Moon Knight
Moon Knight comics have always left me feeling depressed. Even the “happy” endings aren’t all that happy, but that realism and unending determination is part of what makes him such a great hero, and the perfect star of a movie for the “dark age” of comic films.
Moon Knight isn’t content with the two identities most superheroes get, he has four, all with a different purpose and all awesome. Sure, he’s battling with the things he did as Marc Spector, but that identity is as valuable as the others since it provides much of the fuel for his crime-fighting escapades. And in every identity he’s a genius! I mean the guy once wakes up from a distorted oblivion to quote Keats. I know plenty of English majors who can’t do that.
A Moon Knight movie doesn’t even need a supervillian. Part of what I like so much about Moon Knight is the realism, he’s always fighting gangs and normal criminals, and that should be captured in the film. Maybe later down the road they could incorporate the mysticism that is sometimes involved, but I say for this first film keep everything firmly grounded in today’s New York City.
If nothing else, Marvel should look at the success of the recent Batman films and realize their own vigilante detective with a cape could drawn much of the same crowd.
Sadly, it’s the similarities to the Dark Knight that will keep my favorite Moon Knight comic from being featured in the movie. The one I’m speaking of is the double issue where Moon Knight fights alongside The Fantastic Four and The X-Men. Now, I know that asking for all of those awesome characters in the Moon Knight film would probably be too much, and it has next to zero chance of happening, but the story is still one of the best ever written about the character.
It starts with Moon Knight having his back broken by a villain, in this case The Fly. He then has to go through tons of rehab and find a way to get back in the game to defeat a villain that endangers many people. Sounds a bit familiar, I know.
At the very least, the line for the moment when Moon Knight is finally realized has to come from that comic. When he is attempting to again don his cape and head out into the night he speaks one of the most phenomenally written monologues a superhero has ever uttered:
“Because I have to be here. Because I’m needed. You know what’s out there. It’s a world in which the savages all too often rule our cities, our streets, our souls. The good citizens… They fight that tyranny as best they can. They aren’t always enough. Moon Knight is more than a good man. He’s a force that transcends the brutality and the fear that are the savages’ main weapons — because he can use those weapons himself. He’s a savage on the side of the angels… a protector of innocents… a symbol of vengeance and hope. And God willing… if he does his job well enough… he’ll be the last savage.”
Don’t fight those goosebumps!
Well, that’s my list. Odds are Marvel won’t be able to include most of these in their big screen plans, but if even a few of them get live action films I’ll be one happy fan.
What’d you think? Did I miss your favorite Marvel character? If so sound off in the comments section below.