Moon Knight Episode 1 Review – In the long-lost past, Marvel seemed like a sidekick or a distant second to DC where it basked in eternal popularity with its marvelous characters like Wonder Woman, Batman, Superman, and countless other characters leaving a mark on millions of people’s hearts. Even though Dc had been stealing the show for decades, Marvel had created amazing characters too and eventually spun the table and created mega-successful superheroes in recent years like guardians of the galaxy minting millions at the box office.
“Marvel is the old wine that keeps coming with mind-boggling fresh characters and narrative ideas”.
And this old wine (Marvel) has returned with another action-packed, mind-bending web series on Disney Hotstar that is freshly sprinkled with Egyptian Mythology that takes the audience on a mysterious journey.
Moon Knight is a sixth television series in the Marvel Cinematic Universe(MCU), scheduled to run for 6 episodes until May 4.
Let’s look into Moon Knight’s origin, story, character, and the first episode’s review which has caught a lot of eyes.
Origin
The character Moon Knight was first spotted in the marvel comics series Werewolf by Night #32 (August 1975) which was written by Dough Moench and was spectacularly illustrated by artist Don Perlin.
The werewolf protagonist was paired up with an apt antagonist, suiting him with the moon symbol and wielding silver weapons. And after a year or so the Moon knight took off, reaching the top of the mountain where it proved its worth and became one of a kind story/character in the Marvel spotlight.
Moon knight got its own series in the 1980s where the origin story broadened with Marc Spector and his encounter with the Egyptian god(Khonshu).
Story
The Moon knight series follows Steven Grant (Oscar Issac) is a gentle-mannered gift shop employee who gets tortured with blackouts and memories of another life. Soon after these manic episodes, he finds out that he suffers from a Dissociative Identity Disorder where he shares his body with mercenary Marc Spector.
As Steven/ Marc’s enemies coverage upon them, they both try their best to navigate these complex identities that they have when they are thrust into a life-threatening mystery among the powerful gods of Egypt where they are granted the powers of an Egyptian moon god.
But Steven finds out that these powers come with both blessings and a curse which can be destructive to his mental health issues.
Character Description and Powers
Marc Spector suffers from Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID- multiple personality disorder) This disorder comes to Marc when he and the rest of the Jewish community get kidnapped, and tortured by the Nazis.
As his disorder worsens and gets sent to a mental institution to get treatment and after clearing the check, he becomes a U.S marine which leads him to become a mercenary.
Moon knight’s powers are a mixed bag which includes- functional immortality, high pain tolerance, prophetic visions, power absorption, necromancy, strong resistance, control over moon-based material and Khonshu can bring Moon knight back to life if he dies in combat.
Episode 1 Review
The moon Knight’s first episode begins with a provocative and shocking opening where Ethan Hawke’s Arthur Harrow walks on a shoe filled with broken pieces of glasses which look painful when the pieces get crushed under his weight.
There are comedic moments that are expected from a Marvel project. Moon knight is not much focused on quips and crossovers but is more titled towards on what makes the people tick.
We see Marcs chained to his bed and the door being taped. He pets a single finned fish with whom he often talks. Marc goes through some manic episodes where he sleepwalks and wakes up in a totally different location from he was. And that is why he arrives late every day at the museum gift shop.
We also see Marc being hilarious when he changes his natural accent to a British accent. But the series is careful to not make fun of his mental health condition. Moon knight series is also careful to not reveal the reason for Marc’s blackouts. This mystery won’t be solved anytime sooner in the coming episodes too which makes the series a gripping driving story.
It is impressive and interesting how all the elements of the marvel come together in the opening. Moon Knight doesn’t seem to revolutionize the studio’s formula which makes it the best start to the marvel Disney plus series.
Oscar Issac fully immerses himself and dedicates his time to this role so that he can explore Marc’s quirks which will make him Marvel’s favorite artist.
Hawke’s performance is marvelous and his adapting of a cult- leader Arthur Harrow proves that he is one of the more sinister villains in Marvel history.
Moon knight has established a few things in the first episodes that Marvel’s risk-taking is paying off well. And that marvel can pull off a brilliant and surprising opening when it needs to. The coming episodes might open up a few surprises or maybe wrap up the mystery more and creep us out of nowhere.
Conclusion
Moon knight is a new project from marvel studios where we will get to see the supernatural side of marvel. This series not just brings the audience a new hero but it shows and talks about mental illness that has been historically misinformed and misinterpreted in the media.
If Marvel studio approaches this character with care then it will leave a great impact by educating and broadening the perspective on mental health issues.
