Posted - October 24, 2015

Previous: Legion of Super-Heroes v7


Moon Knight 1 to 3
(2014 series)




We begin with a capsule origin of the Moon Knight:


A blurb about the Moon Knight's origin

Okay, now let's talk about cars. This one in particular.


Moon Knight's driverless limousine

Here's a closer look at that grill so you know who owns this badass.


The grill of Moon Knight's driverless limousine

Too big really. Super-stretch limo. Too big, too noticeable. But I want it because of this.


Moon Knight gives his driverless car instructions

Incidentally Moon Knight can afford these expensive tools because he has no qualms about using money he nabs from the criminals.

Now let's take a look at Moon Knight's relationship with law enforcement.


Moon Knight is invited into a crime scene part the first
Moon Knight is invited into a crime scene part the second

Wonderful. I always considered Moon Knight to be Marvel's attempt at Batman. Batman is untouchableof course, but Moon Knight's costume is as well-designed as the Bat's.

Anyway, if I recall correctly from the older series, Moon Knight didn't have a good relationship with the cops like Batman has with the GCPD. Moon Knight was treated more like Spider-Man. Looks like he's still wanted but the police are now insisting on technicalities so that they can work with "Mr. Knight".

Oh wow. This is great. Batman style detective work.


Moon Knight analyses a crime scene

Ah now, we have an explanation of why the police would want him around.


Moon Knight explains that he's going to
	take on the tough jobs for the cops

Moon Knight is shown descending into the New York "catacombs" in a panel with a very attractive layout.


Moon Knight descends underneath New
	York City

I'm getting Morlocks flashbacks from those old X-Men books.

Finally, the antagonist


A former Agent of Shield turned serial
	killer

He looks dangerous and certainly more so here, in his place, underground. He'a armed to the hilt and Moon Knight seems to be wearing nothing but a suit and mask (actually, he looks like the Rose from Spider-Man). Still, this antagonist does invite thoughts of pity. He's a former Agent of Shield and he kills people to steal their body parts in order to fix himself up - something he says that the medical community won't do.

Moon Knight is threatened again and again. I love how ice cold Moon Knight is in this situation, I'm wondering how he's going to handle this guy. Then this happens.


Moon Knight does a stealth crow with
	one of his crescents

Wow. Just like that it's over. Wait a minute! Not quite.


A gun is leveled at Moon Knight be a serial
	killer

The response:


Moon Knight does a bullet catch

Catching a bullet with, well, with whatever those small crescent blade things are called (shurikens?). In the world of stage magic the trick is called the "bullet catch" but it is not humanly possible. At this point we should remind ourselves that Moon Knight is not quite human - he is the resurrected agent of the god Khonshu (more on that later).

And that's the first outing. Impressive. Now for a closer look at Marc Spector, the Moon Knight.


The four aspects of Khonshu

Yes, the famous multiple personality disorder tied in with Khonshu having four aspects. I love it. "Watcher of overnight travellers" is particularly descriptive of the Moon Knight persona.

There's more . . .


What happened to Marc Spector when he became
	the Moon Knight

Note: "raised from the dead", "remade . . .by that entity's operations". Both Daredevil and Batman are human but Moon Knight is not. The possibilities. I love it.

Marc Spector is a rich man with a fittingly Halloweenish house.


Marc Spector's mansion

The clear night, the manse, the moon, just wonderful. I'm extremely happy with Moon Knight so far. The panel below, which happens inside the mansion, is just the cherry on top of the sundae.


Khonshu the Moon God

Khonshu the Moon God. This brings home that there is a very real supernatural aspect to Moon Knight, again, think of the storyline possibilities.

Very unique use of framing in the next story. We get pages with panels like this.


Sniper panel part the first

And this.


Sniper panel part the second

and this


Sniper panel part the third

Okay, there are several pages of these panels and each panel is devoted to one person, and as you can see, each panel will turn red than only text is left, then nothing. A whole page has eight panels and we run throught this layout till all the panels blank out. Each of these eight people are being assassinated. The red panels are when they get hit by a sniper bullet. This method of storytelling does tend to consume a lot of pages but the cleverness alone makes it absolutely worth it.

All the killings happen at night so whoever is doing this could, and does, bump into "the watcher of overnight travellers". Here he comes


Moon Knight jumping from the Moon Glider

Iconic Moon Glider in the background and this time the costume is nearer to the traditional one. Coming up against the sniper, Moon Knight gets to showcase his skill at throwing those crescents.


Moon Knight throwing a crescent and disabling
	an attacker

Best takedown panel.


Moon Knight does a takedown

The action sequence is amazing and in the end we get an explanation.


Explanation of the sniper's motives part the first
Explanation of the sniper's motives part the second

Next up, our supernatural hero goes up against the supernatural - and loses big time.

Angry ghosts hurting people.


Ghosts attacking people

Moon Knight is on the job. But . . .


Moon Knight's punch goes through a ghost

Up against foes he can't touch, Moon Knight is beaten up bad.


Moon Knight lying beside his car after getting
	beaten up by a bunch of ghosts

His nice limo even gets dented - with his head!

It's back to the mansion and Marc Spector looks terrible.


Marc Spector sitting on a chair and showing
	a lot of bruises

What is showcased here is the role of Khonshu, not just as source of power but as guide. Beaten bloody, Marc's question is very direct.


Marc Spector asks how he can  beat a bunch
	of ghosts

The answer is fascinating.


Khonshu gives Moon Knight some timely 
	advice

So, Marc has access to some kind of "mini museum" of ancient Egyption artifacts does he? The fascination must be an after effect of his resurrection. Let's get to this mini-museum:


Marc Spector rummaging through his  collection
	of Egyptian antiquities

Nice.

What is not shown in this story is that Marc Spector has enough knowledge to sort through this vast trove and identify the items he needs - namely, weapons and armor that can be used against ghosts. Spector has become an expert Egyptologist.

Now before we jump into the fray we get a beautiful panel of the New York skyline.


The New York skyline at night

And now the rematch. Presenting Moon Knight: Ghost Fighter edition.


Moon Knight wearing ghost fighter
	garb

If Moon Knight is Khonshu's son he now resembles his dad. Seriously, this outfit is going to kick ass. Like so.


Moon Knight successfully fights the ghosts

Now with the job done lets head home in the Glider.


The Moon Glider with the Brooklyn 
	Bridge in the background

This new Moon Knight series is everything I want it to be. The first series was loaded with possibility, promises, if you will. This new series looks well on its way to finally fulfilling those promises.

Next: The Pro