Moon Knight Writer Says Bushman Would Be Too Similar To Black Panther's Killmonger

By Nathaniel Brail

With Moon Knight, Marvel Studios is already presenting an unknown hero to a larger audience, and now it seems that the antagonist of the series is also relatively new. In the comics, Moon Knight is used to tangling with his arch-nemesis Bushman. But the Disney+ series opted to go a different route, and it seems that the people behind-the-scenes had a very specific reason. When asked why they opted to use Arthur Harrow as opposed to Bushman, Moon Knight scribe Jeremy Slater, revealed that it was because the character was too similar to Black Panther's Killmonger.

"Because his only recognizable villain was Bushman, who just felt too close to Black Panther's Erik Killmonger," Slater wrote on Twitter. "So we decided to invent a villain instead. Ethan Hawke in particular was instrumental in creating Harrow."

If you remember, in Black Panther, Killmonger was an ex-military who had covert close ties to the Wakandan royal family. Bushman's story in the comics is very similar. The character is a guerrilla warfare expert who used to work alongside Marc Spector and winds up almost killing Spector leading into his Moon Knight origins. Some Black Panther fans would say that Kilmonger was not a villain and would even believe that his argument was in the right. Michael B. Jordan, who plays Killmonger in the film, even agrees with that sentiment.

"I think he was a necessary part of the conversation. He cared about his people just as much as T'Challa. He just had a different way about getting it done. I think he was a historian that studied the history of government and oppression. Erik is a really smart guy, an MIT graduate," Jordan told Bleacher Report. "Erik saw there was really only one way to change things, so he went about that. I don't think his argument was completely wrong. I don't think T'Challa's argument was completely wrong. I think it was a necessary conversation that needed to be had. But, it's a movie also."

Disney+ and Marvel Studios describe the series as: "Moon Knight follows Steven Grant, a mild-mannered gift-shop employee, who becomes plagued with blackouts and memories of another life. Steven discovers he has dissociative identity disorder and shares a body with mercenary Marc Spector. As Steven/Marc's enemies converge upon them, they must navigate their complex identities while thrust into a deadly mystery among the powerful gods of Egypt." Marvel Studios' Moon Knight is streaming now only on Disney+. 

Do you think they could end up using Bushman in the future? Are you excited for the rest of Moon Knight? Let us know your thoughts either in the comments section or by hitting our writer @NateBrail up on Twitter!

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