#No one tell Tigra

[drifting-pieces-blog-blog]

Breaking down the comics: Sun in eyes

BONUS COMIC REVIEW: 

Issue 17 mini comic: Marc Spector - The Worship of False Idols

You guys. You guys have no idea. This is it. This is the reason I fell utterly in love with Moon Knight. I'm so excited.

When I found Moon Knight (I'll get to that discovery in a later review) I just had to know who he was. I stayed up all night downloading and reading everything. 

When I got to this piece it must have been 3am and this is what made me obsessed. 

What's hilarious is that this mini comic comes at the end of a really dramatic Marc Spector heavy issue in which he's dark and angsty and violent. 

And then...You get this. This delightful idiot man that's just doing his best. 

Let's get into it! 

I wonder if this image of Marc might be what inspired Doctor Grant from the show. 

We open with Marc holding a machete and making his way through a jungle in South America. 

Narration: Long before there was a Moon Knight, there was Marc Spector. Though he wore but a single name, he operated under many guises... Soldier of fortune, treasure seeker, courier, mercenary, were a few of those guises. 

He was a man whom Moon Knight can now look back on with only slender pride - A strong man, yes, and thoroughly determined, but often a ruthless man, one who braved danger only for money. This is one of his stories." 

Such lovely narration. Painting a picture of a gruff killer for hire out for a buck and not afraid to get dirty for it. 

We see him hacking his way through a jungle and complaining the whole time. 

"Must've hacked my way through thirty miles of this green hell..." 

He had previously met with a drunken archeologist (probably at a bar) who told him about a beautiful ugly idol made of solid gold. 

He finds a clearing and there sits the idol 

He doesn't find this suspicious at all. 

There's going to be a lot of screenshots in this review. 

(flat in the dirt again.) 

The dog apparently belongs to an archeologist nearby. His wife comes out of the tent, remarking that he's probably out drinking again. (Marc's info source). 

She looks around and notices the Idol is missing. She shrugs and goes back to the tent. 

She has a busy day tomorrow if she's to keep looking for a big discovery that she thinks is very near. 

Marc wakes in a dark underground cavern. 

Now we get to watch this poor man try to think this through. 

"But I can't carry any more than I've already got.

Maybe I should substitute-take something else-something better...

No-The archaeologist in the bar said this idol is the choice one--the one that'll command the highest price from collectors and museums--worth far more than its weight in gold.

But if I leave now, I'll never find this place again. Not before those archaeologists do--and by then they'll have armed guards swarming this place... 

Got to decide now-cuz I won't be able to change my mind later..." 

Marc decides to keep the one he already has. 

He follows a draft and finds himself in a bat cave with Guano up to his calves. 

Oh Marc…Oh no…

Oh no.

Oh no

Marc no…

Marc no…stop…

Buddy…pal….Beloved hero of my heart…

I mean…He saves them. Marc isn’t as heartless as he thinks he is. Just cause he’s having a bad day doesn’t mean they have to have one too. 

And now… I give you my hero. The light of my life. My obsession. My sweet cheese. My good time boy.

Damn Marc, that’s a nice leg. 

Marc makes it back to the town. 

He staggers towards where he's staying, looking forwards to a week in bed and then cashing in his idol for the sweet sweet dough (get that bread Marc). 

Suddenly, his thoughts of rest are interrupted by someone shouting "Three Dollars American!" 

He looks over to see the archeologist and his wife talking. 

She admonishes him for taking so long to get back to the newly discovered temple....then asks him why he keeps guying the cheap plaster idols. 

Marc looks over to a stand with a man selling "Genuine Inca idols straight from the temple of the sun!"

This is Marc Spector everyone. Mercenary dark and tormented and angry and violent killing machine Marc Spector. 

The man that can’t forgive himself and that no one loves easily. A man that is hated and feared. 

I don’t read Moon Knight for the dark action. I read Moon Knight for moments like this. 

This is what made me fall in love. Not the white cape, the mental health, the DID, the religiously tortured soul, the hero that needs saving…

This man that is having the worst time and still he stumbles into the sunset because DAMN IT he worked hard to get there and he’s going to get something out of it… But at the end of the day, he’s no further along than the rest of us. 

He probably had a drink and went to bed after this. Maybe laughing to himself. Maybe laughing about all the close calls. Maybe crying a little. 

But he didn’t go back to rob the excavation site. He said “Not today. Not this time.” and went on with his life. 

And he told no one of this, because he’s Marc fucking Spector and he has a reputation. 

So I leave you with this. The best image of Marc Spector I’ve ever seen. The true meaning and mood of Moon Knight I’ve ever seen. 

This pretty much just sums up his life: 

(And somewhere, Khonshu looked at this mess and said “That’s the one. That’s the one for me. My son!”)

[age-of-moonknight]

“8-Ball,” Vengeance of the Moon Knight (Vol. 2/2024), #5.

Writer: Jed MacKay; Penciler and Inker: Alessandro Cappuccio; Colorist: Rachelle Rosenberg; Letterer: Cory Petit

[lollipencil]

Mare Phantom: Part 3

@void-of-unparalled-chaos, I've finally thought of a (semi-decent) title! Anyone who happens upon this, parts 1 and 2 are here.

Enjoy and be gentle ---

When Danny's blurry's eyes opened to a white light above, his heart lurched. For a split second, his eyes closed to quickly wipe the blurriness away. And opened to a very different ceiling. The light now resembled the moon, with the ceiling matching the rest of the night sky. Danny could even make out each of the maria that decorated its surface.

Even with the pain radiating from his shoulder still, Danny smiled softly as he listed them clockwise. He got to Mare Vaporum, before he noticed that he was not alone.

A man was sitting at his bedside. Glasses reflected the simulated moonlight and hid his eyes from Danny. "Hello," the man greeted with a smooth voice, "I'm glad to see you awake so soon. How is your pain?" "...Kinda bad," Danny found himself admitting. A hum vibrated through the air between them. "Are you allergic to any medication?" "No, but none of it works either."

The man's brow furrowed but he doesn't ask the usual question: "Can you tell me what happened?" Regardless, Danny kept his mouth firmly shut.

After a few minutes of silence, the man hummed again. "The wound, it's too large and in the wrong place for an accident. And you came here instead of a hospital. So, am I right in thinking that they hold a position of power?" Danny still didn't speak, but found his head darting into a short nod in spite of himself. The man nods back, invisible eyes closing as if to hold this information firmly in place.

"You needn't fear them anymore," he began, "You are inside the Midnight Mission, vessel of the House of Shadows, and temple to Khonshu." "...Who's Khonshu?" "Many things. Embracer, Pathfinder, Defender, Healer. Protector of those who travel by night. You speak to one of his fists, to the Hunter's Moon. So, if you can, who do we need to hunt?"

---

A small crowd had gathered in the hallway outside the med bay. Chairs of varying styles had been placed, but Reese was the only one who sat. Soldier had immediately stood by the door's left side, ensuring the hallway he'd come from remained at least half in sight. From the other side of the hallway came Marc (or the system's body rather).

No one spoke. Not until Tigra appeared from a trapdoor in the ceiling, mostly full cupholder in hand. "What's happened?" she asked in place of a greeting. "Don't know, Mission's in near full lockdown," Soldier replied as Marc claimed a cup. "A young traveller arrived about an hour ago," Reese stated with a false calm, "Fell in the door, from the sky. Wound to his shoulder." "How bad?" Marc's familar tone rumbled. "Bone was exposed."

Tigra's tail lashed violently as Marc's jaw and Soldier's hand clenched equally tight. "Mission chained the doors after he came in," Reese breathed in deep. Before anyone else could speak, the door opened.

Badr was the picture of utter fury. "Danny is awake, and speaking," each word was cautious, as if the wrong one would shatter the fragile floodgates he was managing. "How is he?" Reese asked before anyone else could. "In pain, still. He said that no pain medication can help him." "Nothing? Not even the stuff for super-soldiers?" Soldier inquired. "We don't have that kind of medication." "I can try and get ahold of some," Tigra offered. "Alright then, one dose for now. Just until we know if it works."

At Tigra's nod, Badr finally picked up his cup. "Reese, Soldier," he turned to the two in question, "I'm in need of some research." "Who and what?" Soldier turned fully to Badr while Reese sat up. "The Ghost Investigation Ward, and a piece of legistation called the 'Anti-Ecto Acts' or something akin to that." "On it," Reese and Soldier filed out, Tigra heading out for her own task as well.

"Brother," Badr's full attention was on Marc, "I'll need your help with this." "Of cource. You'll have all of us, in any way we can." "Good, I have to got back in." "I'll see if my sources have any information." With a grim nod, they both headed off with determination in their strides.

[vintagegeekculture]

How would you go about rebooting/modernizing "Flash Gordon" in a way that minimizes and/or mitigates the yellow peril in its DNA (e.g., Ming) but still keeps it recognizable and palatable to the fans? I always thought it'd be interesting to race-flip it, especially if one were to base Flash on someone like indigenous athlete and Olympian Jim Thorpe.

You know, when I heard about the Sex Archie show, at first, I thought it was a joke trailer from College Humor or something. But now, thinking it over, I realize it was absolutely genius.

The Riverdale approach (grounding something in sexuality) may not necessarily work for everything, but it would absolutely work for Flash Gordon specifically, because Flash Gordon always very much had in its DNA a kind of European sexuality mingled with experimental art direction, something like Barbarella or Heavy Metal comics. The comics always had whipping scenes, dungeons, seraglios, seductions, hypnotic compulsions into service, and arch enemies who pin their foe by pressing their wrists against a wall. It's very interesting to compare it to the far more non-sexual Star Wars movies that it supposedly inspired. If you do an adult version - emphasis on the adult - something like Game of Thrones but pushes it even further, it would absolutely work. Flash Gordon is not an antihero (he's more an audience identification POV character like Ned Stark who is a stand in for the moral values of the audience), but the planet Mongo is surrounded by antiheroes. Are you telling me that Prince Barin, if push came to shove, couldn't kill in cold blood?

The best possible person to helm a reboot of Flash Gordon would be a cokehead lunatic Italian who threatens his actors by pulling out a knife on set while yelling gibberish. You know, the kind of guy who directs all my favorite movies. I'm reminded of the very fascinating costumes and designs that Heavy Metal artist (and lunatic Italian, what a plus!) Milo Manara did for an aborted remake of Barbarella starring Drew Barrymore in the mid-2000s.

A project that absolutely captures the spirit of what I am talking about is Taika Waikiki's Thor: Ragnarok, which merely flirted with 80s Heavy Metal themes and suggested debauchery within the constraints of its' rating.

Or better yet, Steven Sommers, director of the Mummy (you know, the good one from 1999) would do something amazing with this material. The target audience for a Flash Gordon revival would be the people who share memes that say "my sexual orientation is the cast of the Mummy"). God, Tumblr would crack in half and get a new favorite show, which is why it amazes me that they haven't added Tigra to the Marvel movies yet. Incidentally, I think the Masters of the Universe who create our culture are absolutely sleeping on how absolutely essential that movie is to the generation that grew up around the turn of the 20th century (much like how Gen Z views Polar Express as a classic for some reason).

Hey...Lady Gaga loves to act, doesn't she? You know, I bet she would understand this material immediately, and I'm not just saying that because I'm a huge fan. I mean, she already dresses like she came from Ming's Throne Room. She loves art direction and burlesque. She's also of Italian origin (hey, it doesn't hurt). I'm not sure if she's ever read Heavy Metal (I doubt it, as she's not a pot dealer older brother who listens to Primus) but I think she'd get it, because she doesn't think pop "low" culture is a dirty word. Regular people who would sleep on yet another Flash Gordon revival would watch if she was in it somehow, or involved in production.

[ariel-seagull-wings]

@stickypersonaearthquake @imperiuswrecked @thealmightyemprex @themousefromfantasyland @professorlehnsherr-almashy

"This happens with John Byrne a lot. Most fans have just accepted that Byrne has one idea of continuity: his. If he returns to a book (such as The Avengers) that he previously wrote, expect all of the characters to immediately return to the characterizations and stories he was writing when he left, as if all of the ensuing continuity and characterization had simply not happened. Whether this is a good thing or a really terrible thing generally varies on the title, how Byrne wrote it originally, what happened since he wrote it, and whether you're a big fan of John Byrne or not.

When John Byrne took over Star Brand back in The '80s, he proceeded to launch one Take That! after another at the departing figure of ousted Marvel Comics editor-in-chief Jim Shooter. Star Brand was one of the Shooter-initiated The New Universe titles, and was the one that Shooter himself wrote personally. Byrne not only took ad hominem shots at Shooter personally, but had exposition characters hang lampshades on how implausible the events of Shooter's run was, and how stupid the protagonist Ken Connell had been. Early on in Byrne's run, Connell's girlfriend (a major cast member) got killed off; Connell later broke down and tried to get rid of his powers, destroying Pittsburgh (the hometown of both Connell and Shooter) in the process. This was referred to slightly in the Untold Tales of the New Universe story "Tales of the Mulletverse".

In the '80s, John Byrne had grown tired of Magneto's status quo as an Anti-Hero, and wanted him to fall from grace and return to a life of villainy. To achieve this, he and Walt Simonson wrote a story where he did indeed turn back into a villain, and released the New Mutants from his tutelage to boot. Chris Claremont was not at all amused by this, so he responded by writing a story that revealed Magneto was only pretending to be a villain so that he would draw negative attention away from the other mutants of the world.

One reason there's bad blood between John Byrne and Peter David has to do with Lockjaw, The Inhumans' dog. As created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, Lockjaw was just a very large, mutated dog with a normal canine intelligence level. Byrne later wrote a Thing issue in which Lockjaw spoke for the first time, begging that baby Luna not be subjected to the Terrigen Mists, since their effects weren't always pretty — implying that he was a full-fledged Inhuman like the others, and the Inhumans had always treated Lockjaw as an animal solely because he looked like one. Thus Peter David revealed that Lockjaw's "speech" had been a prank on Ben Grimm. (As he tells it, this was a request from editorial; David himself didn't have a problem with the scene and wrote his retcon so that it was possible it was Quicksilver that was lying.) This fixed the problems with Byrne's story, but now the Inhumans were Jerkasses for a different reason: pranking Grimm in the middle of an important debate, at Lockjaw's expense. Fans of the Byrne story remain sore about this... and others remain sore about the Byrne story.

When John Byrne took over as writer on the West Coast Avengers, a title previously written by Steve Englehart, he proceeded to undermine four years' worth of characterization. Hawkeye went from confident leader to sidelined jerk. The Vision and Wonder Man relationship, that had evolved into a bond of close fraternity, returned to one of jealous contention. Tigra went through almost the exact same story arc of losing control of herself and succumbing to her feline side that Engelhart had put her through and seemingly resolved. And the Vision and Scarlet Witch marriage... was altered. After the Vision lost his emotions, their children were discovered to be pieces of the devil, after which The Scarlet Witch went insane. For some reason Byrne decided to hit the Reset Button and return the characters to a status they had outgrown in over a decade of stories. Some have accused Byrne of wrecking a title that Englehart had arguably made a success out of resentment over how Englehart had written the Fantastic Four, a title John Byrne had made a hit, although it is just as likely a case of Creative Differences.

On the other hand, Byrne's portrayal of Iron Man in Avengers West Coast (and later in Shellhead's own book) stayed fairly close to how Bob Layton and David Michelinie had portrayed him, although he did remove the weapons-testing aspect from Tony's origin story. He also kept team newcomer U.S. Agent pretty much in line with how Mark Gruenwald wrote him in Captain America.

Byrne & Chris Claremont had a feud of sorts in the 1980's, which started when Claremont wrote X-Men #145 where Arcade basically punks Doom and the X-Men force him to apologize, followed by a later story where Lilandra of the Shi'ar gives Reed Richards a "The Reason You Suck" Speech for saving Galactus' life. Byrne responded by later revealing that the Doom that dealt with Arcade was Actually a Doombot, and had Doom admit that the X-Men weren't even worth his time. Later, in FF #264, Reed was on trial for saving Galactus and was told by basically every cosmic being in the Marvel Universe that yes, he was 100% right in saving his life."

(TV TROPES: ARMED WITH CANON/MARVEL COMICS)

[brw]

One reason of many that I don't think Simon Williams is attracted to women is the fact that he does not. flirt with women at all. And look, flirting isn't the be all end all of relationships or attraction (I do not flirt), but it is noticeable that Simon does not seem playful in the way he is around Hank and some other men. He very rarely takes initiative in his relationships with women. I can name... 3, maybe 4 instances where Simon flirts, one of which I'm extremely hesitant to include because to be honest any moment where Simon flirts with Wanda instead reads as borderline harassment and he should leave her alone. Anyway, they are;

The time Simon flirts with a woman to try and steal her car to go find Hercules

The time Simon phones Carol awkwardly after they made out in front of all of New York and made the headlines

The times Simon badgers Wanda relentlessly about getting back together while she repeatedly says she does not want their relationship to take that route.

The time Hank tells him to flirt with a woman, which he's terrible at and has to literally have someone walk into him before he tries

One time Simon clearly has ulterior motives, one time kind of reads less as genuine romantic interest and more out of boredom, one time he has to be strongarmed into and the other is Simon not taking no for an answer in an increasingly uncomfortable way under Remender. Also, both times with Carol and Wanda, the writers have them say that they think of Simon as a brother and not a genuine romantic interest.

I dunno. Again, flirting isn't nearly indicative of everything that a person is, but doesn't it feel a little odd that Simon just doesn't engage in this kind of banter with his romantic interests in a way he does with Hank? When I think about other characters who aren't flirtatious either, I can still think of more examples, and more genuine ones at that. Reed Richards flirts with his wife all the time. Scott Summers flirts with Emma Frost. Hank Pym would be playful in that way with Janet and Tigra. Black Bolt is literally mute and still has moments of flirtation, coyness, etc.

Dunno. I'm probably just incentived because I read a fic that portrayed Simon as a flirtatious person, but like... he fundamentally isn't, and he isn't in such a way that it is one reason of many that makes me think that he's probably not even attracted to women!

[thebibliomancer]

Essential Avengers: Avengers #308: JOURNEY

October, 1989

The life of an Eternal hangs by a thread -- and only one being on Earth has the power to save GILGAMESH!

It's just Gilgamesh though.

She-Hulk's concerned expression and raising one hand in concern looks more like she's shrugging confusedly about this whole situation. 'Some Eternal!'

Anyway.

Last times on Avengers: Captain America declared all Avengers were Avengers, there were no teams anymore just one big family, and he was in charge of it all. Then Lava Men attacked, lifted Avengers Island up on a big stone spire, and kidnapped the Avengers in a stone ball which rolled all the way to the depths of the Earth.

The Last of the Lava Men, Jinku, told the Avengers that when they killed a random demon in Inferno, it killed most of the Lava Men and turned the rest except Jinku into stone.

Jinku tries to kill the Avengers with a big lava monster he created and apparently succeeds in killing Gilgamesh. Then the Lava Men that turned into stone hatch into golden men and tell Jinku to cut it out. So he does.

And that brings us to now. And this cool airship.

Very shiny.

Inside the ship? The Avengers.

The ship was apparently made by the golden Lava Men to get the Avengers back to the surface, based on a design that Black Panther gave them.

But even though Captain America and Black Panther are sitting at the controls, they're not in control. The golden Lava Men are. Because the ship is them.

Pretty neat.

But that's looking a little bit ahead.

The reason this is all relevant is that She-Hulk frets that Gilgamesh is dying. Or dead? Something? He doesn't have a pulse but his body is still warm? Plus, Eternals have conscious control over every atom in their body so who knows what's going on with him?

Anyway, time may or may not be a factor. And the golden spaceship made out of golden people may or may not be going its maximum velocity already.

Meanwhile, hey, don't we need to finally resolve that thing where Avengers Island is up on an unsteady stone pillar?

Reed's plan worked!

He had Sue make a spiral invisible force field around the stone pillar so that as the pillar collapsed straight down as crumbling pillars are known to do, the island slowly shifted its weight to the spring-shaped force field, which had the same springiness as an actual spring, which gently lowered the island back to the ocean.

There's a lot about how this gets resolved that's questionable but questionable in a comic book science way so I don't even mind it.

I do mind the weird way this subplot had its time budgeted. Reed and Sue responded to Jarvis' distress signal and arrived without any equipment besides Reed and Sue's mighty brains.

Reed comes up with a plan to lower the island back to the water and has Sue do it. And then the issue ended and we get this curt wrap-up next month.

I don't know how much Byrne wanted this issue to deal with lingering plot threads from the previous arc but it feels like the subplot should have ended on more of a cliffhanger last issue instead of the problem being basically solved, we just haven't seen it resolve yet.

Maybe I'm nitpicking but it reads weird.

Anyway, the West Coast Avengers have landed on Avengers Island after Wonder Man helped hold up the island and nobody else did anything to contribute.

They stand around talking about how great the Fantastic Four are.

And there's also something odd here. A united West Coast Avengers team isn't something we've had since Byrne took over the book. US Agent isn't with them. Tigra is with them but doesn't seem like she's feral or horny (although she doesn't say anything). Maybe Wanda is distraught about her husband losing his emotions but she also doesn't have anything to say.

Do you know how with crossovers sometimes, a character or team will be written vaguely out of character because the writer isn't familiar with them or doesn't know what's happening in their book around this time?

This appearance of the West Coast Avengers has that feel but Byrne is writing both Avengers books!

Why do they feel like the vaguely wrong crossover version of the team?

Anyway, after they finish saying how great the Fantastic Four is, they all talk about how great Jarvis is. And Jarvis IS great!

Wonder Man mentions that Jarvis puts up with a lot for the Avengers, including losing his eye.

Eyepatch Jarvis, as he is back to wearing his eyepatch, explains that his eye is almost healed and he won't need "this rather diabolical looking patch" soon.

The book keeps going back and forth on it.

When he first got out of the hospital, it was mentioned he'd suffered vision loss after his beating at the hands of Mr. Hyde. Then the Jarvis-focused Inferno tie-in issue had his mom yell at him to take it off because he doesn't need it and it doesn't even make him look all that cool. And then Byrne has him put the patch on only to make a point that he won't need it soon.

Weird.

The West Coast Avengers take off without even waiting for the Avengers or going to help them (since last anybody knows, the Avengers got kidnapped by Lava Men).

Kinda weird but Byrne clearly does not want to actually write the West Coast Avengers in this book.

The Avengers spot the Fantasticar as they fly towards Avengers Island, noting that their reserve members came to help.

And I note that the Fantastic Four also left without finding out what happened to the kidnapped Avengers.

Look, I get it. They heard that Jarvis was in danger and came running. I would too! But they're less invested in the Avengers East Coast.

When the golden craft lands, Jarvis immediately and correctly guesses that this is the Avengers.

Ew. I don't love how a door sphincters open in the golden aircraft. The golden Lava Men already turned into a vehicle. They can't transform a door too?

Anyway, the Avengers tell Jarvis they'll Explain It All later. Now, they need to hustle Gilgamesh to the medical facilities.

Usually this is when Everyday Normal Doctor Donald Blake Just Passing By would show up to handle the Avengers' medical needs. But Odin took Donald Blake away from Thor so now Thor just casually mentions he's well trained in the healing arts.

But even though Thor is exactly as good at medicine as Donald Blake, for example, he can't do anything for Gilgamesh.

The man isn't dead and he's not alive, he's some secret third thing (called being an Eternal).

So Captain America has the idea that they should go ask an Eternal what the fuck is going on with Gilgamesh.

Most of the Eternals fucked off with a Deviant cube into space but luckily some didn't.

I'd say the cool ones didn't. The cool ones and Gilgamesh.

Meanwhile, Olympia. Hidden in a pocket dimension in Greece.

There's an old man shepherd who pauses in his shepherding for a minute to wax poetic about walking among the ruins of his ancient ancestors, where the gods themselves once walked.

I'm guessing this guy never bought into the Christianity thing. Good for him.

Less good for him, his sheep vanish into thin air.

And when the shepherd goes to investigate, he's pulled through thin air by a person wearing green and yellow but who isn't Loki.

It's Sprite! The eternal prankster kid of the Eternals.

Messing with this guy because fuck this guy.

When the guy confuses Olympia for Olympus (because, yeah) Sprite gets agitated that everyone confuses the Eternals for the mythological figures they inspired/were inspired by. Like, c'mon Sprite. You owe your entire existence to Jack Kirby's fascination with Chariot of the Gods. You don't get to be offended that someone mistakes Eternal stuff for something else. That's your whole conceit.

Ikaris soon shows up and tells Sprite to stop bugging the mortal for fucks sake.

Ikaris: "You have been cautioned about your notion of 'fun' in the past, young one! I remind you, these humans are by nature frail and easily distressed. You might have caused this man to have a heart attack with your foolishness!"

The man is very distressed.

Ikaris apologizes for Sprite, Makkari gathers up the straying sheep, and Ikaris escorts the shepherd back to the familiar hills, declining to explain how Eternal stuff works because the explanation would mean nothing to him.

He asks the man not tell anyone what he has seen. Which is pretty nice. Later Eternals would just wipe his memory without asking.

The shepherd is like who would I tell? People would think I was drunk or dreamed the whole thing up.

Of course, just when the guy is wondering whether he did just dream the whole experience, Sprite pops out of thin air to do the man a startle one more time.

Geez, Sprite.

Maybe Gilgamesh isn't the only uncool Eternal left on Earth. You're kind of an asshole.

Ikaris and Makkari scold him that Sprite's sense of humor will cost them some day, foreshadowing foreshadowing.

They let Sprite wander off so they can discuss how Olympia is weird these days, emptier than even most of the Eternals fucking off to space can account for.

Ikaris: "More than silence. There is a flavor of death on the once sweet breezes. I have tasted it often enough to know it."

Ikaris guesses that when the majority of the Eternals fucked off, it was like they took the majority of the city's soul with them.

Which, considering later revelations that the Eternals and their cities are all parts of one great machine what is Earth, might actually be right on the money.

But the sheep wandering inside was not Sprite's doing. The barriers that protect Olympia have weakened enough that it just happened randomly. Sprite just capitalized on the incident to mock a shepherd.

Ikaris and Makkari go to talk to Thena and Phastos. Where Phastos has just finished telling Thena that even if her bones are telling her something is wrong, he can't find any flaws with the machines that run Olympia.

Wow, this is a lot of information about Eternal Stuff if we're just dropping off Gilgamesh for medical treatment. I suspect this is our new arc.

Ikaris tells Thena that he hasn't found any force directed at Olympia from the outside. He thinks the call is coming from inside the house, so to speak.

Ikaris: "This city is as one with we Eternals. But we are greatly reduced since the departure of the Unimind."

He's really banging on about that.

I wonder if I'm witnessing snapback in action. Sending most of the Eternals into space was a tidy way to tidy them up since they weren't used for a lot. But now it turns out it was a big mistake so are the Eternals that went to space going to come back so we can get back to status quo?

Maybe.

Thena tells Phastos to bolster the city's defenses. Then they can look into Ikaris' theory.

But Sprite has been eavesdropping on the meeting. He decides Phastos is too unimaginative to bolster the defenses. And that he, Sprite, should do it instead. So that it's done with flair by a guy acting from a place of ignorance.

Look at this idiot. He has no idea what he's doing.

The Avengers don't actually go to Olympia. They go to visit Sersi first. She's closer and more interesting than 90% of the other Eternals. Also, Captain America knows her from his own book, sidestepping the question of whether Wasp or Starfox told him about the party they crashed.

Thor brings out Gilgamesh for Sersi to see and she reacts in shock horror that he looks as if dead.

She has them bring Gilgamesh into her tastefully decorated apartment

So tasteful.

Sersi asks what happened and Thor says Gilgamesh bravely fell in battle. Which Sersi calls bullshit on because Eternals don't fall. That'd be a misnomer.

Thor himself has a spell of wooziness which he dismisses as a passing weakness.

I wonder if the Lava Man Avatar of Cha'sa'dra had bonus damage against immortals.

Sersi examines Gilgamesh and finds basically the same thing that the Avengers already have. Gilgamesh has no pulse and no brain activity. He's basically dead but not. She's never seen an Eternal like this.

So she suggests that they take Gilgamesh to Olympia.

Except. Well.

I guess Sprite managed to blow up the city. With flair. And probably panache.

Also, Namor mentions missing Hercules, prompted by the Avengers flying over Greece.

I wonder if we're also seeing snapback on Hercules' fate in action. If so, good. The Evolutionary War ending was damn stupid.

Anyway. We seem to be piling on the subplots because that old man from a previous issue also managed to blow up his house.

He doesn't seem too put off that he blew up a small piece of New Jersey. Just excited that he's getting close to whatever scientific breakthrough he's working on.

I have no idea where this subplot is going.

But its probably going somewhere.

Follow @essential-avengers, which comes in regular and sour cream and onion flavors. Like, reblog, comment, ask what that last sentence meant. I'm open to various forms of engagement.

[gottahunt]

“The neighbourhood isn’t that bad.” Ignoring the fumes from the nearby alley that didn’t require superhuman senses to be able to smell. And ignoring the broken glass up ahead from a robbery a few days ago. Not to mention the robbery she’d just assisted with. Doing her heroic duty. Wouldn’t Mr K. be proud? (no, nope, not all because she had no intention of mentioning her involvement).

Reese gave a shrug, shoving her hands into the pockets of her jackets. She didn’t require the warmth this action offered, it merely gave her somewhere to hold her hands. Lucy didn’t seem the ‘you saved me so I’ll hug you’ type, but one could never tell. This gesture hopefully warned off any advances.

“It’s getting better,” she added, feeling the need to explain and the need to make sure she understood that where she lived was safe. And for a reason. Why she felt the need to do so, Reese wasn’t sure. She knew a lot of shit was going on right now under the surface. But the boss did a good job. So did Reese herself - and the rest of them from Tigra to Soldier. Their efforts deserved to be recognised. “Things go wrong everywhere, right? No place is 100% safe 100% of the time. Where there’s people, shit happens.”

She looked to Lucy as if once again to confirm she was safe and sound. But she seemed… okay. At least outwardly. Not much had happened before Reese happened to be passing. Boss-man (men?) were out. Working, seeing someone, she wasn’t sure. She didn’t have anything scheduled. She’d needed ‘fresh air’, even if breathing wasn’t quite a requirement any more. And she’d stumbled on Lucy.

“Thanks for helping. You know, before. With getting onto my course,” she piped up, partly wanting to change subjects. And mostly because she’d been meaning to thank her for a while but hadn’t been sure how. “You were right. I reworded my statement a little, and I think it worked. I’ve been accepted on the course.” Night courses were her new big thing. “It’s stupid they’ve got these ‘buzz words’,” she felt the need to point out, “But it did work. Thanks.”

a closed starter for Lucy! ;; @lucyxdrake

[izzysarchivedblogs]

@luposcainus gets a plotted starter

❝ And you're sure of it? ❞ She recalls distinctly repeating at least three times when Reese and Marc pass her off a tiny broken head. It's made in ivory and broken in half but the shape of the cat had was undeniable.

When she held it in her palm and took a breath to focus on it, she could feel exactly what it was. She had already known it by seeing it and she had believed the story she had been told.

It was a genuine artifact of the Cat People, which if she had kept track of; the only ones left on Earth were in an African desert and rarely left their corner. This had just been a piece that broke off in a scuffle that Moon Knight had gotten into. The ones who had possessed the artifacts were still out that and they had been wearing more.

They were still alive and had gotten away. The question was if they were Cat People themselves or if they had acquired these items through means that made her hackles raise and her blood boil. It may be possible that they acquired them by chance and there was even a chance that they came from her former personal collection before it was a lost and stolen back during the first superhero registration act.

Greer needed answers and that meant it was time for the hunt. This was something that she was confident she could handle on her own. No help needed. A tiger can handle her own hunts.

Tonight she was on the prowl, trying to look for a way in that didn't involve brute forcing a steel door. Tigra could do it, but she had planned upon this hunt only being about gathering information on who these individuals with artifacts not belonging to them, and stealth. Quiet.

She was good at quiet, but what is this? There's a noise, and she's dropping into shadows, listening and watching. From this distant here, she can tell the figure lurking up about wasn't the same scent as what she had picked up off the amulet.

Looks like they were trying to get into the door as well. Greer hates breaking her own element of surprise but she's trying to avoid a fight tonight. ❝ Hey pal, why don't you scurry on out of here? That door is locked and you're kind of harshing the dark alley vibes here with your noise. ❞

[drifting-pieces-blog-blog]

Breaking down the comics: Let's get that BREAD (WBN #32-33)

MOON KNIGHT

WEREWOLF BY NIGHT Issue #32: 'The Stalker Called Moon Knight' 

Written by: Doug Moench

Art by: Don Perlin

Published 1975

Are you ready for this? You better be. 

Werewolf by Night was started as a "Marvel Spotlight" in 1972. 

Or did it? 

In 1953, before Marvel was well...MARVEL... It was Atlas Comics. A five page short called "Werewolf by Night" came out. Later, when Marvel formed and comics had a "Comics Code Authority", they approved the use of werewolves and we got our boy Jack Russell. 

Want to know something hilarious? 

The original creators, Roy Thomas, Jeanie Thomas, Gerry Conway, and Mike Ploog had no idea that Jack Russell was also the name of a popular dog breed. Or if they did, they didn't think about it at the time of naming the main character. Readers started pointing it out and they all went, “Huh. So it is.” 

Wanna know something else amazing? 

Greer Grant Nelson, AKA: TIGRA, also got her start in Werewolf by Night in 1974, issue #1 of "Giant-Size Creatures" (later renamed Giant-Size Werewolf)

In the 1980s, Jack Russell didn't really make much of an appearance anymore until Moon Knight #29. 

Our Beloved Doug Moench picked up Werewolf by Night with issue # 20-43 in 1974-1977. 

Moon Knight got started officially in 1980. 

He couldn't get the character out of his head after WBN and neither could the fans. 

So let’s take a look at the birth of Moon Knight and see if we can’t find out why he went from one time villain to full time hero (and full time occupant to my heart). 

One thing to note about Werewolf by Night, we get a lot of narration from Jack Russell himself. And sometimes it's as Jack, and sometimes it's Jack looking at the wolf and others it's the wolf peaking through Jack. 

But us Moon Knight fans are used to different perspectives, aren't we? 

We open on the title page: 

"The tag's Russell, with a Jack in front of it. The kind of name that fits a normal 19 year old dude living out in L.A.--Not the kind of name you'd expect to find slapped on a guy who sprouted fangs, pore-to-pore fur, and wolfish howls every time the moon ballooned full. Unless that guy happened to have a father who was cursed by an arcane book called DARKHOLD --And who inherited his father's curse on his 18th birthday. 

Tough, I usually ain't. But when the Full Moon pokes its ugly puss into my life, I turn into the werewolf--and nobody messes with a dude dressed in fur, claws, and pure MEAN. So why didn't somebody tell that to--

THE STALKER CALLED MOON KNIGHT" 

LOL Yeah. He’s a stubborn idiot alright. 

"Fast, Brutal, and Armed with everything to produce a scream, he was wasting me with no doubt about it. And every time I tried to slash back at the weirdo--My hand exploded in a fire labeled agony." 

Second night of the full moon cycle. The wolf is not doing so hot. 

His hand is broken and he's facing down this angry guy dressed in silver. 

"Get up, you mangy freak!! Get up so I can knock you back down again!" 

He lunches at the masked man only to take a punch to the face. 

"It was called a cestus--as in Glove. Worn by gladiators in the arena. A cestus is spiked. These spikes were silver. Silver is hell on a werewolf." 

He wrestles with Moon Knight who doesn't let up, kicking and punching. 

The whole time Moon Knight yells at him. 

Bystanders watch in awe. 

"Man! That guy's like a tornado on a rampage!" 

"I'm hip--but what's that other dude like--Lon Chaney in a mink--?!" 

LOL oh 1970s...never change. 

Moon Knight addresses the wolf. 

"You've had it, Freak. You're half-way gone and I haven't even started!" 

Moon Knight unleashes his razor blade silver scresent darts on the wolf. 

"It wasn't right. The Moon was supposed to give him strength--fill him with savagery--Not stab him with glaring pain..." 

"Drop Freak! Drop like the wounded beast you are!" 

Moon Knight kicks him, with his Savate Kick, which is a French Boxing style that combines Boxing with kicking. It predates Kickboxing by 100 years and is quite brutal. 

It sends the wolf sprawling. Especially from his silver tipped toe. 

They pause and we get a flash back to the night before. 

"It had started the night before, when an innocent ski-jaunt in northern California had erupted into a blizzard of horror. As the werewolf, I'd almost murdered a cute 7-year-old girl named Buttons... Fortunately, my best friend, Buck Cowan, had other ideas..."

(If you're cold, he’s cold. Bring him inside)

"So I shivered into them and prepared to wait for Buck. You see, I didn't remember the werewolf's little Blood Tussle with Buck--and since Buck was supposed to pick me up here..." 

We see Buck being taken into emergency services and rushed in for immediate surgery. 

"After an hour of waiting, I'd begun to worry... Where was Buck?" 

We see Buck shredded and crashing on the table. 

Jack hitches a ride into down, wondering if his friend is alright. 

We see Buck crash in surgery and they frantically try to get his heart back. 

Jack makes it back to his Stepfather's house. 

"Jack! Are you all right, son?" 

"Sure, Dad. As all right as I ever am the morning after a Full Moon. Why? And where's Lissa?" 

We see the doctors are finished. There is nothing more they can do for Buck. 

"You mean you--You don't remember, son?" 

"Remember what? What?!" 

"Lissa's down at Westwood Hospital, Jack. Topaz called--Said your friend Buck was hurt... Was mauled... He...He might not pull through, Jack." 

Narration: The soft words slammed me, hit me like a thousand crushing mountains--But my only raction was numbness--Disbelief--

"Easy, Jack... Just take it easy, son." 

"Easy? I might've killed my best friend and you want me to take it easy?!" 

Jack is understandably upset.He runs to the hospital. 

Buck is in a coma and "The doctors aren't sure he'll come out of it."  

(Who names their kid Buttons?) 

They tell the group to go home and get some rest. But they decide not to go with Jack. 

"Under the circumstances, we thought it might be best if Lissa stayed with me tonight--at my room-- To keep our minds off Buck--ANd also because well..." 

"Go on, Topaz, say it--Because I've got the Moon-Cooties and you don't want to be around when I sprout fangs again. Well, I don't blame you. I'd stay away from me if I could..." 

Narration: And that was my exit--as petulant as a cry-baby feeling sorry for its own tears... 

Feeling sorry for himself, he heads back for home to apologize to his stepdad before the moon rises and he has to run off again. His hand hurts and he's pretty sure it's broken. 

But as he gets home, the door is already open and he senses something is off. Someone else is in there with his Stepdad. 

"Dad?" 

"In the Den, Jack. There's someone here to see you.." 

Yeah! You get that bread! Delicious delicious bread! 

"Hello, Russell. They told me to announce myself as The Moon Knight. Pretty stupid name--But It'll do as far as you're concerned--" 

Yep. You heard it here first people. 

Now, time line gets a little funky if you try to figure out if this was pre or post death and resurrection by Khonshu. 

This could either be Mercenary Marc Spector for Hire that heard "werewolf" and dressed up in all silver for protection and then got the name Moon Knight and then it later stuck with him after he came back.... OR this is immediately post resurrection (which I find more likely) and it's his first gig. In a later Moon Knight issue we learn that Frenchie had acted as his contact with the group that hired him and the Moon Knight still had no idea what he was doing and still wasn't 100% on board with the 'good guy' routine. In fact, we later learn that the money he made in this job is what helped him get started in Grant Mansion. 

Still doesn't explain why he's like, "Moon Knight? Who the hell picked this name?" And I have to quietly laugh that Marc indeed DID pick the name after he was brought back by Khonshu and the rest of his system was like "Marc, what the fuck? Really? That's what we're going with?" 

ANYWAYS... 

"His voice was muffled under the silver gauze which covered his face like ectoplasm. That was something else I didn't like..." 

Moon Knight explains: Let's say I'm a WORKING Man, Russell, out to do my job and collect my bread. This particular job started down in the waterfront section... Pretty sleazy place--Lots of rats--The stink of filthy Brine--And rotting, sagging warehouses... But one of those warehouses is a lot like that Book you're not supposed to judge by it's cover --Because inside, it ain't rotting or sagging, and the only stink is the smell of money. LOTS of money. I went there on a tip--And found out it was a set-up..." 

We see a bunch of businessmen at a table. 

"So you're Mark Spector." 

"I'm Spector. Who're you?" 

"We'll get to that in time, Mr. Spector. Right now, I find your dossier immensely interesting... Soldier of fortune, mercenary, veteran of THREE African wars, FIVE south American revolutions, Brief flirtation with the C.I.A., Weapons expert, versatile practitioner of virtually all the martial arts, ex-prizefighter, marine commando for Eight years prior to beating a Lieutenant within an inch of his life...Et cetera." 

"So your research department is hot stuff. So what? I was told there'd be money down here. What do I do to get it?" 

Okay so... We don't ever get this dossier again guys. THIS is the dossier of Marc Spector (despite that they spell it Mark here). In fact, they never really review Marc's past in the later comics again. They just say he's well versed in combat. 

That...That is a lot of combat. A lot of war and a lot of revolutions. And we know he wasn't always on the right side of the revolutions. We know he was a boxer, but the prizefighter bit is new. So is the 8 years Marine AND the beating a lieutenant part. We can assume he was discharged after that. That's interesting. 

So when writers forget that MArc knows what the hell he's doing... I have to frown at them a lot. Marc is dangerous. Marc decided he was going to be worth the money and he damn well was. 

Back to the gentlemen! 

"I admire your directness, Mr. Spector, and shall endeavor to emulate it. First, we want you to open that compartment now rising from the table... Then don the rather unique costume you will find inside it. ANd utilize every weapon accompanying that costume..As well as your inherent abilities--To capture and deliver to us a werewolf named Jack Russell. Upon Delivery, you will receive this. Then thousand dollars." 

WELP. There you have it. (But again... take this history with a grain of salt. He wasn't supposed to come back.) 

"That's the story, Russell. Me, I don't believe in werewolves--But the committee's got ten grand that does--So who am I to argue?" 

Ah, the COmmittee. A group of people out to capture the werewolf in some attempt to try to harness its power. 

We see them come back in Moon Knight Issue #4. 

Moon Knight tells Russell that he either goes easy or gets delivered as 'bruised goods'. 

"My head was swimming through queasy nausea as he stalked forward. Was it the pain in my hand or had the Moon festered into a darkening sky? 

My Stepfather decided the issue." 

His stepfather tackles the Moon Knight and tells Jack to run. 

Jack makes a run and starts to feel the Wolf taking over. 

Above him he hears a Helicopter giving chase, tracking him. 

"That's our man up ahead, Frenchie..." We see Moon Knight and Frenchie in the chapter. (Even back then we got the pair and this makes me happy.) "ANd he's just made me a believer in werewolves." 

For once, the werewolf cares not about the scattering humans in the street. He knows the chopter is the target of his distress. 

Moon Knight climbs down the ladder in pursuit. 

I mean... How many people will go, "WOW .Werewolves are real?!" and then proceed to get into a fight with said werewolf? 

AND WIN THE FIGHT. 

One of the spectators decides that enough is enough and he calls the police before these crazy things decide to eat them or something (Moon Knight included. Dude just tackled a wolf creature and got into a fight with it on purpose). 

The police take a moment to digest this info.

"Some comic book weirdo is sluggin' it out with a werewolf on a street corner in Westwood." 

Yeah, that sounds about right. 

They try to call in the local expert, but he's on vacation. 

At this point we start to head into Werewolf by Night lore and back story. I'll admit... I've never actually READ werewolf by night. So all of this is very new to me and I have no explanation for who these people are or what's happening. So I'm going to skip a bit of what I'm SURE is important to the long run of the story but will not come up as important to these two key issues we're focusing on. (But you can bet your buppie that I'm going to start reading it. This hat is in my bag. ...This 1970s talk is getting to me.) 

Meanwhile, the two girls from before, Lissa and Topaz, are worrying about Buck and Jack. A helicopter lands and ....Frenchie....what are you doing? Did you learn this from watching Marc? Don't bust through windows! 

(I’m not counting this. But I should.) 

Back with Moon Knight and the Wolf. 

"I slashed, still favoring my broken hand--and growled in fury as he deftly evaded my raking talons. He'd produced a new weapon now. It looked like a Truncheon. And it was definitely silver." 

(No don’t chew it! Someone put the cone of shame on him!) 

And there’s Moon Knight, getting to know the ground. He and the ground are gonna be best friends in future runs. 

Moon Knight uses his truncheon to beat the beast and finally the wolf goes down. On cue, Frenchie arrives in the chopper with both girls. 

This issue comes to an end with Moon Knight GETTING THAT BREAD. 

Moon Knight is also about to have what I lovingly call: A BAD DAY. But that’s in the next issue. 

Werewolf By Night Issue #33: ' Wolf-Beast vs Moon Knight' 

Written by: Doug Moench

Art by: Don Perlin

Published 1975

You guys. I can’t wait to show you that Moon Knight’s bad decision skills dates back to his first appearance. You have no idea. 

TITLE PAGE! 

I love how they get the names of the people involved in this comic and they put it into the pictures. 

Also... We witness the first of many bad decisions. 

The chopper continues to rise and the police open fire. 

He’s doing fine. 

We got more exposition that I'm going to skip because it has more to do with the overall arch of the WBN story and nothing that will come into play in this two part story. 

Now we come to the helicopter flying out over the dock and water. 

Welcome to part 1 of Moon Knight's bad day. 

“No, you stupid idiot! We’re five-hundred feet up!!” 

Buddy.... Pal... Bestie... 

Narration: But the werewolf didn't care. He was mad. So mad that he'd even forgotten about his broken hand... 

They splash down into the water. 

"Mangy Freak! The Committee's payin' me ten grand to bring you in alive--And you almost drown us both before I even--" 

Narration: The fight wasn't out of the werewolf yet... In fact, I was just beginning to roar. 

"Crazy fur coat with fangs--! I musta told you a dozen times--The committee wants you alive! And if you can't get that through your hairy head--I'm gonna have to pound it in!!" 

Narration: And in the pounding there was pain--Pain caused by Moon Knight's arsenal of silver weapons...His studded cestus, punching at me...Even the crescent darts, still embedded in my bristling skin... But even if the werewolf had understood the threat silver posed to him, I doubt it would've made much difference. He still remembered the beating he'd taken from this foe. The memory made him MAD...And the rage demanded revenge. 

"Not again, beast-man--I'm getting tired of this!! Watch out you stupid--" 

And back in the water they go. 

Narration: We hit the pacific for the second time... The water shot fire through my shattered hand, made it throb like a hiccupping balloon... But what was that compared to the beast's life-and-death lust for vengeance--? Answer: Bright nothing, wrapped in pretty bows of bloody violence. So we fought, both struggling to escape hell... 

Narration: ...Each determined to win that struggle... And each to leave the other behind. It was the werewolf who won, breaking free of hell with gasps and wheezes... 

I hauled myself onto the rotting planks, still gasping... But triumphant. 

Or so the werewolf thought. 

"Hold it, mange-puss... I ain't heard no count of ten yet..." 

Moon Knight no... 

Narration: It was impossible. I'd slashed, clawed, mauled, and choked him--ANd he wanted more, still MORE--! I gave him more, a vicious roundhouse slash... But the Moon Knight clutched for that slash and he yanked. Hard. 

And they go back into the water. 

Moon Knight climbs back out a moment later. 

"God, that thing's dynamite on wheels...Never fought so hard in my life... Gotta rest... Catch my breath... Before he surfaces again... ALREADY?!" 

Narration: Yeah, already-And the fever was too high to quit. It was long overdue, and the werewolf had long since paid for it in pain... 

It was time for the payoff--For returning favors--And for doing unto the other until what was done... COuld never be undone.

The wolf beats on Moon Knight for a bit. He’s pretty ticked off. 

Moon Knight's pretty exhausted at this point and the wolf is starting to get the upper hand. 

But then... Whoopse. It's morning! 

The night is over and the wolf turns back into a very beat up sad Jack Russel... 

You know how I know this is Marc? (Aside from the fact that this is Pre official Moon Knight and Jake and Steven haven’t been written into existence yet). THE BAD DECISIONS. 

Someone yells down to them and Moon Knight thinks it might be the cops. But it turns out to just be a drunk guy heading home after a night on the town. 

"Well, thank the moon for small miracles... But I still can't believe I saw this guy change like that...My darts must be hurtin' the poor freak. Might as well take 'em out.." 

Frenchie arrives and Moon Knight once more carries Jack up the ladder towards that bread. 

Back at the hospital, Buck woke up only briefly to call out for his friends then fell back asleep. 

The doctor informs the lady that "whatever mauled Mr. Cowan inflicted extensive damage to his sacral region--His lower back--Severing oth the sciatic and femoral nerves. We've done our best, but he still might be paralyzed from the waist down... If he emerges from the coma." 

Yup. Can confirm. You need those nerves. That's not good news. 

Back with Moon Knight! He is now before the committee and he's brought along the two girls and Jack. Time for bread day.

"All right bozos--You've already stalled the whole day in some top secret meeting-and I ain't waitin' any longer! I brought you your pigeon. Now where's my bread?!" 

"You've brought us an unconscious kid, Mr. Spector...Or should I say Mr. Moon Knight? You seem to be taking that costume rather seriously... But as I was saying, we still have no proof that you have delivered a bona fide Werewolf. Indeed, we can't even be certain that this young man is Jack Russell..." 

The committee also show skepticism that one of the two girls is Jack's sister "and therefore destined to become a werewolf herself someday." 

The committee decides to wait until the final full moon appears that night and they can see for themselves. 

Moon Knight is displeased. 

"I oughta smack that scummy nose right down your throat." 

If it were me, I would not mess with this man. He just spent a whole night fighting a werewolf. 

Jack wakes up to find himself still in a lot of pain and locked in a cage. 

The committee tell Jack that they plan to keep the werewolf as a pet to release when they want certain people murdered. 

As one might imagine, Jack is not on board with this plan. 

He turns to Moon Knight :

"And YOU, crusader rabbit--Are you in the habit of getting paid for slamming people into CAGES?! That's right, I said PEOPLE! Are you shocked to hear that I'm an honest to god Person? Or have you been trying to forget it?! Well, I'm gonna give you a refresher course, Pal... I may be a werewolf--But on my nights off I'm still human! And Believe me, Fancy pants, being the werewolf is a far worse cage than these stinking bars!" 

And the moon rises and he starts to change. 

The committee is all shocked to see him change. 

The wolf is NOT happy to be caged. 

The committee members congratulate Spector "Or Moon Knight if you prefer..." 

(Isn't that so interesting? Even in this early issue where he's just a one off character and no history or past drawn up yet, they still can't get his identity right? What were you planning Mr. Moench? Even back then?) 

Moon Knight doesn't say anything, simply watches the wolf freak out in his cage. 

Jack's sister yells at him. Accusing him of selling Jack to people who want to "turn him into the murderer he's always feared he would become! The murderer he's always fought to avoid--Even when it tore his soul in two!!" 

"Don't listen to her, Marc. Sure, he's her brother... But he's still just a freak--just a beast... Why worry about a beast?" 

Narration: Moon Knight took the money... And stared at me again... 

"Just a beast, all right... But at least a cleaner and more honest beast than you slimy slugs! At least he's a beast with guts! A beast who fights ony to be free! And that's the kind of fight I support, Lard-Butts!!" 

Moon Knight kicks open the bars! That's one hell of a kick. 

The wolf is loose! And the Moon Knight has changed sides! 

I gotta respect that one member in the back... 

"But I... I don't even carry a gun! I'm just a businessman! You guys dragged me into this werewolf deal because you said it would be good for the economy!" 

"We're ALL businessmen, Hicks!" 

"Yeah--And you're all goin' outta business now!! Especially your two-ton leader.. So I'd advise him to get his lard in gear--Unless he wants it kicked from here to Monterey!" -Moon Knight. 

Narration: The Silver one--The one with the PAIN. He was the one I wanted... But he ducked. 

The wolf soars past Moon Knight and attacks one of the men with guns. 

"Sorry, Fido--But if there's one thing I've learned, it's more fun fightin' with you than against you-- So go get 'em Tiger!" 

"Holy Smokes! Almost forgot the two chicks Frenchie nabbed... With allthe lead flyin' around here, they're liable to turn into swiss cheese." 

Good job Marc. You're doing great there. 

He cuts the two girls down and tells them to make a run for it. 

"But what about Jack?" Jack's sister cries out. 

"Just get outta here! He can take care of himself!" Moon Knight shoos them away. 

"Come ON, Lissa. I don't know what turned that man from a villain into a hero, but he's right--! At this point, Jack has a far better chance than we do--" 

The girls get out and Moon Knight and the Wolf keep fighting through the bad guys. 

Narration: On our own or not, the committee was falling to pieces. Most ran. Others fell. The Moon Knight seemed to geta kick out of it, batling like some gayblade swashbuckler straight from Errol Flynn country... 

(What)

"And Another gabardine hits the dust!" 

(What?) 

(I'mma play it straight with you... The 1970s language is 100% a thing. It's even better when you remember Marc is from Chicago so all this is probably said with a pretty stiff chicago accent and I'm crying cause I'm trying not to laugh so hard right now. I’ll just let you read through those lines yourself and slap a strong chicago or new york accent on that.) 

ANYWAYS….. 

Moon Knight punts the guy to the wolf who lets off a little steam on him. 

All the bad guys are taken care of. This just leaves Moon Knight and the Wolf in the room alone. 

Narration: Fatso hit the floor like rubberized Jello, and when the quivering stopped...it was just the two of us. I growled, softly...

"Now wait a minute, Pal. You 'n me just fought together. That makes us brothers of the blood where I come from... Where's your sense of camaraderie? Even Frenchie's got some o' that." 

Marc... 

"All right--If that's the way you feel about it, I'm going' I'm goin'! I may've fought you for ten grand--But I sure ain't gonna do it for free...!" 

....he jumps out the window. 

"And they used to say I was antisocial... I'll send you a bill for the cape, Pal. Ciao!" 

(and they did send a Bill to fix that cape. A Bill Sienkiewicz to be exact.) 

WELP. I’m sorry to tell you I don’t know if Buck will live or walk again. (I’m sure he’s fine). But this ends Moon Knight in Werewolf by Nigh! 

He appears in several things before 1980 when he gets his own official run. He pops in with the Hulk (in that run we meet Randall. Then say goodbye to Randall) and he also gets a few spotlights. 

The fact that he was supposed to be a one time villain and in just TWO issues, we got so much characterization and tidbits of back story (I’d love to explore that antisocial comment he made back there.) that they couldn’t help but give him more chances. I swear, in these two issues, we got a better look at Moon Knight than I’ve seen certain OTHER writers give him! 

And if I hadn’t of fallen in love with him back when I did, just reading through these couple of issues would have me head over heels. His tenacity, his poor decisions, his repeated trip into the water… This man came out fighting for his life and he’s he went out fighting. 

Here’s to you, Moon Knight. The only person in the whole Marvel Universe stupid enough to fight a werewolf for a solid night and then try to make friends with that werewolf. 

[silverjetsystm]

What's up, gamers. Every so often, I get asked for MK comic recommendations. I'll include links to a couple of really good reading guides from the subreddit (that I had Zero hand in making) and toss my two cents below. Not that it'll buy you anything.

TL;DR: See reddit below, be sure to check out the Excel master list of appearances. Most of the quality runs has been printed in omnibus, Epic Collection, trade paperback, Marvel app. You know.

If those links don't work, go to the r/MoonKnight subreddit and check out the Reading Suggestions and Collected Editions in the menu.

Below the cut, I give a sort of non-spoiler walkthrough and talk about what's in print .

Cory's Reading List [Edited 6 August 2024]

I read everything on the below list. I have my opinions. If I tell you not to read something, it's because I don't like it. But I'm also some Jewish singlet/non DID/OSDD guy on the internet.

Here are some articles written by a system who is a fan of the Moon Knight System.

Okay, finally, the list

Werewolf by Night (1975) #32-33. First appearance of Moon Knight and Frenchie.

Marvel Spotlight (1971) #28-29. First appearance of Steven, Jake, Marlene, Gena, Gena's sons, and Crawley.

Hulk Magazine #13-15, #17-18, #20-21 (they're the backup stories, so if you're 'online' search and read by Hulk, scroll halfway through the issue)

Marvel Preview (1975) #21. Marc solves the murder of a former colleague.

Moon Knight (1980) #1-38. First solo written mostly by Moench and drawn by Sienkiewicz. "But Cory, why are we reading all these old comics?" Because while different words are used now, the writers of the first run do really well at making Marc, Steven, and Jake a system. Iconic rogues are introduced. Marc's first backstory in #37 and #38 is the perfect backstory, imo.

Moon Knight: Fist of Khonshu (1985) is not the best but #6 is great. So, read #1 so you know what the plot is and #6.

West Coast Avengers (1985-1994) goes here. The first time Khonshu is more than just some weird statue. Also includes Tigra and Marc kissing. MK is in issues #21-41, which is collected in 3 different Epic Collections and at least one is out of print because someone in Marvel hates me specifically /jk. The Epic Collections are titled: Lost in Space-Time, Tales To Astonish (out of print), and Vision Quest.

Marvel Fanfare (1987) #30. "Real to Reel" is one of my favorite issues of all time. Gorgeous art. Marlene and Steven/Marc have clumsy but meaningful discussions around mental health and identities. Man versus nature. Yes, one of the bigger "the editor forgot Steven doesn't go by 'Steve'" moments.

Marc Spector: Moon Knight (1989-1994) is 60 issues and it gets borderline unreadable about halfway through. Steven and Jake are occasionally referred to but not present. :< That being said, the first half has some great stuff. The Trial of Marc Spector (#15-18) and Scarlet Redemption (#26-31) arcs are the standouts. So honestly, read a few stories from it, get tired, and know he dies at the end. Then read

Resurrection War (1998) and High Strangers (1999) - two separate mini-series by Moench because they killed his boy. Treats the back half of MS:MK as potentially a dream. The brief return of Steven and Jake.

MK (2006) is 30 grimdark issues. The first 13 issues are usually all I can stomach. Marc gets injured, kills Bushman in an extremely violent way, and has substance use issues. He also lashes out/pushes away his original cast. The run is ableist.

Vengeance of the Moon Knight (2009-2010): The most Marc acting Jake Lockley in existence, coming back from a stint in Mexico at the end of MK 2006. Some retcons. It's. Fine.

Secret Avengers (2010) #19 is one of the only issues with decent MK. First sighting of Mr. Knight. Too bad it's by Ellis. The rest of Secret Avengers is ableist or he's not really there.

Shadowland: MK is a 3 issue event tie-in. Does some retcons I like but also our favorite can't stay dead brother is back. Content warning for miscarriage.

MK (2011) by Bendis. Don't read it. Steven and Jake are replaced by Cap, Wolverine, and Spider-Man. Why isn't addressed.

MK (2014): Marc's back from LA. Introducing Mr. Knight. The best issues are the one shot type stories. #5 "Scarlet" is also one of my favorite issues of the character featuring Mr. Knight versus an abandoned building full of goons to rescue one kidnapped girl. The connected plot isn't the best. Content warning for ableism and medical abuse. But. Do you like black and white suit? Marc punching ghosts? Bird skull Khonshu? Tell Shavley thanks. This run is mostly out of print on account that the first writer, Ellis, sexually coerced people.

MK (2016): Lemire and Smallwood. The dream team. If you can only get one run in print, this is the one I recommend. It works best as a standalone story; the plot does some glossing and retcons around the System's backstory and there's plenty of room for different interpretations of what 'really' is happening. This is also the run Leyna from the article series above reviews.

MK (2017): The Bemis run. Websites attach it to the Lemire run. It's not. Stop reading 2016 when issue #188 appears. It's incredibly antisemetic and ableist.

Avengers (2018) #31-38. Written by Aaron. Age of Khonshu only is relevant for what Marc does now and his mental state. It's. Fine?

MK (2021) wrapped at 30 issues in December 2023.❤️ MacKay gets it right the vast majority of the time. The art (inks and colors) are some of my favorite work alongside Sienkiewicz, Lemire, and Shavley. Like Lemire, MacKay ties in classic points with new directions.

Vengeance of the Moon Knight (2024) continued MK 2021 with the same creative team from January to September 2024.

Blood Hunt (2024) was the summer event written by MacKay. 5 main issues with tie-ins to Vengeance 2024. It's sort of important to read the main event issues but Vengeance does expand the Mission parts. I'm biased but this is also one of my favorite comic events (and I hate comic events).

Moon Knight: Fist of Khonshu (2024) begins in October as a continuation of MK 2021 and Vengeance 2024. Same creative team. #0 was released July 2024 as a strikefile narrated by Khonshu on each of the key players and onboarding new readers into what's coming next.

Print Options:

Omnibus is a heavy, oversized, hardback and contains a lot more issues. They also can have some weird 'new car' printing smell and paper texture. Epic Collections are standard sized, softback that has more issues than a Trade Paper Back (TPB). Make sure you read the back of the volumes so you don't buy repeats. Unless you're into that. Weigh pros and cons. What do you value/can afford? And the physical weight of the omnibus.

As of Spring 2024, there are currently 5 omnibuses with another on the way.

MK OMNIBUS: Volume 1 (1975-1980) - MK's first appearance, the backups from Hulk magazine, half of the 1980 run.

MK OMNIBUS: Volume 2 (1980-1985) - other half of 1980 run, MK: Fist of Khonshu

MS: MK OMNIBUS Volume 1 (1989-1994) - #1-34 (out of the 60 issues), some Spidey, some Castle.

MS: MK OMNIBUS Volume 2 (1989-1994) - #35-60 and both of Moench's mini-series (Resurrection Wars and High Strangers) and 3 issues of Black Panther. Do I recommend this omnibus? Not really. After the first story in this omni (and even it is stretching it), it really does fall off that cliff. I got it because I wanted it on my shelf. Moench and Black Panther stuff helps soften the sting.

MK by Huston, Benson, & Hurwitz OMNIBUS (2006-2010) - all 30 issues of 2006's run and Vengeance of MK 2009, and Shadowland.

MacKay's 2021-2023 run will be published as an omnibus in October 2024 without Vengeance 2024.

There are currently 6 (going on 7) Epic Collections for the pre-ehhhh... 2006 stuff. Everything after 2006 and Vengeance 2009 is far more accessible in Trades (paper or hardback) or single-volume for certain runs.

MK Epic Collection: Bad Moon Rising - early adventures pre-1980 and the first 4 issues of 1980.

MK: Countdown to Dark: the Hulk backups and Marvel Preview #21.

MK Epic Collection: Shadows of the Moon - MK (1980) #5-23

MK Epic Collection: Final Rest - MK (1980) #24-38

MK Epic Collection: Butcher's Moon - tie-ins, solo issues, and MS: MK (1989) #1-7.

MK Epic Collection: Death Watch. Collects MS: MK #39-51, Divided we fall, and some other tie-ins. Yes, we do jump ahead from #7 to #39.

MK Epic Collection: The Trial of Marc Spector fills in some of Death Watch's gap with MS: MK #8-25 and that Punisher annual. It comes out in October 2024 as well.

For Lemire's run, there is a one volume softcover collection called Moon Knight by Lemire & Smallwood: The Complete Collection. This is the one you want.

Happy reading!!

[night-gay]

Into the Anthill pt 50 - 50 Years And Counting

I wasn’t sure I’d have enough material to cover to make it to a 50th post in this journey considering Hank’s reputation as a “Forgotten Avenger” these days, but we're 50 years into his legacy and not out of comics just yet (we’re about 3 years away from Rage of Ultron though, so the timer’s ticking). 

Avengers vs X-Men popped off here as the Phoenix Force returned to Earth to possess Hope Summers. Hank’s really just a set piece in the fight scenes of all these comics, basically having no lines and no impact on the greater narrative despite appearing in more than a dozen issues of it. His biggest appearances outside of Avengers Academy in these comics were kicking Wolverine out of a plane and running diagnostics on Tony’s Phoenix-Killer gun. After that he was injured and sent to search and rescue work.

At least we got some cool group shots of Giant-Man out of this.

🐜🐜🐜

Secret Avengers vol 1 #22-23, 25

Captain America stepped down as the leader of the Secret Avengers, leaving Hawkeye to lead it just as Captain Britain joined the team. Brian was very impressed by The Lighthouse, their miniature satellite base in Earth’s orbit that used Hank’s Pymportal tech to both transport and shrink those who enter. Cap had put Hank and Beast on the project to keep them both out of trouble. Hawkeye’s first mission escalated quickly, pitting the team against an entire society of A.I. called The Descendants. Most of the team escaped safely thanks to Agent Venom’s late arrival, but Eric O’Grady was killed and Jim Hammond’s body was badly damaged. Hank promised to do what he could to restore Jim to full health after this. 

Avengers Academy vol 1 #29, 32-33

Cap and Wolverine worked with Hank to bring the young Utopian mutants to Avengers Academy to keep them safe from the Avengers vs X-Men conflict. Hank left Hercules and Tigra in charge while he, Quicksilver, and Hawkeye were in the field. The young mutants didn’t stick around long before Sebastian Shaw, X-23, and Tigra came to an agreement and allowed them to leave rather than hold them against their will. They staged a mock battle so that the camera footage couldn't implicate the Avengers in their escape if Cap decided to investigate. Despite her status as a mutant, Laura chose to remain a student rather than leave with her peers even after Hank had the chance to discuss it with her.

As the Phoenix Five had begun their efforts to guarantee world peace by force Emma Frost arrived at Avengers Academy to destroy Juston Seyfert’s Sentinel, an older model he’d befriended and reprogrammed to prevent it from harming mutants. His fail-safes were not entirely effective, as it attacked Emma immediately upon detecting her. Hank tried to reason with her that it could be managed, but her only compromise was to scrub it of it’s current programming entirely, which would erase it’s personality and memories in the process. Their combined efforts meant nothing against Emma’s new power; she easily destroyed the Sentinel and would have inadvertently killed Juston as well had it not protected him. She melted it’s CPU before leaving to ensure it would never rise again, but Quicksilver swapped in a fake one without her noticing. With Emma gone, Hank, Pietro, and Juston were able to rebuild his friend. The issue ends with Hank and Tigra telling the students they’re not certain the school will survive this war against the X-Men and that they need to go back home if they can.

Minor/Cameo appearances from this period:

Venom vol 2 #17, 22

Avengers Assemble vol 1 #6, 8

Avengers vs. X-Men vol 1 #1-5, 7, 9, 11-12

New Avengers vol 2 #24

Wolverine and the X-Men vol 1 #10-12

Avengers vol 4 #29

[vendettavalor]

@unrclypirxte said: "I need to breathe — can you stop?" || from Beth @ Vaas, on the brink of losing her shit at him bc work is stressful 😏

⚔️ Random Asks // ALWAYS ACCEPTING! ⚔️

"No, come the fuck on."

It's not like him to be this hard on her. Anyone else, maybe. Maybe he'd just yell at them, belittle them a little, and tell them to come the fuck on. Maybe he'd just whip out his blade and slice their head off for daring to inch out of line even slightly, then call for the next closest person to take their place. But not with Beth. Never with Beth.

One could say that it seemed he'd mellowed out towards her a good bit. (Could. But they'd be risking their lives if they did. There was a good chance Vaas would trying his hand at dicing them with his machete and feeding them to the caged tigers over in his camp.) It would be an estate observation to be certain. Compared to how he treated some of the other men, he was remarkably more gentle and considerate with Beth. Some might've even thought he spoiled her with how he snuck her chocolate, or good whiskey, or a stuffed animal that mysteriously came in from the mainland.

But this was Rook Island, and nothing good ever lasted. Certainly not when it was coming from the likes of Vaas. His mood was like sea, constantly coming, never stable and never ceasing its swing between lax and volatile. But where the ocean had the moon and the breeze to guide it, Vaas only had one thing that made him tick to a certain tune: drugs.

Fascinatingly, he seemed to be far more unstable off of them than on. His dependency had long passed the point of side effects being a concern. The highs made him feel good and act good. Mostly anyway. But when the alcohol dried up and the stimulant wore off, the crash came and it came down hard on him. The restlessness, the irritability. Vaas rarely spent a moment sober, so the brief hangovers between highs became the danger that everyone had to worry about. He snapped at anything like a rabid dog, and any ounce of his previous cheer and unhinged vibrancy died as his body practically devoured itself to compensate.

He lived his life on a razor thin edge, always between death by overdose or death by withdrawal. And he made it everyone's problem.

"Shut the fuck up and keep fuckin' moving, tigra."

[age-of-moonknight]

Helloooo, now that vengeance of the moon knight has been announced for next week, who do you theorize might be the myterious moon knight?

Oooooh yes, a very exciting question and thanks for sending it my way! Unfortunately, however, I’m pretty awful at theorizing since I tend to just,,,,cruise along and let myself be surprised by whatever the creators have in store. As such, everything following this is the most non-credible material around and should in no way be considered seriously (sorry I can’t offer you anything more solid 😅). In no particular order:

All I’m saying is, the issue summaries we have so far have mentioned Hunter’s Moon, Tigra, and Soldier, but not Reese hmmmm. This was actually my leading theory the past couple months up until issue #30 but considering Reese’s work with the Midnight Mission, idk I kind of also want to see how she’d clash with a potentially more violent interloper mucking up Marc’s legacy. Also from what we’ve seen, this new character does NOT march Reese’s build and the “haven’t been mentioned yet” theory also applies to 8-Ball so yeah, unlikely hahaha

…Remember when Marc pretended to be Midnight Man in Moon Knight vol. 9/2021), #22? It would be SO hilarious and unserious if they made a big to-do of killing him off only to bring him back and say he faked his death, like, 6 months later….and you better believe I’m delusional enough to accept even that.

Another absolute crack theory, but wouldn’t it be funny if, after whatever the heck was going on with The Hand, Frank Castle tried Khonshu’s mantle on for size (sorry, I think this is my subconscious telling me I need to finally sit down and read in its entirety that run where Frank took the War Machine armor for a joy ride…also there was that one Secret Wars thing).

Honestly though? (This is something you can take a bit more seriously) I think I hope most that whoever this figure is will be a completely new character. Maybe it’s the dual edged weapons at the end of chains reminding me of how much I enjoyed All-New Ghost Rider and the new vigor that comic represented (to me at least), but yeah, I’m down for some surprises!

[turnips-dont-grow-on-trees]

aspec Jack who went through a really rough - though thankfully brief! - time in his early twenties, when he started to pick up on the fact that he's genuinely not attracted to people. He started wondering if maybe he wasn't human enough to find other humans attractive. Jack would love to be able to ask his dad about this, he has so many questions he'd ask his dad... (Something like this actually happens in one of the comics, when the Werewolf appears to fall in love with Greer in her Tigra form because she is a creature like him - he "dares to dream of an end to his loneliness" - but when she turns back into a human the Werewolf is like Gasp! Betrayal! You are nothing like me at all and I am alone once again! Auuugh! The Werewolf, at least, was emphatically not attracted to humans, whereas human Jack had a different opinion.)

(I could go off on a tangent about mechanisms of speciation and how interspecies attraction is disfavored by natural selection, hybrid vigor vs. outbreeding depression, yadda yadda, but there’s no reason to think Jack would think in these evobio terms and by now I’m two paragraphs removed from my original point, so...)

I feel that being a literal werewolf could certainly crank up feelings of alienation up to eleven. So to counteract this, I headcanon he got lots of support and external validation from friends and family, especially his sister! Yay! Lyssa (yes, yes, I know, spelling. I have a weakness for puns and I am not sorry) forcefully dragging him out of his funk! ‘You are going to do something you like and you are going to enjoy it or so help me!’ She tries to show him that it doesn’t matter why he is the way he is, or what he is for that matter, so long as he is true to himself. oh oh oh! Lyssa, about to turn 18 herself: Bro. Listen. I need you to be there for me. I need you to tell me it will be alright. Okay? If you say you aren’t human, then neither am I - but if you say you are, then so am I. Can we agree on this? Can we make this pact?

[brw]

I’m curious if you think other characters might know Simon is gay, like Wanda (surely didn’t back in the day but like, now), Eric, their parents, Hank, any other avengers?

Wanda... I'm not sure. I don't think Wanda knows for sure, but she wouldn't be surprised if he did come out either. She certainly has an inkling, but those two have such a strange, intense dynamic that it's hard to make sense of and I certainly think Wanda is used to relying on Simon in a certain way that's always been contextualised by him having feelings for her (I personally contextualise it as, Simon would literally not be alive without her) that I don't think she has any certainty, but again, if she saw it on the news, it wouldn't shock her either, she'd just wish he'd said something earlier.

Eric is another complex one. Like, look; Simon was an underweight, extremely studious, anxious person into theatre and film in the 50s. Eric absolutely has called him many, many slurs. However, Eric is also someone with a highly idolised version of Simon in his head; if he thinks his brother won't marry "no stinkin' mutant", he's probably going to have an extreme reaction to Simon dating a man. He also makes those comments about "getting Simon and Wanda back together", so it's hard to tell. I think it's something he always ribs Simon about, it's a common way to harass and humiliate Simon, but I don't think he actually thinks he is queer.

Sanford, like Eric, probably made a few scathing remarks about "no son of mine" but I don't think he was serious about it. Martha, it's more complex, I think probably doesn't because she's not someone portrayed as having the greatest understanding of her sons (not her fault) but again, wouldn't act shocked if he came out, but would be very empathetic I think. She just wants her sons to be happy, at this stage.

Hank McCoy, absolutely not. As far as he's aware, they're a couple of average straight dudes who maybe kiss a little more than usual, but hey, it's just friendly banter. What, you've never tongued down your friends as a laugh? You're the weird one.

Hank Pym, I think actually does, and I think this because of the weird speeches he gives to Simon, specifically the line "whatever man you are, be one!". He and Tigra know and talk about it sometimes in the Avengers Academy days.

Steve and Tony know, Janet doesn't. Carol doesn't. Ginger and Alex from the '91 solo probably know. Natasha knows. Bobby Drake genuinely assumed he already came out and made a joke one time about Hank being friends with a lot of gay Jewish people and Hank doesn't know what the fuck he's talking about.