The latest trailer for Moon Knight is proof that the upcoming Marvel series is knee-deep in the exploration of the mind of Steven Grant, a mild-mannered gift shop employee who shares his body/consciousness with mercenary Marc Spector, also known as Moon Knight. The Moon Knight trailer also gives us a glimpse of Ethan Hawke as the potential villain of the show. Here’s more.
‘Moon Knight’ in Marvel Comics
Moon Knight was Marvel’s first step into Egyptian mythology, while also implementing alternate dimensions such as the Othervoid. Moon Knight’s debut goes way back to 1975 in Werewolf by Night # 32. The character was the villain in the issue, created by Batman writer Doug Moench and Don Perlin. This is why Moon Knight is sometimes referred to as Marvel’s own Batman.
As per the comics, the character of Marc Spector is the basis upon which his alter egos, such as Grant, Mr. Knight, and Jake Lockley, exist. In the comics, Marc is a former CIA operative, and a marine-turned-mercenary. He was left to die in Egypt during one of his mercenary jobs. The local people found him and brought him to the altar of Khonshu, the Egyptian Moon God. It was here that Marc was given the chance to live on Earth, but only as Moon Knight, i.e., Khonshu’s representative for justice and retribution.
In the trailer, audiences get a glimpse of Steven’s life, who seems overworked and stressed out whilst working in a museum (or antique store). The other identities, Jake Lockley and Mr. Knight, have not been mentioned so far. In the Marvel comics, Marc can flit between his alter egos, but this resulted in acute psychological schisms resulting in dissociative identity disorder. This battle between his core self and his varying selves is the very crux of his character.
‘Moon Knight’ Trailer: Explained
As we see in the trailer, Oscar Isaac’s Marc Spector faces conflict as he fails to distinguish between reality and the threads of his own mind. Sometimes, he doesn’t even remember his real identity, i.e., Marc Spector, as evident in the trailer (the lady on the phone addresses him as Marc, but he asks why she called him by that name). The series will be a more graphic representation of the games his mind plays with him and his alter-egos.
Ethan Hawke was rumored to be the main antagonist all along. And now we can see that the rumor is true. He will play the role of Dr. Arthur Harrow. He suffers from Trigeminal Neuralgia that has led to his facial disfigurement. Although there is no sign of this disfigurement in the trailer, the whole arc of the series might as well serve to say that Harrow is using magic to hide his real face. This grimness of his character is made visible just enough for us to understand that his motives might be covert and dangerous.
We also see many people bowing before him, which seems to be a sign that he might be a cult leader of sorts. After all, he did mention earlier that for his character, he took inspiration from David Koresh, an American cult leader involved in the 1993 Waco Siege. In the comics, Harrow experiments on humans to make them immune to pain, secretly using data from the Nazi experiments in Auschwitz. Interestingly, the character of Arthur Harrow doesn’t have a long history. He made his appearance in only one issue, i.e. “Moon Knight: Fist of Konshu Vol. 2” that came out in 1985. It might be that his character is used only to establish a greater villain in the show.
Embrace the Chaos
Here’s a question: When was the last time you heard the word “Chaos”? Indeed, WandaVision. Chaos Magic is the very source of Wanda’s powers, which in turn will play a vital role in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
Darkhold, the source of Chaos Magic, from which Wanda reads at the end of WandaVision has a long past in Marvel comics, one that does relate to Moon Knight. Darkhold was first introduced in Werewolf by Night, which was also the debut of Moon Knight. The book has all the spells of Chthon, the Elder God, who left it on earth to spread its power. Jack Russel, the protagonist who would become a werewolf, got the curse from his father, Gregor Russoff, who read the spell from Darkhold and became a werewolf himself.
Now, towards the very end of the trailer, we do see Moon Knight beating down what seems to be a werewolf. Is this Jack Russel? It might just be. Whatever the case, Darkhold, Chaos Magic, and the Moon Knight are all connected. And this makes the Scarlet Witch’s appearance in Moon Knight a possibility. Will she be the main antagonist? Also, Moon Knight has a high chance of turning up in the Doctor Strange sequel, which will deal with chaos magic too.
So, it seems that, along with Marc Spector, all of us should also be prepared to “Embrace the Chaos.”
Moon Knight is a 2022 Marvel Series releasing on 30th March on Disney+Hotstar.
