Moon Knight's first episode, "The Goldfish Problem," premiered on Disney+ earlier today and our introduction to Steven Grant (and Marc Spector) certainly didn't disappoint. We're clearly only beginning to scratch the surface of who this character is, but across the course of the opening chapter, there were some big reveals and teases about where Moon Knight's story is going to take us.
While we didn't get any huge cameos or groundbreaking revelations, there were some very easy to miss hints about what Marvel Studios has planned for Steven over the coming weeks.
With that in mind, we're now breaking down the biggest reveals and Easter Eggs from Moon Knight's premiere, including some intriguing nods to Egyptian Gods with a history in the Marvel Universe, confirmation that one of Marc's closest allies exists in the MCU, and intel on the show's big bad.
To take a look through this breakdown, all you guys need to do is click on the "Next" button below!
5. Taweret
As Steven Grant is doing inventory with his nightmare boss, the gift shop employee makes a point of highlighting some plush toys depicting Taweret's likeness (she looks like a humanoid Hippo).
You might not think much of this moment, but we have a strong feeling this character is going to be key to Moon Knight. Why? Well, during the show's premiere, actress Antonia Salib confirmed that she's playing Taweret and said, "From the moment when I read the scenes when I was auditioning to when I started working with the director Mohamed Diab and the costume team to VFX, it felt like I was given license to create my character and everyone was on board together."
So, it sounds like we'll meet this Egyptian Goddess in the series, which is an interesting decision when she has no history we can find in the Marvel Universe. In Egyptian religion, she was the Goddess of childbirth and fertility, so we're definitely intrigued by what that means for the show.
4. The Ennead
Another interesting moment during this scene comes when Steven points out a poster featuring a group of Egyptian Gods known as The Ennead. In the Marvel Universe, they hail from Celestial Heliopolis, a small pocket dimension adjacent to Earth similar to Ta Lo in Shang-Chi.
Members on the page include Anubis, Bast, Bes, Geb, Horus, Isis, Nepthys, Nut, Osiris, Ptah, Seth, Shu, Tefnut and, as you might have guessed, Khonshu. Whether this group appears in the MCU remains to be seen, but the fact that they're highlighted here makes us think there are plans for them.
Moon Knight is clearly taking a deep dive into Egyptian mythology, but the comic book version of The Ennead has a history with the Eternals, Celestials, and even Thor and Odin. Thrown in the fact that Bast is the God worshipped by Wakandans, and this series could deepen the MCU's mythology massively.
3. Moon Knight's Big Bad
Ethan Hawke's Arthur Harrow is established as Moon Knight's villain in the premiere, but he serves a higher power. Arthur explains that had she not been banished by her fellow Gods, Ammit would have been able to stop some of the world's biggest tragedies by judging those who would do wrong before they could do it. However, if Minority Report taught us anything, that's not a foolproof approach!
Ammit doesn't have the most storied comic book history, but we'd be willing to bet she retains her crocodile-like appearance if Harrow succeeds in bringing her back to cast judgement on the world.
Interestingly, when Khonshu once sent Marc Spector to an illusory mental hospital designed to wear away the last of his mind so he could take over, Ammut helped with his plan. Elements of this could be adapted for this series, but it sounds like Khonshu is looking to stop her return in Moon Knight.
2. Duchamp
While scrolling through the phone he finds in his apartment, Steven learns that Marc has a lot of missed calls from someone called Layla...and one from Duchamp. That's obviously Jean-Paul Duchamp, a.k.a. Frenchie, a classic supporting character who befriended Marc during his mercenary days.
Frenchie later became Moon Knight's pilot, and recent comics have revealed that he's actually gay and secretly in love with the vigilante. There's a lot to mine from the source material with this character, but we'd bet on him being saved for somewhere down the line. Well, unless Marvel Studios plans to surprise us (and this is where we get to a theory that may or may not pan out).
Remember when George Clooney was rumoured to be directing an episode of Moon Knight? Well, we now know that didn't happen, but what if the actor actually visited the set to shoot a cameo appearance as Duchamp? We think he'd be a pretty perfect choice for the charismatic Frenchman.
1. Enter Moon Knight
Marvel Studios keeps us waiting, but Moon Knight finally makes his presence felt in the closing few minutes of "The Goldfish Problem." At this point, it's clear only Marc Spector has control over those powers as Steven has to hand over control to him in order for the costume to emerge.
It appears that a big part of this series is going to be about Steven fighting for control, and we do wonder if that means he'll eventually get to suit up too. Khonshu clearly isn't impressed by him, though, and seems to believe Steven is a "parasite" (likely a reference to Marc's broken, traumatised mind creating him to protect himself from the trauma of being Khonshu's avatar).
We're certainly excited to see more of Moon Knight in action, and if this brief tease at the end of the episode is any indication, the hero is a formidable, powerful badass who shouldn't be messed with.