It’s one of the oldest tricks in the book, a tried and tested tool to turn any story upside down and provide both novels and movies with some of the most shocking narrative plot twists ever, and yet, it’s only 14 years later thatMoon Knightsees theMCUfinally welcome its first erratic storyteller.
Considering Marvel’s Disney Plus’ have for the most part taken after the idea of drawing inspiration from very specific genres, such as sitcoms withWandaVision, sci-fi withLoki, or even a holiday special inHawkeye, Oscar Isaac has been handsomely presented with a fantastic opportunity to star in a branch that offers unique potential. In fact, only one actor has portrayed an unreliable narrator in superhero movies, Joaquin Phoenix, and while the very fibers of what makes the MCU tick may excludeJoker’sstellar R-rated writing, the series’ first episode offers a tiny glimpse at what fans will be served over the next five weeks.
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Trust No One, Not Even Thyself
Sure, Arthur Fleck is the most famous comic book character suffering from mental illness, but Joker is far from the only great performance that elevates a condition of this kind. Perhaps one of the more famous examples isFight Club’sprotagonist who both in the book and movie goes simply by “the Narrator” and keeps readers and viewers on their toes during large parts of the story, even until the veryoriginal ending author Chuck Palahnuik(and apparently the Chinese Government) conceived.
Memento,The Machinist,Shutter Island, both ofGone Girl’sprotagonists, and even in television,Mr. Robot’sElliot Alderson are all fine examples of characters that challenge the audience’s perception of what’s truly going on in the respective stories due to oftentimes not even themselves being able to grasp it. This is exactlyMoon Knight’spremise, as Isaac is set to play 4 different characters in Steven Grant, Marc Spector, Moon Knight, and Mr. Knight, definitely no mean task.
Besides a shaky relationship with reality, if there’s one thing all those roles have in common is that they’re all played by immensely talented actors who all received plenty of praise and awards for their performances.Moon Knight is a fantastic opportunity for Isaacto showcase his acting chops, which is not something that’s often said of any superhero production, as these are often somewhat linear characters,just askThe Batman’sRobert Pattinson.
Marvel loves playing misdirection with their fans, yet most of the epic moments, revelations, or plot twists in the MCU can usually be linked to old comic book storylines or an obscure character’s personality.Moon Knightis different, with Steven/Marc misdirection is the name of the game, here every frame opens the doors for Steven to find himself suddenly startled with blood on his hands.
A Family-FriendlyMoon Knight
It’s no secret thatMoon Knight borrows heavily fromBatman, only that contrary to Bruce Wayne, Marc Spector has to contend with juggling four different personalities he truly doesn’t control most of the time. The Caped Crusader is actually in control, so much that at his peaks he can willfully summon Bruce or Batman depending on what the situation merits because he doesn’t suffer from the souped-up comic book version of the Moon Knight’s dissociative identity disorder.
Moon Knight is a somewhat obscure character, but as Marvel’s answer to the original Dark Knight he’s also, well dark. Nevertheless, in a world where even Matt Reeves’The Batmanhas to adapt to a PG-13 world (which it does wonderfully), the series also must abide by the MCU’s rules.So how doesMoon Knightdo this?For starts, the show opens up with its most likable personality, Steven Grant.
Although the series is very different from the comic books, Steven is one of the most heavily changed facets as he is no longer a millionaire, quite the opposite, he’s the archetypical regular man, a “nice guy” and actually -for the most part- an absolute pushover. It’s possible this was done tocontrast better with the other personalities Isaac plays, yet it also makes him similar to likable unreliable narrators such asForrest Gump.
Instead of being a dangerous murderer likeAmerican Psycho’sPatrick Bateman, Steven’s incapacity to cope with the actions of his other self make him come out as naive, foolish, and utterly useless to the eyes of the rest of the world. Like the ever-jolly Forrest Gump, Steven is the part ofMoon Knightthe audience sympathizes with, while the others will surely evoke different feelings.
Marvel’s superheroes may be getting more complex as film and streaming leave more room for them to expose extra layers of their personalities, however, no other character inthe MCU can matchMoon Knight. The series’disconnection from the rest of the MCUis the icing on the cake for a show that should not be like the rest, and every startling stare from Isaac is a stark reminder of how special it is.
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