(EDITOR’S NOTE: Paint Monk’s Library, in collaboration with the enthusiastic staff over at the Into the Knight Podcast, is tackling the Moon Knight chronology! Each week we’ll take an in-depth look at the Fist Of Khonshu in a series of reviews, all in order of character appearance! These reviews will appear on Monday each week until we’ve covered them all, or until the enthusiastic Loonies get too exhausted to write. Whichever comes first!)

By RUSSELL MORAN – Guest Writer

The last time we saw Moon Knight he was tangling with the deadly fangs of the Werewolf by Night. After a change of heart, the Fist of Khonshu helped the lycanthrope and together they defeated The Committee. Now, the year is 1976 – just a year after making his debut, the lunar avenger gets his first solo adventure in the pages of Marvel Spotlight.

According to the cover, the fans “demanded” more Moon Knight. The breakout star of Werewolf by Night #32 had caught on with the Marvel faithful like wildfire and they were itching for more. Marvel Spotlight was generally a book used for “tryouts”, not only for new writers and artists but for new characters. Ghost Rider, Spider-Woman, and even Werewolf by Night made their first appearances in the pages of this series.

Doug Moench and Don Perlin brought their white avenger of the night back to print with Marvel Spotlight #28. This issue would introduce us to a plethora of characters and traits that would become staples of Moon Knight canon. Sadly, there are some aspects of Moon Knight that are, well, best left back in 1976. I’ll touch on that in my review. We’re also introduced to Moon Knight’s first official supervillain, the Conquer-Lord, although his tenure is a bit short-lived.

This issue is not the most valuable “key” Moon Knight issue, but in pristine condition, it’s high on the list. Being his first solo appearance, as well as the first appearance of most of his supporting cast, this issue is important to character continuity overall.

Without further ado, let’s review Marvel Spotlight #28

Review: Marvel Spotlight #28

Our story begins with Moon Knight thwarting what appears to be a robbery. Moony single-handedly decimates a group of seven burglars dressed in dark purple garb. Our hero seems to be toying with the criminals, showing off his fighting skills and his strength.

While fighting, we see how Marc Spector’s other personalities are causing conflict in his everyday life. We’re introduced to his love interest, Marlene, who is anxiously awaiting her date night with Steven Grant, Moony’s billionaire playboy guise. Elsewhere, Marc Spector’s cab driving and information-seeking personality, Jake Lockley, has not showed up for his shift at the taxi company.

As Moon Knight finishes taking care of the burglars, he and Frenchie debate the reasoning behind the break-in. Little does Moony know, there are far greater threats pulling the strings in this charade. Sitting in the shadows, scheming and grinning, is the Conquer-Lord. His real name is Mr. Quinn, and he’s devised a diabolical plot to seize control over the city … to “conquer” it.

Conquer-Lord is an extremely imposing figure. He towers over everyone and has the physique of a Greek statue. He looks like Mr. Clean – a really jacked Mr. Clean. He harbors two pet rats, and the first time we see him he’s demanding some intel on Moon Knight.

After retrieving files from The Committee, Conquer-Lord’s assistant spills the beans on Moon Knight. He was a former combat veteran, mercenary, and supposedly battled a werewolf. This is where we get into those bits of detail that I mentioned above – the ones that should remain in 1976 – and for the most part, they did. The file states Moon Knight gained enhanced strength when saliva from the Werewolf by Night seeped into Moony’s open wounds.

Now, you gotta think, this is before we were introduced to the concept of Khonshu. There had to be a reason Moon Knight is well, the Moon Knight. This feels like an odd first draft, and it didn’t stick. But I commend them for trying.

We learn that Conquer Lord had hired the seven burglars (from earlier) who were police officers on the villain’s payroll. His plan was to infiltrate the office of the mayoral candidate and sabotage his election campaign, thus ensuring the current’s mayor’s re-election. Many references to Watergate are made.

After killing his assistant for knowing too much, Conquer-Lord dons his own costume. It’s sort of a proto Deathstroke/Deadpool costume, except he’s huge! Conquer-Lord decides since the idiot cops couldn’t get the job done, he’s going to assassinate the mayor.

Earlier, the police had discovered the beat-down burglars in the alley. They learn these villains were actually cops, causing them to believe Moon Knight had taken out seven undercover policemen. This causes some retaliation on the part of the cops – they attempt to shoot Moon Knight on sight before he hastily escapes in his mooncopter.

Moon Knight decides its time to go undercover as Jake Lockley, but first he must return home as Steven Grant. Marlene is waiting and visibly upset. Moony once again disappoints his love interest by canceling their date for the sixth time that week. This will be a recurring plotline between Marc and Marlene, and the seeds for it are planted in this issue.

Jake Lockley begins his shift as a cab driver, but of course, he has ulterior motives. He stops by a local diner to pick the brain of a waitress named Gena. Another Moon Knight family mainstay, Gena and her children will become constants throughout the years. Gena fills Jake in on why the cops are hunting Moon Knight – allegedly Moony had taken out some of their own. As they talk, another regular supporting character makes his debut, the strange Crawley. Crawley appears as a vagabond but is quite wise and a textbook of information when he’s not strung out.

Crawley informs Moony about Conquer-Lord and his intentions. Lockley calls Marlene and decides his date is back on. The date, as it were, is at the party for the mayoral candidate that Conquer-Lord has targeted. Moon Knight arrives just in time to prevent the villain from sniping the mayoral candidate. They begin to battle.

Meanwhile, Marlene shows off that’s she’s a formidable fighter herself. She swiftly takes out one of Conquer-Lord’s henchmen and rushes to Moon Knight’s aid. Moon Knight accidentally tosses Conquer-Lord directly into Marlene. Conquer-Lord takes Marlene captive and threatens to not only kill her, but have his henchmen open fire on the party-goers inside.

Begrudgingly, Moon Knight allows Conquer-Lord to escape in order to save the woman he loves as well as the innocents inside. But tragedy still strikes. Moon Knight is interrupted by a frantic man. The issue ends with the man informing our hero the mayor has been shot!

CAPSULE REVIEW: For the first solo adventure of a popular new character, Doug Moench and Don Perlin did a serviceable job, but it falls short. The writing starts off really well, especially the way Moench describes Moon Knight’s inner feelings while disrupting the goons at the beginning. The plot thread of Moon Knight juggling all his other lifestyles is great, but it doesn’t go anywhere, at least not in this issue.

The writing really starts to suffer with the “Watergate” scenario. You can tell Moench really wanted to tell a story similar to the scandal, but the meat of the story falls apart with critical thinking. Why would the cops immediately think the burglars were undercover cops and not crooked cops? And then, why would they just start firing on Moony? It makes the police seem utterly idiotic.

The art doesn’t hit home quite as well as it did in Werewolf by Night. Moon Knight’s design seems more subdued and the characters don’t stand out as much. Plus, Marc Spector just looks odd. The main highlight of the art here is Conquer-Lord. He’s a very 70s looking villain and I enjoy that.

What this issue really did well was introduce us to the supporting cast. From this issue alone, we have a pretty good idea what Marlene, Gena, and Crawley are like. We know Marlene is the reluctant lover, she loves Marc (or Stephen rather) but is constantly second fiddle to Moon Knight. We know Gena and Crawley are the info brokers, and pivotal to Moon Knight’s detective work.

At the end of the day, this issue does a great job establishing our cast of characters, but its story and art fall flat for me.

On a scale of 1 to 5, I’d rate this issue a 3.

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