First Impressions: Moon Knight (Disney+)

Before Moon Knight was announced as the next Marvel show premiering on Disney+, I was unaware of this superhero's existence. I knew absolutely nothing about Moon Knight the character or how they were to fit in within the larger Marvel framework comics-wise or ever-expanding MCU. I knew Oscar Issac.

I was pretty reluctant to watch the show until the trailer was released a week before the show premiered and thought, "Eh, I like Oscar Issac, I might as well watch this 55 second trailer.  That sold me to at least watch the show, still not really knowing what the story was going to be about. All I could tell was that Oscar Issac plays a character who has some type of split-personality-disorder, that he is a superhero presumably called Moon Knight, and that he apparently talks with an English accent some of the time. I did not even know about Khonshu, not that I am knowledgeable about the Egyptian pantheon, but I do know about Ra, Horus, Isis, Osiris, and Anubis. I do recognize the artwork of Khonshu in their falcon form, but that's apparently because the falcon form is a placeholder for Ra, Hours, and Khonshu, among others, respectively.

Now, I am very much unqualified to talk about anything to do with this character, either Steven Grant, Marc Spector, or the Moon Knight as again, I did not know that this character had been around for the last 47 years and I am not going to make any assumptions about where this particular story-arc is going, where it fits within the greater 27+ film library of the MCU (not including the Netflix or Disney+ Marvel series). My main purpose here is to give a brief impression after the first two episodes to air of this six-episode season.

For the most part, I am enjoying Moon Knight, but mostly the parts were with Steven/Marc. With Steven being the quiet British gift shop worker with a sleeping disorder, his is a fish-out-of-water angle as more-and-more bizarre things happen to him, events that he cannot explain as he tries to live his life as normally as possible. And then Marc Spector being the (American?) mercenary and another aspect of this personality who wants to be in control of the body, mostly when Steven is in danger. It almost comes across as a Gollum/Smeagol personality split, but that would delve into the realm of speculation and I am trying to avoid that.

The least interesting part of the show for me, at least so far, is when the Marc side of the personality is able to take over and wills himself to become the Moon Knight, a physical avatar of the Egyptian god Khonshu. The design of Moon Knight feels like it is ripped straight out of a comic book, almost more so than characters like Iron Man or Captain Marvel. I do not know, I just don't quite vibe with it. In the first two episodes, Moon Knight has taken over towards the end of the episode during confrontations with some physical manifestation of Anubis as a violent gangly-looking jackal. I don't know if it is something about the fight sequences or some combination of that and the costume design that I just begin to lose interest in?

I think what it is, is that I am more interested in the Steven/Marc dynamic. I am more interested in the show that is about a person dealing with their supposed split personality. I am also more interested in watching Oscar Issac act as opposed to watching Moon Knight fight because it is just a person in a suit with glowing eyes. When Moon Knight takes over, I lose all feeling that I am watching Oscar Issac act, and more like I am watching a stuntman in a suit beat up other stunt performers and CGI creatures.

Maybe my position will change with the remaining four episodes, maybe the format of the episodes will change as the season progresses moving towards more Moon Knight and less Steven Grant. More Marc Spector and less awkward British guy not knowing what is going on and being terrified. More stuntman, and less Oscar Issac. More action, and less suspenseful horror and confusion.

I mean, I guess it is based on a comic series after all.

~JWfW/JDub/The Faceplantman/Jaconian
This Boy's Had Enough

First Impressions: Wolverine, the Long Night (Podcast Review)

Wolverine, the Long Night is the first scripted podcast by Marvel. There are 9 episodes, it's done in interview format, two special agents investigating a string of murders in a small Alaskan town. So far, Wolverine has been a lurking figure in the background and has had no speaking lines. I had forgotten how much I enjoy the mystique of Wolverine. He's shown up in one story, wherein he saves a man's life by cutting off his arm. I think that's such a beautiful summary of who the mountain man, dirty Wolverine is. He'll save your life, but he might have to cut off your arm in the process.

I'm hooked, but I should probably listen to the three audiobooks I currently have out from the Library first.

-D

https://www.wolverinepodcast.com/

TV Review: Runaways (Hulu)

left to right:  Gert, Nico, Alex, Chase, Carolina, Molly

I believe superhero fatigue is a real thing.  The endless Movies and TV shows being released at steady intervals, despite the generally high quality, can get tiring.  It seems like whenever a new superhero idea or property appears, I have an immediate sense of "that would have been cool a couple years ago, but now I don't know."

I am very happy to say that Marvel's The Runaways is cool now.  This is a property I knew very little about going into it, though it had passed through my awareness here and there.  It turns out, the comic series it is based on was written by Brian K. Vaughn, the celebrated writer of 'Y, the Last Man' and 'Saga.'  Vaughn is on as a producer and consultant for the show, which I've heard departs significantly from the comics in terms of pacing. Jane and I really enjoyed this show, and we are eagerly anticipating the second season.  

Runaways is a 10 episode season, which just finished up last night.  It stars mostly unknowns, though there are two familiar faces that bring me joy:  James Marsters, most famous for playing Spike on Buffy: The Vampire Slayer (and also a northern California native), and Marshall, from ALIAS (Kevin Weisman), who is a delightful and charismatic actor.  There are 15 principal characters in this show, which is really a lot, but the shows handling of these characters is probably it's best quality.

The story follows six teenagers, who have been friends since childhood, and their parents.  There are two parallel stories of the teenagers and their parents, and each of these is broken into different threads following the characters individually.  To give only the most basic spoiler, the action starts when the kids discover their parents are part of some sort of bizarre murder cult.  From that point, there is a growing amount of tension in the show, as you discover more and more about each character, while they also learn about the parents' secrets.  This tension is managed very well, and carries across the whole season.  

It doesn't hurt that the teenagers and parents are likeable and competently played by all of the actors.  Some characters, like Marshall, his wife Stacey, and daughter Gert are so charming-- I just love them (yes, I'm just calling him Marshall, even though the characters name is Dale).  Other characters take a bit of growing into, like Leslie, the religious-leader mom with the awesome freckles.  

Jane and I found ourselves completely sucked in by this show, and really hope it keeps going at the current level of quality.  We're both going to read the comics in the interim, and spoil ourselves on what is to come.  I hear that the entire first season is covered in like a single issue of the comics, so I expect there will be some major differences.

The Runaways on Hulu:  Highly Recommended.

-D