So I figured that it is a new quarter and it’s time for me to do something new: review a Marvel comic. For all of you Marvel comics fans out there I’m sorry, but most of the comics that Marvel puts out are, well, crap.
I understand the appeal of big-name heroes, like Captain America, Spiderman, and the like, but when you get right down to it, modern Marvel comics have been plagued by awful writing. I’m not saying that Marvel is alone in this endeavor, but it seems to be the rule rather than the exception for Marvel comics as of late. I mean, how many X-Men titles can you possibly have at once? And don’t even get me started about the recent universe-wide event, “Secret Invasion.”
However, I have to admit, I’ve been a big fan of Marvel’s re-examination of an offbeat character dating back to superhero comics’ weaker years, the ’70s and ’80s, that of Moon Knight.
Moon Knight appears to be a direct knockoff of DC’s greatest detective, Batman. Like Batman, Moon Knight fights crime at night, uses an array of gadgets, like the all too similar moon shaped “batarangs,” has a secret lair under his mansion and so on.
There are some immense differences between Moon Knight and Batman that set him apart, such as his origin. Prior to Moon Knight’s hero days, he was an ex-military mercenary, working for men without a conscience. However on his last such mission, the would-be Moon Knight, whose real name is Marc Spector, refused to bow to the whims of his would-be nemesis Bushman, and was murdered in an Egyptian tomb of the god Khonshu, the god of Vengeance. Lying in the tomb, Khonshu offered Spector a second chance at life, his avatar in this world, at the price of enacting his vengeance upon evil men.
Thus Moon Knight is at a moral quandary: To keep the blessing of Khonshu, he must kill evil men, but in doing so he questions the justice of his own actions. And the questions continue; is Marc Spector truly speaking to a long forgotten Egyptian god of vengeance, or is he merely mad? Are the alter-egos Spector has created beneficial to his battle against evil, or are they helping him loose his grasp on reality? Can Moon Knight bridge the gap between his command to kill evil men, and his own moral concerns?
So as you can see, Moon Knight is not just a crappy Batman, but a glimpse into the human psyche. I was really astonished by this when I first picked up issue No. 1 of the new Moon Knight series back in 2006. I was even more taken back when I picked up the collected issues of the first Moon Knight series, and realized how good they were back when Marvel and DC were plagued with mullets, anti-drug propaganda and horrible plot-lines.
So if you’re like me and have a grudge against recent Marvel comics, or just want to read something a little different than the typical superhero story, where villains get punched in the face over and over, then pick up a copy of collected Moon Knight stories, either “Moon Knight Volume 1” or “Moon Knight: The Bottom.” You wont be disappointed. Well, unless you think comics are dumb. Then you might be.