Oscar Isaac’s Moon Knight debuted back in 2022 and was among MCU’s most hotly anticipated projects. The series was set to introduce Marc Spector / Moon Knight, a fan-favorite if underrated character from the pages of Marvel Comics and the intricate web of psychological drama and vigilante action that surrounds the character.
However, despite receiving mostly positive reviews, the series has been deemed a disaster by some critics. Given the depth of Marc Spector / Moon Knight’s characterization in the comics and the darker themes associated with his stories, many expected it to be Marvel’s answer to DC’s dark and gritty Batman. Here is why Moon Knight’s comparisons with Batman are inaccurate and where the series truly failed to deliver.
Moon Knight Deemed a Disaster For Failing to Be Marvel’s Batman
Moon Knight stars Oscar Isaac as Marc Spector and his other personalities and follows him as he tries to uncover a mystery involving Egyptian gods. The mini-series debuted in 2022 and received mostly positive reviews. However, some critics believe it failed to live up to its potential.
Insider @MyTimeToShineH recently commented on X that the series squandered its potential to be Marvel’s answer to Batman. As a result, they deemed the series a disaster, a sentiment some fans seemed to agree with. However, many loyal comic book fans were quick to point out that Moon Knight isn’t Marvel’s Batman.
This could have been Marvel's Batman but they blew it https://t.co/X2FaQ2rn58
— MyTimeToShineHello (@MyTimeToShineH) February 27, 2024
Comparisons between Moon Knight and Batman are nothing new. The sentiment has existed among pop culture fanatics for decades, partially due to both the characters, at least in their comic book origin, being rich men who fight crime. Furthermore, the design, tonality, and atmosphere of some of the earlier stories featuring Moon Knight did bear a resemblance to the Dark Knight.
However, the similarities between the two are surface level and Moon Knight is arguably a more complex character than Batman. Therefore, judging 2022’s Moon Knight mini-series by the same yardstick used for measuring the cultural impact of the live-action Batman movies is a disservice to the character of Moon Knight.
Moon Knight Is No Batman But the Series Is Still Ineffective
While Moon Knight might have been better than some critics claim, especially those expecting the character to be Marvel’s version of Batman, it was by no means a perfect product. One of the primary drawbacks of Moon Knight is intrinsically tied to the character’s differences from Batman.
Moon Knight is a complex character who is defined by his dissociative identity disorder and the distinct personalities that exist within his mind. These personalities combined with the character’s connections to the Egyptian gods, make him a religiously fanatic vigilante, whose lines of morality are not only blurred but constantly change depending on the personality in charge of the body.
While the series is mostly loyal to the source material, its characterization of the eponymous hero is weak. It fails to capture the complex nature and the resulting mystery and intrigue of the several personalities within Marc Spector’s body. Moreover, the series is mostly standalone and does not tie in with the larger MCU, which further makes the character feel underutilized.
Hence, while Moon Knight is by no means a disaster, it is still ineffective in exploring the titular character and its ineffectiveness has nothing to do with Batman comparisons. Had the adaptation truly embraced some of the bizarre aspects of the character, Moon Knight might have fared much better with audiences and critics.
Moon Knight is streaming on Disney+.
