The new Moon Knight trailer has got MCU fans extremely excited. The latest Marvel Disney Plus series will follow the eponymous Steven Grant, who takes on the mantle of Moon Knight. The character has been a cult-favorite Marvel hero since he debuted in Werewolf by Night #32 in 1975.
But who is Moon Knight, and what exactly are his powers?
Moon Knight’s Origin
Moon Knight’s origins are a massive part of the character, and they highly inform his powerset. In the comics, Marc Spector, a child from a wealthy family, forged his own path in the world. He became a boxer before joining the Marines. While in the Marines, he was picked to join the CIA, quickly becoming one of the agency’s top agents.
However, after being betrayed by his brother and growing disenchanted, Spector left the CIA and became a mercenary. During this time, he ended up working with a terrorist called Bushman.
During a job, Bushman betrayed Spector and left him for dead in the Egyptian desert. Nearing death, Spector crawled into a nearby temple. However, via some miracle, Spector recovered from his wounds. Spector saw a statue of Egyptian deity Khonshu looming over him and credited the god with saving his life.
With a new lease on life, Spector returned to America and made several new personas, including Moon Knight, hoping to make up for his life’s wrongdoings.
What are Moon Knight’s powers?
Spector’s time as a boxer, marine, and mercenary has made him an expert at many forms of physical combat. Over the year’s he’s been shown to know and use boxing, kung fu, eskrima, judo, karate, ninjutsu, savate, and Muay Thai in fights. Usually, he combines these styles with environmental strategies and street fighting techniques to keep his opponent guessing. On top of this, Moon Knight is also an expert with firearms and other weapons.
Moon Knight has also had several sets of custom-made weapons over the years, including weapons made from gold and ivory crafted by Khonshu’s followers. He’s also used various knives, darts, and even a truncheon that doubled as a grappling hook.
Moon Knight has a high pain tolerance and can endure torture for long periods, making him a powerful foe. His armored suit helps with this, providing added protection from incoming attacks.
Sometimes, Spector has access to supernatural powers, including mystical visions. Spector has died only to be resurrected by Khonshu several times, though it is unknown how many times the diety is willing to do this. Khonshu’s presence has also altered Spector’s brain, making him resistant to telepathy and other mind-based attacks.
At several points, Spector has found his power and endurance changing based on the moon’s phases, reaching superhuman levels on nights with a full moon.
What are Moon Knight’s weaknesses?
One of Moon Knights’ main weaknesses is his mental state. Spector struggles with frequent bouts of depression, and his multiple identities can often cause him to push away those who attempt to get close to him.
These identities include billionaire businessman Steven Grant, taxicab driver Jake Lockley, and consultant Mr. Knight. The origins and nature of these personalities have changed over the years due to both retcons and the public’s changing demands for mental illness representation in media. Many early Moon Knight stories described Spector’s mental state using terminology that is considered outdated and offensive today.
In some versions, Spector has dissociative identity disorder. With some of these alternative personalities emerging during his childhood due to trauma. However, other versions of the character have these persona’s forming due to brain damage caused by his connection to Khonshu. With each identity reflecting one of the god’s main aspects.
Whatever the source, these mental health issues can often cause problems for Spector, throwing him off his game and making him unwilling or unable to fight at full strength.
Moon Knight, starring Oscar Isaac, will release on Disney+ on March 30th.