premiering Wednesday on Disney+ and Disney+ Hotstar — is a markedly different take on the mentally-troubled character than what comic fans are familiar with. For one, Moon Knight’s anti-hero traits are stressed upon more on the Marvel series. Moon Knight is not quite Batman but with dissociative identity disorder, as the character has oft been described. It’s more what if the Punisher meets Wolverine meets DID. In the comics, Moon Knight’s Batman comparisons stemmed from the fact that they both had no supernatural abilities — like Bruce Wayne, Marc Spector relied on gadgets, combat skills, and physical training. But on the new Marvel series, Moon Knight draws super-strength and super-healing from his link to the Egyptian moon god Khonshu.
Oh right, Egyptian gods. They are central to everything on Moon Knight, be it the narrative, the locations we witness, and most obviously, the title character’s name. Across its run — I’ve seen four of the total six episodes, like all other critics — Moon Knight name checks a series of Egyptian gods. Some are even portrayed on screen. The Marvel series is partly set in Egypt — in addition to London, though both have been filmed elsewhere — taking us to Cairo, Pyramid of Giza, and beyond. It also sprinkles in Middle Eastern music, with tracks from DJ Kaboo and Ahmed Saad. On top of that, Moon Knight involves at least two archaeologists, hunting for tombs, and supernatural creatures.
Naturally, the Marvel series is inspired by movies like Raiders of the Lost Ark, something Moon Knight creator and head writer Jeremy Slater — previously a writer on Netflix’s The Umbrella Academy — has himself acknowledged. It often pushes into horror territory, before Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness seemingly does that on the big screen for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. And in other places, Moon Knight feels closer to the Rami Malek-led psychological thriller Mr. Robot (where the lead character also suffered from DID), and Noah Hawley’s visually-inventive superhero series Legion (I’m not going to say how, as this would be spoiler-y).
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