Marvel’s newest hero is about to make its comic debut in an upcoming Moon Knight comic titled Moon Knight: City of the Dead. This comes after this character was first introduced in the Moon Knight Disney Plus series and was praised for being the first female Egyptian superhero.
The news broke on both social media and the official Marvel Comics website, where it announced Layla El-Faouly will be making her comic debut as the Scarlet Scarab. Layla’s debut will happen in the #25th issue of the Moon Knight: City of the Dead, where fans will witness a much younger Layla and Marc Spencer (aka Moon Knight) as they stop a group of mercenaries.
Comic writer, Jed MacKay expressed excitement to bring this MCU character into the comic universe and how the comics would provide some “synchronicity” to existing Moon Knight comic titles since this tale would take place “before.”
“Bringing Layla El-Faouly into our story was exciting. Adding an already beloved character into the universe of the comics is a really interesting opportunity, and being able to show the ‘before’ to David and Marcelo’s ‘after’ was a wonderful bit of synchronicity. It was an idea that we both came to independently, and the way our stories were able to dovetail is something that I’m looking forward to people experiencing. While the Scarlet Scarab will indeed be turning up in Moon Knight: City of the Dead, in Moon Knight #25, we’re seeing a much younger Layla and a much younger Marc Spector as they embark on a mission as members of the crack mercenary team, the Karnak Cowboys.”
While the Scarlet Scarab was already a character in the comics, the MCU’s version of this Egyptian superhero is different from her comic counterparts. According to an interview made by Variety, the people involved in the Disney Plus series were creating something new rather than just relying on the source material. Scarlet Scarab actress, May Calamawy told Elle that she tried to push away stereotypes made by Western cinema when she was portraying her MCU character.
“Anytime I felt uncomfortable, I would go talk to [Mohamed] and his wife and I love how Kevin Feige gave us the freedom to share that, let people know, ‘This is not what it’s like, if we do that it’s gonna be a stereotype. I realized quite early on this is a space where my voice was going to be heard and that’s the best feeling.
“I was careful not to draw inspiration from someone in the West because they want me to bring my side. In the Middle East, I find women have such a soft strength to them. And I was like, ‘How can I bring this to her? Why should I sit and copy what I think Angelina Jolie would do?’ Every woman I know is a bunch of dichotomies, and I wanted to bring that.”
Scarlet Scarab made her MCU debut during the series finale of Moon Knight, where she and Marc Spencer fought side by side to stop Arthur Harrow and his followers in Cairo. Scarlet Scarab’s return in Moon Knight issue #25 is scheduled to be released on July 12, 2023.