Marvel Underdog Moon Knight To Return In ‘All-New, All-Different’ Marvel Comics, New Writer Discusses

Marvel’s Moon Knight has been one of the most famous D-listers in comic books. Moon Knight got his start in the series Werewolf By Night in the late ’70s. Moon Knight, all in all, has been resurrected more than five times now from 1980 to 2014. The Warren Ellis-led Marvel’s Moon Knight put him back on top last year, and the subsequent new writer has managed to keep him successful for Marvel. Though the last issue was July, and many Moon Knight fans felt that Marvel had forgotten them, Comic Book reports that a new writer and old artist have been selected.

Warning: Possible spoilers ahead!

Jeff Lemire, writer of Green Arrow and Justice League Dark, sat down for an interview to discuss the next chapter of Moon Knight in Marvel’s “All-New, All-Different” universe. Moon Knight is said to wake up in an asylum, as Marc Spector has had varying takes on his multiple personality disorder, so Lemire was asked about his mindset upon awakening there.

“That’s a really tricky question to answer without spoiling the story. Marc is in a place I don’t think we’ve seen him before. He is being told one thing, but is starting to believe another. That’s all I want to say about that yet. I wish I could say more. I immersed myself in every era of Moon Knight and have a deep appreciation and love for the character. This new series will explore identity, mental health and mysticism, but at its heart is a story about friendship.”

Jeff Lemire was naturally asked how long the asylum would be the backdrop for his Moon Knight run, as a similar situation was part of Brian Wood’s story arc in issue 8 through 12, and upcoming artist Greg Smallwood’s last time drawing Moon Knight.

“It’s a starting point, but will remain a factor in the entire story. Again a tricky one to answer without spoiling too much. After reading issue #1 (which is extra-sized, by the way) readers will have a much better sense of where Marc and Moon Knight are and what his mission statement will be. If you think the hospital is bad, wait until you see what’s waiting for him outside!”

Since the newest incarnation and resurrection of Moon Knight has seen episodic weird crimes of NYC, a running arc about a plot to assassinate a foreign dictator, and coming face to face with a Khonshu cult, it begs the question as to how the new series will play out. Moon Knight‘s new writer Jeff Lemiere prefers both.

“It will be a longer story. Moon Knight has now been doing the episodic approach for 18 issues under Warren Ellis, Cullen Bunn and Brian Wood. I wanted to shake it up a bit, so I’m going back to a longer story. But this story will be broken into smaller 3-5 issue arcs and each will have its own personality and feel all adding up to tell a complete story.”

Moon Knight fans have been left with a lot of unanswered questions from Marvel, except for a confirmation of the character’s continuation with the publisher. Why Marvel kept Moon Knight all this time, from a business standpoint, is anyone’s guess. Marvel’s current editor-in-chief is said to be a big fan, so Moon Knight fans best hope he sticks around for awhile.

Marvel should consider that the commodity they have, sometimes called “Marvel’s Batman,” has three different personalities with three different lives and costumes, was resurrected from the dead by an Egyptian god, and fights werewolves and ghosts. That’s a tough resume to follow at Marvel, or anywhere else.

The new Moon Knight #1 will be released in Spring 2016, and the released art can be found here.

What are your thoughts?

Do you like the sound of the next Moon Knight? Will you be picking up a copy in 2016?

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[Image Via The Mary Sue/Marvel]