#Moon Knight comic meta

[traveller-of-the-knight]

Comics Vs Series: Steven stepping in edition

Moon Knight Vol. 9 Issue 12

[quinn-pop]

couple doodles of @moonmacabre01 ‘s mtdd magical girl designs

i also just started watching futari wa precure so i made them do The Pose

[drifting-pieces-blog-blog]

Masking in the Duat

Or: Unmasking Marc Spector.

The biggest difference we are meant to see between Marc and Steven is the fact that Steven is so open and expressive. When we first meet Marc, he is glaring, stone faced, and so stiff. He is a rock and Steven is water.

In reality, Marc is sand. Slowly breaking down beneath the brutal winds that have been beating at him all his life.

As the show progresses, we see Marc have little breakthroughs of exasperation, irritation, stress, and anger. An eye roll, a twitch of the lips, and pulling away to reset.

We see his exhausted and extreme control to control everything about his emotions. We see him fidget. We see his fingers twitch. We see him sigh and run his hands over his hair.

Ticks or someone that has been taught not to stim. Not to draw attention. Not to show weakness.

When he was younger, he probably bounced his legs till he was chastised to stop. He probably would vocal stim till he was told his voice was too much. He probably excitedly flapped his hands over his favorite show until he started to get hit.

This right here? This is a reset. A lapse in control that he catches and controls. We see it the most around Layla.

The peaks behind the curtain. The way she moves her hands when he starts to close in on himself. His hands are together pressed so tightly in on himself. Look at the way she moves to touch his fingers rather than holding him still or clasping his hands into a cage. She does this while watching his face so intently. She knows. She is opening him up, encouraging him to stim. To touch her fingers. To move.

Even here, when we first see him, cold and trying his best to be intimidating while frustrated. He knows he fucked up here. He knows he fucked up real bad and he isn't smart enough to fix it.

It's the way he settles into that spot. The shift. It's a small shift in feet. A shift from someone that used to walk a little differently. Someone used to the off balance and toe step. A step that has been drilled out of them.

Even just his eyes, intimidating, but honestly a stare that is locked and scared. Look at his arms slowly settle into that "standing man" position he's so good at. He's halfway debating on trying to pretend to be Steven. You can see it in the way his face shifts JUST the smallest bit around the jaw.

Even here. He's in so much pain physically and emotionally. His lips are SO pulled tight. He's probably been tortured before. Used to pain. Used to being hit. Used to hiding how much something hurts. He's breathing through it and rembering his training.

But he's tired and his system stability has been compromised by this point and he's been fighting Steven up to this point (and probably Jake who probably has thoughts about this situation).

The way he goes from full grimace to exhale to a perfectly calm face. He knows how to mask to the extreme.

So what is this? And of course....

Marc is unable to mask in the Duat. Not just because of the extreme stress he is under or the fact that he is dead.

I have a few theories on why:

Being dead, he has no body and has lost the fine control he has gained over the years. Before he could feel the need to express himself and his muscles would shut it down automatically. A sort of self preservation and natural response he has honed over the years.

This of course means that in their head space, he is also unable to mask. Remember the first time he spoke to Steven? The frustration in his voice as he demanded that Steven stop looking? Even when he's seen in the reflections, you see more of Marc's expressions than when he has the body.

2. He is being judged on the boat and being prevented from masking. The duat is seeing his true self to balance on the scales. All those who pass through, might lose the ability to hide themselves. Those who are evil are more evil and easy to see. So here, Marc's true feelings are exposed. His worries, his frustrations, his confusion, his utter reliance on Steven to tend to his emotional state.

In the scene here, Marc's hand is fidgeting and twitching. Many times when Steven is explaining things to Marc in the Duat, we see Marc look to him with utter trust, adoration, and eagerness. He is unable to hide how he feels about Steven. Not the irritation or impatience he showed in the real world, but kindness and love.

Here, we see the real Marc Spector. The real reason why his scales balanced.

A theory on why he was suddenly worthy when Steven went over the edge? All of Marc's love for Steven was realized. It wasn't because he was suddenly 'whole' or 'singular'. But because he was seen to care for Steven. To do everything for Steven. He himself suddenly realized how much he needed Steven and depended on him. (just one of the theories that avoids the implied able-ism that could be taken away from the scene because I am hopeful and want to see the good in Marc and in why he was worthy).

3. He has been separated from his head-mates. Steven, who is his emotional protector is not there to help him reign in his extreme emotions. Jake, who is (in my headcannon) gate keeper and physical protector, is not there to save him and keep away the more harmful memories.

Not to say that Jake or Steven keep Marc masked, but more along the lines of they help Marc not get overwhelmed in certain situations.

4. Mirroring. This is an unfamiliar situation. He has lost his body. He has been separated from Jake and Steven as mentioned above. He is exhibiting the ultimate form of masking, by copying the energy of those around him. He has the same excitement that Steven has. The same open face and more so: When with Harrow, he shuts down and pushes out the same cool exterior while desperately trying to figure out what Harrow wants and how to please him so he can get out of the situation. Something he probably did a lot with his mother. What can he do and display to appease her so she won't hurt him.

Ironically, when Marc mirrors Steven, it shows his true side and we get to see who Marc really is under his gruff exterior: A kind and loving man.

A man that needs someone to see him. To really see him. Who has been afraid his whole life of people seeing the real him while also desperately wishing to be understood.

He still masks once resurrected and out of the Duat, but we see him smile, really smile, when he sees that Layla is alright. We hear the joy in his voice when talking to Steven. We see the fear when he doesn't understand what happened when Jake saved them.

We even see how his face twists and contorts when faced with killing Harrow with Layla and Steven there.

He is a man that does not have to be seen as the cold killer. He is starting to understand that he has found his safe people. People that maybe...just maybe... He can trust enough to be vulnerable and open around. People he can love.

[age-of-moonknight]

“The Once and Future Knight,” Phases of the Moon Knight (Vol. 1/2024), #1.

Writer: Erica Schultz; Penciler: Manuel García; Inker: Sean Parsons; Colorist: Ceci de la Cruz; Letterer: Cory Petit

[racefortheironthrone]

People often say that Moon Knight is "Marvel's Batman," but would his series be a good read for Batman fans, or is it too different in concept or execution?

I think there's a lot of good Moon Knight that Batman fans would enjoy - from the classic 70s stuff where Moon Knight was basically just a crime-fighter with a lot of secret identities (before the DID became a core element of his character) that is pretty close to Batman, orthe "Mister Night" persona that Marc Spector adopted starting in the Warren Ellis run in 2014 that is more of a detective character.

However, I think it's important to not go in expecting Moon Knight to be "Marvel's Batman," because there's all sorts of stuff, from the DID to his Egyptian mysticism, that doesn't really fit within the Batman Venn diagram.

Also, Marvel's Batman is Daredevil, this is already established.

Also, I strongly recommend the Jed MacKay Moon Knight run, because it's fantastic.

[fdelopera]

I....I tried to write a response to the latest Moon Knight discourse and ended up writing a 10 page annalysis on the first four years run of Moon Knight. I'm not good at things...

BUT ANYWAYS.

I haven't read City of the Dead yet (I will read it because I need to see the directions Moon Knight is being taken by each writer so I can keep up my scarily intense spread sheet), but I have seen the discussions and images.

While Marc is not practicing his religion, he is still wrestling with G-D.

He has wrestled with his own sense of self, his spiritualism, his upbringing, his family, his own life and death, and even swaying from being materialistic and giving up everything.

He wrestles with G-D constantly. Challenging the teachings, circles back to them, follows them, breaks them... Every step of his way has been in direct defiance or on the path.

He ran from his father's teachings to be violent and live a life of destruction and pain. In doing so, he learned guilt and forgiveness. He learned the value of life when he took it.

In his death, he saw his own mortality and then rejected it.

I also am starting to wonder if his relationship with Khonshu (comics only) is in his own mind a reaction to his relationship with G-D and his culture.

He serves Khonshu for the life he was given but he resents Khonshu for the path he has taken. He views the powers he was given as a gift and a curse. He goes long stints of ignoring him then grows angry when he calls out and Khonshu doesn't answer.

He argues with Khonshu, rebels, defies him, and always comes back. He hates him and he honors him. He wears the outfit, the mission, the symbols, but he is not going to pray to him or follow the path as dictated.

The biggest difference is that Marc would never declare Khonshu a superior god or outright worship him. He view Khonshu as a being that has a higher power, but that cannot control him. He was not made by Khonshu or in his image. Khonshu is a being that has latched onto him like a parasite and Marc speaks to him in challenge to his ideal of G-D.

I always found it interesting that Marc, written as a Rabbi's son, would fall in with an Egyptian god. A god that was probably around and being worshiped during the exodus.

I've always seen Marc's relationship with Khonshu as another way for him to fight who he is. Who he was supposed to be and who he turned out to be.

Steven, on the other hand, has never been a big Khonshu fan. He loaths the jerk and sees him for what he is (something the show got right). He accepts Khonshu because he recognizes that he can give Marc what he needs to thrive. Keep him alive. Keep him from harming them. Keep him fighting and searching for himself.

I think Steven is not exactly practicing the religion, but upholds a lot of the culture. He's fancy and snotty, but he likes the comfort of ritual.

You are 100% right that Jake is probably the one that keeps the faith in their system. He guards their soul and keeps them humble. He probably would have gotten along with their father to a point. Be a member of the people and help those that need it.

I don't see Marc as an atheist or a true agnostic, but at times he would probably claim he is. I think he is a man that struggles with his religious upbringing so hard that he accidentally embodies it.

While Moon Knight is about a lot of things, I think catholic guilt needs to stay with Dare Devil. I think Moon Knight is about finding and struggling with identity. Always has been. Identity of where you come from, who you are, who you were supposed to be, who you are spiritually and with yourself. Perhaps that is a very Jewish thing to seek?

And I think that this gets written very poorly at times and often forgotten. He will never stand outside of a church and moan about failing god and his culture. But he will put on a kippah and wonder about who he was supposed to be if he had seen that his father was not a coward, but a man trying to change his own path in a world that fell down.

Your analyses are brilliant, as always. What a gift to receive this in my inbox!

Marc's Jewish journey is the journey of so many Jewish people, especially in the decades following the Holocaust and the attempted eradication of the Jewish people.

MacKay describes this beautifully in his run. He captures the sorrow and anger that many Jews have felt towards G-d for the pogroms, the Holocaust, the thousands of years of persecution. Why has G-d abandoned us? Why should we worship a G-d who feels like He is indifferent to us and our suffering?

Marc's anger at G-d is understandable. He witnessed his father, an Orthodox rabbi, be measured and compassionate in the face of antisemitic violence. Marc wanted to take up the Shield of David and destroy those who would hurt his people further.

But that is not the way, not anymore.

After the Romans destroyed the Second Temple and razed Jerusalem to the ground in 70 CE, Judaism had to change. It had to adapt. The Temple was gone, the priesthood was destroyed, and the Jewish people had to figure out how to continue to offer up to G-d. Without the priests offering sacrifices to G-d in the Temple, how would the Jews continue on as a people?

Out of the ashes of that war, Rabbinical Judaism was born. Torah study became the way that Jews offer up to G-d, as it still is today. Judaism became a religion of learning, debate, and discourse, not a religion of war. That is how Judaism would survive.

It's understandable then that Marc would look at the nearly two thousand years of history that came after the destruction of the Second Temple and see only weakness. Jews were slaughtered by the hundreds of thousands. They were sold into slavery and forced to emigrate to Europe. They were sentenced to live in squalor in ghettos and slums. They lived in constant fear of violence at the hands of Christians. And once they seemed to have reached a place of equilibrium, a new Christian power would rise and force them to flee, convert, or die. Pogrom after pogrom, ghetto after ghetto, Jews were marched throughout history towards what was intended to be the utter end. The final solution to the "Jewish question." Then they would die by the millions in the kind of coordinated extermination that only the Romans had been able to attempt before.

Marc looks at Jewish history and he rightly sees a history of pain. He is filled with righteous anger at the way his people have been persecuted, and he wants to lash out. But his rabbi father tells him no, that is not the way. That is not who we are as Jews.

And so Marc rejects the G-d of his father, and he joins the military. He needs a place that will let him channel his anger. And when the military rejects him, he becomes a mercenary. And finally his anger reaches its logical conclusion: death. And yet he does not die. He is resurrected by a god who allows him to pursue justice in the way he has wanted to, through blood.

But Khonshu takes Marc’s righteous need for justice — “tzedek, tzedek, tirdof” (justice, justice you shall pursue) — and the old god twists it into a desire for vengeance and retribution.

Marc has never worshipped Khonshu as a deity, but he does contractually serve the old god as an entity of vengeance. He sees Khonshu as a means to an end — as a means to protect the vulnerable and enact justice on evildoers — and yet he knows deep down that this end doesn’t justify the means he used to get there.

There is a responsibility, a burden, to being a Jew. We are responsible for leading a moral and ethical life, and we are responsible for working towards justice and equality in society. Our duty is to community, not to individualist desires. We have an obligation to the mitzvah of tzedakah, which comes from the word tzedek (justice), and means charitable giving that advances social justice. We have an obligation towards “tikkun olam,” or “repairing the world.”

These are all aims that Marc has pursued, and yet he’s pursued them out of a place of personal pain and anger. He has burned his life down more times than he can count, which has only fueled that pain and anger more.

Yet he’s still trying. And he’s starting to recognize what that pain and anger have cost him. As MacKay writes in the panels above:

“You couldn’t understand before why I take being the fist of Khonshu so seriously, when it’s cost me so much. Cost me everything. It’s because I don’t have anything else left. If I’m not the Fist of Khonshu, whatever I choose to understand that as, then I’m just Marc Spector, the man who makes the wrong choice every time. The man who threw away his religion, his heritage. Killed what family he didn’t bury. The man who brought harm and trauma to everyone who ever cared about him. The man who can’t breathe from the guilt closing over his head, thick as seawater and twice as bitter … I’d rather be anyone else other than that guy.”

While MacKay’s assessment of why Marc is part of a system is pretty problematic in these panels (really wish he hadn't included the line, "No wonder I developed DID," because that only increases stigma), MacKay does get the essence of the Jewish guilt that Marc feels.

Jewish guilt is not guilt for individual sin, like it is in Catholicism. This is one of the big problems that I have with the way that David Pepose is writing Marc in "City of the Dead." Feeling guilty about sin is a Christian notion, and doesn’t really figure in Jewish thought. Jewish guilt is the anguish we feel when we choose selfish, individualist aims that harm our community, our people.

And this is the beauty of MacKay’s run. MacKay understands Marc’s experience of guilt. MacKay’s Marc feels that he “[brings] harm and trauma to everyone who ever cared about him.”

And the natural resolution to that guilt, the way Marc is trying to atone for his actions that have hurt so many, is the establishment of the Midnight Mission. Marc starts the Mission without Khonshu’s direction. This is not part of his contract with the old god.

I think that in the Midnight Mission, we see Marc’s effort to reconnect with his Jewish faith. This is Marc trying to give tzedakah, this is his attempt at tikkun olam. He wants to serve the marginalized and disenfranchised, as he once did (during Moench’s original Moon Knight run). He wants to help his community, his people. And so he opens his doors to those that society has also rejected, and he gives them a home.

And this is really the path forward for many Jewish people. This is how we can channel our sorrow and anger at a legacy of thousands of years of persecution. This is what it is to be the "chosen people." As Jews, we are chosen to have extra responsibilities based on the covenant with G-d. A simple understanding is this: we are not "chosen" to be special; we are "chosen" to do the dishes. As Jews, it is our duty to pursue justice and help those in need.

And it is incredibly meaningful that Jed MacKay, a gentile, has taken the time and done the research to really understand this.

[midnightmissionary]

When I say I'm a marvel fan what i mean is that moon knight is my whole life and I can occasionally just about tolerate the other ones

[wortsandall]

Jake Lockley-the lies we tell ourselves au

buckle in, this one's long next

my biggest inspiration for this whole au was this man right here. mostly from reading fanfiction and thinking-who is this man to me? and noticing the pattern that jake had become kind of one note.

the fanon jake lockley had become a kind of stereotype-the rough macho man, slinging Spanish and banging ladies-and rarely did I see anything go past those interpretations. now there's nothing really wrong with that and I don't mean to shit on anyone's perception or enjoyment of the character.

in the show, the only things we know are that

he fronts in violent moments to get marc and jake out of a bind

he speaks spanish

he has to be the one who asked the woman out at the museum

and thats exactly why we get the jake that we often see.

personally, I just wanted to explore beyond that. maybe as a black person as well i found that one note portrayal to almost be in poor taste and starts to infringe on some Latino stereotypes even if it's not purposeful. (again you do you. and I don't mean to speak over any Latino voices who may feel differently)

but jake to me can go so much deeper than that. the framing of him as the "violent" alter is so harmful when it comes to D.I.D. we all remember split. those that are uninformed about disorders like D.I.D usually don't see the harm that can come in that kind of portrayal or can be dismissive. I don't have D.I.D myself, but I do have an unfinished psych degree focusing on abnormal psych and dissociative disorders and a LOT of free time.

my main point being that I didn't want jake to just be the violent alter. it was so obvious to me that jake engages in violence as a form of protection. and that alone brings so much more depth to his character. jake only fronts in the show to get them out of a dangerous situation. and when he doesn't have to kill-he doesn't. like with the kid.

so jake immediately screamed protector to me. and the violence that comes as his form as protection is the most effective that we've seen. it's not about making sure that marc feels okay with what's been done or happy. it's about keeping them physically safe.

tw for discussions of abuse, bullying

the show shows us that marc, and in extension all the boys were abused by their mother. it may be jumping to conclusions but my next thought would be that's where jake gets the violence from. and I don't mean that he enjoys it or wishes to hurt people like he was hurt as some sort of outlet. but that now they get some kind of control over when and how they are hurt.

to make some more leaps, I thought that it's not far-fetched to believe that there could be bullying in their childhood due to potentially being seen talking to themselves. or if I wanted to make it sadder, for being both Jewish and Latino. I've seen my fair share of mixed people being forced to "pick" one or being ostracized for not fitting in the way they are supposed to.

hell, I'm fully black and have had to deal with not fitting the standard due to the way I speak, or dress, or what music I listen to, etc. if something like that was going on, I can imagine dots being connected. that in order to be left alone-violence can actually be the answer.

my mom beats me -> I tend to stay clear of her as much as I can -> these kids are bothering me -> I can make them steer clear of me

and if I'm hurt -> then its my choice -> a side effect of being in a fight -> not something done on purpose to me

I imagine that's jakes origins. he's not great for anything else in his eyes, that's all he's used to. marc wouldn't register these fights as anything abnormal. marc sees himself as broken and angry, and even as a child I think that's what he would boil these fights down to. he wouldn't remember the specifics of it-just the aftermath. feeling so angry then nothing but seeing the bully on the ground holding his nose. and just fill in the blanks for himself.

as a physical protector, jake's concern is physical safety. as they get older and they end up in psych wards or other mental facilities after their dad's growing concern about the out of character behavior. (steven, not knowing how to be covert) jake would be more aware. they are in this strange place, away from what's familiar and being treated like an invalid.

I think jake would front much more often, even if he's just watching from a corner of marc's mind. he'd be used to that kind of hyper vigilance. I don't want to demonize mental health facilities, though I know that a lot of them can be very harmful. but I don't think marc would be the one causing "trouble" in there, nor is steven.

this is where the other alters that I want to add for this au to come in. where marc remembers these wards as no big deal and steven has zero memory. but jake remembers more of the unpleasant aftermath caused by outbursts of a different alter leo. I'll get into him and what I imagine his character to be in a different post but just know that this is leo's origin: the wards they were in and out of as a teenager.

I think that once they left, they weren't fully an adult. maybe 17, about to turn 18 but marc hits the bricks. tired of his mother's abuse and his father's enabling of it. I imagine that in those couple months before 18, marc would rather be anywhere else. and jake would be the one helping with that, guiding marc without him realizing. turning them away from potential areas of danger, fully fronting in order to fight off a robber. I don't think this would be a long period-maybe a month or two. and that's why marc thought they could just leave until the military. (jake, tired of being the one to watch marc's stupid ass would wish that marc had just toughed it out at home until their 18th birthday. their mother was a known danger, the streets are not)

joining the military and everything after is mostly marc. jake only fronting similarly to the show, in life and death situations. steven and the other two alters wouldn't be fronting at all. and in these long year periods is where I think jake's role would change slightly. as marc learns how to better protect himself on his own, jake would become more of a gatekeeper. maybe not a great one, still concerned more about their physical safety than anything else.

"survive. don't die." that's jake's priority. so in these combat scenarios it is impertinent that alters who can't fight, won't. in this sole endeavor, he becomes a gatekeeper. anything that might trigger steven and the others gets heavily locked down. he has a tight hold on the front, making sure only he or marc could possibly do it. I can't imagine he'd be able to keep that tight hold at all times. maybe there's small moments where their guard is down and any of the others could front for a moment. but for the most part, he's successful.

and when he gets tired of this, maybe the others are starting to front more or marc's fatigue starts to impact him, he makes the decision that in order to stay alive, they have to go. and that he's the one who tried to leave in a fugue state.

we all know what happens next and fast-forwarding through that, jake has less of a need to front. marc has the suit now. but jake is still a gatekeeper. marc's belief that steven and everything that came with that was over is partly due to jake keeping them all neatly held back and marc unaware.

due this backstory of jake's I don't imagine him getting out much. he hasn't had time for much else and doesn't know who he is outside of protecting them. after their mother's Shiva, I think jake would be the reason why marc and steven's life start to recombine. that he'd notice how shaken marc is after her death and know that it's not a problem that he can fight. so steven starts to front more, taking the brunt of these emotional moments. jake takes an even further step back, thinking steven has his role. as a caretaker and emotional protector this would be good for marc.

in this relative calm, where marc is trying (and failing) to balance his life and steven's, jake has a lot of time on his hands. maybe he watches how marc crafts a fake life for steven and thinks that it'd be nice to have one of his own-but not know how to go about it. he's never really been a person. in his eyes. he doesn't know how to be. so maybe he takes a small step on asking out the woman at the museum (I can't remember her name or if it's ever been mentioned, sorry)

thats the last part of fanon jake that I would like to dissect. I know in the comics I've read (and its only the 2016 and 2021 ones I apologize for that) there are references to this "woman-loving" personality. there are scenes where marc, steven, and jake are all talking and jake is in a club environment with dancers. and for me, it's never read as him being some kind of playboy hounding or thirsting after woman. in most of these scenes, jake is namely talking about finding community and people to care for in the rougher crowds. the crowds that might frequent these types of areas and crowds.

that's what I'd like to focus in on. jake may be a part of a system but it is a fairly isolated one. and part of that is due to his choices, but that doesn't mean he can't yearn for community. jake would be around during the time that marc was with layla. I imagine he'd probably have fronted a number of times as well. jake wouldn't know to navigate more emotional and intimate moments making him uncomfortable around her. he's covert enough to pretend to be marc in day to day scenarios, but not this. at the same time he'd see the way they interact and clearly love each other and become envious. so when he gets a chance, he tries it out for himself. though he never gets to go on that date.

all this to say jake lockley is aroace. he wants connection, community, family. due to circumstances both in and out of his control he'd never experienced that. and the couple times he has, it's been in a romantic sense. so he tries to copy that, thinking maybe that will be the key. but it isn't. he doesn't need that. he just needs some form of intimate connection to help him learn and remember how to be human. not just as a weapon, not just as a human shield. but as a person with his own wants and needs and personality outside of what the system wants.

that's my jake lockley.

the lies we tell ourselves au masterpost

[tiptapricot]

Moon Knight City of the Dead Issue 1… why…?

So. New MK side run has begun, the hyped up full on debut of Layla/new Scarlet Scarab in the comics, with a premise that most writers would twist into an epic and breathtaking journey.

We don’t get that here.

And I have a lot of thoughts on why and how I feel so frustrated with what we got. There’s pieces of something awesome, potential to go to some really fascinating places, and yet it is held back in almost every aspect, creating something messy and clunky that makes me mad to read.

(This is long btw)

First off though, some things I did enjoy!

I really love the art and coloring of this issue. The anatomy and movement and shadows, the stylization of character’s faces and costumes, the sprawling city with its deep reds and blues that feel saturated and weighty. It’s great. Besides a few moments that it comes out of left field with some bad stuff (Layla’s whole face at the end or the MK mask w teeth during the memory slideshow like whaTtt is that), it’s super solid and made for a very enjoyable looking comic.

It was also really fun to see Badr for a little. I think it would’ve been cool to get more, and the pacing of things as I’ll get to later sapped his importance in the story for me some, making him feel more like a prop or a plot device to get it going, but overall it was lovely to see him again. And it was cool to see him being a doctor as well, as we haven’t seen that as recently in MacKay! Always a joy my dear sir please come back soon.

The story in concept. Going to the underworld, detaching a headmate supernaturally to journey to a different plane of reality to save one life, and meeting a dead ally along the way is fascinating stuff, an idea that inspires me to want to explore it myself.

Because (and now it’s time to get into the stuff I didn’t like) the writing doesn’t do this idea justice at all.

This is not the worst MK comic ever rn, not their worst writing. It’s not as violently ableist or antisemitic as things like Bemis or making a joke out of MK like some others, but it’s just stupid, and what it glosses over or gets wrong is weird and uncomfortable and harmful in its own right.

To start this isn’t my Marc. His guilt is not one of punishment for penance, of believing he’s sinned and needs to be washed clean by pain. He is a man stuck in bad coping mechanisms and trying to pretend he’s not. He’s a man who hates himself and uses violence as what I would describe as a form of self harm. But it is not with the goal of erasing his past.

Yes, he runs from the person of Marc Spector, he runs from the idea and the responsibility, but Marc doesn’t try to forget. He holds onto things with a vice grip and never lets himself drop it. He believes in his own mythos and is grappling with his complicated and traumatized history to remember he can love and care and trust people again, that the work of making his life better is not solely on his shoulders. That’s what MacKay’s been dealing with.

MacKay Marc is guilty and self flagellating but in a way he tries not to think about, that he brushes over. He puts on an air of confident collectedness and has more hate for Marc as a concept then specifically his actions, and he’s still able to move forward and find a type of momentum and bravado in the MK suit.

Or in simpler terms: yes Marc has guilt. He does not have this kind of guilt.

The first few pages read so strangely, just this over dramatic spiel that feels more like daredevil than moon knight, like a rehashed dramatic intro to a moody sad 90s comic. And not in a good way. It’s not deep it’s just annoying and tedious and the prose is clunky and again, extremely off in its vibes and message. I think it could’ve been alright, if some of the talk of his guilt had been shifted and the narration hadn’t continued constantly throughout the rest of the issue (which I’ll get to later), but as is in its full context it’s just… weird.

In addition to the weird guilt vibes, there’s further issues with the Khonshu religiosity in this.

Khonshu isn’t something Marc worships, he’s something he uses for his own means. He’ll call on him or talk about being the priest of the mission, but that’s because Khonshu doesn’t have oversight, he’s a tool and form of direction and theming, and at the story’s core Marc is the priest for his mission, not this god’s.

At points in this issue he genuinely sounds dedicated though, and it shifts the flavor of earlier pieces more in line with his usual monologuing to seeming more like strange spiritual devotion. Especially calling Khonshu the greatest of great gods, or saying that him being in the underworld is Khonshu’s mission. It changes his actions from that of Marc to that of a real Khonshu follower and its…. Just weird. It’s all just weird and very ooc.

On top of that, there’s no mention or interrogation or even presence of discussing Judaism alongside all of this. I’m not Jewish myself but have had multiple convos around the topic w those who are n who have made their own posts discussing it and can add on more nuance n info to this should they like (bc more thoughts for discussion are always awesome), but just on a surface level it’s strange. It’s strange to have a plot revolving around going to another belief system’s afterlife and not at all bringing up how it clashes or relates to Jewish beliefs. Yes Marc isn’t really actively practicing anymore but I’d hazard Jake probably is, and Marc has still talked about his connection to his faith and how it’s impacted his time as moon knight and serving Khonshu.

The text treats the Egyptian pantheon belief system as the True and Accepted default here, with Marc not even discussing anything about going to an afterlife he doesn’t belong in (and shouldn’t even have) as a Jewish man, or even thinking about how Badr discussing Ka conflicts with Jewish beliefs on the soul and how Neshamah differ.

And yes, Marc works regularly with the very real Egyptian pantheon and mystical systems but it’s in a different way, and under a different context and understanding by readers of his acceptance of it.

A whole other layer of depth, conflict, and exploration could’ve been added by really digging into the theological implications of this plot, of a Jewish soul in the Egyptian afterlife, and yet it’s not brought up at all, not referenced or mentioned and it makes it all feel weirdly out of place, or like stuff is being glossed over.

That, on top of Jake and Steven (not to mention the entire rest of the main mission cast) being completely absent in mention, consultation, presence, or anything just feeds into this strange sense of Pepose wanting Marc to be the idea he has of him in his head, this guilty, sad, and violent merc serving a moon god with not a ton else. And yes again those are all aspects of Marc, but there is nuance to each of those aspects and treating him as a singlet with no thoughts on the conflicts in faith of his present is… just weird.

I don’t know if he’ll be treated as a singlet the whole run, but the fact that the body’s soul being sent into the afterlife has not already brought in any system conflict at all is an issue. Is it their collective soul? Is it just Marc’s? How does this comic understand alter soul distinction? Has it thought about it at all? I mean the answer is no but the thing is it should’ve.

That’s where so many of my issues with this come from though: choices just being… not good. Not thought out or in line with the characters and world. The writing is off and out of place and gOD THE CONSTANT NARRATION IS GRATING!!

I don’t know why it was chosen for Marc to novel write his thoughts and observations the whole issue but it’s bad. It goes past introducing plots or observations that can’t be shown in text to either:

1. Filling space that doesn’t need to be filled

2. Restating what has just been said or shown in a panel (“we have the power of the four horsemen” “wow they just got the power of the four horsemen”)

3. At worst, telling us stuff that was not indicated at all by anything else (“oh I know something is wrong here even though I have not been given enough reason to pique that suspicion” “oh I reunite with Layla and hold her and take her in but haha you don’t see that ig”)

It’s annoying and makes reading things difficult because he’s blabbering on the whole time in places he DOESNT NEED TO!! And it makes the action and emotional movement feel awkward and forced. I don’t need to know every second of Marc’s thoughts Pepose I can parse out things with my eyes I promise you that. Also can he stop talking about penance for TWO SECONDS!!!

The worst part is narration works when done well! When it highlights things that can’t be shown in art or gives some bits of exploration into feelings or exposition, but we don’t need it in every panel. It actually confused some parts of where to look for me by telling me what was about to happen before it did. Stop being like “I thought it was over but—“ JUST LET US SEE ITS NOT OVER!!

Another moment (similar ish to the start) where the narration would’ve worked for me (if it was not surrounded by just more constant narrating monologue) is when Marc first arrives in the Duat. The prose is pretty, it’s vibrant, it describes things the audience wouldn’t be able to pick up from static pictures and helps to set the scene. The only issue is that it doesn’t stand on its own, it’s not an interjection of observations and thoughts, it’s another entry in the never ending cycle of Marc just talking. And it loses some of its luster because of that.

There’s also just a handful of pieces of either dialogue or thoughts that (in the context of Steven and Jake being absent at the moment despite not being absent at the point in time this should be taking place) make me feel very uncomfortable with Pepose’s vibes on their mental health. Some lines that rubbed me the wrong way in context include “The rage fills within me—and suddenly I have a plan. That said, it would help if my plan wasn’t dangerously insane.” “You know me Badr, mental discipline is my middle name.” And a few similar ones I don’t want to reread again for.

They’re just unnecessary man. We don’t need vaguely or directly ableist vibes in words with MK anymore. It works if it feels like it’s coming from Marc’s internalized ableism IE when he was talking about being called crazy during the discussion with Steven and Jake and Jake called him out for it, but when it’s obvious it’s just how the author sees things it sucks!

Stop using insane, stop using crazy, stop being like “oh I’m so good at keeping myself in check,” WE DONT NEED IT!! ALSO THEY R AT A GENERAL POINT OF SYSTEM COMMUNICATION N HARMONY RN!!

Which also just… man this feels like it’s trying to introduce MK instead of continuing an already established and well under way arc. Yea, this isn’t MacKay writing it, but it’s still in the continuity and set up for his run and like… sorry not sorry but I think you should take that context into account if you’re going to be working within it???

Instead the story props itself up by trying to introduce everything at once and Marc feels like he’s starting from the bottom of development.

And speaking of introducing everything at once! Oh boy the pacing!

No one besides Badr is consulted before Marc goes into the Duat, Badr just. Sends him there. There’s no real build up for why there’s a need go that far, for what the threat is or why Marc would go to these lengths so suddenly. Like yeah I know he wants to save a kid who’s a traveler of the night, but like… Others have died or almost died on his watch and he’s never gone to this point before, even though it seems like it’s always something they’ve had as an option. Like… ok ig if Soldier hadn’t been vamped he would just be dead lmao (though also hey! Why and how do souls end up in this afterlife? Do they have to believe in the gods? Do they have to be in some way tied to the pantheon? Is it just where souls go if they’re near moon knight lmaO? If you want to have your afterlife plot you have to do the worldbuilding for it)

And while yes, a lot of this is because This Plot Wasnt Thought Up During Earlier Parts Of Mackay, it also isn’t introduced in a way that feels natural or makes sense.

Events just Happen. Mysteries or drives are just Said without a good basis for why they’re there. Again, this cult was talked about as just kinda a sadistic gang but then they’re a big deal? And oh the kid is dying and oh he’s worth going to the afterlife for and OH WERE JUST HERE NOW and “oh there’s a conspiracy I’ve decided with no real evidence” and HEY FOUND THE GUY and—Suddenly a whole lot of what is happening. God heart full on cult horsemen of the apocalypse memory flashback and BOMBS NOW APPARENTLY and LAYLA and MK BIG PAST BADDIES BOSS FIGHT INCOMING!!

Like ohhhh my god stuff is so rushed and happens so inorganically and with no time to really understand what’s happening. It’s a type of story where my suspension of disbelief isn’t there and it fully just feels like seeing the writer trying to get to the end goal of what they want to write about (moon knight fighting old villains) as quickly as possible. And it SUCKS! Like this genuinely should’ve been more than one issue, there should’ve been at least sOme more build up to gEtting to the city of the dead in the first place, no matter additionally uncovering a plot of some sort happening and Layla turning up.

It’s just…. It’s so rushed and strange and forced and it didn’t have to be and IT MAKES ME MAD IT IS and it’s just not enjoyable to read. It all feels so shallow and stilted and weird, all while having this underlying idea with so much weight, some generally gorgeous art, some moments that could’ve been really awesome, and last but not least…. Literally a good reference to doing a Duat plot well.

This whole mini run is for MCU synergy, bringing Layla in, exploring the Duat and it’s lore, and again yes, the run isn’t done, but it just…. Compared to the MCU plot for the Duat this feels so…. GraaggHhggh. Especially when it comes to system interaction and exploring different painful memories that effect headmates in different ways.

It’s just. It was an extremely frustrating read from both a technical writing standpoint and a character exploration standpoint, and it worries me and doesn’t excite me at all for future issues. Like we’ll sEe but goddamn this is not a good start no matter how it plays out and it doesn’t give me confidence if it turns out I have to read several more issues of this kind of stuff.

Petty nitpicks speed run because there wasn’t enough enjoyable padding for them to not stand out!

I don’t know if Pepose could’ve specified or not but Marc’s not drinking vodka in the opening scene, it looks more like whiskey or something similar by the bottle, again nailing home how strangely off this Marc is from the Marc he’s meant to be with how Mackay has built him up.

Why do they use Duat and City of the Dead like they’re interchangeable titles it’s just the Duat like I get calling it “the city of the dead” since it is that but like. Let that just b the run title they shouldn’t be calling it that like it’s a final name.

They misspell Dr. Alraune’s name lmao

How did the kid get… hurt..? The only point in the opening fight I can think he maybe got hit was with the gunfire but it didn’t seem like that was aimed towards him and there wasn’t any moment of having a detail in the background showing him get injured. And he wasn’t lethally injured at the start so ???

What… is the continuity between the Hydra vs Karnak Cowboys fight we see in MacKay and the flashback here. They were on an empty road there when they crashed? And now they’re in the heart of the city? AlsO bOMBS???

Anyway all I’ll wrap it up with is when the only thing I genuinely smile at is the cameo and namedrop of Apocalypse you know something is wrong with your story lmaO

[macbethz]

The more I think about it the more I’m like I do not want this authority movie to happen actually

[traveller-of-the-knight]

Ok, so!

You know all the "Doctor Strange Astoprojects the mk system and we cinematically see the three alters slipping out of the body.

But but but hear me out!

What about Dr. Strange trying to push one person out of his body and failing because it is actually a system and he needs more strength to push them away.

So Strange would hit their chest multiple times expecting something to happen but uh-uh nothing and poor Steven tries to get away from him.

Eventually he puts more effort and manages to do something, that is making Jake front by pushing Steven away from the front and suddenly gets slapped by him.

Jake gets into a fist fight with Strange while Strange tries to use his powers to teleport Jale away from him.

Eventually he manages to astroproject them for a second and he sees Jake and Marc splitting from the body holding hands until Steven pulls them back in.

They are together in this they won't let anyone separate them, Strange needs to try harder.

[drifting-pieces-blog-blog]

Breaking down the Comics: Elias Spector's Death

Okay. Okay. I'm going to try to be....a little comprehensible.... I'm going to fail. Just a warning. 

I want to talk about the first run of Moon Knight. Specifically the last issues of the first run. There were 38 issues in the very first run of their own comic. After that, they reached out to a larger audience and started to print differently and started over with #1 because comics suck at a comprehensible numbering system. 

In the start, we meet Marc Spector, see him have a conflict of heart, die, come back, and become Moon Knight. He starts to add in identities of Jake and Steven as a way to be anyone else but Marc Spector and claims they are just him starting over and trying to use their lives as a way to do things better. (a system that has not yet realized that it is a system. Denial is not just a river). 

We see him fight some of his villains that start to play bigger parts later in the series. We see him make friends as Jake and money and love as Steven. We see bits of his past and some stories of Marc Spector’s adventures. We meet Randall and even get to see Marc fail to save people (Crowly’s son, Randall, Gena’s friend). We see him struggle with Khonshu and his identity a bit. We even see him break down a couple times. 

But the way that fist run ends is to me the real defining moment for Moon Knight. Let’s take you to: 

Issue #37, The Ghost.

It opens with Elias dying of cancer in a hospital in Chicago. On his deathbed, he calls for Marc. 

The comic notes that they have been estranged for 18 years. 

In this comic, Steven has finished organizing the files on Marc and is still grappling with the fact that he and Marc are in fact two different people. He thinks once he has organized Marc’s life, he can lock it up and they can become Steven Grant forever and never have to deal with that unpleasantness again. 

Up to this point, we have been seeing them struggle with their identities. Still under the illusion that they are one man putting on different identities who can't decide what life to live. 

Understandable, considering that Marc does not want to be Marc anymore. Steven detests the life that was lived as Marc and Jake pushes back on both lives, wanting to be with friends and a simple man of the people. 

In many ways, Marc only surfaces when things of the past come up. He refuses to acknowledge that he's still around and when he is faced with that fact, he is stressed and full of rage. 

We've seen clips of Marc's past. We see him working as a guide for not always good people through tough parts of the world. We see him working for hire with the Feds in capturing a runner. We see the CIA and world organizations hiring him. Is it any wonder that he's so skilled? That his past is often overlooked when it comes to SHIELD and other entities, because he probably not only worked for them, but probably also carried out shady business for them. But that's a different story. 

In this issue, we see Steven watching a recording of one of the missions Marc was on. "Spector led a scout team. We took a terrorist camp in a cross border operation. The only problem was that our  .50 caliber gunners couldn't be bothered with fine distinctions between terrorists, women, and children." 

As much as we'd like to see Marc as a man of misfortune and circumstance, he wasn't always a good guy. He often tried his best to be good in his missions, often feeling conflicted and trying to save people or turning on those that he found to be of bad character, but sometimes he was a bad guy. 

It's important to see these bits so we can better understand Marc and his intense trauma, his guilt, and his self hatred. 

This issue uses this to show how far away from his father's teachings Marc fell. How he pushed so hard against his father that he ended up on the other side. 

In my books, this is the most important Moon Knight story. The story of where he came from. Of his father and his faith. 

His parents fled to America when Germany took over Czechoslovakia. In Europe, his father had been a great man that was "ordained a Rabbi at eighteen, and went on to become a brilliant scholar in the Kabbalah, Jewish Mysticism." 

They moved to the poor side of Chicago where his father tried to teach him that "God loves a poor man. [...] Poor in goods, rich in spirit." (Something Jake Lockley adheres to). 

Here, they suffered antisemitism. They were beaten and used as scapegoats for everything wrong. 

Interestingly enough, he sites that his mother died when he was just a child. with the frequent beatings, fear, and death of his mother, it's any wonder Marc suffered some trauma?He became angry at his father for not standing up for himself or them. 

His father wanted him to study to become a Rabbi and Marc turned to boxing and self defense. 

When his father tries to stop him during a fight, he punches him. His father disowns him and kicks him out. 

The next day Marc joined the Marines. He focused "for eight years" to become the best. When he was the best, he became a mercenary. 

If you jump forward several writers, you find out that he was dishonorably discharged from the Marines for bouts of dissociation and mental health. But let's stay focused on the original story. 

Steven has found out that their father is dying and he is refusing to go back. "He said he never wanted to see me again, he meant it. I won't go back." 

An important aspect of this comic is that Marlene notes herself to be Steven's lover, confidant, and guru. 

She acts as their guide in matters of the mind and heart. She's always the one that calms them and helps them to reconcile when the three of them start to fight one another and don't know who they are. 

Despite her not understanding his DID, and they themselves not understanding it, she is a huge help for them. 

I have a lot of conflicting thoughts and opinions on Marlene, but it's good to note that she was originally written as a very important part of his story. 

"Marc Spector was always an escapist. When your relationship with your brother Randall soured you just forgot him for ten long years until it was too late and he died hating you. I can feel what kind of spin you're in, Steven, but you have to accept the responsibility, make amends now. Steven Grant and Moon Knight have no fathers. Only Marc Spector does." 

That's a very interesting view into all their relationships and how they keep one another at arms length. Jake, Steven, and Marc refuse to believe they have the same past, responsibilities, or life. 

Yet, when Marc is struggling with dealing with the approaching death of his father, and facing him, Steven takes the floor and tries to help Marc get out of it. (Just like Jake jumping out the window later in Lemier's version of the story. Always running...Maybe I'll do something on that later...) 

While out being Moon Knight, he comes across a Synagogue on fire. He sees a man run into the burning building and finds a Rabbi struggling to save the Torah from the fire. 

"The five books of Moses. He put his life on the line for this. My father would have done the same, I'll bet. Though he wouldn't lift a finger against the thugs who bullied him. I guess every man's got his own reason for being a hero." 

He finds out that the fire was set on purpose by NeoNazis. It reminds him of when he was a child and he flies into a rage. 

"I'm not about to let these Nazi goons get off with 'Malicious mischief' and a slap on the wrists." 

He's been through this before. There is weight to the thought that a lot of Marc's childhood trauma stems from dealing with religious trauma and antisemitism. 

I think as time moves on, we forget the time period that Moon Knight is set in. He isn't just a child of a jewish immigrant. 

His father fled the Holocaust. There is a high likelihood that friends and family did not make it out. Marc grew up hearing about relatives he lost. Knowing that his blood line probably didn't make it out of Europe. That there are no pictures of his ancestors. That he can't go back and see the old houses and towns. 

His father was a Rabbi, which means he was in a big part of a Jewish community that also probably fled or flat out came from the camps. He grew up seeing the tattoos, the poor health, the people with PTSD, and hearing the stories. 

We're talking severe Generational Trauma. 

When Marc finds the Nazi scum that burned the synagogue he has some of my favorite lines that define him: 

"You know where I belong, punk? I belong with the decent and innocent folk who can't find a moment's peace. Not in the streets, not in their own homes, so long as punks like you terrorize them. I belong with the persecuted." 

Detective Flint shows up and stops him before he kills them. (I honestly forgot Flint went back to the beginning. That poor man has dealt with so much Moon shit.) 

Marc realizes he needs to face things and heads to Chicago. 

But he is too late. He arrives in time for the funeral. He's handed a kippah and he puts it on for the first time in years. 

Now, we get to learn a bit about Elias. 

We come to find him as a man in desperate search of Self and Spirit. A man who was so stern and severe but also a man that sought truth and a just way to live. 

His line of research focused on the "knowledge to see beyond the physical. To know the universe as a reflection of the divine image and to see mankind redeemed..." 

It discusses how the body cannot meet G-d, but only the spirit and only in death can the spirit travel. 

We find out later that he was seeking a way to bring back the departed who have met with G-D and the other side. 

A man that refused to fight back against those that had done him wrong, who believed that given enough time that G-D would punish those that had brought them harm. 

A man that sought for a way to face G-D after watching a world try to wipe his people off the very earth. An interesting thought. 

During the eulogy, Marlene reflects that "It's almost as though he were speaking of you as Steven Grant. A man in search of self and spirit who rejected Marc Spector's materialism to become Moon Knight - A social conscience and moral force, just, severe, unknowable." 

Steven later goes to visit their father's grave at night and comes across some thugs spray painting a swastika on some of the grave stones and vandalizing them. He’s emotional and outraged that even here there is no peace to be found. It turns out this was all a distraction as someone has stolen his father's corpse! 

Issue #38, And the dead shall rise: (I love that cover). 

We see Moon Knight struggling with his identity. Elias was not a father to them all. Marc is emotional and pissed, but still refusing to take responsibility for his part in all this. 

"Moon Knight will find his...Marc Spector's father and return him to the dignity of a final resting place..." Steven refuses to say ‘my father’. Any mention of Elias is always in relation to Marc and even Marc can’t make himself be present when talking about his father. 

Marlene is tasked with helping to clear out Elias' study and donate his papers and books to the university when she's attacked by someone who runs off with some of the papers. 

Steven returns and has a small break down. "I'll find him, Marlene, and I'll kill him for desecrating my father's grave and memory!" "That's Marc Spector the cold - hearted mercenary talking, not you stev--" "How long can I deny it, Marlene. I AM Marc Spector!" 

And Marc is finally taking charge. The first time he has taken ownership of his father and how he feels. 

He sees his father in a new light. 

"I may have misjudged my father's saintliness for cowardice and his genius and moral zeal for fanaticism. [...] And isn't moon knight in his own way a moral zealot fighting perhaps for the very same values Marc Spector once rejected?" 

Now that is an interesting way to look at it. Moon Knight is about doing the right thing. About protecting those that need it. About believing in something unkillable and powerful. Moon Knight is about an idea of man being more than he is. Is this not what his father believed in? 

We learn that Elias had uncovered a way to bring a soul back to the dead body with necromancy where it could then "utter its knowledge of God to a living Kabbalist." 

Turns out one of Elias' students decided to test this out on Elias' freshly dead body. 

He does manage to resurrect the dead body of Elias, who zombie walks towards Moon Knight. 

Marc immediately starts having flashbacks and intense guilt. Even with his dead father trying to strangle him, he refuses to fight back: "No! I'll die before I ever lay my hands on him again, I swear it! Father, forgive me-" 

Marlene shows up and manages to break the spell, sending Elias back to death. 

Marlene tends to save him a lot in the earlier runs. Just something to note. 

Marc once more is not present. Curled up on the floor after melting down, he is beyond emotional and most likely dissociating out the wazoo. "I found him, Marlene... I found...Spector's father." 

Once more, Marc is being protected. Marc, who hated how his father sheltered him and wanted to feel the real world in violence and brutality is often in need of being sheltered. Steven, who wants to rid himself of Marc and the past is often doing the sheltering. 

When it comes to emotions, Marc is often the one being overcome. Either in fits of anger and rage, guilt and regret, or just overwhelmed in sadness or traumatic responses. Steven Grant is usually the one that is shown to be calm and collected. 

In fact, at the start of the issues, when Steven is watching Marc’s tapes and going through his things, he’s detached and unemotional. Steven has the ability to see things from a different perspective of ‘useful’ and ‘Not useful’. It’s rare that Steven responds to things with emotion unless Marc is involved and they are arguing or Marc has put them or someone he cares about in danger. 

Frankly, it’s possible that Steven is the caretaker in the early comics. Mackay has shown that Steven not only manages their finances, but their hygiene and body care. He’s the rational and logical one. The one that can face down a villain without reacting. He’s also the one that does all the exercises and rehab when Marc puts them in a wheelchair. 

The story ends with them returning home to New York. Steven notes that they almost died because of Marc's emotions. He also notes that Marc seems to have resolved some of the bitterness that was held with his father's memory. He comments that he feels a peace of mind and like a whole new person. 

Steven and Marc featured heavily in this with Steven shielding Marc without even realizing he was doing it. And as a system that has not come to full realization yet, it is possible that Steven is starting to understand here, which is why he feels like a whole new person at peace with himself. 

This is also how the first run of Moon Knight as a stand alone comic ended. 1980-1984. 

Before this issue, Jake was featured heavily. Steven was the mansion party pretty boy that lounged around with Marlene. Jake was the one out doing his reconnaissance and hanging with Gena and Crowley. 

It was a good connection to link Steven and Marc’s past with the father and Jewish faith. Jake would have been easier to connect. Jake is the son that Marc wishes he had been. 

But Jake is emotional. Jake wants nothing to do with Marc’s bloody past. Calls him a killer and would be happy to spend all day in his cab. If anything, when Steven and Marc talk about Jake, it often feels like two older brothers talking about a goofy but kind younger brother. 

A few issues earlier, when they ended up in a wheelchair for a time, Steven lamented that he didn’t think he could give up driving Jake’s cab, as it brought him too much joy. 

So I can see why this issue needed Steven to be involved. Steven doesn’t know who he is at this point. He hasn’t been defined and given the chance to figure out what makes him happy and tick. Jake has already broken off and figured out who he is. He knows he’s Jake Lockley. But who is Steven Grant aside from Marlene’s eye candy and the rich boy? 

Settling Marc’s past, seeing who he was and where he was coming from, protecting him, and facing down the Nazi threat was eye opening for him. Much like in the show, Steven needed to see where they came from to see where he belonged. 

Does it get easier for Steven and Marc to interact after this? Not really. Marc is still self destructive and a danger to them. But I think when Marc falls down that path, it’s easier for Steven to know where Marc is coming from. To help him get out of the spiral and let them function. 

An interesting aspect is how much Marc’s past has been re-written over and over again by different writers. His mother’s role, his relationship with his brother, his religious handlings, his trauma, and his violent past are redesigned each time a new writer gets their hands on him. 

No one really knows how to handle Marc’s relationship with G-D or his specific type of trauma. Marc’s guilt is’t because he betrayed his culture or religion. He didn’t turn his back on that. His fate with heaven and hell are constructed by Christian writers that don’t understand or research things well enough. 

Marc’s pain is that he can’t let go of the choices he made. The regrets of relationships that he turned his back on weigh heavily on him. His inability to save people and the times he didn’t try when he should have are agony to him. 

“You can’t save everyone, but you have to try.” Marc’s problem is that he will break himself trying. He can’t handle the thought that he can’t save everyone. Each one he loses is a scar on him that eats away at him as another example of him destroying everything good in his life. 

Marc has gotten to the point where a flower would wilt and he’d take it as a personal hit that he didn’t try hard enough. 

He lost his brother. He was too late for his father. He couldn’t help Marlen’s father. Marc needs the reminders that sometimes he has to lay down and rest. Steven tends to be that reminder. 

When Marc forgets that he’s more than just a killer, Steven steps in and tells Marc to sit down and shut up. He is balance and control that both Marc and Jake lack and I really wish we got to see more of this, especially in current writings. 

I want to see that Marc is the emotional hot head. That Jake is the heart and soul. That Steven is the cool and collected protector. I want to see them wrestle with G-D in a way that makes sense to them. I want to see how Marc has healed and how they are processing their trauma. I want them to show that they can work together and know what one another needs. I want them to show that healing is possible without losing any part of themselves. 

Sometimes healing looks like three guys sharing time and doing their own thing. Not one guy being in control of the body full time. Sometimes healing is one guy celebrating Purim while the other two take a back seat because it isn’t their thing. 

I’m prepared for disappointment, but I hope I’m pleasantly surprised. 

[jojo-schmo]

Question when did you start shipping Metadede?

Lemme think back...

I created the Forgotten Land Roleswap AU on Twitter in April 2022 with just Bandee and Dedede swapped. I didn't have Dedede and Meta as the main protagonists until May. I did not ship metadede at the time and only learned about its existence when I was researching moves for the Combo Mode concepts (their replacement for Mouthful Mode in a hypothetical Roleswap game). Thanks, Kirby Fighters 2. >:3

By August I was tagging drawings that could be interpreted as shipping even if it wasn't my primary intent when making it because I was trying to respect the Tumblr tagging system and get it away from anyone who didn't want even the suggestion of it. I was curious about it but I still wasn't really a shipper- just exploring their dynamic both in and out of battle.

By September I was actively drawing metadede with shipping as the primary intent. I had watched and analyzed the footage from Kirby Fighters 2 a lot by now. The fan art had me twirling my hair and kicking my legs at all the fun and interesting ways they could interact with one another.

By December, I was totally cooked. I consumed all the fan art and comics I could get my tiny lil hands on. Metadede fluff was pouring out of my eyes like laser beams. It's just too fun. I am not immune to the king/knight, red/blue, sun/moon dynamic and I am proud!!!

Now the metadede tag is stuck with me for a long time!!! Muahahahaaa! >:D

[loaflovesreblogs]

META AND GALA FIGHTING IN THE BACKGROUND I CAN'T 💀💀💀💀💀💀💀

Anime knights meet the game knights

[midnightmissionary]

The easiest way to explain my opinions on the moon knight comics vs show is 'imagine I'm khonshu, badr is the comics and marc is the show'

[duketectivecomics]

[ID: An edit by @redroseworks advertising Duke Thomas Week 2023. The background consists of two panel edits of Duke in his Signal costume facing outwardly from the left and right side respectively, and a third Duke in the center in his civilian clothes facing the viewer straight on. There is a dot overlay on these panels and they are broken up into triangular comic panels. The dates and themes for Duke Week are listed in text boxes spread throughout, & are listed in further detail in the post below.]

Once again, it’s

Duke Week 2023!

Further info for this year’s Themes, Rules & Guidelines are under the cut! Be sure to spread the word!

Themes for 2023 (Sept 24th-30th):

Day 1 - Rebellion

From his rough start with Dr. Thompkins, to his rocky team-up with Black Lightning & the Outsiders, Duke’s always been quite the Rebel! Here’s a day to commemorate our Rebellious Rockin’ Robin!

Day 2 - Civilian Life

Duke’s time as a vigilante is full of intrigue & adventure, but what about his time outside of the mask? This day is all about exploring Duke’s civilian identity!

Day 3 - Fav Quote

From his introduction in Batman (2011) all the way up through his more recent appearances in Batman: Urban Legends, there’s plenty of quotes to pull from Duke. But which ones stand out among the crowd? Which ones have resonated the most with you? (And here’s a link to our Duke Reading guide in case you want a refresher!)

Day 4 - What is… Normal? (Meme/Free Day)

A free day for folks to share general Duke work, or of course, memes! This past year I’ve seen an influx as well with more general batfam fans questioning just how ‘normal’ or ‘sane’ our favorite bat is. And to that, I want to invite y’all to come on over and find out!

Day 5 - DnD, Wizards & Knights (oh my!)

One of Duke’s oldest special interests! He’s always been a bit of a fantasy nerd. This day is all about celebrating Duke’s hobbies of fantasy gaming and reading!

Day 6 - We Are Robins (Of the Future)

We’ve celebrated the We Are Robins of the Middletown collective before, but this year we’re predicting where they could go! Duke’s first team will always be an important part of his past, but how could they fit into his future?

Day 7 - Sun vs Moon

And to finish out this year’s Duke Week, we end on another note of duality. Duke’s a bat who operates mainly during the day, and occasionally is called upon at night. The bright sunlight of day may reveal something different about our hero compared to the cool moonlight of night.

Rules & Guidelines:

Tag your posts with “#dukeweek2023” &/or “#duke week 2023” for the event. For Best results use it as one of the first five tags & “@” this blog too. If the work is not reblogged here w/in 24 hrs, feel free to send it directly my way by DMing it to me!

Any medium of fanwork is allowed! Whether it’s fic, art, edits, mixes, meta, or more! In this same vein, multiple works for the same day are also allowed, provided they’re on-theme!

HOWEVER, No NSFW! The character is a minor at this point in canon and we want this week to be as inclusive to fans of all ages as possible.

Fics & ficlets that are posted on tumblr will also need a Read More cut to be up for reblogging. Use the : read more : function (no spaces before the colons) & press enter/return to add a cut to your fic! If linked through Ao3 or other fic websites, no cut is needed. Please provide adequate warnings as they apply to your fic, thank you!

Reposted/stolen art or edits will not be accepted or tolerated.

Got any questions about the event? The ask box is always open! (& remember to reblog & spread the word! Let’s have a GREAT DUKE WEEK!)