Moon Knight is one of the newest Marvel shows on Disney+, and the first one to entirely center on a new hero not previously seen in the MCU. For casual fans who don’t know much about the source material, it was a chance to explore more of the many comics that Marvel has created over the years. For those who knew of it already, it was a chance to finally see the hero in action. And, for both, it was a fun show taking a wild ride through the gods of Egyptian mythology.
For now, all we can do is hope for a season two, as Marvel has yet to confirm or deny whether they intend on continuing the show, especially after its success. However, the story was wrapped up, so if there isn’t another season, at least we’re not forever hanging on the edge of our seats over an unresolved cliffhanger. If you’ve come out of the show wanting to learn more about the characters, or if you still aren’t quite sure who everyone was and how they were all connected, this guide will help clear up any confusion you may have.
Moon Knight
Disney
Moon Knight is a superhero alias, much like the names Captain America or Iron Man are. But, it’s much easier to call him Moon Knight when introducing him, for there could be one of three men under the suit at any given moment, and all of them are played by the same actor, Oscar Isaac. Marc Spector, the original Moon Knight, had a troubled childhood. After the accidental death of his brother, his relationship with his mom turned bad, and to help him cope, a new person appeared in his head — Steven Grant. You see, Marc Spector actually has dissociative identity disorder. Marc is well aware of Steven’s presence, but at the beginning of the show, Steven only thinks he has strange sleepwalking problems at first. He has no idea there’s another person inside his head.
Marc was dying when he made a deal with the Egyptian god Khonshu to be his avatar and fight against evil. This proves to be difficult, however, when Steven suddenly begins to take the reins more often, crafting a life for himself in London. He learns about Marc soon enough, however, when a plot to free an old Egyptian god means he wakes up in a different part of the world, running from people who are actively trying to kill him while voices in his head talk to him for the first time.
He and Marc start trading off more often from that point on, with Steven trying to be the voice of reason and Marc protecting them both. They don’t like each other at first but do grow close over the movie, learning how to work together as a team. In the end credits a new wrench is thrown into play, however — a third person, Jake Lockley, has developed alongside them, and they are still only vaguely aware of his presence.
Khonshu
Khonshu is one of the two characters on this list that Marvel did not create, but the showrunners of Moon Knight merely chose their own design for him and gave him a personality to fit their liking and their story. In Egyptian mythology, Khonshu is the god of the moon, marking the passage of time as the moon traveled across the night sky. Voiced by F. Murray Abraham, Khonshu typically wears bandage wrappings like a typical mummy might, except he doesn’t have a neck, and his head, a giant bird’s skull, simply floats above his body. He also always has a staff with a crescent moon at the top.
When Marc was about to die outside his temple, Khonshu lured him in with the promises of healing him and letting him get his revenge if he agreed to become Khonshu’s avatar, bringing justice to the world where Khonshu told him to go. He agreed, because he didn’t want to die, and it led him into most of the problems he’s in when the show comes around. Khonshu doesn’t really seem to care about Marc and Steven, just about making them do his bidding, which nearly makes him a villain in his own right. And even when they make a deal with him to stop being his avatar, he’s only tricked them, because in the end, it’s revealed that Jake Lockley is still doing Khonshu’s bidding.
Arthur Harrow
Arthur Harrow, played by Ethan Hawke, is the real villain of the story. Some might even consider him the most terrifying villain of the MCU so far. Harrow used to be Khonshu’s avatar, before Marc and Steven were. He lost his faith in Khonshu, however, when there was always another job to do and his freedom was seemingly never in sight, and when they separated, devoted himself to another god: Ammit. A cult grew around him as they devoted themselves to bringing Ammit back, passing her judgment onto souls all the time in her absence as they searched for her tomb to free her from her imprisonment.
Harrow tries to appeal to Steven at first, after Steven is the first personality to meet him and tries to give him back the scarab that Marc stole. Harrow can tell something is wrong with him when Steven physically can’t give the scarab back, and it’s only further confirmed after he follows Steven back to London and practically kidnaps him. He is ready and willing to do anything to get what he wants, however, including summoning jackals to fight Steven and Marc, doing his dirty work, lying to the other gods about his intentions to bring back Ammit, and even shooting Steven and Marc for getting in his way.
Layla El-Faouly
Layla El-Faouly, played by May Calamawy, is first introduced to us through a phone hidden in Steven’s apartment that belongs to Marc. After that call she comes to Steven’s rescue and gets herself wrapped up into saving the world from Ammit. How she knows Marc in the first place is what makes everything interesting, though. When Marc made his deal with Khonshu, he was in a group of paid mercenaries who raided the dig site. He spoke out against the murder of the workers, so he was left for dead along with the others, one of them being Layla’s dad. Marc met her when he went to tell her the news, and from there, they fell in love and married each other.
Marc had always been secretive, however, and he could no longer deal with the pain of knowing he could have tried harder to save her dad. Plus, he hadn’t told her about Steven, and now he was beginning to show up more and more often. She doesn’t leave him alone in the search for Ammit once she meets him again, not letting him run away from her this time. She’s the reason Marc and Steven finally manage to get out of the never ending contract with Khonshu at the end, and she even becomes a temporary avatar herself in order to help Marc and Steven and save the world.
Ammit
Ammit, another Egyptian god, is the devourer of the dead. Voiced by Saba Mubarak, Ammit is tied to the Egyptian afterlife. Though she seems to be a full alligator in the show, the actual Ammit only had an alligator head, while her front half was a lion and her back half was a hippo. She sat in the hall of judgment, waiting for souls to place their hearts on the judgment scales to be weighed against the feather of truth. If the scales were balanced, the soul would move on to the field of reeds, which was the afterlife’s paradise. If they did not balance, however, Ammit would devour the heart, destroying the soul and not letting them move on.
In Moon Knight, Ammit had a similar role, but she grew too power hungry, wanting to judge the souls before they ever reached her, devouring all those on Earth who’s scales didn’t balance for whatever reason, whether for something they have already done or for a future action they might have done, if she had not killed them. She sees that Harrow does not have balanced scales, but because her own avatar brought around her previous imprisonment, and she likes his dedication, she still accepts him anyway and tries to judge the whole world before she is stopped by Marc, Steven, Layla, and Khonshu.