf. This introduction harkens back to the characters roots and sets up the show as a horror inspired universe it can share with fellow Marvel property Blade, which is also due for a reboot in the next few years. This doesn’t have to be the starting point, but I believe an appearance from this character would please most long-time fans. From this point, the story could go several different ways.
If the show begins with a broken Moon Knight reluctantly returning to crime fighting, then I believe there must be a build-up of the character becoming more and more unstable before hitting a breaking point. Upon returning, he may appear physically and mentally better, but the darkness within him should quietly build as an urge to kill egged on by Khonshu that he tries to suppress, and no one is better suited to force him to give into that urge than his arch nemesis and symbol of his past: Bushman. I’m torn on how to incorporate Bushman into the story; on one hand, it could be a straight-up adaptation of his 2006-2009 run wherein Moon Knight kills him before the chronological start of the story and then he later returns resurrected by supernatural means, or it could be their first reunion in quite some time. Perhaps Bushman has allied himself with The Committee from before and now seeks to finish off Moon Knight once and for all. Perhaps Bushman has been dead for all of this time and now has been resurrected supernaturally via a character like The Hood, who utilizes the powers of Dormammu from Doctor Strange or Dracula from Blade. No matter how he comes back, his return should be dramatic, causing Moon Knight agony and fear and allowing Khonshu to regain control over him. I imagine Bushman pushing Moon Knight into a corner in which the life of his friends and himself are at stake in which he is nearly killed before the hero gives into Khonshu to find the last bit of strength and brutally murders him (cutting off face optional). From this point forward, the story enters its weirdest phase yet.
Just as the Moon Knight comics over the decades have evolved from macabre classic horror, to interpersonal violent horror to cosmic psychological horror, so too should the Disney+ series. Following his killing Bushman or a similar character that forced him to confront and give into the violence within him, I encourage the series to be as inventive as possible with its storytelling form. Non-linear storytelling, rapid and jarring changes between different character perspectives as Jake Lockley, Steven Grant, and Marc Spector all vie for control, Khonshu at his most menacing and horrifying yet are but a few suggestions to assist this arc while Moon Knight has to reconcile these differing personalities inside of him and finds the mental strength to subdue Khonshu’s influence over him once again. There have been so many inventive depictions of this struggle, and I’m excited to see how this could play out on the small screen.
The Disney+ series can and should explicitly address criticism of the character. Most notably, he needs to be held accountable for his actions. Marc Spector is a war tourist, an American who terrorized other parts of the globe for profit, a tomb plunderer and a cultural appropriator. He’s faced trial from his victims in the comics, and while I don’t see that exact storyline being adapted, I want characters in the series to similarly hold him accountable. While I don’t believe anyone still worships the ancient Egyptian gods, I see how having a non-Egyptian man parade himself around as an avatar of one is culturally insensitive, so this too needs to be addressed. Lastly, Marc Spector’s history of abuse needs to be acknowledged. His actions can’t simply be erased in one episode and then he instantly has his friends and girlfriend back, rather he needs to truly apologize and make amends to start the healing process, which his victims may be hesitant towards or even out right refuse. By the end of the series, I would much rather see him have regained the respect of Frenchie and Marlene or their character stand-ins than have regained their full alliance like he had in their glory days.
In the end, these are just my opinions of the character and ideas I would like to see implemented in an adaptation of my favorite superhero. Marvel, if you’re listening, I’ll write the screenplay. Also, before I forget: casting. Oliver Jackson-Cohen says “he would love to” play the character, he looks about right (just rough him up a bit), has experience playing dark characters like Adrian in The Invisible Man, and has Egyptian-Jewish heritage, so he’s my dream pick at the moment. Other than him, DeObia Oparei for Bushman, Christoph Waltz (with a moustache) for Frenchie, Katrina Bowden for Marlene and any number of deep, cool, or scary voices for Khonshu.