Marvel’s ‘Moon Knight’ Episode 1 Review: Oscar Isaac Headlines A Cool New Superhero Origin Story That Shines With Promise
Listen here, anything with Oscar Isaac in it gets me excited. When the news dropped that he was Moon Knight in the Marvel Studios series dropping on Disney+, I did the usual bit of excavation around the backstory of what I found to be a fascinating superhero. But what really reeled me in was how removed he was from the other Marvel superhero stories that we’re currently invested in. Unlike the other Disney+ series that our building on the existing stories of characters we know and love/hate, Moon Knight is a proper origin story about a mercenary with a dissociative disorder who becomes a vessel for the outcast Egyptian Moon God, Khonshu. Created by Jeremy Slater, this mini-series is directed by Egyptian screenwriter and director Mohamed Diab, and stars May Calamawy, Gaspard Ulliel, and F. Murray Abraham (voicing Khonshu).
Moon Knight is based on comic book characters created by Doug Moench and Don Perlin.
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In Episode 1 of Moon Knight, we meet Steven Grant (Oscar Isaac), whose home at first glance might look like he has a Fifty Shades kink. But we soon find out the ankle shackle he has by his bed and the duct tape in his drawer are to lock himself down when he goes to sleep, in every possible way. See, he has been losing time and not knowing what happens to him for random periods of time. We soon find out that in his waking life, Steven Grant is a nervous British chap who works as a gift shop assistant at a museum, in the hopes that someday, he’ll get to put his knowledge of Egyptian history to use.
But when he is asleep or in those periods of lost time, something else is happening to him that could explain his body aches and dishevelled state every morning. As both we, the audience, and Steven himself eventually find out, he has another identity that draws him into the adventures of a mercenary called Marc Spector, who is a vessel for the outcast Egyptian God of the moon, Khonshu, delivering justice in his name.
In one of these episodes, when Steven is awake for the first time, he meets cult leader Arthur Harrow (Ethan Hawke) and watches him channel the power of another Egyptian demon deity Ammit, to deliver judgement on good and evil, and literally sap the life force out of people if they have even the slightest inclination towards darkness. Steven and Marc go in and out of consciousness, facing the other only in the mirror, while the Egyptian God Khonshu is the voice in their head.
Even in its first episode, Moon Knight reminded me of The Librarian franchise, perhaps because of the museum of it all and the fact that Oscar’s Steven Grant is this timid geek who is suddenly thrust into an adventure that he knows the theory of but not the practical. What’s more, the way the episode is laid out, it is a journey for the viewer just as much as it is for Steven to figure out who Marc, Khonshu, and Arrow are. It makes the show deliciously unpredictable and gives you proper time to make up your own mind about every character/God’s motivations.
Despite its Marvel DNA, Moon Knight feels nothing like previous Marvel titles. And that’s not a bad thing. It’s a whole new world we get to explore, and personally, I’d love a new origin story. Also, so far, unlike the MCU we already are familiar with, which knows about the existence of superheroes, this world feels very real, very normal, which is suddenly disrupted by the discovery that Egyptian Gods walk amongst us. The shift from the real to fantastical gives you the good kind of whiplash, so does the shift between the two Oscar Isaacs. And the accent switch, though not always perfect, helps. Oscar Isaac’s performance hooks you in on the slowly unravelling mystery that is his dual life.
Let’s also talk about our lord Khonshu, who sounds like he was thrown out of the inner Godly circle because he talked straight, no BS. Voiced by F. Murray Abraham, scenes involving him can get borderline scary. I’m still wrapping my head around our hero’s outfit, which looks something straight out of The Mummy.
But my favourite has to be Ethan Hawke as a cool, composed but the cunning charismatic cult leader (ooh I love alliteration, don’t you?) Arrow hits the bullseye. I think Hawke and Isaac’s face-off was one of the biggest appeals of this series, and so far, it plays off well. I am so intrigued to know this guy’s backstory and peel off the layers of Arrow’s psyche. Also because what’s going on in the head of these seemingly normal people who are tangling with powerful Gods and wielding their powers presents a fascinating premise. On one of my Twitter doomscrolls, I found out about the often-drawn comparisons between the Moon Knight in comics and The Batman. And having seen the psyche of The Bat so well explored by Matt Reeves’s film, I have my fingers crossed for the series to at least attempt to delve into that aspect.
Also Read: The Batman Review: Matt Reeves Brings Delicious Noir To Gotham’s Dark Knight. Robert Pattinson As Emo Detective Bat Is *Chef’s Kiss*
Furthermore, Moon Knight feels like an interesting spin on the superhero origin story, because normally there’s a hero and their regular alter ego. And any reluctance they might have in becoming that hero stems from their own lack of faith. But here, the reluctance is literally an identity disorder and loss of consciousness. We have three entities involved, and the superhero persona needs the permission of another guy and the favour of a God to get his suit on. It’s kaafi interesting.
I’m already sold on the score for Moon Knight, which I found out after reading an interview of director Mohamed Diab, is by Egyptian composer Hesham Nazih. In fact, Diab revealed that he wanted to represent the Egyptian culture that their show’s mythology was borrowing from, and so he brought on board an editor, a music composer, an art director, a costume designer and even actors who could represent it properly. We stan genuine efforts to foster representation! There’s also an interesting character that, for me, brought in some major Indian Jones vibes to the series, that I cannot wait to talk about. But more on that later.
For now, I recommend that when Moon Knight rises on Disney+ Hostar on March 30, 2022, you definitely bask in the light of its first episode, and come back for more. It’s cool, dark, well-paced, and will appeal to the museum and mythology loving geek, the Marvel fan, and the action buff in you in equal measure. Oh and of course, to fangirls like me, the Oscar Isaac and Ethan Hawke loving bits too.
Moon Knight begins streaming with weekly episodes on Disney+ Hostar from March 30, 2022.
