Moon Knight has finally landed on Disney+, and as you’ll see, there’s a lot to take in in the show’s first episode. On our side, we had the chance to discover it on a large projector 4K UHD Ultra Short Throw Xgimi Aura Laserrunning Android TV, with built-in 60W Harman Kardon speakers, with HDR10 image quality and very good brightness (2400 ANSI lumens). Suffice to say that we would have thought we were at the cinema, and that we had the opportunity to spot some interesting details.
WARNING: this article contains spoilers concerning the first episode of Moon Knight. Do not continue reading if you do not want to read it.
The first episode of Moon Knight is dense, you must have noticed. After all, we discovered Steven Grant, his two alter-egos Marc Spector and Moon Knightthe fearsome Egyptian god known as Khonshu, the Wicked Arthur Harrow and Layla (although only through a phone call), and that, in a single episode. Add to that the bloody scenes, brief jumps in time (while Steven and Marc each take control of their bodies), the humorous jokes and the mystery that hovers, and you have to deal with a somewhat complex episode for those who know nothing of this universe. We therefore suggest that you find the 10 things you absolutely had to remember in this episode !
1) the big disney family
The first episode of Moon Knight makes beautiful references to Disney-owned productions. The series itself was launched in part as being related to the films IndianaJoneswhich arrived in 2012 with the purchase of Lucasfilm, and several shots of the episode show this influence. We also discover that Steven Grant owns a fish named Gus which he refers to as “one-finned wonder”similar to our favorite fish in the Nemo’s world.
Later, when Grant questions the woman running the pet store, she replies: “I don’t care what the movie Nemo says”, further strengthening the reference. Still later, the character of Ethan Harrow mentions the term “avatarto Steven Grant when he confronts him at the museum, prompting the latter to refer to the film Avatar of james cameron. Due to the acquisition of Fox, this franchise is now also owned by Disney.
2) THE VOICE OF KHONSHU
The first mention of another Steven’s character or “quirk”when the character wakes up in the heart of the Alps, is Khonshu. Marc Spector is a Quirk, Steven Grant is another, and Khonshu in this case is yet another, and asks Steven to hand over his body to Marc.
Khonshu.
Khonshu is the ancient Egyptian god of the moon and night travelers. In the comics, he was the one who saved Marc Spector from death and gave him his powers. Moon Knight is the avatar of Khonshu and is also known as the “Fist of Khonshu”. We will detail all this a little later.
3) ETHAN HAWKE AS ARTHUR HARROW
We meet for the first time Arthur Harrowplayed by Ethan Hawke, without any introduction of any kind. Due to the nature of the time jump, at this point we still have no idea what is going on. Arthur is already the leader of a cult, and he talks about serving a “goddess”. He later mentions that the goddess is actually called Ammit. Ammit is a goddess of ancient Egyptian religion, with the forequarters of a lion, the hindquarters of a hippopotamus and the head of a crocodile. She ate the hearts of the impure in the afterlife.
It seems that Arthur uses his powers to “judge” people whether they are “good” or “bad” via his scale tattoo on his arm. He even kills an old woman to have was judged as bad, according to the Ammit balance. Ethan will also call Steven Grant a “mercenary”, and you will immediately understand why.
4) “duchamp”, the clue that should challenge
Steven Grant scrolls through a list of missed phone calls in Episode 1 of Moon Knight. We then see a name appear in the middle of Layla’s missed calls: “Duchamp”. Jean-Paul Duchamp, aka “Frenchie”, is an emblematic comic book character Moon Knight. The easter egg in question is thus visible just before Layla tries to call Marc Spector on the flip phone that Steven Grant finds in his apartment.
John Paul Duchamp is a former French army officer who befriends Marc Spector, a former soldier turned mercenary, when the two men cross paths in North Africa. Unsurprisingly, the duo end up joining forces on a number of missions, with Frenchie becoming Spector’s full-time helicopter pilot. The duo end up working with another mercenary called Raoul Bushman (we’ll get to that in a bit) to raid historical dig sites, including one on the tomb of Pharaoh Seti IIon the border between Egypt and Sudan.
The meeting between Duchamp and Marc Spector in the comics.
But the heist goes wrong. Bushman ends up killing the archaeologist who was leading an expedition to the grave of Seti II (Doctor Peter Alraune) among other innocents, which angers Spector, who is (unsurprisingly) against killing civilians. Spector goes after Bushman, but the latter ends up leaving Spector for dead in the desert after Bushman emerges victorious from the showdown. Spector returns to civilization, but collapses from his injuries.
This is where a group of locals carry him to a tomb containing a Khonshu shrine, the Egyptian moon god, who appears before Spector and saves his life. In return, Spector agrees to become the “Fist of Khonshu”, aka the vigilante known as Moon Knight, who exacts vengeance on those whom Khonshu deems unjust. Duchamp will learn later that Mark is still alive, and will offer its help for the future. Ethan, for his part, confuses Marc and Steven, which is why he calls Steven a “mercenary”.
5) LAYLA
Marlene Alraune and Moon Knight in the comics.
But who is this “Laila” ? In the comics, Layla Miller is a mutant who can raise the dead, but here she seems to be very attached to Marc. It is therefore quite possible that this character replaces Marc’s wife in the comics (named Marlene Alraune). We will have to wait for the next episodes to find out for sure.
6) marc spector takes control and becomes moon knight
Marc Spector reveals himself to Steven and asks to take control. It turns into Moon Knight and defeats what appears to be an Egyptian jackal that may be related to Anubis, the egyptian god of death. Ammit is indeed the daughter of Anubis in Egyptian mythology.
7) steven grant and the white
Now that you understand the cogs that bind the characters, let’s go back to understand the others references and small details of the episode. Even when he is unaware of his avatars, Steven is seen at home with a white t-shirt, in his sheets. This refers to Moon Knight’s suit, which is dressed in white, yet operates in the middle of the night. It is difficult to be less discreet! The explanation is however simple, it is about a character renders justice, a symbol for Khonshu. Marc Spector wants to be seen and wants to be easily identifiable, to frighten his prey when he pursues them (and the effect is more striking when he is covered in their blood).
8) a boat that should not be missed
In Gus’ aquariumwe find what seems to be the bust of Nefertiti, and a pyramid, but also a strange boat. In reality, it is a funerary boat, which allowed the transport of the pharaohs after their death within their “eternal abode”, but which obviously also symbolizes the transport of the soul after death. It’s about from a little foreshadowing since right after we will hear about Ammitwho directly judges the souls of the departed.
9) soft toys that refer to taouret
The stuffed animals, which are the subject of a commentary by Steven’s part, represent Taouret, the hippopotamus goddess of Egyptian mythology. It is interesting to note that the appearance of this goddess was supposed to frighten away any evil spirit who could have harmed a child and a woman in labor. Sell these stuffed animals with the effigy of a protector of children, while strong malevolent entities appear during the episode, is probably not so incongruous as that.
10) a golden statue representing a character known to comic book fans
Apart from the fact that the living statue (who Steven is talking to) shows us the full extent of the loneliness of the latter, this statue also seems to represent a well-known character comics Moon Knight : Bertrand Crawley.
In the comics, Bertrand Crawley is a homeless man from New Yorkoften working as an informant for Moon Knight. Crawley has a natural flair for the dramatic, and behaves as if he were a member of the British aristocracy, rather than a man living on the streets of New York. He’s still a good informant nonetheless, and it could well be that the living statue Steven was talking to will also become a very good informant in future episodes. After all, as we have seen, people easily confide in her.
And you, what did you think of this first episode of Moon Knight ? We let you answer this question via our comments section! And if you want to know what record the series had obtained even before its releaseyou can refer to our previous article on the subject.
