Marc Spector: Moon Knight #6
"Midnight Sons"
Writer: Jed MacKay
Artist: Devmalya Pramanik
Colorist: Rachelle Rosenberg
Cover Artist: Paulo Siquiera & Yen Nitro
You may not know this, but many other Marvel heroes don't like teaming up with Moon Knight.
I know… crazy, right?
Why, yes. Yes he is.
That's the problem.
Team-Building Exercises
Marc Spector's friends and acolytes—his family—have been taken by the Mansion Ravenous. The dragon-possessed sword Ginnarr is now an actual dragon. Things are grim. But thanks to a ritual conducted by Clea Strange, there is hope. Moon Knight must gather the Midnight Sons.
There's a small problem, though. Of the five people called—Clea, Ghost Rider (Robbie Reyes), Blade, Daredevil, and Moon Knight himself—the only person who doesn't actively dislike Marc is Clea. Let that sink in for a second. Needless to say, the Fist of Khonshu has his work cut out for him.
Three awkward conversations later, the Midnight Sons are gathered. Now it's time to hear Moon Knight's plan. Walking through the front door didn't work out too well before, so this time they're going to drive through it in Ghost Rider's Hellcharger.
Yeah. That's definitely a Moon Knight plan…
Trust Falls
I love this book.
The pace slows down this month, as almost the whole issue is Marc Spector approaching the called members of the Midnight Sons and attempting to recruit them to his cause. Each conversation tells us so much about both the would-be teammates and Marc himself.
First up, Robbie Reyes. Marc doesn't even know his name, just referring to him as Ghost Rider. Not only that, but he has no idea what Robbie has been through. Being left at the end of time, where there is literally nothing, has not done wonders for the young man's sense of heroism or duty. Fortunately, he does understand family. This is our hint that his acolytes mean more to Moon Knight than we suspected.
Next up is Blade. The two bond over some dead vampires, and as soon as Marc says "Midnight Sons," Blade is in. I really like this take on Blade. He's no-nonsense, totally focused on his mission, but he has no problem dropping everything when a higher calling is at play.
Last up is Daredevil. Here's where we get a serious look into Marc's current headspace, thanks to Daredevil's super-senses (and his super lawyer questioning skills). The two men compare who's gone crazier in the past (I think Moon Knight wins there) and which one feels more remorse for killing (Daredevil wins there, his was accidental, but it still weighs on him). Then Marc lets slip that he loves Tigra. That's new information, which helps to sway Daredevil.
Once the team is gathered, it's all about Moon Knight's hilariously simple plan. It's so perfectly him. I cracked up.
Even though the issue is mostly conversations between pairs of characters, it gives so many peeks into Marc's psyche and gives us plenty of information to go on about the rest of the would-be team. Now that everyone's ready for their team-up, we can expect things to get super crazy next issue.
Corporate Retreat
It's so hard to come up with new things to say about the creative team of Jed MacKay, Devmalya Pramanik, and Rachelle Rosenberg every month. This trio just doesn't miss.
MacKay continues to add new layers to Marc Spector, ensuring that we have fodder for stories for years to come. He does a spectacular job with the rest of the Midnight Sons as well. If you didn't know the characters, you'd get what they are all about from his writing here. If you do, you'll be impressed by how well he captures each of them. And as always, he always manages to sneak one fist-pumpingly awesome moment into every issue.
Pramanik continues to blow me away with his art. His panel layouts are always non-traditional, but he really goes for broke this month. The radar and billy club effects all over the Daredevil pages are brilliant, and I wouldn't mind seeing those in his own title. And the page layouts as Ghost Rider's Hellcharger takes off are just plain cool. For an issue full of people talking, he manages to still make the art kinetic and varied. It's simply fantastic.
Of course, we can't talk about the art without mentioning Rosenberg's coloring, which sets the bar higher every month. Here we get dusted vampires, Ghost Rider flame effects, Daredevil super-senses, the Mansion Ravenous… so many wild and varied effects, and she makes every one of them look like the coolest thing you've seen (until you turn the page, at least). She's easily one of the best colorists working today, and this book is the only proof you need of that claim.
Human Resources Violation
Marc Spector: Moon Knight #6 is another fantastic issue that takes its time assembling the Midnight Sons team, giving plenty of time to both Marc Spector and his would-be teammates as they wrestle with whether or not to join his mission. This creative team just doesn't miss, and they continually outdo themselves each and every issue. If you aren't reading this comic, you owe it to yourself to check it out—this is not only an all-time run for Moon Knight himself, it's one of the best ongoing series being published today.
