Warning: Spoilers forMarvel 85th Anniversary Special #1!
Summary
Moon Knighthas never been a wholly comforting figure. While Marc Spector has had some moments of comedy here and there, he is a figure of tragedy and vengeance, most often cited as beingMarvel’s answer to DC’s Batman. Living with Disassociate Identity Disorder, he has been a champion for people also living with DID and also for fans of Egyptian mythology -but his most recent redesign might be his most unsettling yet.
In a new preview for a story fromMarvel 85th Anniversary Special#1 by Yuji Kaku,Moon Knight races through a crowd as he indiscriminately lops off heads with his sword. The only thing is, while he’s the only one with his head still intact,he no longer has a face, instead donning a strange mask with no eyeholes.It’s definitely not a human-looking face (or mask) anymore.
There have been more than enoughMoon Knight costumes through the years, mostly notably the one attached to his newer personality of Mr. Knight, which revamped his night-cowl into a three-piece suit. Yet this newest costume might just bethe bleakest Moon Knight redesign in recent history.
Moon Knight’s New ’70s-Style Costume Is a Genius Redesign of His Mr. Knight Persona
Moon Knight’s alter-ego, Mr. Knight, gets a killer cool new look with a 1970s disco suit as part of Marvels' Disco Dazzler variant cover series.
Moon Knight Embraces the Dark Side of the Moon
Marc Spector Is the Fist of Khonshu
Moon Knight’s usual design is tied to his Egyptian background. As the avatar of Khonshu, the Egyptian god of the moon who requires a “Fist of Khonshu,” or a Moon Knight, he is required to take revenge on wrongdoers in the dead of night. This premise has always been dark, as it were, so his face has likewise been completely hidden. Also, owing to the Egyptian premise, his mask holds the appearance of an embalmed mummy, wrapped to hide what’s underneath. And like mummies in popular horror movies,Moon Knight has also died and come back to life.
Khonshu’s name in Coptic/Ancient Egyptian means “Traveler”!
This newest design, however, removes any hint of humanity andpushes Moon Knight closer to that mythological god he is representing. Many Egyptian gods have the head of a bird, or some such animal, and the body of a human. Here, Moon Knight can be seen with horns protruding from just under his cowl, like some half-human creature. The lens on the bottom could be seen as goggles for him to see through, but the whole of the mask looks instead like a gas mask. Even the glint of his eyes is gone, leaving nothing of Marc Spector left.
Moon Knight: Fist of Khonshu#0 Variant Cover by Alessandro Cappuccio
Meant to inspire terror in those he is taking vengeance against,Marvel’s scariest heroisn’t something one might want to see with the moonlight bouncing off the bleak white of his mask. But this new Moon Knight, this humanoid hybrid, seems to be his most terrifying incarnation ever.Or, maybe, this will be a new personality of Marc Spector. In any case, thisMoon Knightis sure to be a success for life-long fans that have been following him, regardless of whether they can see his face or not. After all,he’sthe fist of Khonshu — not his face.
Marvel 85th Anniversary Special#1is available August 28th, 2024 from Marvel Comics!
MARVEL 85TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL #1 (2024)
August 28th, 2024
Writers:
Ryan North, Sabir Pirzada, Iman Vellani, Alan Davis. Christopher Priest, Steve Skroce, Yuji Kaku
Artists:
Joshua Cassara, Stephen Byrne, Alan Davis, Carlo Pagulayan, Jason Paz, Steve Skroce, Yuji Kaku
Variant Covers:
Skottie Young, Iban Coello
In the far future of the 85th Century, the exploits of the heroes of the Marvel Age are the stuff of legend, half remembered but still celebrated! Come with us now on a tour of the greatest museum in all the cosmos, in which the few surviving relics of those bygone days have been assembled. Each piece tells a unique story – about the Contest of Champions and how it wrought an end to the Age of Heroes, about the greatest triumph of Ms. Marvel and the final, secret exploit of Excalibur! And more! Marvel’s greatest storytellers gather to commemorate the whole of Marvel history in a once-in-a-lifetime celebration!
Moon Knight
Cast
Moon Knight stars Oscar Isaac as Steven Grant, a gift-shop employee in London who discovers he has dissociative identity disorder. He shares a body with Marc Spector and together, they travel to Egypt to uncover a deadly mystery surrounding the gods.Moon Knightconsisted of six episodes and was the fifth live-action TV show in the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Phase 4. Also starring in the series is Ethan Hawke as the villainous Arthur Harrow and May Calamawy as Layla El-Faouly.
