Is Moon Knight just Marvel’s version of DC’s Batman? No! Not at all. What, then, makes
them different and distinct? Origin story? Powers? Intellect? Let’s take a look at all that and more!
Everyone knows the story of Batman's family. Bruce Wayne, an only child,
grew up as the heir to the billion-dollar Wayne Enterprises. His parents, Martha and Thomas,
were wealthy socialites and philanthropists dedicated to using their money to improve lives
in Gotham City. One night, the Waynes took their son to a show, but they were accosted by a thug
in the alley after leaving. The mugging went awry, and both of Bruce's parents were killed.
Moon Knight's family history could hardly be more different from Batman's.
Young Marc Spector grew up in Chicago with his father Elias and younger brother
Randall. Elias was a rabbi who escaped the Nazis to make a new life for himself in America.
He encouraged his boys to avoid violence in any conflict. Elias died when Marc was still
a young man, but Marc's brother Randall remained a big part of his life, and
eventually became the supervillain Shadowknight, tormenting his older brother whenever possible.
After the death of his parents, Bruce Wayne swore an oath to rid Gotham City of
its criminal underbelly. He dedicated his life to training for that exact purpose.
His years of training took him around the world, as he worked to become an expert in
every discipline that a master crimefighter might require. Perhaps most importantly, he
trained in martial arts and as a ninja, learning how to use stealth and darkness to his advantage.
Marc Spector's superhero training came via less virtuous motivations. Early in his life,
Marc became a boxer, despite his father's insistence on a life of nonviolence. After
becoming estranged from his father, Marc enlisted with the Marines, and gained some true military
expertise. After that, he worked for a time as a CIA agent before going his own way and becoming
a mercenary for hire. Moon Knight is perfectly accustomed to brutal fights and making difficult
decisions when battling his enemies, because Marc was doing just that long before he became a hero.
One of Batman's defining features is his lack of powers. Anyone can be Batman, provided they have a
lifetime's worth of combat and tactical training, as well as billions of dollars at their disposal.
Batman may not be a regular person, but he is more grounded than many of the gods and
speedsters that populate DC's universe. Batman uses his intelligence and gadgets
to overcome the gap between himself and some of his friends and foes.
"What're your superpowers again?" "I'm rich."
By contrast, Moon Knight actually does have some special abilities in addition to the
increased physical prowess he gained from years of mercenary work. His relationship with Khonshu
gives him access to the supernatural. Sometimes he receives dreams of the future from the deity; at
other times, Moon Knight has increased strength, depending on the phase of the moon. Despite his
occasional burst of god-powered abilities, Moon Knight tends to rely on his human strengths and
personal training more than anything else. That comes in handy for him, because Moon Knight's
fractured personality sometimes leaves him without the knowledge he has any powers at all.
When it comes to the origins of their costumed identities, Batman and Moon Knight couldn't be
more different. Bruce Wayne trained his entire life to become a crimefighter on the streets of
Gotham. When he returned to the city as an adult, he knew that he needed to take on a persona that
would strike fear into the hearts of criminals. Drawing on his own fear of bats as a child,
Bruce created the mythical figure of Batman for that exact purpose.
Moon Knight, on the other hand, never really intended to become a superhero.
At a young age, Marc Spector was chosen by the Egyptian god of the moon, Khonshu, to become
his representative on Earth. That first contact with Khonshu may have been the cause of Marc's
dissociative identity disorder, but it wasn't the moment that Marc became Moon Knight. Years later,
Marc was working as a mercenary in Egypt when he was betrayed and left for dead by his employer,
Bushman. Khonshu revived Marc, and conscripted him as his agent on Earth. Marc returned to
New York City and took on the identity of Moon Knight to carry out Khonshu's will.
Batman and Moon Knight have vastly different relationships with their alter egos.
Bruce Wayne created Batman as a symbol that would allow him to fight crime
in Gotham City more effectively than law enforcement could. Over the years, however,
Bruce came to identify more with his life as Batman than his life as the billionaire Mr.
Wayne. Bruce's struggle to define himself within two very different lives has been the subject of
some great Batman storylines, like "Ego: A Psychotic Slide into the Heart of Darkness."
If Bruce thinks he has it bad, he could really use a conversation with Moon Knight. Marc Spector
developed dissociative identity disorder when he was very young. His two primary alters are Steven
Grant, who becomes a self-made millionaire when Marc is an adult, and Jake Lockley,
who spends his time working as a cab driver. Other personalities occasionally bubble to the surface,
and sometimes Marc suffers a breakdown that causes him to forget his identity entirely for a time.
“Why did you call me Marc?”
Few superheroes' brainpower can stand up to Batman's intelligence. He's earned the title
"World's Greatest Detective," and it's frequently Batman's careful planning and detective skills
that help him get out of a sticky situation. Batman isn't just able to think his way through
criminal investigations, he's also more than capable of designing all sorts of high-tech
gadgetry that aids him in his crime fighting. If any Marvel superhero compares, it's Tony Stark,
who also builds his own technology and tends to think his way out of problems.
Moon Knight is by no means unintelligent, but he doesn't have the same level of thoughtfulness that
Batman so often relies on. Marc Spector has the street smarts of someone who's been in and out of
every kind of combat situation imaginable. All of his other personalities are equally crafty,
but none of them are going to be designing futuristic tech anytime soon. That said, when
there's a need for serious tactical know-how, Moon Knight is someone that people want to have around.
There are also very few superheroes as wealthy as Batman. Wayne Enterprises is a multibillion-dollar
company with interests in dozens of different industries. Of course, Bruce Wayne inherited
all that wealth. In fact, he has little to do with the company's day-to-day operations,
but he's invested in making sure Wayne Enterprises is properly managed.
After all, without the company, he'd find it much harder to keep up his work as Batman.
Marc Spector grew up in a working-class family in Chicago. His mercenary days sustained him,
but Marc wasn't involved in that work for the money. Once he became Moon Knight,
he was more interested in making sure he had funds for equipment. Luckily,
Marc's alter Steven Grant is a capable businessman who earned Moon Knight millions of dollars.
Unfortunately, due to various supernatural catastrophes and mental breakdowns,
holding on to that money has never been particularly easy for Moon Knight.
Batman and Moon Knight have incredibly different fighting styles. Batman
prefers to attack from the shadows. He's known for silently taking out enemies,
ramping up the tension and fear for everyone else in the room waiting to be attacked.
While he certainly has some weapons knowledge, Batman usually fights with his fists,
and takes down bad guys with his superior hand-to-hand technique and pure strength.
Moon Knight also likes to use fear to his advantage when fighting baddies, but he
prefers to let them see him coming. Moon Knight's white costume is meant to make him easily visible,
so whoever he's hunting down knows their time is just about up. Due to his extensive combat
training, Moon Knight is an expert with most weapons. He can use just about anything in
a fight, but fittingly, the Fist of Khonshu's signature weapons are special crescent moon-shaped
throwing knives. The knives are effective in combat, and leave Moon Knight's mark on the scene,
which helps to boost the menace of his persona and instill terror into anyone he faces.
No one stays dead in comics. Any exceptions to the rule that comes to mind just haven't
been resurrected yet. Batman and Moon Knight both abide by the rule,
but their comic-book immortality is also one of their key differences. Any time that Bruce
Wayne has "died" in the comics, there's always been a secret plot twist that kept him alive.
For example, after apparently dying in Final Crisis, it's revealed that
he actually became lost in time until his friends were able to help bring him back.
“False alarm.” “Are you sure?”
Moon Knight, on the other hand, has died for real. He was originally saved from death by Khonshu,
and the Egyptian god hasn't been shy about resurrecting him again.
Moon Knight died for a second time in issue #60, which was released in 1994
and ended his comic series for a time. Fans might have believed his death was permanent,
but in 1997 Moon Knight returned, kicking off the "Resurrection War" plot arc. Moon Knight's
relationship with Khonshu is often strained at best, so there's no guarantee the god will
always be willing to bring the hero back from the dead. However, the option is always on the table.
The single biggest difference between Batman and Moon Knight is their ideas of morality. Each
hero's morals come from his background, and inform just about every decision he makes while fighting
crime. Young Bruce Wayne saw his parents gunned down in an alley. Since then, he's been determined
to fight evil, but he's also been committed to not using guns, and not killing his enemies. There
have sometimes been exceptions to Batman's rules — usually in spin-offs and alternate realities — but
for the most part, Batman's refusal to kill is the single most important aspect of his character.
Moon Knight generally has no qualms about killing. Though his father always preached nonviolence,
Moon Knight has spent his entire life embroiled in one kind of fight or another. As a boxer, Marine,
and mercenary, violence was his trade. As the Fist of Khonshu, Moon Knight has an obligation
to strike down evil wherever he finds it. In many ways, Moon Knight is a more vicious and
brutal fighter than Batman, because he doesn't even try to hold back his rage. Most of the time,
Moon Knight is openly trying to kill his opponent. Don't let white clothes fool you:
If anything, Moon Knight is an even darker character than the Dark Knight himself.
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