Moon Knight on Disney Plus: What you need to know before watching

Moon Knight na Disney + it's real! Last night (17), during the break of playoffs of the NFL (National Football League), the Marvel streamed the first trailer for its new series, Moon Knight, known here in Brazil as O Moon Knight, which presents its newest superhero to the MCU. In the trailer we can see a bit of the Knight's personality, which indicates that the series will bring the same problems discussed in the comics to TV, such as the multi-personality issues and the psychological nuances that are the main characteristic of Marc Specter.

A The series premieres March 30th on Disney+ and we separate, here, everything you need to know about The Knight of the Moon to follow the show. Come with us!

Who is Moon Knight?

This question is difficult to answer, as the answer represents something the superhero has struggled with over the years. He is sometimes thought of as Marvel's answer to DC's Batman, as a wealthy businessman by day and an urban vigilante by night; Anyway, Moon Knight is one of the most important characters in the Marvel comics universe to live with. mental disease, is an avenger given over to an ancient Egyptian god, and has been, at times, a brutal killer.

First appearance in comics

Moon Knight debuted as a villain in the classic '70s Marvel horror comic, Werewolf By Night, as an agent of a secret organization that wanted to capture Jack Russell, the titular werewolf. But Moon Knight helped Russell escape, and the character eventually embarked on his own crime-fighting adventures.

Moon Knight initially made a few appearances throughout the stories written by Doug Moench (who created the character alongside artist Don Perlin) and drawn by artist Bill Sienkiewicz, with the team later releasing a solo Moon Knight series that became one of the first examples of a comic marketed directly to comic-only stores.

Origin of Moon Knight

A superhero is only as good as his origin story: Moon Knight is deep, complex, and mature. Marc Specter was born in Chicago to a rabbi (Jewish) father and grew up to become a heavyweight boxer before enlisting as a US Marine. After his military career, he became a mercenary, which led him to a mission involving an archaeological dig in Egypt, where a statue of the Egyptian moon god Khonshū was discovered.

He ends up betrayed in this mission, left to die at the excavation site in the freezing temperatures of the night. Khonshu comes to him in a vision and tells him that if he becomes his incarnation on Earth, he will let him live. And so, he awakens and becomes Moon Knight.

As Moon Knight, Spector travels to the US and uses his mercenary fortune to establish several new identities, including millionaire investor Steven Grant and taxi driver Jake Lockley. Though he operates this way for years, moving across the country from New York to his hometown of Chicago to Los Angeles, Moon Knight's multiple identities eventually catch up with him, showing the first cracks in Marc Spector's personality. and his first touches with the disease.

Marc Spector's mental illness has had many names during the history and evolution of medicine. At first it was considered schizophrenia, but is now known as personality dissociation. Spector suffers from an identity disorder that results in multiple identities that arise at different times, have different memories, knowledge, and abilities. 

As such, their different identities, Jake Lockley, Steven Grant, and maybe even Moon Knight are not just disguises, but real aspects of Spector's personality and mind.

A darker side of Marvel

We are used to the typical coloring of Marvel, and this has certainly become one of the most striking features of it. But since it was announced that Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness would be a horror movie, finally the appearance of darker characters began to come true in Marvel Phase 4. Nothing against the colorful stories, but I confess that it can be interesting to explore the more haunting sides of the Marvel Universe. And for sure one of the characters that fits the most in this phase is the Moon Knight.

Moon Knight's debut may provide a doorway to another, more supernatural corner of the Marvel Universe; the horror ward - it's a scary and ghastly place in which characters like the aforementioned Werewolf By Night, Blade, and even timeless villains like Dracula cross paths with superheroes like Moon Knight and the Avengers.

Moon Knight might be one of the darkest and deepest stories to enter the MCU so far, with Marvel Studios calling it "complex vigilante suffering from dissociative personality disorder" that has "multiple identities that live within it".

If this illness of his is treated with the same delicacy, but also in a real way, as Wanda's grief and depression were portrayed in WandaVision, we will be in good shape.

This is reminiscent of Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige's description of the series in D23 Expo 2019.

Marc Spector – he was a mercenary, he was left for dead in the Egyptian desert. Now he may or may not be infused with the powers of Khonshu, the moon god – or he may just be mad; It's something very unique and exciting for us.

Kevin Feige – D23 in 2019

Moon Knight is unique in the Marvel Universe

There's something about almost every character in the MCU - the best, at least - that makes them unique and also contrasts them with others. For example, Tony Stark comes from a privileged background and Peter Quill comes from a working class background.

Fans begin to be disappointed when similar characters are introduced, such as when Stephen Strange was initially featured as a second-rate Tony Stark. The best thing about Moon Knight is that there are no other MCU characters like him. His origins in Egyptian mythology, his career as a mercenary, and his detective skills make him Thor, Deadpool and Batman mixed together.

Moon Knight's Powers

It’s kind of like the name says, “Moon Knight”; the moon directly influences your superpowers, that is, depending on the lunar cycle, your strength, agility and resistance can be increased to superhuman levels. He is also a master detective and martial artist (skills that do not depend on the star). He has already managed to perform other supernatural feats, such as hypnotizing people with the 'voice of Khonshu' and communing with the spiritual world — even guiding Black Panther in the realm of the dead in Wakanda.

However, all these powers that can be applied by the lunar cycle begin to wear off. They are not permanent. As they disappear, he loses his enhanced abilities and has to rely on his own fighting skill and detective skills to continue his missions.

the villains

Moon Knight is filled with incredible villains. We know that Marvel has some issues with creating villains. Both fans and critics always hit that same key. Alfred Hitchcock once said that the entire success of a movie depends on how good its villain is, and with Moon Knight comes the opportunity to present great villains.

Moon Knight on Disney+ comes in series form so we're confident the production will have the space to present and develop an imposing antagonist very well.

Marc Spector has ghoulish villains like Morpheus, Midnight Man, Black Spectre, Randall Spector (his own brother), and, of course, the villain responsible for making him Moon Knight, Raoul Bushman.

The title also connects to vampire and werewolf mythologies and some other pretty macabre things, which could be an opportunity to open up other windows for the MCU beyond what we know of the Norse world with Thor. With Khonshu, we have the rest of Marvel's connections to ancient Egyptian mythology, including the legacy of Set and the Serpent's Crown, a powerful artifact that ties into the history of Atlantis and Namor (another classic character yet to come to the MCU). And he was recently the host of the Phoenix Force in the comics, which could create other interesting ties.

Moon Knight on Disney+ | Check out the trailer

Oscar Isaac then assumes the mantle of the Marvel superhero. And while Isaac is a well-known leading man thanks to critically-lauded dramatic twists and his role as Poe Dameron in the latest Star Wars trilogy, the mystical hero will be another opportunity for Isaac to explore a variety of forms of acting.

In the official synopsis from Marvel: “the series follows Steven Grant, a mild-mannered employee at a gift shop, who becomes plagued by blackouts and memories of another life. Steven discovers he has dissociative identity disorder and shares a body with mercenary Marc Spector. As Steven/Marc's enemies converge on them, they must navigate their complex identities as they delve into a deadly mystery among the mighty gods of Egypt.. "

Moon Knight is created and written by Doug Moench (Harley Quinn , Young Justice) and directed by Mohamed Diab (Amira). The first season of the series is scheduled to include six episodes, which will be released weekly on Disney Plus.

Also check the most awaited series for 2022.

Sources: Marvel Comics | marvel fandom | CBR | Thiago Romariz