Marvel movies and television shows are still an incredibly hot property. While the popularity of the characters may not be quite as popular as they were during the highest heights of the MCU's run, it's clear that movie and television audiences aren't getting tired of seeing their favorite heroes on the big and little screen. For the most part, the big appetite for these shows are more of the live-action version, but the Disney Plus show What If ... ? illustrates that there is also still a pretty big appetite for animated Marvel programs. In fact, the streaming service could even offer the ability for the animated Marvel series to become a thing again, with a slightly different twist.
The popularity of that service, as well as a rather blended audience, could offer some new opportunities to try something new and different in the animated series space. Marvel could put together a show with a character that isn't as well known among mainstream fans and could then give it a little bit more of an adult feel. This kind of program could even examine a character that isn't your run-of-the-mill hero. It could even be a kind of anti-hero if the show is done right. The added bonus is that Disney Plus already has some plans for this character when it comes to live-action. An animated version of the show could examine aspects the other series isn't going to go into. In short, it's long past time for Moon Knight to get his own animated program and Disney Plus certainly seems like the perfect place to put it.
Moon Knight Moved To The Front Of The Marvel Universe
While most MCU fans are looking forward to the live-action version of Moon Knight that is going to star Oscar Isaac as the titular character, there's no reason there shouldn't also be an animated version in the works. While the character might not be as well known as someone like Captain America, Iron Man, or Spider-Man, he's been around for quite a while. He's also got the kind of backstory that resonates with fans more because he's not someone who is so clean-cut and "nice." In fact, the original story behind the character is anything but sunny and shiny.
Marc Spector, the man who eventually became Moon Knight was actually a pretty bad person. He started off as a bounty hunter who got mixed up in the wrong crowd. Eventually, after he witness the murder of several innocent people, he rethought his life, but this isn't someone who always did or does the right thing. That could actually get a bit more of a following when it comes to the new generation of Marvel fans who might be willing to watch a brand new animated series.
Some of the backstories for Moon Knight have taken different directions depending on who was making the comic book, but they all have quite a bit in common. Spector is someone who wasn't always a hero but came into contact with a kind of pagan moon god who not only guides him but on occasion actually speaks to him and gives him a strength that is slightly above that of a mortal man. Because of his mercenary past, Spector already has above-average combat skills and is able to use a ton of different weapons, all of which could be given life in a very interesting way when talking about an animated series.
The Brutality Of Moon Knight
Moon Knight has actually been animated before. That could be a bit of a help in putting a new animated show on television or streaming devices. The character once appeared in one of the many Spider-Man animated programs that have aired over the years. The character made an appearance in Ultimate Spider-Man and he even made his appearance about how he could appear in his own show. In other words, while he might be the hero, it wouldn't be all that easy for people in the program to understand that right away. In Ultimate Spider-Man, he's first shown chasing a little girl across from the Sanctum Sanctorum, which Spidey is housesitting. Because of this, and the girl looking innocent, though she turns out to be the daughter of villain Mysterio & out to avenge him, Spider-Man assumes Moon Knight is a bad guy. Later, however, it's revealed that he's actually on Spider-Man's side.
While even this program dialed down the brutality of the character, it did give a slightly darker feel for Moon Knight than people might expect when talking about an animated program. Because of Spector's background, he's not someone who always worries that his methods might hurt other people. One of his most famous fights in the early comics is against a person who is a werewolf. There are several different exchanges where the anti-hero is seen delivering one hard blow after another, while also chucking his half-moon boomerang-type weapons into the skin of the monster. He had no qualms about causing the creature pain and that's exactly the kind of hero he should be should he be given his own show. This shouldn't be someone who is going out of his way not to hurt the people and things he fights. It would give the series a unique identity that might not be all that well suited for younger viewers, but it also wouldn't be anywhere near the first animated program that is geared towards teens or young adults, as opposed to children.
There is one other aspect of Moon Knight that could set the show apart from other animated series. There are some iterations of the character where he's mentally unstable, struggling with several different personalities. It appears that the live-action series is going to take on some aspects of this part of the character's back story, but an animated version could still do the same. That would mean that it offers something other series don't, especially if it tries to take a serious tact rather than just making the character goofy, or "weird." The program could even shed a bit of light on those who struggle with mental illness. No matter what angle they take with that, it's quite clear that a Moon Knight animated series could be done very well by the current Marvel higher-ups.