Last issue of Moon Knight gave us the obligatory Casualties of War tie-in issue. It appears that Moon Knight #9 is another Casualties of War issue dealing with the death of Captain America. We also are going to get a guest appearance of the Punisher in this issue. Wow, that should be interesting. There is no doubt that Huston has made Moon Knight a must read comic book. I am positive that Moon Knight #9 will be another excellent read. Let’s hit this review.
Creative Team
Writer: Charlie Huston
Artist: Mico Suayan
Art Rating: 8 Night Girls out of 10
Story Rating: 9 Night Girls out of 10
Overall Rating: 8.5 Night Girls out of 10
Synopsis: We begin with Rob helping Marc with his physical therapy. Rob asks Marc what his superpower was. Marc responds that he did not have a superpower. Rob tells Marc that he can stop being coy because Frenchie told Rob that Marc used to have some superpower.
Khonshu tells Marc to tell Rob what he used to be able to do. When Khonshu was more generous to him. Back when Marc was more obedient. Marc then tells Rob that he used to get talk for faster and stronger depending on how full the moon was. But now, he has to get on by his own.
Rob tells Marc that he can stop this entire image that he is an island and that he doesn’t need anyone’s help and that his body will do what ever he tells it to do. And that if people don’t agree with him then they can leave. Marc tells Rob that he didn’t ask him to come over that he can leave whenever he wants to.
Rob responds that despite that Marc is always rude and despite the fact that Frenchie says Marc will never change that Rob is going to keep helping Marc because he believes in what Marc does. Rob states that he believes evil people should be punished for their crimes. That they should be hurt. That Rob is going to keep coming here in forcing March to treat his body with respect. So Marc can keep going out there and giving the bad guys hell.
Khonshu remarks to Marc that the “little fairy” has the hots for Marc. Marc tells Rob that he appreciates his help. Rob then says he has one more question: did Marc really hook up with Tigra? Marc whispers through gritted teeth damn you, Frenchie.
Suddenly, Jeff Wilde busts through the wall and takes out Rob. Jeff and Marc start brawling. Jeff quickly gets the upper hand. Rob then throws a weight at Jeff’s head to distract them. Jeff asks Marc, if Rob is his new sidekick. Jeff asked Marc and he thinks Rob can do a better job than he did.
Marc then tells Jack that he was lousy at the job of being a psychic. Marc takes a steel peg from the weight rack and jams it through Jeff’s ear. Marc tells Rob to leave. Then Marc starts beating the hell out of Jeff with a pair of dumbbells. Jeff then gets the upper hand and takes down Marc.
Jeff comments that he has to hold back his punches. To prevent him from punching a hole through March chest. That Jeff has to go at it his lowest power possible. Jeff then reaches into Marc’s mouth and rips out one of his teeth. Jeff comments that he doesn’t know how he’s going to keep from tearing Marlene in half when he gets his hands on her sweet asks.
Jeff then tells Marc that he’s leaving. Jeff says that he wants the full treatment. The total Moon Knight experience. The helicopter and everything. Jeff says that he is Midnight. That he is Marc’s new archenemy and that Marc better start treating him that way.
Jeff says that if Marc doesn’t come after him as Moon Knight and Jeff will have to start attacking Marc’s friends like Frenchie for example. Jeff comments how he used to look up to Marc. Jeff then says he was so lame to look up to Marc.
We cut to Frenchie filling Rob in about Jeff Wilde and how his father was Anton Bogart the Midnight Man. French she says that Jeff was a fool to tag along after Moon Knight and to fight evil. Rob says that it’s not absurd to fight evil. That is noble.
Frenchie says that Rob doesn’t know what he’s talking about. That Marc is not a hero. That he is a warrior. That there is no nobility in Marc. Only blood. Rob comments that Frenchie still loves Marc anyway.
French he admits that where he came from he knew no better. That he knew nothing of peace and gentleness. But now he knows Rob. And he is grateful for that. Frenchie tells Rob that it’s not safe to be around Marc with Jeff of a loose. Rob counters that Marc needs help and friends. Frenchie says he needs Rob.
We cut to Crawley on the phone with someone. Crawley says that he will discover where someone is currently living. We cut to Marlene on a cell phone. Marlene says into the phone “Damn you. You have to stop this. If you want to come see me come and see me.” Marlene then says to the person on the other line to grow up or leave her alone. We cut to Moon Knight, closing his cell phone.
Moon Knight and Ray then blast off in his Mooncopter. Moon Knight comments that this new Mooncopter is really all Stark Enterprises ground effect technology and not a real helicopter. This makes it faster and more maneuverable.
Ray and Moon Knight arrive at a location in the city were some cars are on fire. Moon Knight tells Ray to drop him off and then to fly off at least a mile away and wait for his call. Down below, we see the Punisher waging a one-man war. End of issue.
Comments
The Good: Moon Knight #9 was another excellent read. Huston continues to impress me with his outstanding work on this title. This was another well plotted issue. Huston has had a clear direction and nice vision for what he wanted to accomplish on his run on Moon Knight. So often, writers start a new title and seem to lack a definite direction or purpose with the new title. You definitely see that in Ghost Rider and to a lesser degree with Punisher: War Journal.
Not so with Moon Knight. Huston has done an excellent job plotting a complex storyline within several story arcs. Huston was brought Moon Knight back to the Marvel Universe, but he clearly isn’t done with this re-birth of Marc Spector.
Moon Knight #8 was well paced and featured a nice blend of dialogue heavy scenes and action. And what brutal action Huston gives us! Huston has done a fantastic job displaying the brutality that makes up Moon Knight’s world. It is always enjoyable when a writer is able to write action scenes just as well as dialogue heavy scenes.
Huston is an immensely talented writer. And it shows in his ability to entertain the reader with insane action scenes and still have the writing chops to deliver impressive character development and dialogue.
The violence on Moon Knight is intense, but it is perfect for this title. Jeff Wilde and Marc’s brawl was wicked awesome! Marc using dumbbells as a variation of brass knuckles in order to pound away on Jeff was bad-assed. And Jeff tearing out one of Marc’s teeth was just nasty.
Huston has fully embraced the dark and violent world of Moon Knight. This is what the original Moon Knight was all about. He was a visceral character who dispensed vicious violence and dealt with villains who were vile and sick characters. Huston has brought such depth and complexity to Moon Knight’s character. I love how Huston has embraced the dark and dangerous world that we got on the original Moon Knight series.
Of course, Huston has done more than give us bloody action scenes starring a brooding and dark character. Huston has done an absolutely phenomenal job fleshing out Moon Knight’s character. Huston is not shy about eschewing action and delivering an issue directed solely at character development. Some of the past issues of Huston’s run on Moon Knight have been nothing more than incredible character studies.
In Moon Knight #8, Huston continues to examine Marc’s character. We see Marc finally dropping his guard just enough to thank Rob for his help with the physical therapy. We see Marc still obsessing and worrying over Marlene even though she has clearly moved on past him. Huston shows the reader that no matter how tough of an exterior Marc wants to show the world, that deep inside he is full of insecurities and is a total mess.
I am totally digging how Huston is handling Khonshu in this series. Khonshu continues to receive all of the best lines. I like Khonshu’s smart-ass humor. And the best part of Khonshu is that we still don’t know if he really does exist or if he is just a figment of Marc’s imagination.
I like how Huston refers to the super powered Moon Knight that we got in the “Fist of Khonshu” series. I never really liked that version of Moon Knight. But, I like how Huston explained how Marc suddenly got powers and then lost them. That Khonshu rewarded Marc with the powers because Marc was obedient.
Marc’s comment that he has to do things on his own now shows his grit, toughness and determination to be his own man rather than some mindless subject of Khonshu. Plus, it was a little dig at Khonshu who Marc clearly wishes would just leave him alone sometimes.
I was glad that Huston took the time to develop Rob’s character in this issue. Up until now, Rob’s character was rather one-dimensional and uninteresting. In fact, Rob was the only character that Huston had failed to properly develop. With Moon Knight #9, Huston has remedied that issue.
Rob finally gets a personality. I certainly like Rob’s character a lot more after this issue. The interaction between Marc and Rob was great. I love how Rob cuts through Marc’s bullshit and call’s Marc on his entire act that he is trying to pull off. Rob minces no words as he calls Marc out during the physical therapy session.
I found it interesting that Rob supports Marc’s quest for vengeance as Moon Knight. And even more surprising that Rob doesn’t think that bad guys need to be simply stopped, that they need to be hurt. That bad guys deserve to be hurt and that Rob is glad that Marc does that as Moon Knight.
This definitely caught me by surprise. It appears that Rob may have been a victim of crime at some point in his past. Perhaps the victim of some gay bashing. This was a neat and unexpected little twist that Huston gives Rob’s character.
And this little twist is important because not only does it create a bond of mutual respect between Marc and Rob, but it also creates plenty of tension between Frenchie and Rob. Huston does an excellent job handling Frenchie and Rob’s relationship in their scene together.
And of course, a story arc is only as good as the villain that the hero has to battle. Well, Huston has certainly given us one truly sick and twisted villain in Jeff Wilde aka Midnight. Midnight is simply one evil bastard. He is an extremely entertaining villain that readers will love to hate. Midnight is exactly the type of creepy, warped and perverse villain that populates Moon Knight’s world.
Huston delivers a good hook ending with the appearance of a rampaging Punisher. Talk about your team-ups! Moon Knight and the Punisher are certainly the two most insane and unbalanced super heroes in the Marvel Universe. This should be wildly entertaining. I can’t wait to see these two characters interacting with each other. I do know one thing. The villains who face this team-up are in huge trouble.
Mico Suayan handles the art duties on this issue instead of regular artist David Finch. I find that usually guest artists suck. However, that certainly is not the case with Suayan. I like Suayan’s style and it is a great match for this title.
The Bad: No complaints at all.
Overall: Moon Knight #9 is another impressive read. Huston continues to amaze with his spectacular run on this title. I don’t know how Marvel can let Huston leave after just twelve issues. Marvel absolutely needs to do everything in their power to keep Huston on this title. I definitely recommend giving Moon Knight a try. It has excellent writing that gives the reader good character work, strong dialogue and intense action.