The following are spoilers for Moon Knight episodes 1 through 4.
That Marvel Cinematic UniverseHis first 22 films were among the most impressive achievements of 21st century cinema. Of course, there were ups and downs along the way – nobody putts The incredible Hulk and Thor: The Dark World on their leaderboards. But the way franchise overlord Kevin Feige pulled all of these superheroes together into a coherent continuity was a masterclass in planning and execution.
Unfortunately, things haven’t been the same since Earth’s Mightiest Heroes thwarted Thanos and resurrected the victims of that infamous finger snap. With Iron Man and (the original) Captain America gone, the Infinity Stones are history, and there’s little point in that stage 4 Evolving into another epic finale – we knew Infinity War was coming half a decade before this film’s release – the interconnectivity that was once the franchise’s unique selling point was starting to feel like a millstone around its neck.
then moon knight entered the fray. The latest from Marvel Studios DisneyPlus Adventure might not be the best of its TV offerings in everyone’s mind (though we really enjoyed it), but the show’s willingness to subvert the long-established MCU formula hints at a bright future for the long-running saga. As WandaVision, Moon Knight made some impressively bold storytelling choices, but it also features an entirely unknown cast of characters, a distinct tone, and — at least until Episode 4 — near-complete isolation from the broader MCU. So could this be a glimpse into Marvel’s future?
shifting boundaries
When Marvel Studios started making its own films in 2008, some observers expressed concern about it iron man was too much of a comic book B-lister to headline a successful franchise. That’s despite making his debut in the early ’60s when Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, and Steve Ditko created iconic superheroes for fun.
Hundreds of millions of dollars at the box office quickly proved that assumption wrong, and Marvel subsequently turned relatively unknowns like Guardians of the Galaxy into superstars. Few later Marvel headliners, however, have been as obscure as Moon Knight, a masked vigilante with dissociative identity disorder who receives his superhuman abilities directly from an Egyptian god.
If Marvel had taken a safety-centric approach, they would have given Moon Knight his first appearance in a movie or TV show by another character right when Echo was making her screen debut hawk eye ahead of their own Disney Plus spin-off. Instead, they threw Marc Spector/Steven Grant (played by the brilliant Oscar Isaac) in at the deep end, with no familiar Marvel faces to help introduce.
Moon Knight doesn’t even offer us the comfort blanket (aka the ultimate superhero cliché) of an origin story. Actually the first episode hugs the fact that it’s breaking new ground for Marvel (as we mentioned in our rating), intentionally leaving large gaps in the narrative in which the personality of the gentle museum gift shop employee Steven Grant gives way to that of the mercenary Marc Spector. This is inventive, energetic storytelling that requires both the characters and the audience to figure things out together.
Yes, Moon Knight’s masked vigilante schtick has been in superhero stories for ages, but Marvel heroes — with the exception of Hulk — are usually the same person whether they’re wearing a suit or not. However, Moon Knight turns convention on its head by giving us four distinct personas (Marc, Steven, Moon Knight, and Mr Knight) who are at odds with each other and don’t necessarily share the same goals. Add in the self-serving presence of the moon god Khonshu, and the traditional superhero rules no longer apply.
Indeed, while Moon Knight has the big-budget blockbuster sheen you’d traditionally associate with Marvel, it also pushes the narrative framework further than any of its predecessors (with the possible exception of WandaVision). Episode 4The startling ending of , where Marc and Steven are snapped from their reality to face each other in a mental hospital, comes as a real shocker from a twist that shares more DNA with the defiantly odd X-Men spin-off Legion than a standard -Comic Actioner. And although Marvel’s first steps into the multiverse in WandaVision, Loki and Spider-Man: No Way Home marked bold new territory for the franchise, none of them as widely embraced as Moon Knight’s latest “What is Reality?” twist.
Walk alone
Of course, it’s easier to be radical when your writers and directors aren’t distracted by the broader continuity of the MCU. Moon Knight is arguably Marvel’s first standalone story since Ant-Man, and so far it thrives on the fact that Spector and Grant’s arc has a definite beginning, middle, and (we hope) end.
And for all of Marvel’s brilliance over the past 14 years, that has to be a welcome development. Few could argue that the MCU formula is broken – one of the reasons it’s the most successful film franchise in history is that you kind of know what you’re getting. But every surefire recipe for success has an expiration date, a point at which something that was once fresh and new becomes tired and repetitive.
Marvel isn’t there yet, but with Phase 4 struggling to reach the heights of its predecessor, this is the perfect time to experiment and try something new. For all her dalliances with other genres – the space opera from Guardians of the Galaxy, the political thriller from Captain America, the heist plot of Ant-Man – the MCU’s 27 films and four previous TV shows had a remarkable consistency of tone, a blend of action, clever plot and wit that had its roots in the first Iron Man film. But over time, that consistency becomes less and less desirable.
So it’s perhaps ironic that after a decade in which every film company has tried to ape Marvel’s successful shared universe model, Moon Knight is hinting that the MCU may have a role to play direct current‘s book in which superheroes are allowed to act with a little more independence.
It’s unlikely Feige and co. missed that the quality of the Distinguished Competition’s performance went up a gear when wonder woman, Aquaman and Shazam! embraced their own individual strengths rather than trying to fit into the dark, dreary blueprint that had been laid down by Man of Steel and Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice.
This freer approach has also enabled DC to cater to diverse audiences, with an emphasis on adults joker and The Suicide Squad sit comfortably alongside their more kid-friendly stablemates. Moon Knight’s higher age rating recognizes the fact that while paving the way for potty training, it may not be suitable for a 10-year-old Spider fan Dead Pool to make its long-awaited entry into the MCU.
Across the multiverse
And maybe we, the audience, to need standalone stories like Moon Knight. As Cowardly’s universe expands at its fastest rate ever – in the 16 months since WandaVision debuted, we’ve had more minutes of Phase 4 than Phase 3 in its entirety – we’re just staying tuned in Marvel movie and TV shows is increasingly becoming a Herculean task. Throw in the emerging multiverse – which will only get bigger in the future Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness – and you’re dealing with levels of narrative complexity rarely found in a mass entertainment franchise. Even the labyrinthine conspiracy of game of Thrones has nothing on the MCU.
Thankfully, Moon Knight proved that Marvel can still be Marvel without relying on its vast, interconnected continuity. The MCU may be a feat of ingenious complexity, but sometimes letting a hero find their own path is best. Although when the show ends, set up one Midnight Sons spin offof course we won’t complain.
New episodes of Moon Knight debut Wednesdays on Disney Plus.