"Knight knight"
"I'm here. We are dealing with an invasion of Immortals from another dimension, and we are on the clock people. Let's rock."
—Mr. Knight, summarizing this run *
Mercenary Marc Spector died in Egypt under the statue of the Egyptian moon god Khonshu. He returned to life and wore Khonshu's aspect to fight crime for his own redemption as Moon Knight. He went completely insane and developed Dissociative Identity Disorder as a result of years of using cover identities like Steven Grant and Jake Lockley.
Or did he?
Marc Spector awakens as a patient in a mental hospital, undergoing intense and abusive treatment for his disorders under the supervision of Dr. Emmett. He was never Moon Knight, who is seen on the news fighting crime as a completely separate entity from Marc. And yet, he can still hear and talk with Khonshu, who pleads with him to escape. Eventually, Marc discovers what's really going on: Khonshu's fellow Egyptian Gods are plotting an interdimensional invasion of Earth, and it's up to Moon Knight to stop them.
Launched as part of All-New, All-Different Marvel, this run was written by Jeff Lemire, and illustrated by returning Moon Knight artist Greg Smallwood. This run turns the surrealism of the already mindbending adventures of Moon Knight up to eleven, with hopes of driving readers insane with wondering what part of the comic they are seeing is real or all in Marc's mind.
Many aspects of this run would eventually be adapted for the Disney+ Moon Knight (2022) show.
Moon Knight (2016) provides examples of:
- Ambiguously Evil: Dr. Emmett is revealed to be the Egyptian god Ammut, but due to the nature of the series, it's highly probable that this is just how Marc perceives and rationalizes her as a threat. If he even is meeting her at all.
- Ambiguous Situation: Whether or not the entire series takes place in Marc's mind. There are hints that he is indeed in an insane asylum, but there are also hints that he's traveled to other places in order to stop Khonshu. It doesn't help that a Civil War II tie-in had Nick Fury confirm that rumors abound that Moon Knight has been thrown in an asylum.
- And the Adventure Continues: Despite killing Khonshu, the whole driving force behind the lifestyle, Marc still continues with the Moon Knight mantle, as he's finally taken back control of his life and he, Steven, and Jake will do it on their own terms from now on.
- Animated Actors: The actor playing Moon Knight in Steven Grant's film is apparently also named Marc Spector.
- Art Shift: As Marc's identities begin conflicting with each other, the artist for their individual points of view change. Steven Grant is drawn by Wilfredo Torres, Jake Lockley by Francesco Francaville, and Marc Spector by James Stokoe.
- Battle in the Center of the Mind: What this entire run is ultimately revealed to be. In battling Khonshu, the series is Marc coming to terms with his mental illness and making peace with his various alters. Realizing that Khonshu was everything negative about his affliction, Marc, Jake, and Steven kill him and free themselves from him.
- Big Bad: Khonshu is revealed to be the main antagonist, with goals to take over Marc's body.
- The Bus Came Back: Various supporting characters from Moon Knight's history return, also trapped in the mental hospital as patients. The ending makes it highly ambiguous if Marc had actually reunited with any of them.
- Character Development: The entire series is seeing Marc finally come to accept his mental illness, make peace with his alternate personalities, and find personal closure with all the friends and allies he had driven away with his superheroics. By the end of the run, Marc, Steven and Jake come to understand that while they are unwell, they are not broken or unworthy of peace.
- Decoy Antagonist: For the first five issues, Seth has been built up as the mastermind behind the invasion of Earth that Marc needs to stop. It's eventually revealed that Seth has been imprisoned this whole time, with Khonshu orchestrating all the events prior in order to convince Marc to allow him to take over his body.
- Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?: The run ends with Marc, Steven, and Jake joining forces to kill Khonshu by crushing his bird skull, freeing themselves from his negative influence.
- Earn Your Happy Ending: After a turbulent life under his control, Marc kills Khonshu and is finally free from his toxic influence, allowing him and his alters to coexist peacefully and even gladly continue being Moon Knight, but now on their own terms.
- In the Style of: Greg Smallwood often emulates Bill Sienkiewicz when drawing Khonshu.
- Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane:
- Once again, Khonshu is treated with a level of ambiguity that gives credence to either theory that he's genuinely a disembodied Egyptian god living rent-free in Marc's psyche or a figment of Marc's imagination personifying the worst of his character. Either way, he is portrayed as a purely negative influence on Marc, and ridding him is what gives Marc and his alters a long-deserved sense of hope and peace.
- The degree to which Khonshu is responsible for Marc's D.I.D. is also left ambiguous if going by the conceit that he's indeed real. It's heavily implied that he may have given Marc the disorder in order to prepare him to become Moon Knight, but on the other hand, it's also implied he may have just taken advantage of young Marc's mental illness to groom and manipulate him later as an adult.
- Mind Screw: It's highly likely you still won't know exactly what's happened once you reach the ending.
- Retcon: The series works to recontextualize Marc's mental illness, resulting in the reveal that he's had D.I.D. since childhood. Khonshu's influence was what drove him truly insane.
- Self-Deprecation: In Steven Grant's world, he's producing a Marvel Studios Moon Knight film. A conversation with Marlene has him admit that he has high doubts about the film being a success since he considers Moon Knight to be nothing more than C-List Fodder.
- Show Within a Show: Steven Grant is shown to be producing a Marvel Studios Moon Knight film, the plot of which is apparently what Jake Lockley is going through in his corner of Marc's mind.
- Split-Personality Takeover: Khonshu seeks to do this, if he truly is another alter of Marc's.
- Through the Eyes of Madness: Marc is in an insane asylum being treated for delusions. Or is he? The other residents of the asylum are his associates, and if he wears a homemade mask the orderlies look like jackals. And good ol' New York is covered in sand and pyramids.
- True Sight: Marc with his mask off sees a regular Bedlam House with cruel orderlies who give him electro-shock therapy and other tortures. Moon Knight with his mask on sees jackal demons running a prison in Neo-Egypt.
- Wham Episode:
- Issue 5: It appears that the Marc Spector personality has committed suicide, paving the way for the Khonshu aspect to completely take over his body and trap Steven Grant and Jake Lockley elsewhere.
- Issue 14: Marc Spector, Steven Grant, Jake Lockley, and Moon Knight kill Khonshu.
- Wham Shot:
- Issue 4: Marc and Marlene are attacked by Moon Knight.
- Issue 10: A young Marc meets and becomes friends with another boy named Steven. But then his dad comes in asking who he's talking to and it's revealed he had been alone the whole time.
"I am Marc Spector. I am Steven Grant. I am Jake Lockley. We are going to be okay. We are going to live with who we are. We are Moon Knight."
