Why Moon Knight is the hero I needed right now

Jamie Geist
Aug 24, 2017 · 3 min read

A few months ago, I attended Jim Rugg’s launch party for his new Street Angel book, held at a little comic shop called Local Heroes. I was talking to some new people, conversation turned to writing comics, and I mentioned how my current project involves a superhero who has to deal with both the stigma of being LGBT in America, and with his crippling depression. He recommended I check out Moon Knight, telling me about how he had Dissociative Identity Disorder (or DID), and while it wasn’t quite the same thing as what I mentioned, it was one of the few decent examples of a comic with a mentally ill lead. So, a few months later, I finally checked it out.

Art by Greg Smallwood

Moon Knight, first and foremost, is stylish. Marc Spector dons a snazzy white suit that, while not the traditional garb I’m accustomed to seeing, is unmistakably Moon Knight. Every artist in this book does a phenomenal job, and while I’ve never seen an art style I didn’t like, Moon Knight does something quite special with its blending of various artist’ styles to tell the tales of Marc’s alternate selves; James Stokoe, who I instantly recognized from his work on Aliens: Dead Orbit knocks it out of the park with his unique artstyle.

Artwork by James Stukoe

I was very hesitant to pick up this comic, initially. Marvel’s track record for portraying mental illness hasn’t been too great, in my experience; Dark Reign, and then Siege, had promise when it showed both Norman Osborne and The Sentry coming to acknowledge their mental problems. Unfortunately, they both renege on their therapy and medication and return to becoming the Green Goblin and The Void, respectively. This put a real damper on my spirits; its as if the comic was saying “This is all you’ll ever be. You’ll never change.” For too long, mental illness has been used as a cheap excuse to make a throw-away cape villain. It’s time for something more. Seeing the few instances of Marc’s childhood was therapeutic too, in a way. It’s been a very long time since I’ve seen a Jewish character in a comic book that wasn’t a jab at some sort of stereotype, or used as a punchline for a book. The cover to issue #10 is one of my favorites, not just for the representation, but for the surreality of Khonshu’s form.

Cover for Moon Knight #10. Art by Greg Smallwood

Marc’s DID is never used as a way to poke fun at the character. His mental illness, from my understanding of the material, is never inherently dangerous; only when he is manipulated and abused by outside influences, such as the nebulous Khonshu. This was so refreshing to see. I may not have DID, but I do have clinical depression, anxiety, and really poor ADHD. I understand how it feels to jump from thought to thought, which made Moon Knight’s narrative inherently easy for me to follow; never staying one place for long. Marc is one of the most relatable characters I’ve read in a long time; trying to survive against a world that seems at times, alien and strange, and pushing through the obstacles from within himself. The crux of Marc’s story, and a revelation for me, was something he said in the last few pages of the title. You can read it below. Despite his illness, despite the problems it can cause, it’s still him. And even though he can’t be fixed, it’s still him. Because we aren’t problems to be fixed. We have our own lives to live.

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