Moon Knight #1 [2014]

Moon Knight Vol.5 #1 (March 2014)

Written by Warren Ellis, Art by Declan Shalvey

While it may seem weird that I’m going to be reviewing Moon Knight #1 from two years ago while the newer edition for All New All Different Marvel is already out, I do have my reasons. This issue was my first exposure to Moon Knight beyond the Moon Knight Saga recap book (2009). I also own one issue from the original Moon Knight Series, but I didn’t understand who Moon Knight was until much later. For some background, most of the modern moon knight series follows up on Bendis’ run from 2011 where Moon Knight’s psychotic tendencies are really put on full display. The series following, including the 2016 series, further explore the psychological side to Moon Knight, adding in more hallucinatory sequences and explanations for why he is having his breakdowns.

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I normally start with the cover, and I think this one is pretty good. Moon Knight’s face, large and intimidating, in white while the logo (a moon shape used for the 2nd O in the title) is shown underneath in black. It’s a simple, but effective cover. I’d give it a 7.5/10. It’s a good cover for an introductory issue for sure.

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The new series begins with Moon Knight returning to new york after moving over to LA. It is really annoying to me when some of these heroes will randomly move over to the east coast. In his last series, under Bendis, Moon Knight “spoke” to and used gadgets based on Cap, Wolverine, and Spidey...but it seems like he’s moved on from that phase. He’s quite aware now himself that something must be wrong with his head. The moon God Khonshu has four aspects, and Marc has always had four personalities at some point, including either moon knight or himself alongside others. He likes to wear white so that people will see him coming, wow, that’s pretty badass. At this point he’s working alongside the police and I now see why people compare him to Batman. Speaking of being a detective, Mr. Knight figures that a local killer is hiding underground...so, being crazy, he decides to go down after him. After he defeats a ex-soldier, we see that before returning to New York, Marc tried to get some counseling. Here we receive a more in-depth explanation that puts Marc’s multiple personalities into a more supernatural mold rather than just a simple psychological evaluation like DID. The issue ends with Marc literally sitting down to face his other personalities.

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The issue itself packs in a great introduction, and the fantastic colors + art really sell the book with this sharp sort of horrific style that really gives the entire thing a smooth feel while also being very grim at points (with images of shadow and skulls, sometimes blood and guts). It’s a very visceral book and I look forward to seeing what comes next now that the character has been firmly re-introduced. I hope to follow this character through this series and beyond into his newer series as well.

The entire book is easily a 9/10 for me. Very few flaws if any and a great start, but it’s not a masterpiece.