By Ethan Kaye
Who's beating up Marc Spector today?
Seems like every big name hood
Moon Knight's gone up against since his series began in 2006 has handed him his ass wrapped in a little white cloak. Now with Black Spectre popping his wicked head up again, it's time to run down the list of baddies Spector's gone toe-to-toe with in the past! Some of them rank high, some of them…well, they won't be asked back.
BUSHMAN (MOON KNIGHT v1 #1): Well, Bushman kicked the bucket a while back, but luckily for his legions of fans, he's still showing up in Moon Knight's book on a monthly basis! Representing the incarnation of Khonshu inside Spector's head, Bushman stops by Marc Spector's psyche constantly just to berate him! Of course, Moon Knight sliced his face off during their last battle—and wears it when he thinks no one's looking—but it's good to see he's keeping active, even from beyond the grave.
CROSSFIRE (MARVEL TWO-IN-ONE #52): Get caught up in the Crossfire! Moon Knight almost did when he teamed up with the Thing to stop his former CIA comrade, William Cross, after Cross created a mind control device to enslave Earth's heroes. Cross's plan failed, which can't come as too much of a surprise since his costume included a giant white cross on his crotch, and that's pretty damn funny. To make matters even more goofy, Crossfire allied himself for a time with the criminal group The Death Throws, a gang of evil
jugglers! For reals.
MORPHEUS (MOON KNIGHT v1 #12): After a doctor compounded Robert Markham's viral disease by injecting him with an experimental serum, poor Bob fancied himself a super villain, brawling with Moon Knight in between stays at the Seaview Research Hospital. Morpheus possesses the ability to cause nightmares, which makes him much like many of the Marvel staff's exes, except with better costuming. For now, Morpheus remains trapped in the hospital under medically-induced sleep, but how long can that last?
MORNING STAR AND THE CULT OF THE LEFT HAND (MOON KNIGHT vol.1 #29): All fear…Schuyler Belial! Yup, Moon Knight fought a cult leader named Schuyler, although he sounds like he should be the friendly guy who dry cleans your pants! Going by the moniker Morning Star, Schuyler put together a cult of pointy-hatted, black-robed loons called the Followers of the Left Hand Path. Moon Knight and his pal Werewolf By Night beat on Schuyler pretty bad, then threw him off a roof! Yup, in two issues he proved himself worthy of a roof kill.
MIDNIGHT MAN (MOON KNIGHT v1 #3): Before you get confused, this does
not refer to the 1995 movie starring has-been hunk Lorenzo Lamas. Midnight Man, despite his cool name, turned out to be nothing more than a gimmicky art thief who always struck at midnight. In fact, his only claim to fame would be that his son became Moon Knight's sidekick for a while, but ended up a cyborg hell-bent on carving Moonie up with surgical tools. Alas,
poor Midnight Man, your son's a jerk!
STAINED GLASS SCARLET (MOON KNIGHT v1 #26): Nuns + crossbow = hellz yeah! Anytime you combine a religious figure with wanton violence, pure awesome occurs. Mostly just a redhead with an attitude—plus crossbow, don't forget the crossbow—Stained Glass Scarlet never became the archenemy she could have been. She needs a grim n' gritty makeover courtesy of MOON KNIGHT scribes Mike Benson and Charlie Huston!
ZOHAR (MOON KNIGHT v1 #37): For years, if you had to name Jewish characters in comics, the best you could get were Ben Grimm, Kitty
Pride, and Moon Knight. Of course Marc Spector needed a Jewish villain in his rogues gallery! Zohar studies Kabbalah, the same Jewish mysticism practiced by Demi Moore and Madonna. Sexy, sexy company, buddy! Through his studies, he determined that Marc Spector needed to pay for his sins—and actually sent the corpse of Marc's dead father to kill him! Moon Knight's girlfriend Marlene rendered Dad harmless, leaving Zohar ready for a thoroughly kosher ass-kicking.
ZARAN (MASTER OF KUNG FU #77): Ok, we get it, Zaran didn't start out as a Moon Knight baddie, but he's the guy responsible for forcing him into retirement. After blowing up the clubhouse of the Marvel Knights, a team that boasted Moon Knight as a member and chief financial backer, Zaran impaled MK with numerous sai, forcing him to back away from the heroing lifestyle to regroup his health and fortune. Next thing you know Moon Knight's back on the street, carving crescent moons into foreheads, so all's well that end's well!
Marc Spector's battle with the Black Spectre continues in MOON KNIGHT #16, on sale March 5. You can check out other Moon Knight adventures at Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited.
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