Moon knight
Moon Knight
Moon Knight is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Doug Moench and artist Don Perlin, the character first appeared in Werewolf by Night #32 (August 1975).[1]
Moon Knight
*
Marc Spector: Moon Knight #39
Art by Gary Kwapisz
Publication information
Publisher
Marvel Comics
First appearance
Werewolf by Night #32 (August 1975)
Created by
Doug Moench
Don Perlin
In-story information
Alter ego
Marc Spector, Steven Grant, Jake Lockley
Team affiliations
• Avengers
• Secret Avengers
• West Coast Avengers
• Defenders
• Midnight Sons
• Marvel Knights
• Heroes for Hire
• United States Marine Corps Force Reconnaissance
Notable aliases
Fist of Khonshu
Mr. Knight
Abilities
Currently:
• Expert detective
• Proficient in martial arts and armed combat
• Utilizes high-tech equipment
• Mystical visions
Formerly:
Increased strength, speed, and endurance depending on the lunar cycle
Moon Knight
Series publication information
Schedule
Monthly
Format
Ongoing series
Genre
Superhero
Publication date
(vol. 1)
November 1980 – July 1984
(vol. 2)
June – December 1985
(Marc Spector: Moon Knight)
June 1989 – March 1994
(vol. 3)
June – December 1998
(vol. 4)
November – September 1999
(vol. 5)
July 2006 – April 2008
(Vengeance)
March 2009 – August 2010
Number of issues
(vol. 1): 38
(vol. 2): 6
(Marc Spector): 60
(vol. 3): 4
(vol. 4): 4
(vol. 5): 30
(Vengeance): 10
(vol. 6): 12
(vol. 7): 17
(vol. 8): 14
(Legacy): 13
(vol. 9): ongoing
Creative team
Writer(s)
(vol. 1)
Doug Moench (1–15, 17–26, 28–33), Alan Zelenetz (18, 21–22, 27, 32, 36–38), Tony Isabella (34–35)
(vol. 2)
Alan Zelenetz (1–4)
(Marc Spector)
Chuck Dixon (1–24, 34), J. M. DeMatteis (26–32), Terry Kavanagh (35–60)
(vol. 5)
Doug Moench (1–4), Charlie Huston, Mike Benson
Doug Moench (1–4)
(vol. 6)
Brian Michael Bendis
(vol. 7)
Warren Ellis (1–6), Brian Wood, Cullen Bunn
(vol. 8)
Jeff Lemire
(Legacy)
Max Bemis
(vol. 9)
Jed MacKay
Penciller(s)
(vol. 1)
Bill Sienkiewicz, Kevin Nowlan, Bo Hampton
(vol. 2)
Chris Warner
(Marc Spector)
Sal Velluto, Ron Garney, Gary Kwapisz, James Fry, Stephen Platt
(vol. 5)
David Finch, Mark Texeira, Mico Suayan, Javier Saltares, Jefte Palo
(vol. 6)
Alex Maleev
(vol. 7)
Declan Shalvey, Greg Smallwood, Ron Ackins
(vol. 8)
Greg Smallwood
(Legacy)
Jacen Burrows, Ty Templeton, Paul Davidson
(vol. 9)
Alessandro Cappuccio, Federico Sabbatini
The son of a rabbi, Marc Spector served as a Force Recon Marine and briefly as a CIA operative before becoming a mercenary alongside his friend Jean-Paul "Frenchie" DuChamp. During a job in Sudan, Spector is appalled when ruthless fellow mercenary Raoul Bushman attacks and kills archeologist Dr. Alraune in front of the man's daughter and colleague, Marlene Alraune. After fighting Bushman and being left for dead, a mortally wounded Spector reaches Alraune's recently unearthed tomb and is placed before a statue of the Egyptian moon god Khonshu. Spector dies, then suddenly revives, fully healed. He claims Khonshu wants him to be the "moon's knight", the left "Fist of Khonshu", redeeming his life of violence by now protecting and avenging the innocent. While early stories imply Spector is merely insane, it is later revealed Khonshu is real, one of several entities from the Othervoid (a dimension outside normal time and space) once worshipped by ancient Earth people. On his return to the United States, Spector invests his mercenary profits into becoming the crimefighter "Moon Knight", aided by Frenchie and Marlene Alraune, who becomes his lover and eventually the mother of his daughter. Along with his costumed alter ego, he primarily uses three other identities to gain information from different social circles: billionaire businessman Steven Grant, taxicab driver Jake Lockley, and suited consultant Mr. Knight.
It is later revealed Moon Knight has dissociative identity disorder (DID) (incorrectly referred to as schizophrenia in some stories) and that the alters known as Grant and Lockley originally manifested during his childhood. Other subsequent alter egos who do not assume the Moon Knight identity have emerged at other points during his adulthood, including a werewolf-fighting astronaut; impersonators of Khonshu, Spider-Man, Wolverine, Captain America, Iron Man, and Echo; and a red-haired little girl known as the Inner Child (who first appeared in the Ultimate Marvel continuity). It is debated in different stories whether Spector has genuine DID due to childhood trauma or if his similar symptoms are the result of "brain damage" caused by his psychic connection to Khonshu, a connection compelling his personality to shift between the four major aspects of the moon god's multi-faceted nature ("the traveler", "the pathfinder", "the embracer", and "the defender of those who travel at night"). Khonshu claims he created a psychic connection with Spector, Grant, and Lockley when the latter were young, decades before they became Moon Knight.[2]
In most of his stories, Moon Knight has no supernatural abilities beyond occasional visions of mystic insight. He relies on athletic ability, advanced technology, expert combat skills, and a high tolerance for pain based on willpower, training, and experience. Since becoming Moon Knight, there have been multiple occasions when the character has died only to then be resurrected by Khonshu, implying he may now be effectively immortal until the moon god's protection is revoked (whether Khonshu has limitations on how often he can resurrect Spector is unknown). For a time, Moon Knight's strength and resistance to injury could reach superhuman levels depending on the phases of the moon, but this ability later vanished, while the Moon Knight identity is occasionally depicted as an independent alter ego of the others.[3]
The character has made appearances in various media outside of comics, including animated series and video games. Moon Knight appears in the 2022 self-titled live-action Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) / Disney+ miniseries Moon Knight, with Oscar Isaac starring in the title roles of Marc Spector / Moon Knight and Steven Grant / Mr. Knight (guest starring as Jake Lockley and Khonshu, the latter primarily portrayed by Karim El Hakim and F. Murray Abraham), with Ethan Hawke portraying Arthur Harrow: their predecessor as Moon Knight, and Doctor Harrow; a psychiatrist version of Harrow created by Moon Knight, who only exists in their mind. The character was ranked by Wizard magazine as the 149th-greatest comic book character of all time.[4]IGN also listed Moon Knight as the 89th-greatest comic book character, stating that Moon Knight is more or less the concept of what would happen if Batman were to have dissociative identity disorder,[5] and as #49 on their list of the "Top 50 Avengers".[6]
