Marvel Studios’ Phase 4 is already known for dipping into mental health struggles, notably Wanda’s grief in WandaVision and Bucky’s PTSD in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. The MCU is about to tackle mental illness directly with the upcoming Disney+ series Moon Knight.
In the comics, Marc Spector is a mercenary who is seemingly revived by the Egyptian moon god Khonshu and becomes the vigilante Moon Knight to serve as his avatar. While that duality alone is enough to create an interesting conversation about identity. Marc Spector, however, is much more complex than the average vigilante. He suffers from dissociative identity disorder (DID). While the series is likely to explore more personalities, we know that Moon Knight will feature Marc Spector’s alter Steven Grant, the Moon Knight himself, and the lesser-known Mr. Knight. Executive producer Grant Curtis discussed how the character’s DID impacts Moon Knight:
It’s a story about identity and finding one’s true self…The journey that Marc Spector is on during our whole show is: Who am I? And how do I reconcile portions of my past, present and potential future that I don’t necessarily agree with? Coming to terms with our baggage and learning to live with ourselves is what we all deal with on a day-to-day basis.
Grant Curtis
The character of Moon Knight has often been compared to Batman, a fellow caped crusader that roams the city at night and often uses similar gadgets. But Curtis makes it clear that viewers should not expect to see a Batman copy:
[Marc Spector is] someone longing for connection, and in a way, could be a counterpoint to the classic, tortured, dark vigilante guy we’ve seen a lot.Grant Curtis
Writer and executive producer Jeremy Slater agrees, and notes:
[Moon Knight’s DID] makes him much more than just sort of a palette-swapped Batman clone. A lot of superheroes are defined by their villains [but] Moon Knight is his own greatest enemy in a lot of ways.Jeremy Slater
It is yet to be seen how exactly Moon Knight tackles Spector’s DID, and how mental illness is portrayed in entertainment can be tricky. We also do not know if other personalities of Spector’s will be featured in the series–in particular, his alter Jake Lockley has been noticeably absent from promotional materials. In any event, Moon Knight looks to be a unique entry in the MCU and his inner struggles should distinguish him from other popular heroes and caped crusaders.
Source: USA Today
