Episode 1 of MCU Moon Knight introduces us to Steven Grant who is having a tough time realizing what’s real and what’s a dream.
MCU Moon Knight is Marvel’s first take on a psychological thriller. And from episode 1, it seems like we are in for a ride that will be unlike any of the former ones. Here’s what we can take away from the first episode.
Watch: Marvel Studios’ MOON KNIGHT | EPISODE 2 PROMO TRAILER | Disney+
Oscar Isaac is Steven Grant
Of all the three personalities that Marc Spector (Oscar Isaac) has, Steven Grant seems to be the most dominating. Even Khonshu himself has a tough time keeping him from taking over Marc’s psyche. On multiple occasions, we see both Khonshu and Marc try and tell Steven to surrender his body. This only goes on to show the strength of the mind of Steven Grant, the very home of the character’s dissociative identity disorder.
So it is clear that the second episode will probably delve into Steven’s past and explore how he got his powers from Egyptian Moon God Khonshu. We will know more about mercenary Marc Spector as well as Layla and Duchamp. While Layla is seemingly a new character introduced in the show, Duchamp has a history with Spector in the comics.
Duchamp and Layla
While working in North Africa, Jean-Paul DuChamp befriended Marc who took to calling him Frenchie. Once, both of them went on a raid to a location on the Egypt/Sudan border alongside Raul Bushman to rob the tomb of Pharoah Seti II, uncovered by archaeologist Dr. Peter Alraune. When Bushman killed Alraune, Marc turned on Bushman but was left for dead. It was here that he received a renewed life by Khonshu and became Moon Knight. And Frenchie became his trusted confidante.
As for Layla AKA Layla El-Faouly (May Calamawy), she is an original character who will probably be Marc’s love interest. It seems that she was also present at the fateful site where Marc received his powers.
Arthur Harrow and Chaos
Arthur Harrow (Ethan Hawke) clearly serves Ammit or Ammut. In the comics, she is the Eater of the Dead. If a human’s soul, after being weighed by Anubis, the Lord of Death and Rebirth, on a pair of divine scales, is found to be impure, it is eaten by Ammit. In the show, Arthur Harrow reveals that Ammit is responsible for deciding the fate of the souls, much like Anubis in the comics. This is further stressed when he says, “The justice of Ammit surveys the whole of our lives.” And Harrow’s allegiance to her is proved by the scales tattoo on his arm, one that he uses to judge people’s souls himself. Head writer Jeremy Slater stated that Arthur Harrow is the main antagonist of Moon Knight. So, we can count on him to reveal more about himself and Ammit.
Honourable Mention
There is a point when Arthur mentions the voices in Steven’s mind. “And the more you ask for help, the more you begin to sound like the boy who cried wolf.” This seems to be an easter egg of Werewolf by Night in whose comic issue, Moon Knight made his first appearance. It is also going to get its own series on Disney+ Hotstar. We can be sure that Moon Knight will have a role to play there but that’s in the distant future. Inversely, we can also have a special appearance or a cameo or even a post-credits scene featuring Jack Russel AKA the Werewolf by Night.
Khonshu- An Elder God
That chaos is evident is made clear in episode 1 itself. However, there is more to this chaos than meets the eye. While Moon Knight gets his powers from Khonshu, the Egyptian Moon God, a new Marvel comic series King in Black: Black Knight #1 revealed that Khonshu is not just an Egyptian god but an Elder God; just like Chthon who created Darkhold, the very source of Chaos Magic and the book from which we see Wanda aka Scarlet Witch reading at the end of WandaVision. So, it seems that both Scarlet Witch and Moon Knight have the same source of power. This does bring in the possibility of her special appearance in Moon Knight. It also adds to the future of Chaos magic in the MCU.
Moon Knight Episode 1 Ending
The ending of episode 1 shows Harrow summoning a jackal and sending it behind Steven. A jackal is a common animal in Egyptian mythology. In fact, Anubis was also a jackal. While this doesn’t seem to be Anubis, it might as well be one of his servants. And that Arthur was able to summon it is a clear sign of how powerful he is.
Finally, we get our first look at Moon Knight and his cool hooded costume, giving us an oomph moment. And right in the reveal, we get a clear idea of how powerful he is. He possesses the power of Khonshu certainly but it is surmounted by his skills and training as a soldier-turned-mercenary. We don’t see any weapon in the scene but their arrival is imminent and so is that of more monsters.
Moon Knight is streaming exclusively on Disney+ Hotstar. The 2nd episode arrives on April 6.
