Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe introduced fans to a slew of new (and potential) Marvel heroes, and one will finally make their debut in the comics this summer. Fans of the Moon Knight Disney+ series got to meet May Calamawy's Scarlet Scarab, who donned a superhero costume to fight alongside Oscar Isaac's Moon Knight. While the comics have featured two other individuals that went by the name Scarlet Scarab, the Layla El-Faouly version from Moon Knight will debut in the pages of July's Moon Knight #25 before starring in her own five-issue miniseries.
The oversized anniversary issue of Moon Knight #25 features the comic book debut of Layla El-Faouly, as Marc Spector flashes back to his days as a member of the mercenary group called the Karnak Cowboys alongside Layla, Jean-Paul Duchamp, and Robert Plesko. An all-star lineup of artists are contributing to Moon Knight #25 alongside writer Jed MacKay, including Alessandro Cappuccio, Alessandro Vitti, and Partha Pratim. There will also be a classic Moon Knight story from legendary writer Doug Moench and Eisner-winning, Emmy-nominated artist Bill Sienkiewicz.
Next, Layla El-Faouly's adventures continue in a spinoff series titled Moon Knight: City of the Dead by writer David Pepose and artist Marcelo Ferreira. The five-issue limited series features Layla's superhero debut as the all-new Scarlet Scarab.
Marvel Writers Discuss Moon Knight #25 and 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."
You can find the covers and solicitations for July's Moon Knight #25 and Moon Knight: City of the Dead #1 below.
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