BY MAX MCAULIFF, STAFF WRITER
With the debut of “Moon Knight ‘’ on Disney+ last week, the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) enters unchartered territory. For the first time in its history, the MCU is exploring Egyptian culture and the various gods ancient Egyptians worshiped. The MCU has previously explored gods with the Thor movies. MCU movies, and before that Marvel comic books, have taken the inspiration for Thor straight from Norse mythology. The exploration of Egyptian gods, however, is a first for the MCU.
But “Moon Knight” will not be known as Marvel’s most influential story for its exploration of Egyptian gods. Instead, it will be remembered for its exploration of dissociative identity disorder (DID), formerly known as multiple personality disorder.
The show’s main character, throughout episode one, played by the talented Oscar Isaac (now playing his third different Marvel character), is Steven Grant. Steven believes that he has a sleeping disorder and sets up measures to try and prevent himself from sleepwalking in the middle of the night.
At the end of the first episode, Steven finds out that his body is host to another person, a mercenary named Marc Spector. To make matters worse, Marc Spector happens to be the avatar for the Egyptian moon god Khonshu. Khonshu is both an Egyptian god in Marvel comics and a real Egyptian god, although the real-life spelling is Khonsu. When Steven falls asleep, Marc takes over to do Khonshu’s bidding, transforming into the superhero Moon Knight when necessary.
The first episode is told from the point of view of Steven. This explains why one second he’s asleep in bed in London, and the next he’s waking up in a field in the Swiss Alps. The show was described by May Calamawy, who plays archaeologist Layla El-Faouly, as a mix between Indiana Jones and Fight Club. It combines a show about adventure with the mysteries that come whilst following an unreliable narrator, in this case, Steven. While this concept is remarkably interesting, it is not why the show will be influential.
The show will be influential because of its exploration and discussion of DID. As the audience follows Steven throughout the first episode, a sense of remorse is felt for the character. Unlike the audience, he is oblivious to the fact that he’s suffering from DID. He is constantly confused and lamented by his boss for showing up late and disheveled. He loses consciousness and will wake up in a place he doesn’t remember traveling to.
When he finally catches a break and has a date with a coworker, a date presumably intended for Marc and not Steven, he misses it due to the fact Marc was in control of his body and on a mission. Steven thinks he showed up on time for his Friday date and is utterly confused when the waiter informs him the day is Sunday. This is the last straw for Steven, and he begins to slowly break down at the restaurant as he still does not understand what is happening to his life.
“Moon Knight” does an incredible and empathetic job at showing Stevens suffering from DID. The show will surely inform the masses about the struggles someone who lives with DID goes through. “Moon Knight” has to be careful and walk a thin line to ensure people understand the reality of DID. If done correctly “Moon Knight” has the potential to do what popular movies like “Fight Club” and “Split” failed to do, and it could become Marvel’s most influential movie yet.
