The search for Marc Spector’s third classic comics personality Jake Lockley continues through Moon Knight‘swild fourth episode. Clues and evidence in Episode 1, Episode 2, and Episode 3 honestly feel like enough of a confirmation that a third personality is coming. But we still have yet to be formally introduced. There may be fewer clues in Episode 4, but one in particular almost cannot be interpreted in any other way than… that’s Jake. While everyone knows that nothing is confirmed until it is confirmed, let’s take a look at perhaps the most unambiguous and in-your-face clue of the entire series.
The Extra Sarcophagus
When Marc wakes up in some sort of mental institution or psych ward-looking place, he eventually escapes the room where the now Dr. Arthur Harrow appeared to be his psychologist. On his run through the halls of the institution, he comes upon a room with a lone sarcophagus. Someone inside was screaming for help and shaking it, trying to get out. Turns out Steven was trapped in there, and he and Marc hug when they reunite–it’s very sweet.
Flash forward about one minute, and they pass a room that has a very similar sarcophagus. They do not seem to notice it, but it is also moving as if someone was trapped inside. Considering Marc and Steven now both have bodies, it is easy to say that whatever place this institution is, it is not “real.” So, if Marc’s other personality Steven sort of manifested as being trapped in a sarcophagus in a room here, what other conclusion is there to draw from the fact that there was another? It is the least ambiguous hint Moon Knight has provided and the most psychologically symbolic as well that a third personality does in fact exist in this series.
While Moon Knight arguably “confirms” here that Marc and Steven are not the only personalities, it still is yet to be seen whether a third will actually make an appearance in the series. Hopefully Jake has some grand entrance, but it could be the series’ way of acknowledging the comics’ history and being coy with it, while maybe waiting to introduce Jake in another project considering Moon Knight already has many demanding moving parts to balance. Still, there have been so many hints over these four episodes, that it would definitely feel like a letdown if they did not lead to an actual appearance by the end of the series.
Only time will tell. But the first four episodes of Moon Knight are not streaming on Disney+.
The final few minutes of Moon Knight’s episode four gave audiences something to think about and figure out ahead of the final two episodes of the series. At first glance, it seems like the old “it was all a dream” sort of twist, where the character, in this case, Marc Spector, kept bringing real-life characters and details into a self-fabricated world. This would obviously deprive the events experienced until now of most of their meaning due to a lack of actual real-world impact, something that feels extremely dated. But in fact, Marvel should instead be using that classic trope to lead fans astray as what Marc wakes up to should actually be the dream itself.
Following Harrow shooting Marc at Alexander the Great’s tomb, he wakes up in an institution, very similar to the one we see in the Lemire-Smallwood comic run. There, while trying to escape Harrow’s office, he comes to a long corridor that seems to tilt like it was on a moving vehicle, with the lamps and the medical carts moving accordingly. This should be enough to make us doubt the veracity of the reality presented to us. But it’s not until going back to some promotional footage that, not only does it become clear why the halls seem unstable but we also understand where Marc really is.
Marvel Studios’ Moon Knight
This shot in one of the promotional videos seemingly shows us a large funerary boat traveling through the desert. And this is where we will likely find Marc, even if all he sees around him, maybe as a coping mechanism, is a mental institution filled with details from his life. This fits the Egyptian mythology the show has been exploring as boats played a big role in ancient Egyptian funerary practices. Funerary boats were often used to deliver the deceased to the afterlife, with Anubis, the god of death, the afterlife, cemeteries, tombs, and the Underworld, having his own ship that traveled between the world of the living and that of the dead. It was while doing so that it would weigh the hearts of the deceased on Maat’s scales of truth and justice, hence judging the individual’s actions in life. If the heart was found to be heavy it was fed to Ammit, with the soul cast into darkness. On the other hand, if the scales were balanced, the deceased would be taken before Osiris who would welcome them into the afterlife.
Marvel Studios’ Moon Knight
All of this, besides feeling terribly consistent with what the show has shown us so far, might clearly hint at all past events being what is real, with the dreamlike state being what we see as the mental institution at the end of episode four. Marc and Steven (and Jake?) will eventually be judged in order for their spirit to move on, either to damnation or the afterlife. With Khonshu out of the picture, it seems unlikely that they will manage to come back from the dead, again. Or does it?
The first four episodes of Marvel Studios’ Moon Knight are now streaming only on Disney+.
If you happened to see reactions from critics and members of the press who were able to see the first four episodes of Moon Knight, you undoubtedly saw a lot of people praising and hyping up the fourth episode. Now that you’ve watched it, you now know why. Here, we break down what happened and look into clues from the source material as to what this might all mean for the series.
We will spoiler details from the fourth episode. So, if you haven’t watched it yet only continue at your own risk.
Recap
After Moon Knight spends the vast majority of four episodes building up a now-relatively grounded story involving adventuring through Ancient Egyptian lore, artifacts, pyramids, tombs, and whatever else the franchise can get its hands on. Of course, Arthur Harrow appeared the be the main villain in his quest to serve/free Ammit to judge souls based on future wrongdoing. At the same time, our protagnosists are attempting to save the world from Harrow as the avatar of Ancient Egyptian lunar god Khonshu, which allowed them to summon divinely-granted suits—they still have not actually been named yet, but we know them as Moon Knight and Mr. Knight.
Most importantly, perhaps, is that our original protagonist, Steven Grant, learned he had another identity/personality named Marc Spector. The Marc reveal brought Steven into this fast-paced and dangerous plot as Marc was the one in contact with Khonshu and served as his Fist of Vengeance. The psychological implications of Steven and Marc’s dissociative identity disorder have been a loud-and-clear focus of Moon Knight so far. And it looks like it may very well increase the focus after Episode 4.
In this episode, Steven and Layla find the tomb of Alexander the Great. With it, they also have finally uncovered Ammit’s stone statue, which is similar to that we saw Khonshu get imprisoned in. Harrow swiftly catches up, and ultimately shoots Marc (who took control at this point) and seemingly kills him. We watch Marc float down through dark waters almost endlessly.
Suddenly, we cut to what looks like a direct-to-VHS movie where a young boy and an impressive adventurer and archaeologst by the name of Dr. Steven Grant are looking for atrifacts related to an Aztec lunar god. Marc then wakes up in what looks like a psych ward or mental institution with many callbacks and familiar faces. For example, random objects from early episodes (like cupcakes and a goldfish) appear in this place. Characters like Layla, Crawley, and Donna are also patients in the institution. And, of course, Dr. Arthur Harrow is Marc’s psychologist. There are numerous other Easter eggs involved, but the point is clear: did Marc simply imagine the “reality” we previously saw?
What Just Happened?
If you’re fresh off of Moon Knight Episode 4, the title question might be stuck in your mind. You are supposed to be confused, excited, and anxious to find out what comes next. If you enjoy the surprise and the mystery, this is good news for you, and you might want to avoid reading this whole article if you want to stay as unspoiled as possible. If you hate feeling confused, there is also good news for you if you keep reading this article.
Marvel Studios’ ‘Moon Knight’
So, let’s get into it. This is the point of Moon Knight where the viewer is now supposed to question absolutely everything. Obviously, the fact that Marc wakes up in a psych ward does much of that work, but how the last ten minutes or so of Episode 4 progress makes it even more complicated. It is clear from the later scenes after Marc wakes up that he is not simply in a typical psych ward having completely made everything up. Plenty of things are not quite right, but of course, he encounters Steven trapped in a sarcophagus, and the two personalities exist in separate bodies in the same place. If that isn’t enough to debunk much of the psych ward “reality”, the two come across goddess Taweret, a hippo-appearing being, who we saw as a stuffed animal in Episode 1’s gift shop.
Marvel Studios’ ‘Moon Knight’
Just in case it was not clear before—yes, you should be confused. Moon Knight has now gone out of its way to essentially discredit every “reality” it has presented audiences with. The “main reality” where we first met Steven—was everything one giant delusion of a mentally ill man based on some of his surroundings in the psych ward? If it was not entirely in Marc’s imagination, was some of it, such as Khonshu, real? We are now suddenly introduced to this “psych ward reality”—is it real? Probably not, but are the images of Steven and Taweret, for example, more delusions?
If you are dying for answers or at least some guidance, the solution may lie in the Moon Knight comics run you may have already heard a lot about. While looking at the source material for Moon Knight is certainly not “spoilers”, if the series adopts more of the comics’ plot lines, that could potentially ruin some surprises for the last two Moon Knight episodes. With that word of caution of the way, let’s look at what possibilities the Jeff Lemire and Greg Smallwood run coult hint at for the home stretch of the live-action series.
Lemire-Smallwood’s Inspirational Run
Moon Knight (2016) is one of the most popular comic runs of the Fist of Khonshu, but it also clearly inspired the creators of the Disney+ series plenty. After more than three decades of Moon Knight stories, Marc Spector wakes up in an insane asylum and gives evidence that he had been there since he was twelve. As such, all aspects of his Moon Knight life had been in his head. The comic run by Lemire and Smallwood jumps from perceived reality to perceived reality. We see versions of Marc Spector, Steven Grant, and Jake Lockley living their own lives, but the story jumps around in a way where each one questions their memories and realities. Like where Moon Knight seems to be going, the comics are entirely founded on the concept that Marc Spector’s mind (inlcuding his other identities) is complex, confusing, and potentially a rabbit hole of reality-beding.
This article is not the place to try and summarize the entire run or give every possible detail that connects the live-action series to that run, but it’s worth noting what Moon Knight has already clearly borrowed from. In both, Marc Spector wakes up and realizes he is in an all-white psych ward with some of his friends as other patients. His psychologist in the comics is Dr. Emmet, whereas in live-action it is Dr. Arthur Harrow. Still, Dr. Emmet is “revealed” to be a manifestation of Ammit, who we know Arthur Harrow is a follower of. Even the pair of orderlies, Bobby and Billy, made their way into Moon Knight. The appearance of Taweret at the end of Episode 4 also looks a lot like some of the Ancient Egyptian imagery that the Moon Knight comics highlight. Even more, Marc and his personalities were able to co-exist in different bodies in the comics.
Speaking of Ancient Egyptian lore connecting to the mental institution, much of the run presents Marc with a situation where the psych ward reality morphs into a version of New York City that appeared to be taken over by the Egyptian god Seth. So, Dr. Emmet would often take the form of Ammit, the orderlies as jackals, Marc makes deals with Anubis, he travels to the Overvoid, and more. At the same time, he would find himself back in the psych ward “reality” and being given electroconvulsive therapy or chastized by Dr. Emmet.
Moon Knight (2016)
The ultimate adversary in the comcis run is actually Khonshu, not Seth. Turns out, much of the mental dismay and reality confusion is Khonshu’s doing, and the moon god is trying to completely break Marc’s mind so that Khonshu can essentially just use his body as his own. So, the run beautifully explores the dimensions of Marc/Steven/Jake’s minds and memories as they try to persevere through Khonshu’s cruel games and defeat the god they have been attached to for so long. The run ends with Marc taking control of his personality and defeating Khonshu, telling the deity that they do not need him to be Moon Knight. While Marc ends in a place where he stil cannot be sure if he is in true reality, he notes it is good enough for him, Steven, and Jake.
Moon Knight (2016)
Where is Moon Knight Going?
Since Moon Knight is clearly taking a lot of inspiration from at least the very beginning of the Lemire-Smallwood run, there is always a chance the series will adapt even more from it. At the same time, Moon Knight has not otherwise been following a story that is clearly inspired by any particular run. That could mean that whilethe previously mentionedone may have some influence, the live-action series will ultimately remain a hybrid of decades of comics and new material. Considering that both the series and the comics want you to question virtually every aspect of reality, it would be naive to assume that Episodes 5 and 6 of Moon Knight will be predictable.
The first four episodes of Moon Knight are now streaming on Disney+.
After much anticipation from fans, the first trailer for Thor: Love and Thunder finally arrived, bringing us our very first look at Taika Waititi’s next adventure with Chris Hemsworth’s Thor. The film will see Thor up against one of his most dangerous foes: Gorr the God Butcher, an alien that wields a powerful Necrosword and travels the universe killing gods. There’s still some uncertainty as to how the Marvel Cinematic Universe will adapt the character due to some legal issues regarding some aspects, but some merchandise may hint at some accurate origins.
Gorr lived a tragic life, having lost everyone he loved most in his life and came to believe that there were no gods. Gorr was proven wrong when he stumbled upon a battle between the elder god Knull and other god who begged Gorr for helped. Gorr, who was enraged that gods did exist and had let his family perish, bonded with Knull’s Necrosword known as All-Black and slayed the other god. All-Black was the first symbiote, created by Knull and used to behead a celestial whose head ultimately became Knowhere.
All-Black left Knull and bonded with Gorr, allowing him to travel the universe slaying gods with the symbiote blade. This is where those pesky legal issues come in because as we all know, the film rights to the symbiotes and everything else pertaining to Spider-Man belong to Sony, making it very difficult to continue that connection between Gorr and Knull. Marvel Studios has run into these issues before. For Guardians of The Galaxy Vol 2, the studio made a deal with Fox that allowed them to use Ego.
Some new merchandise may hint that Gorr could still be wielding All-Black and that there could indeed still be symbiotes somewhere in the MCU. A new Funko POP! for the upcoming Thor: Love and Thunder wave of figures shows Gorr wielding a sword and levitating via some sort of black liquid substance which looks very similar to how symbiotes are traditionally depicted.
It still remains unknown just what exactly Gorr is wielding, but it must have some connection to what’s beneath the figure. The only details we have on his weapon are from the back of Marvel Legends figure for the character only describing it as “A strange and terrifying weapon.” It’s entirely possible that Marvel and Sony have worked out a deal to allow for the story of the symbiotes, continuing on their multiversal story begun in Venom: Let There Be Carnage and Spider-Man: No Way Home, which saw a piece of a symbiote left in the MCU. Could Gorr be working with something similar? We may not have answers until Thor: Loveand Thunder hits theaters on July 8th!
Episode 3, “The Friendly Type”, really moved things along in the overall plot, including Arthur using the scarab to lead him to the site of Ammut’s tomb. At the behest of Khonshu, Marc tries to get the Ennead, a group of major Egyptian gods, to intervene with what Arthur is trying to do, but Arthur lies to them, leading the Ennead to warn Khonshu not to interfere further. To find the coordinates of the tomb, Khonshu turns back the sky to the night they locked Ammut away, angering the Ennead. As the episode ends, Khonshu is imprisoned, leaving Marc/Steven without his power.
Marc and Steven get way more comfortable with each other over the course of this episode, even willingly letting each other take over the body when it seems to serve them best. The episode also presents the clearest evidence that there might be a third personality within Marc’s mind. While interrogating a group of men, Marc is knocked out when Steven interferes with the questioning. When he wakes up, he’s in the middle of stabbing one of the men while another lies dead behind him. When Marc asks Steven what he’s done, he claims not to have done it either. In the comics there is another, more violent, personality named Jake. This could totally be his doing!
Arlyn’s Assumptions
In this next episode, I believe that they will end up finding Ammut’s tomb too late. I feel like Arthur will have already found it and dug it up. The other Egyptian gods have locked Khonshu away, which will obviously have a big impact on Marc and Steven seeing that Marc was just a corpse when Khonshu found him. I’m not sure how Marc survives. I have a bad feeling about this…
The first trailer has finally dropped for Thor: Love and Thunder. It has included quite a few teases of what we can expect in the next film, which will be the first time a franchise has gotten a fourth entry. While everyone is probably talking about our first look at Mighty Thor, what stood out, even more, is that we got the confirmation that the film includes the Olympians. The gold-loving gods stand out quite a bit in the trailer and considering we got a few leaked designs for Thor’s armor, there’s a potential connection between that design and these newly introduced gods.
In the trailer, we have a brief shot of Thor already wearing a golden-blue armor. It appears early on, but there is actually a second one that was leaked with some of the Hallmark merchandise. In it, we can clearly see Thor wielding even more gold on his armor and even a new helmet. So, it raises the question of how he gets what may be his final armor before facing off against the main threat of the film, Gorr the God Butcher. Especially as there was no sight of it in the trailer.
What also stands out is that Russell Crowe’s Zeus is seemingly wielding lightning made of pure gold. It seems like it is his main weapon of choice and perhaps works similar to Thor’s weapons, as they are used to channel his thunder-based abilities. He is even wearing golden armor as he addresses his people in the trailer and has a statue made of the same material standing proudly at his entrance. So, it’s safe to say that these gods love their gold.
Gorr’s arrival seems imminent and he’ll turn the entire planet into a Greek tragedy. We do briefly see what looks like Korg, Thor, and maybe even Valkyrie visiting to warn them about the threat. After they leave, it may be too late and the gods are butchered. Our heroes quickly return only to see the remnants of the great kingdom they saw before. Some of the survivors may take the weapon of their leader and strengthen Thor’s armor as a way for him to carry on and battle Gorr united by the gods they’ve befriended in their travels.
So, it seems likely that his final armor may be strengthened by Zeus’ weapons that aid him in channeling his abilities even more. Stormbreaker remains his main weapon, but could also get an upgrade. Still, if he is going to face off against someone as powerful as Gorr, he might need to use as much power as he can to take him down. A plate armor strengthened by a fellow god’s golden lightning bolts could be exactly what he needs to even the playing field to take down the biggest threat to deities across the galaxy.
At the beginning of the episode, as Layla was getting her fake passport, we learn that her father was an archaeologist who was killed during an excavation in the desert. As Moon Knight clearly spends most of its time focused on Steven Grant and Marc Spector, it’s unclear how far back into Layla’s history the series will go. But the little we got is incredibly similar to the comics, and it also connects to Moon Knight’s origin. So, looking into what Episode 3 is referencing might give us a deeper understanding of Layla, Marc Spector, and Moon Knight.
Moon Knight #1 (1980)
Moon Knight #1 (1980)
Moon Knight #1 (1980)
Back in the day, when Marc Spector was still a mercenary, he worked for a man named Raoul Bushman, or the Bushman. He would become Moon Knight’s clear archenemy, but that is for another time. Bushman and Marc’s unit went on a raid of a newly discovered tomb in Sudan. Archaeologist Dr. Peter Alraune and his team—including his daughter Marlene—were the ones who discovered the tomb and were working at the site at the time of the raid.
Moon Knight #13 (2017)
Moon Knight #13 (2017)
Moon Knight #13 (2017)
While slightly varying versions of the events that took place to appear over the more than 40 years of Moon Knight comics, the traditional story finds Bushman murdering Dr. Alraune, and others, in front of Marlene. At this moment, Marc seems to have a moral crisis and is strongly opposed to Bushman’s murderous ways. Marc saves Marlene, who hates Marc at first, but is mortally wounded.
Moon Knight #1 (1980)
Moon Knight #14 (2017)
Moon Knight #14 (2017)
The next bit is, of course, at the core of all Moon Knight stories. In Moon Knight #1 (1980), Marlene brings Marc inside the tomb where he dies underneath a statute of Khonshu only to come back to life claiming to be the Fist of that same god. In Moon Knight (2016), Marc crawls into the tomb on his own without Marlene. After this, Marlene for some reason falls for Marc (and Steven, Jake, and Moon Knight) and they move in together in a Long Island mansion. Marlene supports Moon Knight’s vigilantism and they more or less (less) live happily ever after. In any event, the murder of Marlene’s father was always the connection between her and Marc.
Marvel Studios’ Moon Knight Episode 3
In Moon Knight, Layla is essentially a much-improved Marlene. So, the brief mention of Layla’s archaeologist father in Episode 3 is interesting for a few reasons. First, it could imply that Layla has a virtually identical backstory to Marlene’s in terms of the death of her father and connection to Marc Spector. However, Layla says that her father’s death was “lost to the sands”, implying that she does not know what happened. If that is the case, it begs the question of how she met Marc and whether she knows about his involvement with Bushman and the raid.
Moon Knight #4 (2016)
Whatever the case ends up being, it is fun to speculate elements of Moon Knight when the series makes clear references to the character’s or supporting characters’ comic book history. Layla’s father and his death may very likely play a significant role either in her relationship with Marc or in exploring the origin of Moon Knight in the series.
The first three episodes of Moon Knight are now streaming on Disney+.
As with any MCU adaptation, Moon Knight has not been a perfect match with the comics. This is, of course, not automatically a bad thing. When bringing the complicated subject matter to life, it’s often necessary to simplify a few elements for the sake of flow and time. One such example of this would be Moon Knight’s many alters. Typically, the character has at least three personalities living in his body at any given moment. Marc Spector and Steven Grant, who is currently learning to co-exist in the series, are usually accompanied by a third alter named Jake Lockley.
Though he hasn’t made his debut on Disney+ just yet, there have been plenty of hints that he could be on the way. If, or when, Lockley finally pops up on the screen, there will be quite a few lingering questions for him to answer. Viewers will likely wonder where he’s been all this time, what sort of life he leads, and whether or not he’s the one who mysteriously killed all those guys in Egypt. Most importantly, however, is a quandary that many may not even think to ponder. Assuming Lockley is able to summon the power of Khonshu in the same vein as Grant and Spector, what might his version of the iconic suit look like?
Moon Knight surprised longtime fans of the comics when its early marketing revealed that Mr. Knight would play a role in the show. The character is a newer alter in the books, having made his first appearance in 2014 as a variation of the Moon Knight identity who is a little less brutish and a little more sociable. Marvel Studios’ take on the character differs from this, instead of presenting the ‘Mr. Knight” appearance is a version of Khonshu’s Moon Knight armor tailored to fit Steven Grant’s personality. The white, three-piece suit has most of the same abilities as the classic outfit worn by Marc Spector, albeit with different weapons, and its presence is simply used to signify when Steven is the one in control.
So, the standard being set is that each one of the alters would ostensibly have its own Moon Knight design. Marc wears the classic, hooded vigilante suit and Steven dons the formal “Mr. Knight” attire. The outfits match their personalities, which might actually help in deducing what Jake’s official anti-hero look could be when the time comes. Moon Knight has been featured wearing a shockingly diverse set of threads over the course of his existence, so there are quite a bit of pre-existing designs the show has the ability to pull from. Yet, the first of the options presented in this article has never actually been drawn in the comics at all. Let’s dig in.
Jacke Lockley, Private Eye
It’s possible Jake Lockley has been under our noses the whole time. Early in the advertising process for Moon Knight, Marvel fans were shown three character posters featuring star Oscar Isaac. At first glance, they appeared to give the first glimpse of Marc Spector and his two superhero suits all in one place. However, now that audiences know Mr. Knight is actually Steven Grant and Moon Knight is Spector, the trio of images takes on a whole new meaning. What if Marvel actually gave the world its first look at all three avatars of Khonshu, and everyone simply failed to notice?
Jake Lockley has always been portrayed as the “man on the street” in the dynamic between alters. Where Spector is the skilled fighter and mercenary, while Grant is the intelligent one, Lockley is the private eye with his nose to the ground and street smarts up the wazoo. The series seems to be embracing the idea that Lockley is a violent, no-nonsense alter, emerging primarily when his specific skill set is needed and nothing much more. A flashy suit wouldn’t exactly help in extracting information with a low profile, so it tracks that Lockley’s preferred outfit would be something a little more unassuming and “street-level”, like the white hoodie and jacket in the poster above. Recent episodes of Moon Knight have had Marc and Steven wearing a remarkably similar outfits. So, this theory could already be shot. Though maybe the clothes were something picked by Jake off-screen, and he’s somewhere inside that psyche ready to pop the hood and get to work.
The Fist of Khonshu
This next theory is essentially the exact opposite of the last one. If Jake does in fact choose to wear some actual armor, there is one other iconic Moon Knight look that still needs to be covered in live-action. The character is famous for wearing all-white, but many of his suits throughout history have actually been predominantly black with white highlights. Even Moon Knight’s first-ever appearance had him wearing a darker color scheme than fans are accustomed to seeing, and it’s a look that’s made several notable comebacks in the decades since he was introduced. If the costumes worn by the alters in the show are meant to reflect their personalities, then what better way to display the darker nature of Jake Lockley than a suit that’s more black than white?
A version of the black suit was also used heavily in Jeff Lemire and Greg Smallwood‘s famous run on the character, which the show draws from heavily. It would be fairly cool to see all three looks from that stretch of the character’s history used in the same adaptation. Also, if Lockley plans on utilizing Khonshu’s armor when brutalizing his foes, his more “down-to-Earth” persona might come up with a suit that’s more tech-based in design than the supernatural wrappings of Marc Spector or the pretentious leisure-wear of Steven Grant.
Earth X
Now that The Punisher is on Disney+, maybe Marvel will stun us all and turn Jake Lockley’s Moon Knight into their next most efficient killer. A good way to do this would be to use a variation of the Earth X universe attire, which already resembles the MCU’s base suit for the character. The main thing separating this design from the original Marc Spector persona is a pair of semi-automatic Uzi pistols that this universe’s Moon Knight prefers to use over traditional Egyptian weaponry. Outfitting Lockley’s Khonshu avatar with heavy firepower may potentially feel out of place, but it would be in line with the alters trademark violence and do wonders to set him apart from Spector and Grant.
Ultimate
This one might be a long shot, but it’s still fun speculation. The Ultimate Moon Knight design has a little bit of everything, including the aforementioned concept of mixing black with white. It sort of comes off as a fun cross between Marc’s Moon Knight and Steven’s Mr. Knight, although it may be a bit too extravagant for the Jake Lockley alter to double down on. It’s mostly included here for two reasons: Marvel Studios has a long history of using the Ultimate comics as inspiration, and the Ultimate version of Moon Knight has an alarmingly aggressive personality that feels right at home with everything analyzed thus far. For example, he once threatened to cut Spider-Man’s throat out and really meant it. Yikes.
In the end, it’s important to remember this is all just fun speculation. Though his arrival feels imminent, Jake Lockley has yet to be confirmed by anyone involved with Moon Knight and may not end up being part of the project at all. Fortunately, that doesn’t mean fans can’t have a little fun playing guessing games with the future. If he does indeed make the cut, one can only hope he looks as good as his two bodily brothers.
The 21/22 season has been an interesting one as 10 teams ended their season with a positive record. This should make for multiple compelling series as a lot of these teams are closer than people may realize.
2) Boston Celtics Vs. 7) Brooklyn Nets
Tale of the Tape: The Nets were able to defeat Darius Garland and the Cavs to secure the 7th seed, but the victory did reveal issues that they will need to work on if they plan on winning their series against the Celtics. The Nets best defender is Kevin Durant, who also happens to be their best offensive player. Durant is an amazing weak side defender, meeting his opponents at the rim after they blow by the Nets perimeter defenders (which happens fairly often). In order for the Nets to stand a chance in this series, they’ll have to rely on more than just Durant and Bruce Brown to make defensive reads.
Another issue for the Nets will be how they manage Durant and Irving’s minutes throughout this series. The Nets 2nd unit is awful and is typically the culprit whenever the Nets blow large leads. Nash has tried staggering Durant and Irving so that Irving is the primary decision maker whenever the 2nd unit comes in, but that has had a negative impact as the Nets are better with Irving and Durant consistently together. I can see a scenario in which the Nets pull a Tom Thibodeau and play Durant and Irving 45+ minutes in order to stay in contention throughout the series.
Key Matchup: Kevin Durant Vs. Boston Celtics Defense
The Celtics, who ended the season with the top defensive rating in the league, are no slouch of an opponent for Kevin Durant. The Celtics are loaded with guards who fight over screens and pressure the ball handler (Marcus Smart), as well as bigs who can read pick and roll plays as well as rotate over to contest shots (Al Horford and Robert Williams). The Celtics game plan is to pressure Kevin Durant and make every shot as difficult as possible. They’re not going to stop him, but the plan should be to get the ball out of his hands as much as possible. The Celtics will settle for open threes from secondary role players if that means Kevin is out of rhythm. Throughout the season, that has proven to be the most successful strategy against the Nets as outside of Durant and Irving, as there’s a a deficit of shot creators on the team.
Prediction: The Celtics defense is extremely impressive, with veteran players who knows how to set the tone in a playoff series from a defensive standpoint. The Nets can’t withstand the pressure that the Celtics will apply. Celtics in 6.
3) Milwaukee Bucks Vs. Chicago Bulls
Tale of the Tape: This is a tough series to get as the Bulls have two stats that tells very different stories. The Bulls have the worst record against winning teams. They ended March 0 and 16 against the top three teams from each conference. This should tell us that they bully bad teams and fold against good ones, which means that they’re in line for a very early exit from the Playoffs. As I dug deeper, it occurred to me that DeMar Derozan is 4th in clutch scoring and holds a 122.2 offensive rating in clutch situations. This makes it hard to bet against a team who seems equipped to handle the intensity of a playoff series when it feels like every possession is a clutch situation.
Key Matchup: Zach LaVine Vs. Giannis Antetokounmpo
This is a very important series for Zach LaVine, given that he’s a free agent in the off-season and that this will be his first time playing in the post season. He has a lot to prove if he plans on getting offered a max contract. LaVine has gotten better as a defender over the years, but this will be his true test as he’ll share defending duties on Antetokounmpo with second year player Patrick Williams. Giannis is obviously unstoppable, but all eyes will be on how LaVine handles guarding the reining finals MVP. The Bulls will throw a lot of schemes on Giannis to try to low him down but my eyes will be on how “relaxed” or “pressured” Giannis looks against these Bulls.
Prediction: The success of the Bulls season was a welcomed surprise and it honestly put a smile on my face to see all of the recognition that Derozan got this year but Bulls are out of their element here. Bucks in 5.
4) Philadelphia 76ers Vs. 5) Toronto Raptors
Tale of the Tape: It’s been widely speculated that the 76ers have been trying to stay away from the top two seeds as they wanted to avoid playing the Nets in a series. They should have been trying to avoid the Raptors as they’re best equipped to upset Philadelphia. It doesn’t help that it feels as though James Harden is on the down swing. The explosiveness is not there anymore, neither is his ability to beat anyone off of the dribble. He’s settling for three pointers, which has been his bread and butter but he’s not able to get the same separation from his jab steps due to his lack of quickness.
Key Matchup: James Harden Vs. Toronto’s Length
Joel Embiid will be dominant and will get his numbers, but I will be very curious to see how Harden handles the length of the Raptors. Toronto’s President of Basketball Operations, Masai Ujiri, built a roster filled with forwards with long wingspans in a gamble that long, tall, and athletic wings make for winning rosters. Harden is generally bothered by lengthy forwards as they limit his ability to get to the rim and draw calls.
Prediction: I’m expecting this to be a close series and I continue to go back and forth on who I believe will ultimately win here. The length and athleticism of the Raptors will be too much for Philly, with the Raptors winning in 7.
1) Miami Heat Vs. 8) Atlanta Hawks
Take of the Tape: The Hawks are bad defensively, like really, REALLY bad defensively. Blown rotations, guards dying on screens, and no one being able to defend the point of attack is normal for the Hawks. They live and die by wether or not Trae Young is hitting his shots and is able to find open teammates. Effort from the defensive end will tell the story on if Atlanta can make this a series.
Key Matchup: Trae Young Vs. Tyler Herro
Atlanta isn’t winning this series but I look forward to watching these two young and confident guards break down defenders and hit open threes. Miami moves at a slow pace and with their defense I don’t expect Atlanta to light it up as they usually do. My hope is that Young and Herro is emboldened to lead and jack up shots so that this is a semi-fun series .
Prediction: Atlanta doesn’t have a chance here. I’m giving them one game here due to Young’s ability to will his team victory’s. Atlanta’s defense is just terrible. Miami in 5.
Following the introduction of both Konshu and Ammit in the first couple of Moon Knight episodes, Marvel Studios took yet another step into the rich Egyptian mythology that’s being built into the MCU by giving us a glimpse of its take on a few more characters based on Egypt’s ancient deities. This isn’t the first foray into the realm of gods for Marvel Studios, but it could certainly prove to be yet another substantial stepping stone toward the MCU’s near future.
Marvel Studios’ Thor (2011)
In episode three of Marvel Studios’ Moon Knight, Marc Spector, as Khonshu’s avatar, gets summoned to a meeting-of-the-avatars of sorts set within the Great Pyramid of Giza (perhaps serving as the MCU’s Overvoid). There, we meet the avatars of five members of the Ennead, a “super group of Egyptian gods” as described by Steven Grant in episode one. Its name comes from the Greek Enneás, which means “the Nine”, meaning that Steve was indeed right in correcting the mistake made by the National Gallery in its own exhibit’s promotional material. Of the nine gods with a place at the gathering, only five took to their seats at the chamber: Horus, Isis, Tefnut, Osiris, and Hathor. Shu (mentioned by name in episode one) and Geb (featured in the exhibit’s poster) were notably absent. As for the remaining two seats, it seems fair to think that those would belong to both Khonshu and Ammit, making the MCU’s version of the Ennead complete.
Marvel Studios’ Moon Knight
As for what these gods represent, little is set in stone in terms of who they are and what their main focus is within the MCU. Even the historically accepted constitution of the Ennead differs from the one we got in Moon Knight, leaving just enough room for Marvel Studios to slightly adapt each of the gods’ characters to fit whichever storyline might suit them best down the line. It’s not unheard of to have a god have multiple fields of expertise (let us put it that way), as it is actually extremely normal for that to happen. This means that it’s all up to Marvel’s writing teams to figure out where to focus on when, and if, these characters are called upon once again.
The Heliopolitans
And this brings us to the future of not only Egyptian gods in the MCU but, considering how Pandora’s box has indeed been cracked open, the future of many other pantheons of deities of specific spiritual practices and geographical locations. And the appearance of some might be more surprising than others.
Thor: Love and Thunder is an obvious choice. But this project will not only bring back Asgardian gods into the fold, as it is apparently set to introduce at least one character from the Olympians as back in April 2021 Russel Crowe seemingly confirmed that he would be playing Zeus in the Thor sequel. This might open the door for several other representatives of the Greek pantheon such as Ares, Poseidon, Apollo, or perhaps even Hercules. By making Gorr, the God Butcher, the main antagonist of the fourth installment of the Thor franchise, it would be a shame if many new gods aren’t introduced in order to, you know, be butchered.
The Olympians
But another upcoming, and perhaps less obvious, MCU movie that might also hugely benefit from Marvel Studios embracing its mythology is none other than Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. As we already speculated last September, following the release of Shang-Chi and The Legend of the Ten Rings, the Black Panther sequel might very well decide to focus on the Aztec Empire making it serve as the grounded real-world connection to the mythical undersea kingdom of Atlantis. Going this route, and doubling down on the mythological unveiling within yet another culture depicted in the MCU, would mean opening the door to another, less recognizable, group of deities: The Tēteoh, a race of supernatural beings worshiped as gods by the Aztecs of ancient Central America, much like the Heliopolitans in Egypt or the Olympians in Greece.
The Tēteoh
Following the introduction of the titular characters in Eternals, continuing to explore the storyline possibilities set by the several Marvel pantheons, by characters beyond the realm of man, unconstrained and with a whole new set of motivations would certainly prove an interesting one. Especially because there are numerous groups left to explore: The Ahau (Mayan), The Akua (Polynesian). The Apu (Inca), The Daevas (Hindu), The Inua (Inuit), The Manidoog (Native American), and many more, including The Tuatha de Danaan and the Fomorians (both Celtic) who operate out of Otherworld, a place that is bound to make its MCU debut following the introduction of Dane Whitman, The Black Knight, in the aforementioned Eternals.
Marvel Studios’ Shang-Chi and the Legend of The Ten Rings
An interesting and easy way to justify how these characters have been on Earth all along even if we haven’t seen them or even acknowledge them before is to do what Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings did with Ta Lo. In the comics, Ta Lo was a small “pocket” dimension adjacent to Earth, and it appears to be something quite similar in the MCU. It is described as a mystical dimension, inhabited by Chinese mythological creatures, that have managed to stay hidden not only by being difficult to access but especially by making it unclear to the outside world if it’s even a real place or not. And this is where Moon Knight‘s Heliopolis, as well as the Aztec Tlālōcān, the Greek Olympus, Otherworld, and many more otherwordly sites where gods roam, come to mind. They all share the common characteristic of being located on extradimensional realms, much like Ta Lo, with easy access to Earth through portals in the vicinity of where its inhabitants are worshipped by humans – places like Egypt, the Yucatán Peninsula, Mount Olympus in Greece, Stonehenge, and so on – making Earth the nexus of it all. A perfect answer as to how to bring the MCU to a new level of storytelling. Into The Age of Gods.
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