MCU Moon Knight will showcase Marc Spector who is the primary alter-ego of Moon Knight. Here’s more on the mercenary.
MCU Moon Knight will be Marvel Studios’ first venture into the psychological genre. This is what makes our main character, Marc Spector a very interesting and intriguing character. Let’s delve into his past which will prep us for his arrival.
In the Moon Knight trailer, Oscar Isaac receives a call from a lady who addresses him as Marc. This scene is probably in either the first or the second episode where Isaac’s character, probably Steven Grant, finds out about his other self, the primary one (if we consider the comics) i.e. Marc Spector.
Marc Spector in the Comics
Fans first came to know Marc Spector in 1975, when marvel introduced Moon Knight to the readers. Marc is the son of a rabbi who moved to Chicago after escaping from the Nazis. While his father detests war, Marc is obsessed with it. Later on, a traumatic event involving a family friend cum escaped Nazi is what triggers Marc’s DID (Dissociative Identity Disorder).
DID is a condition that has divided Marc’s psyche into more than one personality. It is a rare form of dissociation in which a person responds to a particularly traumatic or violent experience by shutting it away inside his or her mind. When the trauma is too heavy, DID results in the person forming a whole new personality to cope with it. It is this DID of Marc that eventually leads him to Egyptian moon god Khonshu.
Marc becomes a marine when he grows up but is dishonourably discharged due to his mental health. He goes on to become a CIA agent and finally a mercenary. During his career as a merc, he becomes friends with Jean-Paul Duchamp aka Frenchie, a French pilot. (Frenchie goes on to become to Marc’s Moon Knight what Alfred is to Batman.) While many are drawing a parallel between Moon Knight and Batman it’s to be noted that the initial reviews of the series are excellent and we can expect the series to turn out better than the recently released Batman movie.
On an assignment in a Sudan archaeological site, Marc has a faceoff with another merc Raul Bushman who mortally wounds him. He is left for dead in front of Khonshu’s statue. This is when he receives a vision wherein he is offered his life in return for being Khonshu’s bounty hunter, sort of what Ghost Rider is to Mephistopheles.
The only difference is that his services will make him a priest, probably since he will “bless” those who do evil. So basically, Moon Knight, along with Steven Grant, Jake Lockley, and Mr. Knight, are all different personalities of Marc Spector’s psyche.
The Merc in the MCU
It is clear from the trailers and TV spots that Moon Knight will deal with Marc Spector and his DID. Moreover, it will be a thematic element in the film. Khonshu is a complex personality and, in the comics, is sometimes a friend to Spector and sometimes not. This is a result of Khonshu’s own quest for control and power.
From the looks of the trailer, Marc will probably try to gather pieces from his past to understand himself and why he is the way he is. On the other hand, we will also see him cope with the anti-hero that he is. Then there’s also the chaos that he has in him as per the words of Ethan Hawke’s Arthur Harrow. So all this will certainly take a toll on Marc and will add immensely to the plot of Moon Knight.
Moon Knight comes to Disney+ Hotstar on March 30.
