Review of Moon Knight (Series, 2022)

Who is Moon Knight?

Often compared to Batman, Moon Knight was created in 1975 by Doug Moench and Don Perlin. If it’s a masked vigilante, rich and lonely, who operates at night, the similarities with Bruce Wayne end here. Indeed, Moon Knight is much crazier than Batman. He is an ambiguous hero, who has many psychological problems, including a split personality.

Moon Knight thus has several identities. He is successively called Marc Spector, Steven Grant, Jake Lockley, or Moon Knight so. This makes him a complex protagonist, whose degree of madness we never really know, between what is true and what he imagines. Moon Knight is therefore often discredited by the other heroes, who have difficulty trusting him. Above all, this Knight of the Moon would be the avenging arm of Khonshu, an ancient Egyptian god. Here again, comics play with the perception of the hero between reality and fiction.

So, while fans have been waiting for an adaptation of the character for a very long time, Moon Knight is finally coming to Disney+ in his own series. Directed by Jeremy Slater, the show features 6 episodes of 45 minutes which will be broadcast every Wednesday on the platform from March 30, 2022. On the casting side, it is Oscar Isaac who takes on the costume of this ambiguous vigilante. The rest of the cast includes May Calamawy, Ethan Hawke as the main antagonist, and the late Gaspard Ullieldied suddenly this winter in a skiing accident.

The series totally got the character

Faced with the complexity of the character, the series Moon Knight is expected at the turn. A cult character for comic book readers, but unknown to the general public, the character of Moon Knight has a brilliant and delirious cinematographic potential. And fortunately, Jeremy Slater has perfectly understood the essence of the character. The showrunner thus offers a treatment of the triple personality of Marc Spector/Steven Grant/Moon Knight that is absolutely fascinating and above all very intelligent. This triple personality is also reminiscent of the Deadpool of the comics. Indeed, on paper, Wade Wilson constantly has to deal with two voices in his head. A deleted element in both films. An often funny and quirky approach which has therefore been taken up for Moon Knight with great insight.

The showrunner manages to stage this delirium in a simple and powerful way. Spectators are like this put in the place of the hero especially in the first episode, punctuated by blackouts, flashes, unexpected awakenings, voices in the head, etc… The series features misunderstanding the character with efficiency. A perfect approach for viewers unfamiliar with Moon Knight’s story. The latter will thus be destabilized in the same way as the protagonist.

Jeremy Slater thus succeeds perfectly in contextualizing the paranoid delirium of the character, his phases of lucidity, and also those moments when he changes his personality. Jeremy Slater plays with our senses. Scenery changes, details catch the viewer’s attention, and the character’s black holes are perfectly represented.

So the schizo-paranoid delirium of the character is brilliantly staged. Schizophrenia is presented via the character’s perpetual hallucinations; and his paranoid delirium by his impression of being a superhero serving Khonshu, and possessing Egyptian powers that he must use in a revenge quest. This first part of the show is therefore mounted as a puzzle to reconstruct for the spectators.

Khonshu: the god of the moon

Jeremy Slater also has the smarts to offer episodes from different viewpoints. If the first focuses on Steven Grant, the second takes the point of view of Marc Spector. In this way, the Dr. Jekyll and Mister Hyde aspect, see even Hulk / Bruce Banner is perfectly brought and developed. Oscar Isaac is absolutely perfect in this multifaceted role.

The series does not forget to do the pride of Khonshu, the Egyptian god of the Moon. The relationship between Khunshu and Marc Spector is sometimes reminiscent of the relationship between Eddie Brock and Venom, but with much more success.