Marvel Teases the End of Moon Knight
UPDATE: This story erroneously referred to "Knight's End" as the conclusion to writer Jed MacKay's run on Moon Knight. The story has since been updated to accurately reflect Marvel's setup for the storyline "Knight's End," which portends major changes for the fan-favorite character. The updated story follows below.
Marvel is teasing end of Moon Knight as we know it. The solo ongoing series from writer Jed MacKay and artist Alessandro Cappuccio launched ahead of the Moon Knight series on Disney+, and picked up after events in Avengers where Moon Knight and Khonshu clashed with Earth's Mightiest Heroes. Since then, Marc Spector has opened his Midnight Mission, fought and then teamed up with a new Fist of Khonshu named Hunter's Moon, battled vampires, sparred with Werewolf by Night, and more. With the monumental 25th issue of Moon Knight hitting stores in July, Marvel is gearing up for a possible end of their massive run.
A teaser for Moon Knight #25 was released and features the ominous words, "Knight's End Begins in Moon Knight #25." The Marvel press release also reads, "Jed MacKay's MOON KNIGHT reaches its monumental 25th issue this July! The milestone MOON KNIGHT #25 will be an oversized epic featuring artwork from Alessandro Cappuccio, Alessandro Vitti, and Partha Pratim…and will foreshadow the start of the Knight's End!" Of course, this could be foreshadowing another upcoming storyline that launches out of the 25th issue, but it is more likely that this volume of Moon Knight is coming to an end. After all, Jed MacKay is the new writer of Avengers, and probably needs his plate cleared so he can give the series his full focus.
Moon Knight's Layla El-Faouly Makes Marvel Comics Debut
The oversized anniversary issue of Moon Knight #25 will also include the comics debut of Layla El-Faouly, who was played by May Calamawy in Moon Knight's Disney+ series. The Layla-focused backup story in Moon Knight #25 will then set up a miniseries titled Moon Knight: City of the Dead by writer David Pepose and artist Marcelo Ferreira, where she will then take on her superhero mantle of Scarlet Scarab.
"Working on Moon Knight #25 was a bit of a mammoth task… 70 pages of story, cutting between three stories, each with their own artist! It was a really exciting opportunity to have that much space to work in, telling a Moon Knight story in a longer form than we're usually used to," Jed MacKay told IGN. "Bringing Layla El-Faouly into our story was exciting. Adding an already beloved character into the universe of the comics is a really interesting opportunity, and being able to show the 'before' to David and Marcelo's 'after' was a wonderful bit of synchronicity. It was an idea that we both came to independently, and the way our stories were able to dovetail is something that I'm looking forward to people experiencing. While the Scarlet Scarab will indeed be turning up in Moon Knight: City of the Dead, in Moon Knight #25 we're seeing a much younger Layla and a much younger Marc Spector as they embark on a mission as members of the crack mercenary team, the Karnak Cowboys."
David Pepose added, "I'm thrilled to be tackling one of my all-time favorite Marvel characters in Moon Knight: City of the Dead. Teaming up with sensational artist Marcelo Ferriera, we're sending Marc Spector on one of his most mind-bending adventures to date — rescuing a young runaway's soul from the City of the Dead. Yet as a mercenary and as a hero, Moon Knight has been no stranger to leaving a body count... so he might see some familiar faces looking for payback! But Marc won't be embarking on this mission alone… I couldn't be more excited to be writing Layla El-Faouly's debut as the all-new Scarlet Scarab! Layla has been such a fun character to adapt — she knows Marc better than almost anyone, and that tension is going to spark some spectacular fireworks on this otherworldly adventure."
What do you think about Marvel's new teaser image for Moon Knight #25? The issue goes on sale July 12th. Let us know your thoughts in the comments!