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Moon Knight: Issue 26 Down South Part 1 Review

Crescent Dart:
The new Down South arc brings Moon Knight full circle and superbly kicks off the beginning of what looks to be a fantastic journey for fans of Moon Knight. [singlepic id=17 w=250 h=375 float=right]

Waxing:

  • Fantastic dialogue merges with perfectly tailored art
  • Kicks off a new beginning for Moon Knight in a masterful way
  • The Punisher factors into the story intriguingly

Waning:

  • You’ll see Moon Knight’s costume, but not in the way you might want to

Full:

After staging his own death while battling Bullseye, at the end of issue 25, Moon Knight did away with his only publicly known persona, Marc Spector, and steered Jake Lockley out of his fractured sense of self and back into the fold. While the death of Marc Spector helps take him off the grid in a world that is trying to contain him, the resurgence of Lockley is more than just a thematic turning point for the series. (more…)

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Moon Knight: Issue 25 The Death of Marc Spector Review

Crescent Dart:

Overall, this a good, if unsurprising, ending to The Death of Marc Spector. The Bullseye/Moon Knight confrontation works not only as a great popcorn fight scene, but as solid character development on both counts. Nothing is really tied up here but the path is clear for Moon Knight to grow as a series and in the Marvel Universe.

Waxing:

Art is the strongest it’s been in this arc

Great action scenes

Frenchie is awesome

Waning:

No build up to the Moon Knight/Bullseye confrontation.

The end of the arc isn’t that surprising

Kind of pointless scene with The Profile

Full:

We’ve reached the end of The Death of Marc Spector arc-  an end that writer Mike Benson has been alluding to potentially being quite literal. In a way, it is literal, and in every way you would expect, it’s not at all.

The end is a little bittersweet. Bitter in the way that it’s basically typical of any standard story in which the protagonist is due to die -  without giving it all way just think that if The Death of Marc Spector were a movie, this is the ending the studio would have demanded. Guaranteed sequel.

Moon Knight Issue 25

Yet it’s totally sweet in the way that all the predictability is carried out with a style that only Moon Knight possesses. Moon Knight and Bullseye go head to head most of the issue and it’s no holds barred. Benson does a great job in capturing how ruthless both these killers are, and yet the differences in their styles.

Moon Knight says about three words in combat while Bullseye chats through most of the fight. It’s in Moon Knight’s silence that you get to see his strength in combat and how he flexes his strategic side. Essentially, at the end of the issue you get to see how in control Moon Knight really was during the whole confrontation. Contrary to that is Bullseye’s non-stop chatter, and the difference as he sees it between his de rigeur fights with Daredevil and Spiderman compared to fighting Moon Knight. The former two want to bring him in to justice, while Moon Knight is a known killer. In fact Bullseye seems confused with Moon Knight’s behavior during the fight as he was probably briefed on how much of a lunatic Marc Spector is, while Moon Knight here is calling most of the shots with a certain stratagem to them. It’s a great to see the parallels and differences between two of Marvel’s most psychotic characters. And I say psychotic with love behind that term :) .

What’s a little lacking here, is that there’s no build up to the confrontation in the issue itself. Seeing some behind the scenes from Norman Osborn and the Thunderbolts prepping would have added more impact to the battle and the subsequent scenes with Osborn, the Thunderbolts and Tony Stark. They felt a little disjointed from the rest of the happenings.

What isn’t lacking at all is Frenchie. Charlie Huston and Benson have developed Frenchie into perhaps the deepest character in the Moon Knight world, and that’s shown in full force here. He understands Moon Knight in a way that even Marlene doesn’t and watching his development over these last few arcs has been really rewarding. On the other hand, a brief scene with the Profile is kind of pointless and doesn’t really do anything for the story. Which sucks because he’s been a great character in previous arcs.

The art is at it’s most consistent in this issue than the rest of the arc. While he’s generally a fine artist, Mark Texeira’s work on this arc has seem noticeably rushed and incomplete. It’s like his heart hasn’t been in it. But he captures some great moments in this action-packed issue so he ends on a high note.

Overall, this a good, if unsurprising, ending to The Death of Marc Spector. The Bullseye/Moon Knight confrontation works not only as a great popcorn fight scene, but as solid character development on both counts. Nothing is really tied up here (with the exception of the Profile -  you’ll see) but the path is clear for Moon Knight to grow as a series and in the Marvel Universe.

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Conclusion to The Death of Marc Spector tomorrow

The final issue (#25) of Benson/Texeira arc The Death of Marc Spector showcasing Moon Knight’s showdown with Bullseye is out tomorrow. I’ll serve up a review as soon as possible. I’ve had mixed feelings on this arc, but it’s been a pretty solid read thus far -  I’m just a tad concerned with where they’re gonna go with it.

We’ll see what goes down tomorrow…

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