MCU and the many faces of Moon Knight

 As of me writing this, Disney+ is now halfway through their MCU version of Moon Knight. And it is abundantly clear that,’even more so than WandaVision, I’m going to have to actually see it all the way through to see what they are actually trying to do.

I haven’t been a regular Marvel Comics reader for a long time. Pretty much entirely due to logistics as opposed to lack of interest. I do like grabbing the odd graphic over from the library every now and then. I did read a fair chunk of Moon Knight’s first couple decades of existence but I don’t know what Marvel has done with the character lately.

Moon Knight is very much a writers’ hero because he’s never been popular enough for there to be a definitive version. Writers have historically been able to be flexible about how they depict the character.

I’ve often heard Moon Knight described as what if Batman was definitively an insane jerk. And I don’t think that’s unfair, even if it skips over a lot of the nuance. I do think Moon Knight is a very Bronze Age creation. He’s always veered towards gritty and street level with possible supernatural elements.

The MCU Moon Knight is definitely gritty but veers away from being street level. Instead, it uses psychological horror to take the story to more global settings and threats. Moon Knight and their different personalities are wandering through a half-lit gallery of ghosts and gods.

I will say that the MCU version SEEMS to have definitive supernatural elements. (Hey, there is still room to pull the rug out from under our feet in that regards, although I’m not expecting it) While I personally like it nebulous whether or not Moon Knight has some sort of mystic abilities or if he’s delusional but the tv show needs to stand on its own virtues, not my preferences.

On the positive side, Moon Knigjt has kept me interested. On the down side, I haven’t found the characters terribly sympathetic or empathetic. Which isn’t required but is something expect with super heroes. (Of course, you can argue that Moon Knight isn’t a super _hero_)