Though Moon Knight is an obscure superhero to all but dedicated comic book readers, the character's new Disney Plus series shows a lot of potential.
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"Moon Knight" / Disney Plus
"Moon Knight" is the latest show in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) to hit Disney Plus, and the first of 2022. The studio has already seen tons of success with shows like "Loki," "WandaVision," and "Hawkeye," but "Moon Knight" is the first Marvel show to introduce a brand-new hero to the MCU without relying on the popularity of prior films.
For Marvel fans, this means that Disney Plus is becoming even more of a necessity, as "phase four" of the studio's release schedule will continue to embrace streaming as a way of debuting new characters and storylines that will connect to the studio's big-screen releases.
At $8 a month or $80 a year, Disney Plus maintains a competitive price point compared to other streaming services, and its Marvel shows continue to be a big draw for subscribers. It remains to be seen just how well "Moon Knight" completes its six-episode story, but the first episode shows a lot of promise. Though some viewers may be thrown off by the chaotic premiere, the pieces are in place for an engaging story.
Moon Knight is an especially bold choice to lead a TV series, as the character's comic book history is confusing to all but the most devoted fans. The hero fights crime as the avatar of the Egyptian moon god Khonshu, but Steven Grant (Oscar Isaac) — the man under the white cowl — takes on multiple personality states, called alters, that are attributed to dissociative identity disorder, a real-life mental health condition.
Media and popular culture have taken a more sensitive approach to depicting characters with mental illness since Moon Knight was first introduced in 1975, but the Disney Plus series chooses to embrace the character's identity disorder and make it a core part of the story, alongside the Egyptian mythology that gives Moon Knight his lunar-powered crime fighting abilities.
Egyptian director Mohamed Diab told Variety he hadn't heard of Moon Knight before joining the series as executive producer, but he was excited by the idea of blending his knowledge of Egyptian culture with the large platform Disney Plus provides. Though Moon Knight's powers come from an Egyptian god, the comic books rarely explore the culture they were derived from.
Disney+ / Marvel Studios
Disney Plus' "Moon Knight" doesn't immediately dig into the hero's powers either. In fact, the first episode is nearly devoid of action as it focuses on Steven's condition. He repeatedly wakes up with in new places with no memory of how he arrived, and hears the voices of the god Khonshu (F. Murray Abraham) and another alter living in his body.
While Steven Grant is a successful billionaire in the comic books, he's an average gift shop employee in the Disney Plus show, giving comic book readers an idea of just how much the MCU versions of these characters might differ. Oscar Isaac is tasked with portraying multiple characters living within the same body, and while some special effects help viewers understand the separation between Steven's identities, Isaac's acting demonstrates the differences with distinct changes in his accent and body movements.
Disney+
As a fan of the recent "Moon Knight" comics by Warren Ellis and Jeff Lemire, I'm excited to see the Disney Plus show fully embrace the character's complex condition and flesh out his separate identities. The dual identities of characters like Spider-Man and Daredevil have always been a major part of the appeal of Marvel's superheroes, and the first episode "Moon Knight" works to get viewers invested in Steven's internal conflict without revealing the mystery at the center of the show.
In comparison to shows like "Hawkeye" and "The Falcon & the Winter Soldier," "Moon Knight" starts off exploring entirely new territory, rather than relying on the existing mythology that's been built through more than a decade of MCU movies. I appreciate that "Moon Knight" establishes a fresh story without mention of the Avengers, Thanos, and other MCU plotlines.
However, like "WandaVision" and "Loki," it may take another episode or two of "Moon Knight" for the core conflict of the series to become clear. While it will be interesting to see if Moon Knight interacts with other Marvel characters in the future, I hope that the series continues to feel independent through its six-episode run.
Disney+
While the Marvel shows we saw in 2021 were largely extensions of the studio's huge film franchises, "Moon Knight" shows that Marvel is ready to branch out in entirely new directions with its Disney Plus titles. This isn't just a spin-off or a continuation of an established story, it's the introduction of a new hero and a new mythical corner of the MCU for fans to explore.
Though it's too early to determine where "Moon Knight" ranks in quality compared to Marvel's other efforts, the premiere offers a promising start. The show will have to pay off on the intriguing mystery it's established to be successful, but the groundwork has been laid for a unique and exciting show.
Marvel's streak of successful TV series doesn't show any signs of stopping, and its strategy of introducing new heroes in shows like "Moon Knight" and the upcoming "Ms. Marvel" continue to make Disney Plus an essential subscription for MCU fans.
