Disney+’s newest show, Moon Knight, has been captivating MCU fans all around the world. With a new lineup of characters and an entirely new story, Moon Knight is one of the first characters to be introduced to the Marvel Cinematic Universe with his own series.
There aren’t many characters in the show, but each one has plenty to say that is pivotal to the overall storyline. Each has their own unique personality and brings a different style to the show that makes it what it is. There is lots said, but some bits of dialogue really highlight what the characters are all about.
Steven Grant
“I don’t know how to explain what’s been happening.”
When fans first meet Steven Grant, he is a nerdy, anxious man with no confidence who works in a museum gift shop. While there are some differences between Steven’s character in the show versus the comic, one thing that remains the same is his love for all things related to ancient Egypt. He struggles to sleep and can’t distinguish whether his dreams are real or not.
The more wild things happen to him, the less he seems to be able to explain things. Grant tries his hardest to live a normal life by showing up to work, asking to be promoted, setting dates to go on, and calling his mum, but still inexplicable things keep happening to him. When he sees Marc and hears his voice for the first time, things only get more confusing for Grant and he becomes even more confused than he already was. There is less and less that he seems to be able to explain and he doesn’t know where to turn for help. For many of the episodes, Grant fights against Marc Spector and all that happens as he struggles to come to terms with what is truly going on.
Marc Spector
“Khonshu has his eyes on her. He wants her as my replacement, and I’m never going to let that happen.”
Marc Spector and Steven Grant may share the same body, but they couldn’t be more opposite of each other personality-wise. Spector has the experience of working in the field, and of dealing with being Khonshu’s avatar. He is much more rough and tough and tends to take things more seriously than Grant does.
While Spector has a hard exterior, he does show that he really cares about Layla and that he truly wants nothing bad to happen to her. When he explains to Grant that he won’t let Khonshu take her as his next Avatar, he seems to really mean it. It may be hard to believe since he supposedly abandoned her, but his actions, and how often he yells at Grant not to give her away and to protect her, shows how dedicated Spector really is to Layla and her safety.
Layla
“What the hell is going on? Is this Steven the latest fake identity for you?”
As one of the few female characters in the show, Layla comes on screen causing a scene. She proves herself to be incredibly smart, hard-working, and loyal to Marc Spector. Layla seems to understand the possibility that Marc may have had to take on a different identity to protect himself, but she is genuinely confused by Steven Grant, the accent and the fact that he doesn’t recognize who she is, and why he doesn’t know about the suit.
While Moon Knight may not be the only superhero to have gotten married, he’s also not the only Marvel character with a patron god, but it’s clear there is still a lot for Layla to learn about that. Having married someone with the powers that Marc has, she has to be understanding and supportive, so her confusion at this moment was very real. It seemed to be less anger, although there was definitely some of that there, and more confusion as to what she was dealing with. Throughout the show, she just wants to know the truth of things and figure out what is going on and what happened, between Marc and Steven and about her father.
Arthur Harrow
“Had you not broken me so completely, I might never have known the value of healing.”
Khonshu’s old avatar, Arthur Harrow, is a very calm, confident man that believes he’s on a righteous path. At first, he is almost portrayed as a religious figure, but then his true intentions, to release Ammit, are revealed. Harrow introduces the all-important scales, which don’t seem to work on Marc and brings up a whole slew of questions for viewers.
One thing about his character that makes it so strong is how confident, and sure of himself he is. He fully believes that because he was broken, he was able to heal, and can now be the judge and jury of other people’s lives. This shows his personality throughout the show as he is seen looking at the scales of people’s lives, which thus determines whether they should keep on existing in the world. Harrow’s beliefs are what guide him and make him the character he is – whether that is a good guy or bad guy is to be determined still.
Khonshu
“We need each other.”
Throughout the show, Marc, Steven, and Khonshu all seem to battle one another quite often. There are moments when they learn to work together, but overall, the relationship clearly needs to be worked on. There are still many things that viewers don’t know about this god, and there are lots of things only comic fans know about Khonshu, but with each episode, they are being taught more and more.
One thing that stands true is that Khonshu needs Marc because without him he would have no avatar which would make him unable to walk around on the earth. In the most literal sense, Khonshu needs Marc, and fans, later on, find out, that Marc desperately needed Khonshu at one point too.
Anton Mogart
“Preserving history is a responsibility I take very seriously.”
The history enthusiast, Anton Mogart, is a man of wealth and fortune. Having the ability to live lavishly and be able to thrive among his historical splendors helped create the person he was. Mogart not only loved history, but he wanted to live it too.
Layla points out that he is trained by the best to learn the past ways of fighting, and that he has the best artifacts off the black market. Mogart may be a mysterious, mischievous man, but he truly is a man who takes pride in his preservation and collection of history.
Taweret
“My advice: Get in there and show each other the truth.”
At first seen as a highly decorated, talking hippopotamus, Taweret was the second god-figure that fans see in the show, the first being Khonshu. Her character is vastly different from that of Khonshu. With a much happier personality, she comes across as friendly and even does what she can to help Marc and Steven survive.
Time and time again she gives them advice, try to help direct them in a way in which they can heal, and even goes as far as turning the boat around to help them get back to the surface even though she knows her boss won’t be happy. Taweret never once seems to drop her happy and helpful personality.
Yatzil
“This is a safe place for you to tell us if you feel exploited by Khonshu.”
When Marc first enters the meeting place of the Gods, Yatzil, the Avatar of Hathor, the goddess of music and love, comes up with him and speaks to him. She comes off as kind, friendly, and appears to be an ally.
While the other gods seem to be against him as he is struggling to argue his case against Harrow, she chimes in, assuring him it was a safe place, only enforcing the appearance that she was an ally. Yatzil’s character is a bit elusive as fans weren’t shown a lot of her, but she constantly gives off signals that she wants to help Marc and Khonshu.
