Moon Knight vs The Dark Knight: The origin of the ‘Marvel Batman’ who will soon have his own series on Disney +

Moon Knight and BatmanMoon Knight and Dark Knight, two superheroes separated by the seemingly insurmountable barriers between the two comic book giants Marvel and DC that curiously launch new productions the same month, with the film “The Batman” released in early March and the “Moon Knight” series, starring Oscar Isaac, to come out in Disney+ next March 30.

The similarities between the two do not end here and their similar fighting and costume styles – white instead of gray and black – have caused Moon Knight to be disparagingly described for years as a copy of ‘Batman’ transported to the Marvel universe, a practice not so unusual between both companies considering that characters like Thanos and Deadpool were also based on DC creations like Darkseid and Deadstroke respectively, while Aquaman was preceded by two years by Namor, a Marvel aquatic superhero with more than one likeness.

But as the previous examples show, that a character begins his life as an apparent copy of another does not mean that they will remain as mere copies, and clearly when the “Moon Knight” series premieres it will be impossible to confuse it for a production starring Batman. : where the cinematic adventures of the ‘dark knight’ attempt to be based, to a greater or lesser degree, on a ‘realistic’ version and within human limits, his Moon-influenced counterpart will face seemingly supernatural challenges and his own inner demons , represented in their multiple personalities.

and his first appearance was in issue 32 of the “Werewolf by Night” comics as the antagonist, a mercenary who has been entrusted with the mission of capturing the eponymous werewolf by a criminal organization and who uses silver implements for the fact of which are more effective against the lycanthrope.

And although his first appearance was on the other side of the law, in the end a fit of conscience convinces him to free his captive and betray the organization that hired him, although not before ‘collecting’ the money he is owed.

The character’s popularity led to Marvel asking Moench to write more stories featuring the character, after which his story had to be expanded and his transformation into a hero completed, with his previous criminal involvement justified as a covert operation. After appearing in collaborations with various heroes in the 1970s, he explored his origins.

Thus, Moon Knight became Marc Spector, a mercenary who was chosen to be the avatar (and fist) of the Egyptian god of the Moon, Khonshu, and who seeks to fight for justice to redeem himself from past sins. The character also has two other additional identities, that of taxi driver Jake Lockley and billionaire Steve Grant, which allow him to enter various social circles to continue his fight against crime.

It wasn’t long after his debut that the accusations that Moon Knight was a copy of Batman began. In this regard, its creator, Doug Moench – who curiously was also the author of iconic ‘Batman’ sagas such as “Knightfall” – said the following in episode 57 of the Comic Geek Speak podcast launched on September 16, 2005:

“I’ve heard that many times and to tell you the truth, it didn’t start until I started doing Moon Knight stories with (artist) Bill Sienkiewicz”, commented the writer. “”.

“Now the only other similarity – and I don’t know if I was thinking of Batman at the time, but I don’t remember at all – was that Werewolf by Night had superpowers, so like Batman, (Moon Knight) doesn’t have superpowersMoench added. “But on the other hand, when you’re doing a character in a horror book like Werewolf by Night, having a guy with superpowers just seems wrong. You already have someone who transforms into a werewolf and the point of that is how that plays against the mundane world so I wanted whoever fights him to be a regular guy”.

Another point of comparison is the identity of billionaire Steve Grant, which draws more than a parallel to another hero with an abundance of money. On this aspect, Moench indicated that he chose Moon Knight to have three identities in order to cover a greater number of plots: while the mercenary Marc Spector could get involved in stories of international intrigue, the taxi driver Jake Lockley interacted with the citizen on foot and the elements criminals. Grant, instead, was set up as an excuse to justify the implements the hero used.

“I wanted a place where Moon Knight’s helicopter could land on the roof and it had to be a pretty fancy place. And you know that it would not be bad to have a lot of money to finance all the things he has to do, so he became a millionaire”, recalled the writer. “It was only after that that I got a letter saying ‘oh that’s like Bruce Wayne’. ‘Oh yes, it is.’ ”.

In the end, Moench stressed that although “”

The differences between Moon Knight and Batman increased over the years, as the character’s history became more complex. For example, his multiple identities soon became a sign of the psychological problems that affect the character, who suffered from multiple personality disorder.

Meanwhile, the hero began to manifest more and more supernatural abilities. Thus, as the avatar of the god Khonshu, the Moon Knight is apparently immortal and has been revived from mortal harm three times in the comics. Moon Knight has also displayed superhuman strength related to the phases of the Moon and even briefly gained the power to command the dead, abilities far removed from the abilities of his supposed DC Comics counterpart.

Perhaps to avoid any comparison, the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) version of Moon Knight has ditched the millionaire aspect of Steve Grant’s identity to make him a simple clerk in a museum souvenir shop.

In relation to this, the producer of the series, Jeremy Slater, stated that he does not seek comparisons with the DC character. “”, He opined in the February 2022 issue of Empire magazine. “We’ve seen that side of Moon Knight as a playboy philanthropist, throwing moon-shaped boomerangs, flying around in a moon-shaped plane, but I don’t think he’s the coolest possible version of the character..”