I recently wrote about how I think I like the MCU again, and that's accurate. However, there’s one nagging issue that’s been bothering me for quite some time no. It’s this: The MCU would have been so much better if Moon Knight had been done right! Now, I’m well aware that many Disney+ subscribers actually liked it. In fact, I know a number of people who think that the series was the last good MCU show that dropped on the streamer prior to Season 2 of Loki. (Though I definitely disagree since She–Hulk is just the best).
Yet if there’s one thing that I’m almost positive about, it’s that Moon Knight could have been a massive turning point for the cinematic universe had a different approach been taken. On that note, here are a few reasons why that could've been the case as well as why it wasn't.
Way Moon Knight Could Have Been A Turning Point For The MCU: The Project Could've Been One Of Marvel Studios' First R-Rated Project
I hear a lot of people raving about how the upcoming Marvel series Echo is going to “lean in” to its mature rating, and that's cool. I’m all for a more mature MCU. But at this point, I feel like it’s too little, too late. A lot of people have already gotten off the Marvel hype train (including myself), and a TV-MA show just kind of reeks of desperation at this point. I mean, let’s not beat around the bush -- this franchise is struggling right now. Between a movie like Ant-Man 3 underperforming, and super costly Disney+ projects with “half-baked scripts,” the MCU needed something fresh and invigorating maybe two or three projects ago, and Moon Knight could have been a shot in the arm, which it still needs.
Because unlike the bulk of the other characters introduced in the MCU thus far, this particular character is often considered to be SUPER VIOLENT. He’s a street fighter, who often doesn’t even know who (or even where) he is at times. Not only that, but he’s been known to carve moons into people’s foreheads if he views them as guilty. In a way, he’s like if Batman and Joker were the same character, and Marvel really should have leaned into that hard.
Yes, the vigilante's DID (Dissociative Identity Disorder) did play a major role in the production we saw, and that's something I did like that about Moon Knight. Even so, the more I think about the series and get past my sheer joy over Mark Spector getting some recognition, I can’t help but think about how the producers totally missed the mark on capturing the character's essence.
The studio could've gone the ultra-violent route and made the series similar to the Netflix-Marvel shows like Daredevil or The Punisher. That would've been just what this franchise needed after the Infinity Saga closed with Avengers: Endgame. And speaking of the movies…
Why Moon Knight Wasn’t A Turning Point For The MCU: This Should Have Been A Movie Rather Than A Series
I know hindsight is 20/20, but I always thought Moon Knight should have been a movie rather than a TV series. Because here’s the thing. The Disney+ shows, for the most part anyway, usually feed into the overarching narratives that take place in the movies. In this way, the events of WandaVision, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Loki, and even What If…?, were meant to kind of filter into the films but not necessarily vice versa. And this was likely never going to be the case with the Marc Spector-centric show.
Moon Man has joined forces with groups like the West Coast Avengers and the Defenders in the comics. However, you can tell from the series that the character was meant to be separated from the greater MCU. That's evidenced by the fact that fans didn’t get explicit mentions of other Avengers as was the case in Ms. Marvel. Instead, with MK, fans very much received a side adventure and, if that was the case, then it might as well have been a movie. And not just any movie, mind you, but a super, R-rated one. Just think of that first time you saw Blade and how gruesome and grisly it was. That trilogy still stands apart from most other Marvel properties because it’s just so unabashedly intense, and that could have been the case for Knight.
Would it have made as much money as say, Guardians of the Galaxy if it was rated-R? Well, maybe not. But, it wouldn't have been impossible, considering how much money R-rated comic book movies like Logan and Joker made.
I know Deadpool 3 is going to be the first rated-R MCU film, but that character has always been raunchier. So that doesn’t feel like that big of a deal, honestly. However, if Moon Knight had been the first R-rated entry in the canon, then that would have been major. Alas, the true violence was only hinted at in scenes where Marc Spector blacked out and eventually came to and found bodies all around him. Lame!
Way Moon Knight Could Have Been A Turning Point For The MCU: Moon Knight Could Have Bridged The Gap Between Himself And Other Characters, Like Blade
At this point, I’m not even sure we’re still even getting a Blade movie. Yes, it's still in the works, and the director just confirmed it has an R-rating. But after hearing about the alleged stories that were pitched for the Marvel movie, I don’t think I even want a it anymore, and that shouldn’t be!
That's because I'm a fan of the Daywalker! And even though I also love Eternals, the decision to have Blade’s voice in a post-credits scene in that movie did NOT seem like the best way to introduce him into the continuity.
But do you know what would have been a really cool place to introduce Blade? At the end of a super gritty Moon Knight movie! That would've made sense, too, as both are members of the Midnight Sons.
And that property could have been a prime opportunity to create a new faction of heroes within the MCU, and Moon Knight could have been that catalyst. The sad thing, though, is that Blade isn’t the only character who could have had a larger role in the franchise if the show had just been handled better…
Way Moon Knight Could Have Been A Turning Point For The MCU: Werewolf By Night Could Have Had A Series Instead If He Had Been Introduced With Moon Knight
Even casual fans of the Fist of Khonshu know this by now, but Moon Knight’s very first comic book appearance was in issue #32 of Werewolf by Night. Back then, the masked fighter was a very different character, more akin to a vigilante bounty hunter rather than Marvel’s version of Batman.
I’m sure you can see where I’m going with this but, if the character had received a movie, then Werewolf by Night would have been a really cool antagonist for it. Maybe not the MAIN antagonist but a secondary one that the titular hero fights against. And all of this would track, as this is it represents kind of synergy that Marvel films are known for.
But don’t you think the MCU would be much fresher today if it had a safe, mainline series, but also a much darker, R-rated side with characters like Moon Knight, Blade, Ghost Rider, Werewolf by Night, Man-Thing and Elsa Bloodstone?
Yes, three of those aforementioned characters in the Werewolf by Night special, which was pretty awesome. And the Marvel Spotlight imprint promises darker content. Still, just think about the darker universe that could have been spawned from a hardcore Moon Knight movie, which brings me to my last (and most grievous) point.
Why Moon Knight Wasn’t A Turning Point For The MCU: The Show Toned Down Moon Knight And Essentially MCU’d Him
You know what really annoys me? When I hear that TV-MA Marvel shows are on the way, I think of the fact that it should have been done with Moon Knight first. I can't get over the fact that after seeing this series, so many people who were unfamiliar with the character will be under the impression that this is a sympathetic hero, when that's not the case. The version of the masked man that I know has done some pretty horrific things. And while that is alluded to in the TV series, I feel like the Marc Spector was MCU’d to the point of being almost unrecognizable, which makes him wholly uninteresting.
Again, I know there are a number of people who really liked the series, but has the general public been clamoring for his return? I feel like, at best, people have decided that Moon Knight was better than some of the other Disney+ series. But if people loved him so much, then would he really be in limbo like so many other MCU characters these days?
I truly think that if this property had been handled more like the grittier Netflix Marvel characters, then we would be seeing him again (and quickly) due to higher interest from viewers. That also would have created serious growth for this overall franchise, as more gritty productions may have followed. Instead, we we're left with a neutered version of the hooded avenger and an MCU that remains mostly unaltered. That could change as time goes on, but you just can't help but think about what might have been.
Those who want to check out Moon Knight for themselves can still do so by streaming it on Disney+. Believe me when I say you'll definitely walk away with thoughts.
