Moon Knight was a welcome entry into the MCU with Oscar Isaac essaying the complex character that struggled between dealing with DID and being a superhero. Moon Knight in the comics was a violent individual who unleashed blood and gore when confronted by an enemy and fans expected that level of brutality and grittiness in the series.
While the series was praised for its dark tone and psychological approach, the fights and action left a lot to be desired when compared to the comics. Fans were disappointed with the deliberate ‘cut-away’ decision of major action sequences and the lack of grit and brutality when ones that were shown. A certain comic book issue of the character is evidence of what the MCU series missed out on.
Moon Knight’s Brutal Vengeance on Taskmaster Showed His True Potential
Oscar Isaac‘s Moon Knight managed to successfully show the trauma and the psychological struggles faced by the character due to complications from Dissociative Identity Disorder. But the action and the fight sequences were underwhelming when compared to how violent and brutal the character is in the comics.
In the 2006 issue of Moon Knight (via Instagram), Taskmaster is sent to kill Moon Knight by a committee that created the Superhuman Registration Act. But the character was not prepared for the level of tactical efficiency and skill that Moon Knight had and got seriously injured. Moon Knight later came in and wrecked havoc on members of the committee leading to a violent killing spree.
This was the level of brutality and grit that fans were expecting out of Isaac’s interpretation of the character. But the show went to the extent of cutting out major action sequences to signal a blackout which disappointed many fans. They felt that the series did not utilize the exciting potential that the character would have brought to the MCU.
Oscar Isaac Was Surprised By The Level of Creative Freedom in Moon Knight
Oscar Isaac was initially hesitant to be in a big studio project after his stint in Star Wars. He thought that he would be boxed in and not allowed to bring in his own take and voice to his character. Fortunately, he was surprised by the level of creative freedom and collaborative effort that was happening while making Moon Knight. He told Entertainment Weekly,
“What I didn’t expect was that it was going to be such a collaborative experience. Not only for me but everyone involved. There was so much freedom to fail, to try stuff. You only get a good idea by saying a lot of dumb ideas first, generally. There was a lot of trust in that process. I think that was a big surprise.”
The character has not yet appeared in any MCU project since the end of the series. It remains to be seen whether Marvel will bring back the character in a future MCU project.
