Moon Knight Episode 3 Has Marvel Fans Thinking They've Spotted a Major Black Panther Connection

Moon Knight Episode 3 certainly opens a much wider door on the mystery of Marc Spector/Steven Grant/Moon Knight (Oscar Isaac) – as well as the larger supernatural world of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. (MILD SPOILERS FOLLOW!) In "The Friendly Type" Marc Spector gets pulled into a desparate gamble by Khonshu: summoning the other Egyptian gods to the Great Pyramid of Giza to discuss what to do about the looming threat posed by Arthur Harrow (Ethan Hawke) and the Goddess Ammit that he serves. That meeting of gods had some interesting figures in attendance – and Marvel fans think one of them was the Panther God that gives the Black Panther his powers!

As you see, certain MCU fans saw an avatar in African clothing, seated in front of a goddess statue that was feline in its appearance, and immediately concluded it was an Easter egg reference to 

In MCU Lore, there is a goddess named Bastet (or "Bast") that straddles the line between real-life Egyptian deities and Marvel's Wakanda mythology. Bastet is indeed an actual Egyptian goddess connected to the sun, moon, cats, protection, love, dance and war; Marvel Comics refitted that mythology into the legend of "Bast" the "Panther God" who bestowed the enhanced powers of the Black Panther to king T'Challa and his ancestors, through the sacred herbs and rituals of Wakanda. Bast also happened to be the sibling of gods Khonshu and Horath – both of whom are present in Moon Knight Episode 3. So it would follow that the Panther God could also be at the meeting. 

On one problem with the theory connecting Moon Knight and Black Panther: That's not Bast at the meeting of the gods. 

Before Marc Spector and Khonshu plead their case, a rundown of those attending the meeting is spoken out loud. The list includes: 

• Hathor
• Khonshu
• Horus
• Isis
• Tefnut
• Osiris

The African woman in front of the feline goddess statue is in fact "Tefnut," who is the Egyptian diety of rain, dew and moisture (pretty crucial in a desert region). Tefnut is indeed a deity that often is depicted having a lioness head, and one distinguishing characteristic of her appearance is the sun disc that rests on her head. As you can see above, Moon Knight Episode 3 makes sure to make it clear that this is Tefnut. 

Unless you know a lot about Egyptian deities going into Moon Knight the confusion is understandable. While not named directly, the first Black Panther movie certainly depicted a version of the 'Panther God' that was certainly in keeping with the legend of Bast, as the deity appears as a large panther. Finally, Egyptian religious myth may provide a clue that a Moon Knight and Black Panther connection isn't too far off: Tefnut and Bastet are siblings according to legend, and Khonshu and Bast are siblings in Marvel mythology. It seems the connections between these gods could be the threads that eventually pull the Black Panther and Moon Knight together. 

Moon Knight is now streaming on Disney+.