The following contains spoilers for Moon Knight #24, on sale now from Marvel Comics.
Moon Knight, the Marvel superhero with dissociative identity disorder, now knows the dreams of his alternate identities and what would make them all truly happy.
Written by Jed MacKay and drawn by Federico Sabbatini, Moon Knight #24 sends the titular hero, Marc Spector, up against his old enemy Morpheus, AKA Robert Markham. Morpheus’ psychic abilities allow him to launch Marc into hallucinatory dreams, but instead of placing the hero into his worst nightmares, Morpheus shows what each of Moon Knight’s identities want most. Because of this, Marc learns and experiences what he and his two other identities, Steven Grant and Jake Lockley, long for.
The Dreams of Marc Spector, Jake Lockley and Steven Grant
The issue opens up with Marc’s dream, which is to be living with the wife that left him, Marlene Alraune, and their daughter Diatrice in a house on Long Island, New York. They are living happily together and host a barbecue, one attended by Marc and Marlene’s dead relatives alive and well. This includes Marc’s mother, father and brother Randall Spector/Shadow Knight, as well as Marlene’s father and brother, Peter Alraune and Peter Alraune, Jr. Knowing it isn’t real, Marc wakes himself up from the dream and says with regard to Morpheus, “The bastard got me, and he’s going to pay for it.”
Marc’s mission to punish Morpheus takes him on a journey through other dreams, including those that would make Jake and Steven happy. For Jake, he wants to host a massive party, one he’s “always wanted to throw,” where can take care of his friends and “people no one cares about” by giving them food and drinks in a place they are warm and safe. As for Steven, he wishes to be living with Marlene in Moon Knight’s old mansion, Grant Manor, which is still attended by the hero’s former butler and housekeeper, Samuels and Nedda, respectively.
Moon Knight Learns His Latest Nemesis is an Old Villain
After experiencing and rejecting other visions, like Moon Knight being welcomed back into the Avengers, Marc finally finds Morpheus bleeding out and dying. According to the villain, he rejected another’s recruitment pitch to mess with Moon Knight, resulting in Morpheus being shot three times. This villain is the same one behind the nefarious actions of Sidney Sarnak, including the murder of Moon Knight’s Shadow Cabinet allies.
Morpheus explains why he showed Marc dreams, saying, “I just wanted to make some people happy. Do one good thing. Even if it didn’t matter.” Morpheus requests that Moon Knight avenge his death, and reveals who is the mystery villain that Marc has been after: Black Spectre. Real name Carson Knowles, Black Spectre is a Moon Knight villain created by writer Doug Moench and artist Bill Sienkiewicz in 1982’s Moon Knight #25. However, Moon Knight appeared to kill Black Spectre in 2008’s Moon Knight #19 by throwing him off a roof, so whether this is the same villain or someone new remains to be seen.
Along with MacKay and Sabbatini, Moon Knight #24 is colored by Rachelle Rosenberg and lettered by VC’s Cory Petit. Main cover art for the issue is by Stephen Segovia and Rosenberg, with variant cover artwork contributed to by Greg Land, Frank D’Armata, Mark Bagley and Richard Isanove. The issue is on sale now from Marvel Comics.
Source: Marvel