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| “ | I am Moon Knight. The bearer of the mantle of Khonshu. Khonshu the justice bringer. I am vengeance. | „ |
| ~ Moon Knight. |
| “ | Told him I don't wear white to hide myself. I wear it so they'll see me coming. So they'll know who it is. 'Cause when they see the white, it doesn't matter how good a target I am. Their hands shake so bad, they couldn't hit the moon. | „ |
| ~ Moon Knight. |
Marc Spector, better known as Moon Knight is a major character created by Marvel Comics, appearing as the main protagonist of his titular comics, and a supporting character in other individual comics.
He was a former soldier turned mercenary who lead a life of violence until he was chosen by Khonshu to become "Moon Knight", as a way to redeem Spector and protect the innocent. Becoming a vigilante, he initially started off as antagonist to Werewolf By Night, but would later get his own series as the main character. Though he appears as costumed hero, Spector has four separate identities such as the wealthy businessman "Steven Grant" and taxi driver "Jake Lockley". He has been a member of the Secret Avengers, Avengers West Coast, the Defenders, Heroes for Hire, and the Midnight Sons.
He was created by Doug Moench, Howie Perlin and the late Don Perlin, and first appeared in Werewolf by Night # 32 in August of 1975.
Biography[]
Background[]
He is a superhero who draws his powers from the moon and battles crime as a street-level hero akin to Batman, but also being possessed of an even more pronounced lack of mental stability. Throughout the character's existence Moon Knight has been depicted as everything from a victim of Dissociative Identity Disorder to delusions and hallucinations.
These various and often crippling mental disabilities sometimes impair Moon Knight's judgment and in turn cause him to frequently behave in a decidedly ruthless manner that puts him at odds with most other superheroes, many of whom view him as dangerous and unstable. Nevertheless, Moon Knight has still sometimes worked with other heroes, primarily Spider-Man (who is one of the only superheroes who is able to see the good in Moon Knight) and the Punisher (whose brutality exceeds even Moon Knight's own). In a sense Moon Knight stands as a gray middle ground between the extremes of his two chief costumed allies.
Moon Knight first acquired his powers after a near-death experience during his time as a soldier of fortune. Taken to the temple of the Egyptian Moon God Khonshu, Marc Spector was miraculously restored and from there refashioned himself into the costumed crusader he is today, battling evil of all shapes and sizes in Khonshu's name and abandoning his previous identity as a selfish mercenary.
This doesn't mean that Moon Knight is now a nice guy. As said above he frequently indulges in acts of brutality that most superheroes frown upon, and his clear mental instability only serves to further isolate him from his costumed peers. As such when Moon Knight fights evil, he often does so alone.
Biography[]
Early Life[]
Marc Spector is the son of Elias Spector, a rabbi who was able to escape from the Nazis during the second world war. As a child, Marc would see his father be discriminated, and wondered why he never fought back against his persecutors. The beginning of his trauma happened when a close friend of the family, Yitz Perlman, was revealed to have been a Nazi who was a serial killer, killing Jews alike. Marc was able to fight against Perlman, but developed dissociate identity disorder. Though Elias was going to send his son to hospital, Marc was approached by the Egyptian God Khonshu, and was enthralled to leave his father's funeral.
Military Career[]
Spector joined the U.S. Marine Corps, but was dishonorably discharged due to his superior's noticing his bizarre behavior. Marc then joined the CIA, where he would meet his brother Randall, who would later kill Marc's girlfriend, Lisa, to keep her from revealing a gun running scheme. Marc would attempt to kill his brother, throwing a grenade, and presumed he was dead. Leaving the CIA, Marc would meet and befriend "Frenchie" Duchamp, and the two became soldiers for higher, assassinating targets.
Khonshu[]
In Egypt, Marc and Frenchie took a job for Raul Bushman, where Duchamp showed his love for violence and murder. After killing archeologist Peter Alraune, Bushman attempted to kill his daughter, Marlene, but was stopped by Marc. Bushman retaliated by mortally wounding Marc, killing everyone except Frenchie, Marlene, and a villager who was willing to tell them everything on the tomb.
Marlene and the crew laid Marc under the idol of Khonshu, and he had an experience with the Egyptian God, who asked for his service to save his life, which he agreed. Marc would later believed the experience to be a hallucination, but went to punish Bushman and his men, but Raul escaped.
Heroic Career[]
Afterward, Marc realized that he now had a purpose in life, and moved to New York with Frenchie and Marlene (who was now his lover). With his wealth and fortune, Marc created a costume, and used his different personas to aid him, as Steven Grant was a financer, and Jake Lockley was a cab driver who gathered information on a street level. Marc's first job was to capture werewolf Jack Russell for the Committee, but realized that they were going to turn Jack's sister in werewolf, and make them weapons. Moon Knight switched sides with the Russell's, and were able to shut down the Committee.
Moon Knight would face the Conquer-Lord by himself, but joined the Defenders to battle the Zodiac (who was the life-model decoy of the individual). Spector would later rescue Thing from Crossfire, who was William Cross, and team up with Spider-Man to defeat the Masked Marauder. In addition, he would have to face a serial killer dubbed the Hatchet Man, who claimed to be his brother Randall.
Moon Knight would do more investigations, and would later have to stop Bushman's ally, Midnight Man, who destroyed the idol of Khonshu. Marc felt powerless after the idol's destruction, believing that the God gave him powers. Marlene would create another idol, and tell him it was the original to let continue to fight crime. He did so, and face many villains, such as Morpheus Black Spectre, and the Fly, but was aided with the strength of Khonshu.
When he had to stop a Egyptian curse, Moon Knight briefly hosted the spirit of a priest of Khonshu, which helped him integrate his personalities, but he had a mental breakdown. Wanting to retire his personalities and from crime-fighting, he settled down with Marlene, and reconciled with his father's legacy.
After selling the Idol to a gallery in Paris, he had vision that told him that he was selling it to evil. He donned the costume once again, but Marlene left him, unable to handle with his behavior. In the Valley of Kings, Moon Knight met three ancient priests of Khonshu, who told him that he was chosen as Khonshu's early champion.
Moon Knight joined the West Coast Avengers, but was not like due to not being a team player for the group. When Hawkeye's wife, Mockingbird had allowed the Phantom Rider to die (since he sexually assaulted her), Moon Knight was one of few he joined a splinter group. When discussing the Hellstorm on Phantom Rider's spirit haunting Mockingbird, Marc realized that Khonshu was in his psyche, and Hellstorm told the spirit off. Freed from Khonshu's meddling, he left the hero business, and reunited with Marlene as a crime fighter.
At some point, Spector learned that his brother survived and stole his powers, becoming Shadowknight. However, Marc would team up with the Punisher to defeat Randall, and decided to upgrade his equipment to fight against his archenemy.
Powers and Abilities[]
Powers[]
- Divine Empowerment: Upon being resurrected by Khonshu, the Egyptian god granted Spector powers to protect the innocent.
- Immortality: Mac can live a lifespan due to his agreement with Khonshu, and any time he has been killed, the Egyptian God has revived him.
- Power Absorption: Moon Knight can absorb the powers of others via employing the use of ankhs, having previously taken the power of the Spirit of Vengeance and the the chi from the Immortal Iron Fist.
Abilities[]
- Military Training: Serving in the United States Marine Corps, Spector gained peak human condition and developed skills in martial arts, weapon proficiency, tactical knowledge, and piloting.
- Marksmanship: Moon Knight is a capable marksman, having learned from his time in the Marine Corps, and is capable of throwing his discs with perfect accuracy.
- Master Martial Artist: Spector is a capable combatant and martial artist, having been a boxing champion and later learning different styles of martial arts from his military service. His skill allows him to fight against other opponents, even at one point fighting the Punisher.
- Expert Investigator: Moon Knight is a capable detective, having a great understanding of the criminal underworld.
- Multilingualism: Spector can his native English, but is also fluent in Arabic, and Egyptian and Sudanese dialect.
Other Media[]
Live-Action[]
- Main article: Moon Knight (Marvel Cinematic Universe)
- In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the character appears in the Disney+ TV series of the same name, being portrayed by Oscar Isaac, who also played Poe Dameron in the Star Wars sequel trilogy.
Animation[]
- In Ultimate Spider-Man vs. The Sinister Six, he was voiced by Diedrich Bader, who also voiced Hoss Delgado in The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy, Tank Evans in the Surfs Up series, and Batman in several animated series and direct-to-video animated films.
- In Avengers: Assemble, he was voiced by Gideon Emery, who also voiced Balthier in Final Fantasy, Steve Fox in Tekken 4, Henry Blackburn in Battlefield 3, Gideon in Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, and Poseidon in God of War: Ghost of Sparta and God of War III.
- Emery reprised his voice work for the character again in Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order.
Video Games[]
- In Marvel Ultimate Alliance, he was voiced by Nolan North, who also voiced Nathan Drake in the Uncharted series, Deadpool in numerous media, Desmond Miles in the Assassin's Creed series, Edward Richtofen in the Call of Duty zombie series, and many others.
- In Spider-Man: Web of Shadows, he was voiced by Robin Atkin Downes, who also played Tenzin in Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, and also voiced Kazuhira Miller in the Metal Gear Solid series, The Prince of Persia in Prince of Persia, Minh Young Kim in the Gears of War series, Travis Touchdown in the No More Heroes series, Cham Syndulla in Star Wars, and many others.
- Downes reprised his voice work for the character in Marvel Heroes.
- In Marvel Pinball, he was voiced by Troy Baker, who also voiced Joel Miller in The Last of Us series, Booker DeWitt in Bioshock: Infinite, Talion in Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor series, Erron Black in the Mortal Kombat series, Jack Mitchell in Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, Delsin Rowe in inFamous: Second Son, and many others.
- Lego Marvel Super Heroes, he was voiced by Keith Silverstein, who also voiced HUNK in the Resident Evil series.
- Silverstein reprised his voice work or the character in Lego Marvel's Avengers.
Quotes[]
| “ | I became Moon Knight to battle evil wherever I could find it. And I never had to look farther than the darkness inside my own heart. | „ |
| ~ Moon Knight. |
| “ | I've devoted most of my adult life -- under the mantle of Moon Knight -- to atoning for the sins of my youth as a mercenary... and the blood I spilled. | „ |
| ~ Moon Knight. |
| “ | Y'know, kid, it's kinda funny. You wanna be powerful, be feared. But we both know that, really, people are always gonna be more scared of me. And that's why you do it, right? Why you're playing at being the master criminal. 'cause you know I'm the real deal and you are not. And that you'll never, ever be me. You're just a cheap-ass copy. | „ |
| ~ Moon Knight. |
| “ | No Khonshu... I am Marc Spector. I am Steven Grant. I am Jake Lockley. And we are going to be okay. We are going to live with who we are. We are Moon Knight. And we never needed you. | „ |
| ~ Moon Knight to Khonshu. |
| “ | I'm a ghost now...a specter of the moon...the moon's knight of vengeance---and I got work to do. | „ |
| ~ Marc before facing Khonshu. |
| “ | You know where I belong, punk? I belong with the decent and innocent folk-- who can't find a moment's peace-- not in the streets, not in their own homes-- so long as punks like you terrorize them. I belong with the persecuted. Now who's got the power, you stinking tube of prejudice? And how's it feel to play victim for a change? | „ |
| ~ Moon Knight. |
| “ | Knowing my history of "extreme behavior", I would suggest you don't want to come at me like this with your helmet off, Stark. | „ |
| ~ Moon Knight to Iron Man. |
| “ | No. I'm done. I'm through being your executioner. Your avatar. Your symbol. | „ |
| ~ Moon Knight to Khonshu. |
| “ | Listen. Where you're going? Tell your friends. Tell everyone you meet. You tell them all. When you see me coming? Run. | „ |
| ~ Moon Knight. |
| “ | I am not insane! | „ |
| ~ Moon Knight. |
| “ | Let's establish some parameters. I'm not Spider-Man. And I'm not the Punisher. They represent extreme ends of the same costumed spectrum. I'm Moon Knight. And you all know that means one thing. No one in this room --myself included-- knows precisely what I am capable of. I beat the Avengers. Imagine what I could do to any one of you. | „ |
| ~ Spector as Mr. Knight to a group of supervillains in a bar ~ Moon Knight Vol. 9 #7. |
| “ | To the people I protect, this a place of safety. But for you, it is a place of punishment. This is my place of power. This is my temple. This is the Midnight Mission. Be welcome. Be welcome, supplicants. | „ |
| ~ Marc Spector as Moon Knight punishing Nimean and Grand Mal for killing Hunter's Moon ~ Moon Knight Vol. 9 #17 |
Trivia[]
- Ranked 49th on IGN's "Top 50" Avengers".
- Ranked 89th greatest comic book character by IGN.
- Ranked 149th greatest comic book character of all time by Wizard magazine.
- The Comics Buyer's Guide nominated Moon Knight Vol 4 as their favorite limited series in 1999.
- Many have compared the character to Batman from DC comics, since both are dreaded vigilantes, but they are greatly different due to their origins and abilities.
- One of his personas, Steven Grant, is named after Captain America/Steve Rogers.
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 Heroes
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