Following “Spider-Man: No Way Home” in late 2021, Marvel has returned with its first release of 2022 in “Moon Knight,” which is an introductory series to a new hero that streams every Wednesday on Disney+. 

Prior to the release of “Moon Knight,” critics who were able to watch the first four episodes of the series early raved about how it wasn’t like anything we’ve seen in the Marvel Cinematic Universe before. The series showcases the typical action and suspenseful sequences that are expected in a Marvel product, but it also displays an otherwise unseen dark element of horror that matches the portrayal of the character in the comics.  

Marvel’s “Moon Knight” explores the life of Steven Grant, an ordinary gift shop employee played by Oscar Isaac that works in a museum in London, who deals with the remnants and consequences of a double life. The series portrays Grant’s constant internal battle with dissociative identity disorder, and the conflict that comes with sharing his body with mercenary Marc Spector.  

Up to this point, the series has served as a stand-alone introduction of the Moon Knight character that highlights the frequent transitions between the characters of Grant and Spector. Due to these blackouts, we learn about the mercenary life of Spector, and we’re introduced to his wife Layla, who is played by May Calamawy.  

The drama that comes with the co-existence of both characters in the same body is heightened as the trouble that Spector causes ends up falling back on Grant, resulting in them unpleasantly having to co-exist in order to stop antagonist Arthur Harrow, played by Ethan Hawke, and his cult-like group from reviving Egyptian goddess Ammit to “liberate” the world from evil as the setting of the show shifts to Egypt. Halfway through the series, Marvel has also teased an addition to the chaos between Grant and Spector in a potential third character in the same body known as Jake Lockley in the comics. 

Marvel also uses “Moon Knight” as a means to integrate the presence of Egyptian gods known as the Ennead into the MCU, as Spector serves as the avatar for Egyptian moon god Khonshu in return for saving his life when he was left to die in a desert. With this addition to the MCU, Marvel adds to its abundance of supernatural deities such as the Norse gods, Celestials, Eternals and more that are sure to come with the multiverse thanks to “Loki.” 

It’s currently unclear how the series fits into the grander scheme of the MCU with a lack of cameos up to this point from any distinguished heroes that we know, but various easter eggs that have been integrated into the show alongside the Ennead’s introduction help establish connections to future projects that are going to be coming out this year such as “Thor: Love and Thunder,” “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” and eventually, “Blade.”  

In the comics, Moon Knight also partakes in partnerships with other heroes such as the “West Coast Avengers” and “Midnight Sons,” while also having an established relationship with the Avengers that promises that the character’s role in the grander scheme of the MCU is bound to grow despite a lack of clarity in the series up to this point.