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justvora · 4 months

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MOON KNIGHT IS A HERO

HEROISM BEHIND A LEGACY OF VIOLENCE. A Moon Knight essay, pt1.

Origin.

Nothing pains me more than the segmented view of Moon Knight, which seems to be anchored to the stale perspective of the 2000s, an era that destroyed this character. It meant too much that stage, one where he hit rock bottom, where he was at the lowest point in his life. And those moments were intrinsic in him, they do not define him or determine his present, but they did mean a turning point to want to change, to want to be something else.

Marc Spector has always been a violent person, from his childhood (The Vengeance of Moon Knight, Shadowland: Moon Knight) where he exercised excessive violence against those who harassed his brother, to his adulthood, where he was a renowned underground boxer (Moon Knight Vol1: #37 ; Shadowland: Moon Knight), being this a stage where he felt rejected by the passivity of his own father, a rabbi. Marc never understood why he always kept his head down, why he was so extremely peaceful at levels that did him more harm than good. He was a rebel, a lost cause to his family, but someone who fought against anti-Semitic hate crimes no matter how alien he considered himself to this religion. After that, he ended up in the navy, from which he was expelled for disobedience, insubordination and assault on a superior, in addition for the strange behaviors that can be seen in the flashbacks that Khonshu distorted from his past, in Jeff Lemire's run (2016, Vol8: #12). After that he spent some time in the CIA which is extremely difficult to define given the ambiguity of his chronology. But it is clear that from that moment on he went off track to the point of ending up being something worse: an assassin, a mercenary.

In his mercenary days he did horrible things. He was never a good guy, death was nothing alien to him, so ending anyone's life was no problem… Until he met Marlene. He rebelled against Bushman and died, being left to his fate, crawling through the desert day and night until he ended up in front of a temple where, in the vicinity, Khonshu was. This was a new point, one which allows us to see different ramifications of the interpretation of both Moon Knight and the god who brought him back to life, Khonshu.

There are those who define him as an abusive god who took advantage of Spector's catatonic state to coerce him, leading him to make a deal whereby he became his vessel, leading him down a path of false heroism solely to quench the bloodlust of a god, an evil one, who recreates the idea of protecting people as an excuse to exercise violence.

On the other hand, there is the interpretation that I personally like the most. Redemption. Marc Spector went through a catharsis or metamorphosis that allowed him to change. He could not eradicate his bloodthirsty past, let alone clean it up, but at least he could give a new purpose to his person, and that would be to become a hero, one who would protect people.

“I became Moon Knight to end the darkness; and I never had to look beyond my heart”

He admitted, within his thoughts, in the trial that was made for his war crimes in bosqueverde, during the stage of the late 80s and early 90s where the infamous series of Marc Spector: Moon Knight is developed, one that has so many lights and shadows. I have to say that it is a good comic in its initial form, perhaps too corny and intense, throwing to “waste” certain ideas that had been established; but on the other hand the comic was fruit of its time and the bad writing of the 90s affected the rest of its issues from the middle, leading to the introduction of harmful ideas and concepts, but that hopefully remained in oblivion.

“Moon Knight is a critical pastiche of superheroes that somehow managed to exist in a Big 2 lineup. Marc Spector was not kind, or noble, or an upstanding citizen. He was a violent asshole who rejected God. Rejected his father. Killed people for money. Marc had pain in his heart and suppressed that pain with violence. He did not enter into a pact with some ambivalent greater power to protect humanity because it's the right thing to do. Marc was afraid of death, and contracted with an abusive, vindictive, petty God who cursed his own followers and declared the night time world his domain. A God who drove him to more violence not as an act of charity but of supernatural domination. Marc does not grow linearly as a superhero - his pact with Khonshu saves him from death and he begins to indulge his love of violence under the guise of heroism. In some ways these impulses grow worse - and ‘protecting the innocent’ turns into mutilating criminals and lashing out at the woman he loves. Marc does not narrowly survive danger. He dies. Again and again and again. Gruesomely, painfully, traumatically. He's crippled. He is not returned to service by an indomitable will or drive to do good, but a curse that will see him reduced to a mindless husk who only knows violence - something Marc has been training for his whole life. Marc does not wear the mask to hide his identity or protect his loved ones. He's a fractured, broken person who at this point in his story has accumulated a lifetime of failure and trauma, and constantly externalizes it, driving away the few people he loves. He wears the mask to run away from his past and play pretend that he's secretly a good man. Moon Knight should be in The Boys, or Invincible. His stories are critical of the violent, aggressively over-masculine anger that perpetuates in the medium. He's a critique of batman, daredevil, the punisher - any super hero who portrays themselves as some dark and tortured herald of justice. He is the result of some of the industry's best talents looking at the tropes of the genre and admitting ‘Anyone who acted like this in real life would be a friendless, unlovable asshole’ And he has an arc! He seeks to exist beyond the sins of his past! Marc desires to grow and abandon the violence he's cultivated within himself. To treat himself with kindness, to find forgiveness, and atone for the hurt he's caused.”

—explodyboompow, “What makes moon knight stand out from from other superheroes” : Reddit comment from that post (2023)

Marc Spector, as much as he is someone who dresses completely in white, is a gray person, someone who exists within the moral spectrum and is incapable of transcending it. He could be considered, during his darkest period, as the very opposite of copaganda (a term used to refer to police propaganda whereby comic book superheroes are blurred from their anti-police discourse to support strict measures within the law); he acted outside the law with sadism, punishing villains in horrible ways, even exercising excessive violence, although with the law of superhero registration and all the authoritarian control that was exercised he saw that he had to relax, at least to keep a low profile, because he did not want to finish tarnishing his image, being something that Black Spectre (Carson Knowles) took advantage of to dirty the way in which the knight himself was seen. Since he checked in, manipulating the man who interviewed him, coercing him and subjecting him to extortion that led to his suicide, he was considered a high danger even without his powers, mainly because of how dangerous he was as well as his own “mental instability”, so, as soon as the alarms went off, S.H.I.E.L.D went after him, and the competition was not far behind, Norman Osborn considered him a threat, so in the same way he sent the Thunderbolts to liquidate him.

That's why Moon Knight's story works. It speaks to society and the power that context has over society to torture people. Spector fell into the big pit, forgetting what he was, who he was, and the company he kept. He was selfish.

Part of the paradigm of his heroism is based on the fact that he kills. Evidently, he is not, as a person, the best human being you can find, that is something quite clear, but still… He does not seek to be a good person, but a specter of vengeance that takes the grief of others to avenge them for their pain. To a certain extent we could define Moon Knight as an opposite of Cassandra Cain: an antithesis to that way that the individual depersonalizes his human facet to serve justice and help others. Cassandra wanted to detach herself from what her father transformed her into: a killing machine. She believed that, if she was born that way, anyone else could change, as she was searching for so long for redemption that she forgot she was Cassandra to be Batgirl, because her world needed a heroine: And she became a martyr on a suicide mission, because if she died, she wanted to die a heroine. This is not so different from Moon Knight, although the roots of the paradigm are completely different.

The true meaning of Moon Knight in a past stage whose vestiges fall into a reformulated present that we can see, encapsulated, in Jason Aaron's recent writing in Spector's appearance during the last issues of Punisher, specifically, when the latter has been defeated and our hero comes to give him a brief speech, one by which he believes that he, despite everything, can change; but that unlike himself, he recognizes, inwardly, that he would not want to change, and that is where his perception of things lies: In believing that, if he after all has had more than one chance to prove to the world that he can be a better person, anyone else could do the same, and that is a thought that rests with Frank himself.

One thing that sets the current Moon Knight apart from any other character is that he recognizes the sin he lives with himself, but this doesn't mean he gives up striving to be better, quite the contrary, he always seeks to change himself to an era of light and hope. He wants to be a hero, a beacon of light for the people, and yet, he does not force himself to take on or absorb the cultural beliefs of what is right, he does not seek to cling to the idea of others, but to what he believes is right.

Moon Knight resignifies his will, his mission and the way he works. Crossing the line of life is something morally questionable, but he frivolizes it. He is not sadistic, he, contrary to popular belief, does not enjoy it. Contrary to the misbelief held about him, Spector is not looking for an excuse to exercise violence and let off steam, no. For him violence is just another tool, one he uses to attack evil, those who harm his travelers. It is the paradoxical irony of using more violence; he knows he will not be able to extinguish the flame of his past, and he believes that, much less, he can exempt himself from it; that is why his fight against evil is not as Marc Spector, but as Moon Knight: The system composed by his alters. All this does not take away that Moon Knight does not reach levels that are worrying, but what he does is to play with fear and the mistakes of his past, because in previous stages he fell so low that he began to act like a monster, destroying the criminals he faced in inhuman ways that could very well make him look worse than the Punisher. But it is just all those legends that he uses to evoke fear in criminals, something that is addressed in the recent volume of Vengeance of the Moon Knight where we are shown the paradigm difference between the new user of the lunar mantle and our hero under the words of Soldier, his loyal ally:

“Anyone can be a psycho. It’s easy. All you got to do is take a machete to a guy who rips off ATMs dressed up as pinocchio or whatever, and presto, you’re a grim avenger of the streets. But the Boss was better than that. Smarter. he kept them scared. He had his rep, from his bad old days, and he kept them in hand with that fear. He was their fixer, giving them their hit. But he was careful. Because fear’s like any other drug. If they get too much in their system, they get unpredictable. Get stupid, get sloppy, get out of hand. You want them too scared of you to act. Not so scared that they feel like they got to.”

Vengeance of Moon Knight Vol2, #3, 2024. Jed Mackay.

The paradigm here is in working correctly by playing on fear, following Batman's mechanics of instilling fear in people so that they don't want to act rather than so that they end up acting in an unpredictable way by having an overdose that makes them want to break through their own fear, though this is something I'd rather talk about later in more depth on 'Zodiac's theory and vision of the new Moon Knight'.

Re-reading his first comics I could not help but cry with joy when I read the incredible and beautiful writing of the character and the way they were able to define him better than ever, contradicting, ironically, the way in which in the future they will portray the character as an absolute savage, when he is nothing but the opposite of something like that. What's more, Moon Knight to some extent takes different ideas and concepts that have been developed with the Batman character but gives them a twist. For starters there is the cycle of violence with which he acts and which, to his surprise, does nothing more than fan a flame in a city that never sleeps or progresses, reaching a feedback whereby pouring violence against crime only fuels it more, making him see that people need more than revenge, finding, there, a mission greater than that of his god: Justice and, with it, hope. And, on the other hand, there is the issue of the use of the enemy's weapons: violence and fear. He takes everything, as well as 'murder', to frivolize it and change its dynamics, taking it to the paradox of intolerance: He will not tolerate that the rights and integrity of those he protects are violated, so those who cross the moral line must be punished… Although not all those who do evil are people with malice, but other people who, just because of the system, have been oppressed and pushed to the limit by their circumstances. There are those who have no choice -better- and can redeem themselves -Moon Knight believes in the redemption of others-.

“You know what’s out there. It’s a world in which the savages all too often rule our cities, our streets, our souls. The good citizens– the Grants, the Lockley’s– they fight that tyranny as best they can- They aren’t always enough. Moon Knight is more than a good man. He’s a force that transcends the brutality and the fear that are the savages’ main weapons– because he can use those weapons himself. He’s a savage on the side of the angels… A protector of innocents… A symbol of vengeance and hope. And, god willing… If he does his job well enough… he’ll be the last savage.”

Moon Knight Vol1, #35, 1980. Tony Isabella

“Those who forget their past are condemned to forget it”.

The mask not only serves to protect your identity, or to flee from your past, which also serves to become something else, something better. If yesterday's violence served to hurt, isn't it more poetic to use violence to protect? That is its mission. Not to harm, but to protect. He puts on the mask because no one else needs Marc Spector (MK Vol9 #4, 2021, Jed Mackay) and because he has caused enough damage, because people need the moon knight, and putting on that mantle serves to destroy himself, to punish himself and become a martyr. This is something we will also see in Doug Moench's stories where it is emphasized that Steven Grant came about as a way to leave Spector in the background. What Marc longs for most, after all - in his early 80s - is to die to escape hell, because he is someone weak, a man who has shielded all his horrors in a hard shell of toxic masculinity that has driven him to rot, desensitizing him when, inside, he is dying. But this hell is not, if not, a purgatory to exonerate himself from his sins (MK Vol1 #29, 1980, Doug Moench). And everything suddenly becomes, all of a sudden, a self-destructive missionary for what he hopes to be destroying himself and eliminating Spector.

To be continued...

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romancomicsnews · 1 year

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How Blue Beetle is the Hero James Gunn's DCU Needs

It is no secret the DC Universe has had its fair share of setbacks when it has come to live action films.

From trying to start a universe with Green Lantern, to Man of Steel starting the inconsistent DCEU, it has been hard to watch so many heroes wasted by studio interference, failed universe building, and let's just say, unorthodoxed takes on famous characters (I'm looking at you Joker and Lex).

Now we have an opportunity for a fresh start.

Director James Gunn has a new lineup of films consisting of big swings and fan favorite characters, hoping to build up the DCU we know and love.

In this new marriage between Warner Bros and Gunn, he has inherited 4 children from the previous marriage. The previous box office bomb Shazam! Fury of the Gods, the current box office bomb The Flash, the sequel to one of the biggest DCEU movies Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, and Blue Beetle, the attempt at a new hero for the DCEU franchise who is somewhat left up in the air between DCEU and DCU.

While some have already chalked this up as another potential bomb, of the 4 movies, this has been my most anticipated.

Unlike the others, Blue Beetle I believe is in a prime slot as the right character, right time, not only to the general public, but to the DCU. Here's why:

1. The Flexibility of Blue Beetle

Unlike the characters Shazam, Flash, and Aquaman, Blue Beetle is not directly attached the DCEU.

Besides a mention of Batman, and the gear of (the probably late) Ted Kord, Blue Beetle doesn't have many connections to a wider DC Universe. He can exist in either, if they wish to continue one or both.

2. The World Building Potential

Blue Beetle opens up another part of the DC Universe in multiple different ways EARLY.

As the Scarab is a part of The Reach, this opens up a whole other side of DCU we have never seen, and potentially sets up an invasion storyline.

The Reach also have a deal with The Guardians of the Universe of Oa, setting him up for a potential Green Lantern crossover nicely.

But unlike many other heroes, Jaime Reyes isn't just a member of the Justice League...

He's a TEEN TITAN!

Jaime opens the door to young heroes existing already! The Teen Titans are a fan favorite, but he is also a member of Young Justice, who are equally as fun.

This is currently an untapped market for both DC and Marvel (though I'm sure the Young Avengers are coming). Jaime can act as a door between both, offering a perspective as the youngest member of the Justice League, and the senior member of the Titans.

3. Legacy Characters are IN

A particular kind at least.

If I had a nickel for every legacy character who is (vaguely) attached to a hero they admire, who take on that hero's name, with a similar but different set of powers, who then makes their old costume better, and who happen to be a person of color, I'd have three nickels. Which isn't a lot but it's weird that it has happened thrice.

The most famous of course is Miles Morales AKA Spider-Man, who has headed two incredible movies and a pretty sweet video game, along with several appearances in animation.

The second is fan favorite Kamala Khan AKA Ms. Marvel, who had a pretty solid show and also headed up a video game. While these are not as good as Mile's, they are both in the zeitgeist, and with her big film debut coming up in The Marvels, Iman Vellani has a bright future ahead of herself in and out of the MCU.

And finally, we have Blue Beetle! While he is a legacy character by name, he becomes Blue Beetle AFTER Ted Kord dies in comics, similar to Miles and Peter Parker. He carries the weight and legacy of a hero he never knew, and tries to do it his own way.

That is something audiences are loving right now, and Blue Beetle can tell a similar story.

and finally...

4. Xolo Maridueña is Perfect

You think I'm overselling him, but I'm not.

If you don't know his name yet, you will soon. As the star of Cobra Kai, Xolo plays Miguel, a kid from nowhere trying to live up to the legacy of man he deems great. If that isn't Jaime, I don't know what is.

Xolo plays every role he has with heart, charm, and has comedic timing to beat. As one of its leads, Xolo helped take Cobra Kai from a YouTube Red Series to one of Netflix's BIGGEST Shows.

And at only 22, he is young enough to play a late teen, and to be in this role for years to come.

In Marvel talk, we can very much be looking at DC's Tom Holland, and Blue Beetle could be Spider-Man Homecoming.

The bottomline is, I am beyond stoked for Blue Beetle, and as a Latinx fan, I know I'm gonna be there day 1, rooting for its success.

I hope to look back on this 10 years later, as the Justice League unite with Jaime up there with em, three movies under Xolo's belt, a fan favorite, with more to come.

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