#Jake Lockley was done wrong by Brian Woods

[luxshine]

Moon Knight Primer, Part 8

Moon Knight (2014) #1-17

Prologue, Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV, Part V, Part VI, Part VII

Ok, so… I am going to do the whole vol. 7, misnamed the Ellis arc because Warren Ellis only wrote the first six issues, which have art by Declan Shalvey, in one part because, writer issues or not, the art is gorgeous and I want to give you guys as many examples as I can from them.

THIS is the actual run who gave us both Mr. Knight and Dissected Bird Head Khonshu dressed smart and every artist here did their A game when it came to working with both. THAT alone? Makes this run worth it although I can’t recommend buying the first six issues, the ones that Ellis actually wrote, because I don’t want that man getting more money from royalties.

Hell, I kinda hate he created Mr. Knight, because I adore Mr. Knight but Ellis? Ellis is trash.

And I don’t mean this as a writer. In fact, and credit where credit is due? His six issues are amazingly good and have very little problematic stuff.  Unfortunately? The man is a sexual predator, who hurt and coerced and manipulated a lot of women, having sexual relationships with some of them at the same time without the other’s knowledge or consent. He helped ruin the career of one of the strongest woman in comics I know, a woman who has fought for women in comics her whole career, and emotionally abused and gaslighted her (and many others) while pretending to be her friend. More than 100 women have come forward with their accusations, and , as always, most of the industry went “but he’s so talented!”. So yeah. Despite the fact that I do work in the comic book industry professionally, despite the fact that I want to work in the big leagues? I can’t not point out that Warren Ellis is a creep and shouldn’t be working anymore in any capacity with strong properties. Wanna read these six issues of Moon Knight, because Death of the Author and all that? Pirate the shit out of them.  And then donate the equivalent of the cover price to the HERO initiative, or to the women who were hurt by Ellis. THAT is what Mr. Knight would do. (Also, as a parenthesis, while yes, Ellis gave Moon Knight this new identity? The writers who followed gave him a lot more depth so here, yeah, we can do Death of the Author. Hell, Oscar Isaac gave more depth to Mr. Knight by the mere choice of making sure we knew that it’s ALWAYS Steven the one who fronts when the guys are wearing the white dress suit, something that is not clear in the comics)

Ok. Sorry for interrupting the primer with that. But it was kind of important.  Because I seriously don’t want to give the wrong impression about what kind of person Ellis is. I mean, he did some good writing, but he is a horrible person… and he was a bit ableist as a writer too, only not on the “every single person in the room calls Marc crazy” variety.

So the first thing we have to address, and the first thing Ellis addressed, was exactly how much the general public knows about Moon Knight’s mental issues. And his choice was to make every single person in the Marvel Universe aware that Moon Knight, who is an illegal vigilante, also has DiD. Well, “is rumored to have DiD”.

Because the video Echo took in the Bendis run? Well, it went public and everyone saw him yelling at invisible people.

Now, I know that in OUR world seeing someone talk to someone who is not there? Sign that they may have mental health issues and need help…. Unless we notice they have airbuds on, in which case, they’re just having a very heated phone conversation. But in the Marvel Universe? Invisible Woman is a world famous superhero, model and adventurer! And an Avenger! Not only that, it is general knowledge that there are mutants who can turn invisible, who can turn other people invisible, who can make illusions that are not recorded, oh, and that every army in the world has cloaking technology that rivals Sue Richard’s powers.

What I mean to say is… Moon Knight yelling at an Invisible Captain America should not make people jump to “Oh, he hears voices”. But they do.

And that’s how this series start, with everyone and their dog knowing that Moon Knight is the “Crazy” superhero, while there’s a new consultant in town, the elegant Mr. Knight, whom on occasion can be called by Det. Flint to help in cases.

Absolutely NO ONE who sees Mr. Knight is fooled into thinking that is not Moon Knight in a fancy dress, but as Det. Flint points out: He’d be forced to arrest Moon Knight if he saw him, but he’s not seeing Moon Knight, he’s talking with his new friend Mr. Knight, so no one has to get arrested and the crimes can get solved.

Here we see a very different Mr. Knight from the one we met back in Secret Avengers. He’s a lot more talkative, more methodical, and very strategic. His first scene? He could’ve been Sherlock, from the BBC series, the way he analyzed every clue. Where he got that skill, and who is fronting at the time? We have no idea but he’s hot.  He also doesn’t like to fight. While he faces the issue villain? He makes sure to not throw a single punch in his direction, just avoiding getting hit until his actual plan can work out. Later writers will undo this a bit, but I personally like the idea that Mr. Knight just doesn’t like to get his hands dirty (and this makes him the perfect Super Hero identity for Steven, the one who doesn’t like the violence of their job, even when in the comics? It’s almost always Marc who fronts as Mr. Knight). This changes later, as soon as issue 4 when Mr. Knight does punch the villain, but it seems that he reserves that violence to really horrible people (The guy whom he punched was a man who killed a homeless man accidentally as part of a scientific research… then wrapped him up and buried him in the building where the research was made just to hide the problem. So yeah, I’d have punched them too). At some point he drops at helicopter to a bad guy, but the bad guy survives. Also, he has a very dry sense of humor, which I love.

This run also introduces the Black with Silver Plate Armor suit, the one we see in the Sailor Moon Memes.  And the… uh… Ghost hunting Special Khonshu Armor which… you have to see to believe.  I put it in the “Good” part just because I am 100% sure that it helped inspire the cool details of the TV show suit.

But then… the bad.

While The guys seem to be more stable than ever? Ellis made the puzzling choice to declare, through a psychologist character who is treating Marc officially, that Marc doesn’t have DiD. No, you see, he is brain damaged.  How Warren Ellis thinks this is a better thing, or that one cancels the other? I dunno. In any case, the doctor declares that Marc was indeed revived by Khonshu, who is NOT a God, but an Other dimensional creature (and again I wonder why Odin, Zeus and co are allowed to be Gods but the Egyptian Pantheon have to be Other Dimensional creatures and the only reason I can come up is not very patient with the writers) , but that in order to keep their connection, Khonshu had to made changes to his brain and now Marc reflects Khonshu’s personality, which happens to have four aspects: The Pathfinder, the Embracer, Defender and Watcher of the Overnight Travelers  AND the “Secret” aspect that is “the one who lives on hearts” which is Ellis’s excuse for the blood thirsty Fake-shu we have been tolerating for years. (By the way, Oxford comma man. The first time I read that? I thought that the four aspects were Pathfinder, Embracer, Defender AND then Watcher of the Overnight travelers, which makes SENSE, but then adding the evil one, which again, damn it Ellis, way to play the stereotype, would make FIVE aspects, not four. Then I checked Wikipedia, and apparently, I wasn’t the only one who thought the four aspects were Pathfinder, Embracer, Defender, and Watcher, as that’s how they’re listed and “the one who lives on hearts” is completely ignored. As it should be. But again, then Ellis fails at math because those are five!). On the other hand, we will learn that the doctor is full of shit so, I feel free to ignore “the one who lives on hearts” as soon as we’re done with this run. Khonshu is Egyptian, not Aztec -and I am Mexican, I can make this joke.  The doctor claims that Marc’s brain was “colonized” by an alien entity and that is what created the Alters, which prompts Marc to later hallucinate/see Khonshu calling him “my son” for the first time. It also explains that the cycles we’ve seen between when Marc fronts, when Steven fronts, when Jake fronts and when Moon Knight goes off his rocker in the violence scale is because of the cycles of the Moon and Khonshu’s own personality, not really because of DiD, since the “alters” are the result of the human brain adapting to the changes made to it. Of course, Lemire’s run will destroy this idea, but I find it… kinda offensive in ways I don’t have the words to express. Any Systems reading this may feel different, and are welcome to correct me or add to it in the replies or reblogs.

Marc also has no support system anymore. No Crawley, no Gena, no Ray, no Marlene, no Frenchie. In fact, al lof his vehicles are now self-driven, including the Spktor-licenced limo, which I am sure makes Jake cry inside because we know Jake likes to drive. His only living contacts are the occasional conversation with Det. Flint, which is pretty much just shop talk, and his doctor. In fact, in the last Ellis’ penned issue we see a cop (who is stupidly trying to become the new Black Spectre because he feels offended that Moon Knight is more respected than him), we do see Marlene, now Fontaine as she went back AGAIN to her ex-husband and refuses to talk about Marc, and Frenchie, whose restaurant is back in track, and is now married to Rob so not having to deal with gay bashings every five issues DID wonders to his life, but Frenchie is back in the “Everyone who goes near Marc gets hurt”. He also posits the idea that Marc can’t actually die, that he was made immortal by Khonshu. And Marc’s self esteem is so,so low? That he thinks that the reason why he’s good as a hero Is because he knows no one can love him. In fact, the lack of support extends to Steven and Jake, as they NEVER talk to Marc during the Ellis penned issues. They just glare at him in judgment.

There’s also the insinuation that Khonshu KEEPS getting control of the body whenever he feels like it, because Marc realizes he has bought like, a TON of Egyptian relics, including Mummies down at his mansion/apartment/wherever he’s living at the time, and he DOESN’T remember buying any of those. And then Khonshu (Who I think may be finally real Khonshu, as he’s no longer in the blood train) replies with “perhaps you weren’t supposed to remember” which… not good.

This is it for the six Ellis issues. The rest of the series followed his steps, and had some consultation from him, but it was not written by him, so, in order to keep some semblance of who did what? I will separate now into the next writer, from issues 7 to 12 with Brian Woods. He did some damage to Marc, but nothing that was too bad.  Issues 7 to 12 also have some of the best art, as it’s Greg Smallwood (Whom we later will see in the amazing Lemire run) so yeah, at least it looks very, very, very pretty.

So where Ellis was building off a story through pretty much one shots, Wood goes all out with a single story that is actually seeded in the Ellis run. See, the Psychiatrist that Marc is seeing, Dr. Elisa Warsame, tends to be drawn as an incredibly creepy woman when she talks to Marc. This comes to an end when Marc stops an assassin from killing a former mercenary and general from a country named Akima,  and discovers that the one who paid said assassin was the Doctor, who, in a very weird trip through both Marc and hers mindscape, explains that she was a poor girl in one of the countries the man, General Lor  had destroyed, and she wanted vengeance for her slain parents. She insists that Khonshu would want that, while Marc argues that killing the man 20 years later, AFTER he had done a lot to repent and beg absolution for his sins was not vengeance but pity revenge and murder. And then she reveals that she wasn’t telling him her story to convince Marc, but to convince Khonshu to get a new avatar, namely, HER, and she manifests the, still really ridiculous, Dream Armor, leaving Marc alone in his mind. And when I mean alone in his mind? I mean it. Not only Khonshu is gone, but so are Steven and Jake, proving the doctor’s theory that they were only created due to his link to Khonshu.

(I will mention that this is stupid, as the doctor doesn’t develop three alters to go with Khonshu’s changing moods, nor she speaks outloud to him, but I digress)

The doctor also manages to blame Marc not just for the attempted murder but also for blowing up her house (which was her attempt to kill him), and apparently, tell Det. Flint about Jake Lockley while Steven tells Det. Flint to call him Mr. Grant whenever he’s in the Mr. Knight suit, which is incredibly odd as they are usually more careful about their secret identity. In fact, this series pretty much blasts that to outer space because after what the doctor did, it seems that every single person in the Marvel Universe knows that Marc is Moon Knight, that he has DiD and that he worships Khonshu.

Marc manages her second attempt to kill her target, by literally stepping in front of the new killer (an hypnotized cop who really doesn’t want to kill anyone), in front of cameras without a mask on. See what I mean about no secret identity anymore? And then gets arrested in the least possible legal way and put in a flying prison without real charges made because if there are no charges, there’s no trial and if there’s no trial, he can’t go free.

By the way, THIS is the run that gives us “Jake Lockley is the violent personality” idiocy, and it does it in a single LINE by Dr. Warsame: “The Lockley persona, I think. That WAS who I saw breaking limbs on the 88th floor of the World Trade Center, yes?” And that was IT.

So we finally know who is to blame for falling into the “Systems must have an evil Alter” stereotype after almost 70 years of the character existence, Brian Wood. On the other hand… well, it’s a relative early addendum, so better writers who hopefully do their research can undo it (I am not holding my breath, as I know what comes after Lemire for the guys and… is not pretty, sorry to say this.  On the other hand, Maybe TV synergy will make things better. I’ll just say right now that Marc’s last appearance in the comics is not a good one for system representation… or for Moon Knight fans in general)

In fact, the only good thing about all this is that Khonshu goes back to talk to Marc, who states that he is not worried that much about the doctor’s target, as he is worried about Khonshu. Yes, the man is worried for his god, because he fears that the doctor is manipulating the old bird.

Here I make a stop to point out that the whole message of this mini is really damaging as it is “don’t trust psychiatrists”. Which… uhm… terrible message to be giving? In general, I mean, not just for neurodivergent people.

The only “good” thing about this, in case you were wondering why I hadn’t pointed out how problematic it is to make a victim of war for profit become an immoral psychiatrist who wants to murder a man who has repented for his crimes? Is that the doctor is not a victim of war. In the very last issue, as a saving throw, is revealed that she was in fact the daughter of the REAL dictator who had destroyed her native country, that the man she was trying to kill was a revolutionary who helped free her native country, and that the only reason she was trying to kill him indirectly at first was because she knew her assassins would fail and so she would kidnap him to force him to reveal where her father’s money was. Oh, and create enough chaos to re-start the war in her native country and profit from it.

Still problematic and racist, but in a different way.

By the end of the Wood run, the new sort of status quo is that now every person in the Marvel universe knows about Moon Knight’s secret identity, even if most don’t believe about his connection with the “fake” god (and again, I wonder why Egyptian gods are considered fake when frigging ARES was an avenger by this point, and Earth has an ambassador in Aasgard  as it is recognized as part of the 12 realms! (Said ambassador, in case you’re wondering, is all around badass Jane Foster)

With six issues left on this particular volume, we get Cullen Bunn in writing duties, and art by Ron Ackins.

Here, the status quo goes weird. Marc abandons both Grant mansion and the apartment he was keeping in New York for an abandoned building that is filled with ghosts who are begging for his help. Once again, people know who he is, so the mask becomes more a matter of Marc feeling comfortable with it rather than him needing it, and he is talking to the STATUE of Khonshu, rather than Bird head Khonshu. He also seems to have some powers now because not only he can see ghosts clearly, even if others can’t (A thing that happens in the MU, sometimes Ghosts are just people who happen to be dead and may or may not be intangible, sometimes they are invisible to the normal human beings), but he can also see the trail of their suffering in the form of bloody footprints.  Unfortunately, he can’t talk to them. Khonshu also fluctuates between calling Marc his son, and calling him his Priests.

This series works more on the Pathfinder, Embracer, Watcher and Defender roles, as we see now OTHER gods, such as Anubis, come to ask for help so that Marc will free their followers, and it would be all nice and good, and a return to form of Khonshu working as a god of Justice and Protection rather than vengeance, until of course we get the issue where child killing monsters ALSO pray to Khonshu and Khonshu retires Marc’s protection when fighting against them because Marvel can’t just let Khonshu be a good god, just as they can’t let the System be a non-stereotypical neurodivergent character who doesn’t go horribly violent for no reason.

And then… the Cult of Khonshu reappears, this time masquerading as one of those religious cults that “help” the homeless but are in fact hiding that they pick some of them up to be sacrificed to Khonshu. The guys find out, go and fight the scantly clad priestess who swears she is Marc’s destined wife, and it would be a lackluster issue if it didn’t end with Khonshu helping Marc walk out of the building that he just set on fire to destroy the cult that was also mind controlling everyone inside.  Classic Khonshu, the one who wore the cape and MAY, I repeat MAY not be a pigeon head god since we only see him from the back so we may hope the old Killing Khonshu days are over. We will be wrong. While the very worst of Khonshu is far behind us, as we will never see cartoon blood thirsty pigeon again, he still will do some very bad things once we get back to pigeon head. But that is for part 8 as we finally, FINALLY, reach the amazing Lemire’s run.

#Moon Knight #Moon knight primer #Moon Knight comic #Marc Spector #Jake Lockley #Steven Grant #Jake Lockley was done wrong by Brian Woods #Mr. Knight #Khonshu was done wrong by... everyone #Khonshu