Welcome to Longbox Junk, the place to find all the comic reviews you never asked for!
I've decided to return to one of the things that makes Longbox Junk special by reading and reviewing an entire series from issue one to issue done. .. something I haven't done in a while. I chose a pretty epic chunk of comics with SIXTY issues of Marc Spector: Moon Knight.
To recap the first ten issues (or you can just go HERE ), so far writer Chuck Dixon has given us a very straightforward and simple interpretation of Moon Knight, dispensing with most of the supernatural elements and not even touching on the mental health issues that usually define a Moon Knight story.
It's snappy two-fisted street-level superheroics that are fun to read, but also REALLY show the reader how Moon Knight got the sorta bad reputation as "Marvel's Batman".
But THAT was the first ten issues. Let's cut the introduction short and see what happens next!
MARC SPECTOR: MOON KNIGHT
PART TWO (ISSUES 11 - 20)
MARVEL (1989 - 1994)
ISSUE ELEVEN
DISTANT THUNDER
SCRIPT: Chuck Dixon
PENCILS: Sal Velluto
INKS: Tom Palmer
COVER: Sal Velluto
THE STORY:
Continuing from last issue, Frenchie is rushed to emergency surgery following the crash of the Moon Copter, but manages to pull through despite severe damage to his legs. In the meantime, we see Bushman in Burunda deciding to turn his country's agriculture toward drug crops.
Moon Knight and Midnight break into a police impound lot to retrieve the damaged Moon Copter so it can't be traced back to Marc Spector. The two vigilantes are ambushed by a heavily-armed man calling himself Arsenal. . .yet another name borrowed from someone Moon Knight believed dead.
A battle ensues between Moon Knight, Midnight, Arsenal, and his armed thugs. Midnight is captured and Moon Knight is drugged by Arsenal. Midnight is released and Moon Knight is taken. Arsenal informs Midnight that he doesn't want Moon Knight dead because he has a job for him.
To be continued.
THE REVIEW:
Moving past the "Acts of Vengeance" crossover, we get a sort of epilogue that also sets up the next story. It's not bad, but it's also not that good, either. It looks like Bushman is coming back into the picture. . .hardly surprising, since he's the "Joker" to Moon Knight's "Batman". I'm pretty sure we'll be seeing him off and on through the whole series. The villain Arsenal is a walking 1990's comic trope. . .pouches, straps, multiple guns, sunglasses at night. . .the whole thing. He's probably the weakest part of the issue.
A weak villain and a story that's caught between being an epilogue and a prologue make this issue not quite a dud, but not one of the better issues so far either. . .and in a series that's been fun, but JUST above average, that's getting pretty close to the edge.
NEXT!
ISSUE TWELVE
A TIME FOR JACKALS
SCRIPT: Chuck Dixon
PENCILS: Sal Velluto
INKS: Tom Palmer
COVER: Sal Velluto
THE STORY:
Continuing from last issue, Moon Knight wakes up in an airplane headed for France. Arsenal explains that he works for the CIA and that they know he is Marc Spector. They want Moon Knight to help take down Bushman's drug operation in Burunda as part of a revolution they've set up. In exchange, they can make the tax problems Spector Enterprises has been having go away.
Marc reluctantly agrees once he hears the job involves Bushman. In France, Marc is introduced to a team of mercenaries he will be working with. He knows a few of them from his past, and isn't impressed. He secretly contacts Frenchie and discovers that the CIA doesn't have any operations in Burunda.
Marc confronts the mercenaries as Moon Knight and takes them down. Arsenal puts up a better fight than the rest, but Moon Knight beats him as well. During the fight, Arsenal admits that he's actually working for a drug cartel who want Bushman out of the picture. Moon Knight leaves the whole group for the French police to arrest and continues for Africa himself, determined to take down Bushman's drug operation on his own without any mercenary baggage.
To be continued. . .
THE REVIEW:
I liked that this issue leaned heavily into Marc Spector's past as a mercenary. As soon as he meets his team, he's like "I know that guy, he sucks. I know him too, and he sucks." and immediately knows that the CIA could have hired better. Other than that, there's not much to this issue. It's basically more setup for an upcoming confrontation with Bushman. Once again, Arsenal is a pretty weak villain in that he's a walking 90's comic trope of the over-armed gunman, complete with plenty of pouches and straps.
Overall, despite a few interesting moments here and there, this issue (and indeed this story arc so far) is teetering toward the bad side of average. Arsenal just isn't a good villain and the whole setup leading Marc back to Africa seems a bit forced. It's not BAD, it's just pretty plain to see a bit of a creative slump going on.
NEXT!
ISSUE THIRTEEN
BRUSH FIRE
SCRIPT: Chuck Dixon
PENCILS: Sal Velluto
INKS: Tom Palmer
COVER: Sal Velluto
THE STORY:
Continuing from last issue, Arsenal manages to escape French police custody and begins making his way to Africa, vowing revenge on Moon Knight. In the meantime, Moon Knight has already arrived in Burunda, and after taking down some poachers, he meets with the rebels and their leader, B'Kosa.
The rebels aren't very well armed, but they do have a helicopter and an American pilot named Montana. Moon Knight rigs some incendiary bombs and begins burning Bushman's poppy fields, also leaving a message behind letting Bushman know that Spector is there for him.
Arsenal finally makes it to Burunda and begins hunting Spector. At the rebel camp, Marc and B'Kosa are creating a strategy to attack the capital city when suddenly lights appear in the sky. . .planes attacking the rebel camp, with Bushman leading the strike!
To be continued. . .
THE REVIEW:
Some comic characters just don't work very well outside of their regular setting. Batman is best when he's lurking in the shadows of Gotham City, for example. This is the problem here. After being established as a two-fisted urban crimefighter, suddenly he's in Africa wearing full costume while leading a sketchy band of rebels and just not really fitting in with the story at hand.
Okay. . .I know Spector has a background as a mercenary, and the last issue leaned into that a little bit, but Dixon probably should have let him leave the costume at home and wear some more appropriate rebel incursion gear. . .but then again, I guess without his costume, Moon Knight just becomes a somewhat less lethal version of The Punisher.
The story itself isn't BAD, it's actually as well written and snappy as anything that's come before it in this series, it's just a nagging feeling that the main character isn't fitting well into his own story and I want this storyline to end just to see Moon Knight back in the city.
Overall, although this isn't a BAD issue, it's part of a story that I just want to see the end of so we can move on to something (hopefully) better. Without the costume, this could have been a gritty military tale of revolution and revenge, but a fully-costumed Moon Knight in Africa is as out of place as Batman running around Scotland. Wait. . .what? That was a thing that happened? Okay, then.
NEXT!
ISSUE FOURTEEN
LONG DAY DYING
SCRIPT: Chuck Dixon
PENCILS: Sal Velluto
INKS: Tom Palmer
COVER: Sal Velluto
THE STORY:
Continuing from last issue, Bushman's surprise attack on the rebel base is a success, scattering the rebels and killing their leader, B'Kosa. Moon Knight and Montana make their escape in the helicopter, but are shot down over the jungle.
As Bushman and most of his troops search for Moon Knight through the jungle, Arsenal arrives in the capital city of Burunda and takes command of the rebels waiting for the signal to attack. They quickly take over the lightly-defended capital, and Arsenal wastes no time appointing a new puppet President for his drug cartel employers.
Moon Knight and Montana are found by Bushman as they make their way toward the Wakandan border. Bushman and Moon Knight engage in a brutal battle, but once again, Moon Knight proves to be the superior fighter. Spector leaves the beaten and humiliated Bushman in the hands of his former soldiers, who take him prisoner.
Moon Knight and the wounded Montana make it to the Wakandan border and are able to cross using Moon Knight's West Coast Avenger ID card. The battered hero returns home to find his lover Marlene waiting for him at the airport, ready to try and make things between them work again.
The End.
THE REVIEW:
Although the individual issues of this story (including this one) weren't BAD, they form a story arc that just seems forced and too long. I was liking the shorter two issue stories Dixon was writing earlier in the run. They seemed to have more punch where this four issue arc had some pretty severe sag and padding (like everything having to do with Arsenal) in the middle.
Also, like I mentioned in the review of the previous issue, a fully-costumed Moon Knight in the middle of a story about mercenaries fighting a drug-financed revolution against a brutal dictator just doesn't work that well at all. It's unfortunate because the idea was a pretty good one, even though the execution didn't quite work. The "final" battle between Moon Knight and Bushman just seemed like it was thrown in because it sort of had to happen.
Overall, this issue wasn't bad, but it suffers from being part of a story that ran an issue too long, had a hero that was out of place, and a "final" (because we know that's not the last we'll see of Bushman, right?) confrontation that lacked any real spark and felt like it was there because it sort of had to be there. I'm just glad that the obligatory "Moon Knight HAS to fight Bushman every now and then" story is over (for now) and we can move along to something else.
Hmmmmm. . ."The Trial of Marc Spector"? Sounds promising.
Let's check it out!
ISSUE FIFTEEN
THE TRIAL OF MARC SPECTOR, PART ONE:
COMES THE NIGHT
SCRIPT: Chuck Dixon
PENCILS: Sal Velluto
INKS: Tom Palmer
COVER: Sal Velluto
THE STORY:
Marc Spector is back in New York, back together with his lover Marlene and taking down street crime. Frenchie is recovering from his injuries and all seems to be going well. But this is Moon Knight, and you KNOW that's not gonna last long, right?
While Moon Knight goes about his superhero business, Silver Sable International (a group of super-powered mercenaries specializing in hunting down war criminals) has Marc Spector under surveillance. They have been contracted to take him alive to stand trial in the Central American nation of Bosqueverde for war crimes connected with his part in a bloody coup that took place ten years before, when Marc was still a mercenary.
Silver Sable's "Wild Pack" of agents pick their moment to strike when Marc is at Spector Enterprises alone, trying to get some non-Moon Knight work done. A running battle through the building ensues, with Marc having narrow escapes from The Sandman and Paladin. He manages to finally escape into the subway, but just as they've given up the chase, Marc returns and surrenders to them!
To be continued. . .
THE REVIEW:
Marc Spector's background as a ruthless international mercenary is one of the things that sets him apart from just being "Marvel's Batman", so I'm glad to see Dixon diving deep into his sordid past for this storyline. The issue itself is mostly a running battle scene between Marc and The Wild Pack and truthfully is just pretty average. A decent enough setup for the coming issues, but nothing special.
The art on this issue is also noticeably worse than previous issues. . .looking rushed and sketchy in many places. It looks like maybe the inker was tasked with carrying more of the load than usual and it definitely shows. The colors are also a bit sloppy and garish, even though the same color artist that's been on board since issue #11 is credited and I haven't seen these problems until now.
NEXT!
ISSUE SIXTEEN
THE TRIAL OF MARC SPECTOR, PART TWO:
SPOILS
SCRIPT: Chuck Dixon
PENCILS: Sal Velluto
INKS: Tom Palmer
COVER: Sal Velluto
THE STORY:
Continuing from last issue, Marc Spector arrives in Bosqueverde and is imprisoned. In a series of flashbacks, we see Spector killing Presidente Ricardo Dominguez in front of his wife during a tense standoff where the Presidente may or may not have been reaching for a weapon. It is this uncertainty that later led to Marc being "killed" by Bushman and resurrected by Khonshu as Moon Knight.
Back in the United States, Marlene and Frenchie are preparing for a rescue mission to Bosqueverde. Midnight shows up and wants to help, but they turn him away. Between this and being sent away from Moon Knight's team-up with the Punisher, something snaps in Midnight, making him decide that if nobody will let him be a hero, he'll return to a life of crime.
In Bosqueverde, things are looking grim as Spector and other accused war criminals from the coup are paraded through a stadium filled with spectators cheering for blood and death during the first day of a flimsy excuse for a trial. Spector realizes he's probably not going to get the chance to clear his name he thought he would when he surrendered. In prison, he learns of an escape plan and debates over whether or not he wants any part of it.
In the jungle outside of the capital city of Bosqueverde, Marlene and Frenchie's plans to meet up with old mercenary friends of Frenchie's goes sideways when they learn his contact is dead and his former friends attack!
To be continued. . .
THE REVIEW:
I like that Dixon is giving us a look at Spector's former life as a mercenary, and showing some of the consequences of his past actions. One of the places where Moon Knight and Batman differ is that Marc Spector can be just as interesting a character as Moon Knight himself. This story is leaning hard into that aspect of the character and I'm back to wanting to see what happens next instead of wanting the story to just end, like I did with the previous arc.
Unfortunately, the same distinct downward turn on the art from last issue continues here. The art looks sketchy and rushed. . .even unfinished in places. The colors are sloppy and sometimes garish. There is an obvious difference in art quality between this issue and earlier issues.
That guard must be sick. He's a little green in the face.
Overall, an interesting story direction focusing more on Marc Spector and less on Moon Knight has renewed my interest in seeing what the next issue holds. Unfortunately, there are also some pretty bad art issues beginning to show up.
NEXT!
ISSUE SEVENTEEN
THE TRIAL OF MARC SPECTOR, PART THREE:
THE TRIAL
SCRIPT: Chuck Dixon
PENCILS: Sal Velluto
INKS: Tom Palmer & Chris Ivy
COVER: John Romita & Sal Velluto
THE STORY:
Continuing from last issue, as Marc Spector is called forth to answer for his war crimes in his Central American show trial, Frenchie and Marlene make a narrow escape from bandits who have taken the place of Frenchie's (now dead) contact. Now that their original plan to rescue Marc has gone sideways, they decide to go with Plan B: Find a place to hole up and wait for a chance to act. In other words, no plan.
MEANWHILE. . .Back in New York, Midnight has broken into Spector's mansion and stolen some of his costumes and gear. He's decided not only to return to a life of crime, but to hang suspicion on Moon Knight while he's at it. He accidentally stumbles onto a meeting of the Secret Empire (an offshoot group of HYDRA that engages in various criminal conspiracies, mostly involving high-level extortion) and barely escapes their gunmen.
Back in Bosquverde, Marlene and Frenchie have found a hotel to make their base of operations during the final day of Marc's trial. As his lawyer questions the wife of Presidente Dominguez, who was present when Marc killed him, Marc notices she hesitates when answering some questions, which makes him suspect that she might have had something do do with his death ten years ago.
Marc is predictably found guilty and sentenced to hang in three days. Back in prison, Marc informs the other prisoners that he'll be joining their escape attempt.
To be continued. . .
THE REVIEW:
Once again, I like that this story focuses on Marc Spector more than Moon Knight. I also like the way that Midnight decided to break bad and return to a life of crime. . .from the little bit of information I was able to find on the subject, it seems that Moon Knight having a sidekick was an extremely unpopular idea at the time, so Dixon did a pretty admirable job of listening to the fans and walking it back instead of trying to force it to work.
The art problems I've seen popping up in the past few issues smooth out a bit here with the addition of a second inker and the return of the original color artist, going back to the grittier look it had before.
NEXT!
ISSUE EIGHTEEN
THE TRIAL OF MARC SPECTOR, PART FOUR:
PROMISES
SCRIPT: Chuck Dixon
PENCILS: Sal Velluto
INKS: Tom Palmer
COVER: Sal Velluto
THE STORY:
Continuing from last issue, as Marc Spector makes his escape along with the other political prisoners, he tries to keep the ringleader, Bajete, from killing the guards. For this, Spector is beaten and left for dead after learning that Bajete and the rest aren't just escaping, they intend to kill Presidente Silva that night so that ousted dictator Presidente Raposta can return from exile.
Marlene and Frenchie discover Marc, and the three of them make a desperate high speed escape through the streets of the capital city, pursued by the military. But once they are away, Marc informs them that he can't leave yet, the conspirators need to be stopped from killing Presidente Silva.
MEANWHILE. . .Back in New York, Midnight continues to commit crime wearing the mantle of Moon Knight, not realizing that the Secret Empire has identified him and are planning to take him down.
Marc, now as Moon Knight, infiltrates the Presidential compound, fighting his way through the conspiracy's gunmen and finally rescuing Presidente Silva from Bajete with some help from Frenchie on a sniper rifle. Moon Knight tells the terrified Presidente that he asks only that Marc Spector be spared. In exchange, he reveals his identity to Silva and promises that he will bring former Presidente Raposta back to Bosqueverde to stand trial.
Against the wishes of his friends, Marc slips back into prison and, on the day of his execution, Presidente Silva spares him, holding Moon Knight to his promise of delivering Raposta to justice.
The End.
THE REVIEW:
We finish off this Marc Spector-centered story arc with a fast-paced and action-packed story that only stops to take a breath for a couple of moments here and there. The story hits the ground running from page one and keeps going to page done. After a few of some of the more introspective issues of his run on this title, Dixon returns to delivering the two-fisted adventure he started things off with. . .a very nice payoff for the three issues of setup that came before, and a great end for the story arc.
The art problems I noticed in the front half of this arc are almost entirely gone here, with Moon Knight looking his menacing best as he fights his way through the compound to save Presidente Silva.
Overall, a very welcome return to form in both writing and art. I liked the ending of this storyline a lot and am interested in seeing where the dangling story threads (Midnight and the Secret Empire, Moon Knight's promise to Silva) will lead.
NEXT!
ISSUE NINETEEN
BROADWAY KNIGHTS
SCRIPT: Chuck Dixon
PENCILS: Sal Velluto
INKS: Tom Palmer
COVER: Rob Liefeld
THE STORY:
The Secret Empire have identified Moon Knight and have decided that it should be a priority to take the hero down before he becomes a problem for the criminal organization. The reader sees that, unknown to Secret Empire, The Punisher is following a trail leading to them.
At Marc Spector's mansion, after a few days of rest, Marc discovers the theft of his costumes and equipment and immediately knows that Jeff (AKA Midnight) is the culprit. He wastes no time in suiting up and taking Frenchie on a hunt for his wayward sidekick.
IN THE MEANTIME. . .Midnight (still posing as Moon Knight) runs into Spider-Man while robbing a building. Spider-Man senses it's not the real Moon Knight and the two begin to fight. As they fight across the rooftops, The Secret Empire attacks!
As Spider-Man and Midnight try to fight off the attacking Secret Empire henchmen on their flying gun platforms, the real Moon Knight and Frenchie jump into the battle. Desperate for one last chance to prove himself worthy to Moon Knight, Midnight attacks the leader, but is blasted in the chest with a strange weapon and seemingly killed!
In the confusion, the Secret Empire gunners quickly retreat, with Spider-Man and Moon Knight unable to pursue. As the two heroes try and decide what to do next, The Punisher shows up and offers his help.
To be continued. . .
THE REVIEW:
And it's TEAM UP TIME again! For a Mainstream Marvel comic, it's actually been a pretty long time since Moon Knight teamed up with another hero (Punisher, back in issue #9), so I guess it IS sort of overdue. . .and Dixon did a great job with the Moon Knight/ Punisher combo before, so even though he's ALSO throwing Spidey into the mix, I'm fully on board.
Midnight's "death" actually came as a bit of a surprise because I remember him being a villain in the 2006 Moon Knight series (with that SWEET David Finch interior art!), so obviously Dixon's deadly "Sidekick Solution" didn't end up being permanent. Still, a pretty bold move to just kill off Midnight instead of shuffling him off into custody or something.
Overall, despite a "Sidekick Solution" that has an ever-so-faint smell of Batman's "A Death In The Family" wafting off of it, I enjoyed this issue and am looking forward to another team-up between Moon Knight and The Punisher. Usually, I don't like Spider-Man very much, but so far he's been a pretty fun part of this story and I actually don't mind him showing up uninvited in another comic I'm reading for once.
AND FINALLY. . .
ISSUE TWENTY
BY THE NUMBERS
SCRIPT: Chuck Dixon
PENCILS: Sal Velluto
INKS: Tom Palmer
COVER: Jackson Guice
THE STORY:
Picking up from last issue, Punisher coldly treating Midnight as a casualty that should never have been in the fight causes a fight between him and Moon Knight. Spider-Man intervenes and they all reluctantly team up to track down the Secret Empire after Punisher fills them in on exactly who they are up against.
IN THE MEANTIME. . .at the hidden Secret Empire base, we see that Midnight is not actually dead, and the Secret Empire has some sort of plan for him which requires he be transferred to another location.
Back with the heroes, Spidey, Punisher, and Moon Knight use a tracker in Moon Knight's stolen costume to follow the Secret Empire to a junkyard. The trail seems to go cold until Secret Empire gunmen begin popping out of secret hatches everywhere! As the heroes fight their way inside the hidden base, Frenchie strafes them from above in an attack helicopter, but he is shot down. . .again.
Inside the base, the Secret Empire leadership realizes that they've bitten off more than they can chew and retreat, taking the unconscious Midnight with them and leaving the one who brought the trouble down on them by going after "Moon Knight" in the first place behind to cover their escape.
Moon Knight catches the Secret Empire commander left behind and comes close to killing him as he tries to get information on what happened to Midnight, but Punisher steps in at the last minute, gaining the needed information and then killing the Secret Empire commander despite promising not to, and showing Moon Knight and Spider-Man just how different he is from them.
To be continued. . .
THE REVIEW:
Despite most of this issue being a pretty typical and honestly forgettable comic book running fight scene as the heroes punch and shoot their way into the hidden Secret Empire base, I enjoyed it quite a bit. . .but not for the fighting. There's actually quite a bit of meat on the bone when it comes to dialogue and interaction between the three characters.
Dixon does a great job with the Punisher here. . .once again stealing the show even though he's a guest in someone else's comic. His jabs at Spider-Man and Moon Knight wearing masks and trying to be the hero are great, and his bluntly telling Spider-Man that they aren't a team OR friends was probably the best part of the comic! You can definitely tell why Dixon was tapped out of Moon Knight in just a few more issues by Marvel to take on writing the Punisher.
Overall, this is a pretty typical and forgettable comic book punch-fest, but under that surface layer of "meh", there's a lot to like here in the dialogue between the three characters. . .especially if you're a Punisher fan like myself. There's also some great character moments with Moon Knight as well, especially when he almost kills the Secret Empire commander at the end and he questions what he might have done if Punisher hadn't stepped in to do the hard thing. Is he REALLY the hero he wants to be?
Dixon does a great job digging into these characters in what's honestly a pretty small space between fight scenes. I really like the way he plays Moon Knight, Spider-Man, and Punisher off of each other and am looking forward to see how this ends.
CONCLUSION
And there you have it. . .issues #11 - #20 of Marc Spector: Moon Knight.
Overall, writer Chuck Dixon continues straight down the character path he established in the very first issue. . .fast-paced, two-fisted adventure without the psychological or supernatural trappings normally found in Moon Knight stories. It might be a little basic for readers coming into Moon Knight from other series runs, but for MY money I say that this would be a great introduction for readers coming in cold on the character for the first time. Start with the basics and move on to the deeper stuff.
I've read reviews of the collected editions of this series (there are basically NO reviews of the individual issues beyond the first few to be found, so Longbox Junk notches that one again) and Dixon is sort of bagged on for his writing here. He is generally regarded as one of the worst Moon Knight writers on this series. . .but in MY extremely humble opinion, that's just sour grapes from fans wanting their deep, dark Moon Knight. This stripped-down version is actually sort of refreshing, and yes, I AM a big fan of those deeper stories too.
Of this particular batch of issues, it's interesting to see that most of them (8 out of the 10) actually focus more on Marc Spector than on Moon Knight, which I can see as Dixon trying to set Moon Knight apart from being "Marvel's Batman" by showing that Marc Spector is just as interesting a character as Moon Knight. I don't think the execution of the idea came off as great as it COULD have, but I can appreciate the effort.
All in all, despite some sag in the middle coming from storylines being extended to four issues instead of the snappy two or three issue stories the series started off with, as well as some art problems that (to be fair) got corrected pretty quickly, this was another batch of good, solid superhero action.
Up Next. . .
We're one third of the way through the series!
Wait. . .ONE THIRD? That's it? Jeez, I DID bite off a chunk this time.
BUT I AIN'T A QUITTER, SON!
Marc Spector: Moon Knight, Part three! Issues 21 - 30!
Chuck Dixon leaves Moonie for Punisher after #24. . .what happens then?
Be there or be square!
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