The following contains major spoilers for Moon Knight Episode 4 “The Tomb,” streaming now on Disney+.
Moon Knight has been full of mysteries, but one of the consistent puzzles that have existed since the very first episode has revolved around the man who is Steven Grant and at the same time, also Marc Spector. Suffering from a form of Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID), Spector appears to be the original identity and Steven may have been conjured from an amalgam of childhood experiences and undisclosed trauma. There are clues hidden in plain sight all throughout the series that indicate the presence of at least on other persona and Episode 4 “The Tomb” dispatches of subtle innuendo in favor of an outright trumpet.
After essentially revealing the presence of a third personality without giving them a name, it might be worthwhile to return to other episodes and re-contextualize some of those hinted insights in a new light. There are broad personality traits that can be ascribed to this potential persona and therefore there may be markers that indicated their presence previously that was mistaken for someone else. It is also worthwhile to examine how this both changes and amplifies the lore of the comics and its convoluted Moon Knight history and how that may affect his adaptation in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Moon Knight as a character has always existed on the fringes of Marvel Comics publications, a being blessed, or cursed, with divine abilities as a protector of those who travel at night. Initially his various personalities, Steven Grant and Jake Lockley, were aliases that he took up in his pursuit of criminals. Steven was a rich television producer who provided the financial backing for Spector’s exploits. Jake was a cab driver who cultivated a network of informants and contacts to keep himself abreast of the city’s criminal underbelly. It wasn’t until later installments, who had little in the way of restrictions since the character was never that popular, that introduced the concept of these alters as being partitioned consciousnesses.
Many fans were convinced that the first potential appearance of the Jake Lockley persona occurred at the end of the second episode. Taking place in an Egyptian hotel room, Oscar Isaac is seen in a cracked mirror, sitting in a bed with a sheet wrapped around himself, looking out into the distance. As the camera pans there is another Oscar Isaac sitting beside the bed looking askance toward the mirror, draining the contents of a liquor bottle before rising and shuffling to a curtained window. The obvious default impression is that the man in the mirror is Steven, given his presence in the mirror, a shorthand for Spector’s subconscious, in the previous scene. However, his body language is not quite as frightened as Steven’s and the man at the window seems more surly and embittered than Marc.
While hunting down cultists of Ammit, Marc and Steven are arguing about who should be in control of the body when they both seem shocked at the surrounding bloodshed that neither take any responsibility for committing. There is also the fact that Marc recovers from one of the multiple blackouts that takes place during this sequence in the back of a cab, which may be another intentional allusion as to the identity of this unknown occupant of their shared mind. During the fourth episode, while seemingly trapped in some interdimensional space resembling an asylum, Marc rescues Steven from a sarcophagus in one of the patient’s rooms. After they share a tender moment of impossible recognition and collective recognition, they come upon another sarcophagus, but they leave this one locked for some unknown reason.
Jake Lockley was originally an engaging blue collar conversationalist who could disappear into the background given his unassuming nature. His strength was that he was everyone and no one, all at once. The MCU however seems to have adopted one of the darker interpretations of the character from the 2017 comic book run of Max Bemis and Jacen Burrows. This version of Jake was hyper violent and secretive, who killed wantonly and pursued a romantic relationship with the love of Marc’s life without him ever being aware of it, which resulted in a child that was of elementary school age by the time Marc found out about her existence.
Given what has been revealed to audiences at this point, hindsight offers a different interpretation of earlier events. Many assumed it was Marc who asked out Dylan, Steven’s co-worker at the museum, but since Marc is married and avoiding personal connections perhaps it was Jake. A reference to the best steak in town might be an offhand reminder of someone with an ear to the ground and extensive local knowledge. The alpine adventure, including the car chase sequence, could be a hint at Jake’s presence as well since much of that encounter took place behind the wheel and the audience doesn’t see Marc request access to the shared body in the way he so often does in other instances. The bloody knot of bodies also resembles the same grizzly work from the third episode when it is clear that neither Marc nor Steven were in control.
This approach to Jake could also unlock a different suit for the Moon Knight Avatar. Mr. Knight was his own separate identity in the comics, as opposed to Steven’s version of holy raiment that has been established in the show. If Lockley does indeed make an appearance, then it would stand to reason that he too would have a unique set of vestments specific to him and reflective of his personality. There is a black suit accented with white armor that may make an MCU appearance that is appropriate to the comics but redesigned for a new role in the show. With just two episodes left there are still so many mysteries to uncover, but hopefully Episode 5 will bring Jake Lockley’s long awaited debut and some precious answers in its wake.
To see Jake’s upright coffin, Moon Knight is streaming now on Disney+, new episodes airing on Wednesdays.
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