Khonshu, God Who Gives Strength to Moon Knights!

Moon Knight is one of the upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe shows that are highly anticipated in 2022. Written by Jeremy Slater and directed by Mohamed Diab, the series stars Oscar Isaac as Marc Spector/Steven Grant/Mr. Knight/Moon Knight, and Ethan Hawke as Arthur Harrow. Based on what has been revealed from the trailer, when compared to the previous MCU series, Moon Knight feels more like a psychological horror genre show.

In addition to showing the character of Steven Grant/Mr. Knight/Moon Knight, the trailer also reveals what Arthur Harrow looks like as a mysterious antagonist who looks highly adored by many. Regardless of what Moon Knight and Arthur Harrow look like, there is actually one more Marvel character that really catches the attention of fans, he is the figure of Khonshu. Not much is known about this Marvel character. Who exactly was this Khonshu, and what was his relationship with the Moon Knight like? Check out the discussion below.

Egyptian Moon God

Marvel has tons of ancient gods inspired by the original mythology, including Thor from Norse mythology, then Zeus from Greek mythology, and even Vishnu from Hindu mythology. For Khonshu himself, he is one of the gods or powerful beings worshiped by the Ancient Egyptians. Described as the Moon God, Khonshu in the Marvel Universe is the former mentor of the God of Justice Horus and rival of the God of Death Seth.

Created by Doug Moench and Bill Sienkiewicz, Khonshu was first described in the comic Moon Knight #1 in 1980. Khonshu is told as a mysterious god who makes Marc Spector as one of his henchmen on Earth called Priest of Khonshu. Although at first Khonshu's motivations were mysterious, and it was not explained why he was so attracted to Marc, it was eventually revealed that during this time Khonshu had indeed prepared Marc to carry out several important missions for his cause.

After giving Marc superhuman abilities, Khonshu told him to join the Avengers secretly. This was done because he really wanted the Moon Knight to defeat Seth in the big Avengers battle that took place in Asgard. After knowing that he was only used as a tool by Khonshu, Marc had left the Moon God, as well as felt by Khonshu, he preferred to create other "tools" rather than just relying on Marc.

However, in the end the two of them reunited, because Marc desperately needed Khonshu's power, and Khonshu couldn't find anyone who could be more useful than Marc. In the end they both form a relationship that takes advantage of each other. At first Marc also often questioned why Khonshu created so many alter egos in him. Although Marc had suspected that this was deliberately done to damage his mind, it was revealed that Khonshu did it precisely so that Marc would recover from his madness.

The Influence and Power of Khonshu

Every action of Marc Spector aka Moon Knight did not escape the influence of Khonshu. Besides telling him to join the Avengers, Khonshu also told Marc to go to the past to steal the Avengers 1,000,000 BC power in the comic Avengers Vol 8 #35 (2020). This is because Khonshu was jealous that he was not invited to be the Avengers in prehistoric times. On another occasion, Khonshu once told Moon Knight to steal the powers of Iron Fist, Doctor Strange, Ghost Rider, and Thor, then use them to kill Mephisto.

Although it is often asked and shrouded in many mysteries, it can be said that Khonshu's main goal is to defeat the gods and demons that he thinks are too powerful, because he wants to become the single most powerful god in the Marvel Universe. Whereas with his own strength, actually Khonshu can be said to be very powerful, he can teleport to places he wants to visit. Besides having super physical abilities, Khonshu also mastered various magical magic, such as telepathy, creating earthquakes, healing factors, and most importantly immortality.

Khonshu in the Moon Knight Series.

In the trailer, Khonshu is seen briefly haunting Steven Grant (another identity of Marc Spector) while he is in an elevator. Khonshu, which is larger than a human, is seen approaching with its crescent moon stick and its terrifying bird skull head. The frightened Steven was then startled by Khonshu who held the elevator door and instantly turned into a grandmother. It's still unclear whether the grandmother is real or an incarnation of Khonshu.

Most likely in the later series, Khonshu will have a big influence in Marc's life, just like in Marvel Comics, he will continue to haunt Marc until Marc wants to make peace and listen to Khonshu's request. In addition, it could be that the villain Arthur Harrow also has other gods supporting him, that's why Khonshu ordered Marc to become the Moon Knight to defeat other gods who support Arthur Harrow. Although the comic version of Arthur has nothing to do with gods, at least the theory is interesting enough to be raised in the Moon Knight series.

That's a discussion of who Khonshu really is, what kind of influence he has in Moon Knight's life, and how important his presence in the Moon Knight series will be. For now, not much is known about the character Khonshu in the series, whether he is really the god who gave power to Marc Spector, or just Marc's imagination. Because even though the characters are from Marvel Comics, the MCU story often changes some of the material to make it feel fresher. We'll see what Khonshu looks like in the series later, when Moon Knight premieres on Disney+ on March 30, 2022.