TV Review: Moon Knight (2022)

Moon Knight (2022) adapted for television by Jeremy Slater from the comic by Doug Moench and Don Perlin

Steven Grant (Oscar Isaac) is a lackluster British museum gift shop employee with an expertise in Egyptian mythology. His real problem is two-fold: blackouts that lead to bizarre circumstances and dreams that show a different life as an American soldier of fortune. He also has unsettling encounters with Harrow (Ethan Hawke), a man with some sort of connection to the Egyptian gods. Harrow is building a collection of disciples to enact whatever plan he has. Steven has a hard time keeping track of reality. Viewers quickly discover that his American version, Marc Spector, is sharing the body with Grant. Spector has a lot more ambition and drive. He is the avatar of Khonshu (voiced by F. Murray Abraham), a minor Egyptian deity obsessed with avenging people wronged in the middle of the night. If the wrongs happen during daytime, that's okay too. Spector transforms into Moon Knight, a cloaked superhero who rights wrongs, though mostly in this show he's fighting with Harrow and his minions.

The effort to navigate their dual lives and their conflicting goals make Steven and Marc interesting characters. Isaac gives a good performance, flipping between the characters with ease and making both of them sympathetic. The show uses reflections to show the other character trapped inside, giving the two personalities a way to dialog with each other. Harrow comes off as a less compelling character and only a mildly interesting villain. He wants to release a goddess who will punish evildoers before they even commit their crimes. Hawke tries to give Harrow some creepiness but it doesn't really work too often. 

The use of Egyptian mythology is uneven. The show starts acknowledging the basics and has mostly museum-type mythology, which does not get into a lot of detail. Then they go fully into it for the last half of the show, an unexpected and happy shift. Some bits worked less well than others because blending modern sensibilities with ancient mythology is tricky. The show became much more challenging to follow and think about, which I liked. 

The ending was a typical big battle. The show suffers from the worst post-credits sequence since Legion. That last scene presents a surprise twist that makes very little sense with the rest of the story and brought up the wrong sorts of questions a viewer wants to be left with.

Mildly recommended. 

Book Review: Moon Knight Vol. 1 by W. Ellis et al.

Moon Knight Volume 1: From the Dead written by Warren Ellis and art by Declan Shalvey

Marc Spector was a mercenary who died in Egypt under a statue of the god Khonshu. He came back to life (presumably through the god's influence) and became a vigilante taking the name Moon Knight and an appearance based on the god. Since he's a Marvel character, he was active in New York City. Then he went crazy (is he Spector or is he Khonshu?) and disappeared. This book is about his reappearance in New York. He shows up in all-white garb (a suit with a cloak and a bag-like mask over his head), driving around in a self-driving white limo or flying on a large drone. He investigates very bizarre cases, using his high-tech gadgets and his ancient Egyptian gear to fight crime. This book covers several mysteries he solves.

Except for Moon Knight's presence, the six stories in this book are basically unrelated. He investigates a Tell-Tale Heart mystery and rescues a kidnapped girl a la The Raid. The style is very visual and creative, which I liked. But his character has very little character. The first story explains how he doesn't really have a version of multiple personality disorder, but his problem is that Khonshu has four aspects: Pathfinder, Embracer, Defender, and Watcher of Overnight Travelers. The way Spector behaves, he watches over people who travel at night and he defends them, but those aren't presented as separate identities. The two other aspects don't figure into these stories, so this whole part of his character is left out (or maybe they will show up in subsequent volumes?). Other than the look and theming, he is a generic loner-hero. I had a hard time engaging with him as a character.

Not recommended--I read this hoping to get some grounding going into the television series...I think this was no help at all.