Marc Spector: Moon Knight #9
“Demolition”
Writer: Jed MacKay
Artist: Devmalya Pramanik
Colorist: Rachelle Rosenberg
Cover Artist: Jose Luis Soares, Jonas Trindade & Rachelle Rosenberg
Publisher: Marvel Comics
This episode, on Extreme Makeover: Living Haunted House Edition…
Demolitions Supplies
Moon Knight and his allies have the Mansion Ravenous on the ropes for the first time. It’s time to go in for the kill. But will their combined powers be enough?
And will the Midnight Suns hug it out and sing Kumbaya when it’s all over?
Urban Planning
I love Moon Knight.
I sound like a broken record, I know.
I can’t help it.
Only Moon Knight would work with Clea Strange to come up with an elaborate plan to recruit a new Midnight Suns team of heroes who all have a history of possession, offer those heroes to the Mansion Ravenous in exchange for his people, and then use those same heroes as components in a spell to free everyone the house trapped. After freeing the people and arming them all with enchanted weapons, the culmination of Moon Knight’s plan is “hit it until it falls down.”
Yeah, that sounds about right for Marc Spector.
It’s funny that the plan literally didn’t go past that point, and didn’t take into account what would happen if sheer violence wasn’t enough. If Clea’s spell hadn’t freed Achilles Fairchild from the Mansion as well, Moon Knight alone wouldn’t have been enough to slay the house. Furthermore, if Fairchild hadn’t learned not to underestimate Moon Knight, he might have chosen to attack Marc instead of the house. A master planner, Moon Knight is not.
But in the end, it all worked out and the Mansion Ravenous was defeated. Everyone returned home to the Midnight Mission in one piece. Huzzah!
When it’s over and it’s time to settle up, of course it’s Daredevil who throws the first punch. And of course Marc doesn’t fight back and just takes it. During this scene, I couldn’t help but read Daredevil’s dialogue in Charlie Cox’s angry growl voice. I don’t even do that all the time in his own book, but it just felt appropriate here. I love Moon Knight, and I know it’s his book and all, but the dude had it coming here.
I am disappointed at one thing here. After Daredevil, we get Blade’s response to the betrayal—he understands better than anyone how anything goes when you’re chasing a kill. But we don’t get any kind of reaction or response from Ghost Rider. Honestly, of all the members of this Midnight Suns team, he got short shrift the whole way through. I literally think he was on the team because he had a car. Designated Driver of Vengeance.
Now that the Mansion Ravenous is finally put down, Moon Knight can return to the dilemma that started this volume: Agence Byzantine’s hunt for Jean-Paul DuChamp. Next stop? Los Angeles!
Wait, what’s this? We get an epilogue? Interesting. Oh, it’s Zodiac in a room full of bodies. Yep, he’s still crazy and obsessed with Moon Knight… I feel like Zodiac is going to be the endgame for Jed MacKay’s whole tenure on Moon Knight, as he ties things all the way back to the beginning of the run five years ago. I hope I’m wrong—I’m not ready for it to end…
Knight Crew
Jed MacKay could probably write Moon Knight in his sleep at this point, but I’m glad he doesn’t. This issue is light on character beats and heavy on action, so it’s a little bit of a faster read. MacKay doesn’t let excessive narration or dialogue get in the way of the pretty pictures.
And what pretty pictures they are. Devmalya Pramanik turns in another awesome issue’s worth of art. There are multiple pages broken up with unique panel layouts, like the one that has both Marc and Fairchild attacking the heart of the Mansion. In the aftermath, Daredevil’s beatdown of Marc isn’t flashy, but it is brutal.
Rachelle Rosenberg continues to round out the creative team, working her usual wizardry on colors. The spiritual weapons that everyone wields here have the same moonlight glow as Moon Knight himself, so there are plenty of beacons in the darkness. The heart of the Mansion appears to suck the light out of its chamber and leave the whole thing cloaked in darkness, which Marc and Fairchild break through with their spiritual hammers.
Together Again
Marc Spector: Moon Knight #9 wraps up the Mansion Ravenous story in violent fashion and reunites the Fist of Khonshu with his found family. The new Midnight Suns disbands, and they probably won’t answer if Marc has to call again. Just like Moon Knight himself, we barely have time to rest before he needs to head out west in search of an old friend.