Some nights there is a bad moon rising. For the bad guys that is.
Mark Spector, the Moon Knight
Welcome to watchmojo.com and today we'll go explore the comic book origins of Mark Spector
otherwise known as, the Moon Knight
Moon Knight was introduced as a rather ambiguous figure
Not exactly a villain but not quite a hero either
In a 1975 Werewolf By Night storyline, Jack Russel, the titular werewolf
found himself hunted by a mysterious, faceless figure clad all in white
who was determined to capture him.
The figure told Russel that he could call him Moon Knight
In fact, Moon Knight's real name was Mark Spector
Under that name, Spector had established a successful career as a mercenary
His resume included jobs in hotspots all over the world
often specializing in locations in turmoil due to civil wars
or revolutions
Spector had been invited to a meeting with an organization known only as
"The Comitee"
Comprised by extremely wealthy businessmen, The Comitee
hired Spector to capture Jack Russel and bring him to them
for reasons of their own
They also supplied Spector with a costume and an alias to use on this mission
Spector donned his ghostly outfit and proceeded to
utilize his considerable skills to capture his prey
After delivering Russel to the Comitee, Moon Knight learned that they planned
to use Russel in his werewolf form as their own private killing machine
Upon hearing their plans and being goaded by Russels sister and friend, who had also been captured,
Moon Knight's conscience kicked in. He freed Russel
And the other captives, and helping them fight their way free
of the Comitee
Over his next few appearances in various Marvel titles, Moon Knight shifted
Into a more strainghtforward hero role
His origin was retold in a story arc and began the #1 issue of his own 1980 comic book
I hunt thugs to please the Moon God
In this retelling, Mark Spector is a mercenary, who is working in Sudan with
his colleague Frenchie
after their boss, a nasty piece of work named Bushman
killed an archaeologist, Spector rescued the archaeologist's daughter
Marlene
When Bushman killed more innocent civillians, Spector was pushed too far and rebelled
Bushman defeated him and left him for dead in the desert
But he crawled back to Marlene just before he died
Moments later however, the statue of Konchu, God of the moon and vengeance
brought him back to life
Taking the statue's robe, he bagan his career as Moon Knight
Along the way, he adopted two other alter egos:
A cab driver a millionaire playboy, in order to aid him in his quest
for vengeance
I am Konchu's blade of vengeance
This version of Moon Knight's origin was somewhat at odds with the story involved on his first appearance
things were then cleared up by the fourth issue, when a flashback
revealed that Moon Knight and Frenchie knew of the comitee and wanted to investigate it
Frenchie disguised himself as a wealthy and industrialist
When he learned of the plans to catch the werewolf,
he convinced the comitee to hire Spector for the job
He also brought in Moon Knight's costume
Claiming he had created it. Pretending to work for the comitee,
Moon Knight actually brouht about its downfall
videogame enthousiasts have had ample opportunity to experience Moon Knight, in
gaming situations.
He can be found in Marvel Ultimate Allience, Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3, Lego Marvel Superheroes
Spider-man web of shadows and others
Being ressurected by the god of vengeance does make this guy a pretty formidable opponent
Are you a fan of Moon Knight?
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