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drifting-pieces-blog-blog · 7 months

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Breaking down the comics: Dreams and knowing oneself (Issue 22)

Moon Knight, Issue 22: The Dream Demon / Moon Over Alamein

Another double feature guys!**

Also LOOK AT THIS COVER. They've dug this cover up SO many times because it's just that amazing! LOOK AT IT.

Bill Sienkiewicz ate his wheaties that day.

….Why does Steven have a bent club with nails in it? Steven… Sir…

Alright. Dream demon Morpheus is back.

Moon Knight had his regular villains back in the day. Morpheus was one of them. A man that can affect the mind and cause nightmares.

An interesting villain to a hero that comes with his own traumas, nightmares, and mental health problems.

We open to see a man having a bad dream.

"Unlike the beneficial effects of normal dreaming, the shroud of pavor nocturnus holds no soothing psychic balm. Rather, night terrors are profoundly disturbing to the slumbering psyche. Indeed, clinical sleep research has shown the phenomenon to be completely unrelated to ordinary dreaming, and thus the antithesis of subconscious healing."

That's a long way to say that not getting enough sleep or dreaming normally can mess with you and cause even the most mentally stable to crack.

It depicts a man who is in the throws of a night terror. In fact, it tells us that this man is Peter Alraune!

We met him before.

The narration comes on to talk about how night terrors are typical for children of a certain age and that they are characterized by abrupt awakenings and little recollection of the dream-like experience.

But Peter remembers his nightmare. "He's after me...Coming to get me... He's after me. Morpheus is after my very soul!"

Meanwhile, in New York, we see a taxi cab cruising the streets. "Aimlessly without a fare, yet ignoring all potential riders."

Jake is restless, getting a strange feeling that he needs to check on Morpheus. Oddly specific feeling.

So he dons the Moon Knight cowl and heads up to the research facility where Morpheus is being kept and checks in on him.

Morpheus is sound asleep, but then two janitors pop in to mop the place.

The older Janitor explains who Morpheus is to the younger janitor. How Alraune gave him experimental drugs that left Morpheus mutated and unable to sleep or dream.

Turns out that the research facility dopes Morpheus up each night to help him release his bent up dream energy to keep it from going off the walls again.

However, according to the expose janitor, Morpheus is getting resistant to the drugs so they have started using something new to help him dream.

Moon Knight figures that Morpheus is taken care of, so he's about to leave when suddenly he's attacked by someone in the shadows!

Just as Moon Knight is about to finish off the shadow guy he suddenly sees Marlene falling off the roof!

Just as he gets to the roof edge, he realizes that Marlene isn't there! But the shadow figure instead pushes him off the building!

Moon Knight does what he does best and lays on the ground in a daze for a moment.

Figuring he's exhausted, he decides to change back to Lockley and head over to Gena's for breakfast.

Jake complains to Gena and Crawley about his hallucination or waking dream.

Crawley tells Jake about how dreams are hallucinations and that in some cultures that dreams are as good as reality.

I just want to say that in these pannels it's so wonderful to see Jake in his element. The diner, the friends, and drinking his bad coffee. Gena even remarks that she made his eggs just how he likes them "Runny".

Anyways, Jake takes off, still feeling ill at ease.

Samuels, the butler, meets Jake outside and tells him to use the garage entrance, as someone is visiting. Marlene's brother, Peter!

Jake takes off running to quickly change.

"Being four people ain't easy... And between Lockley, Spector, and Grant, not to mention Moon Knight, it gets downright scarey. In fact, my biggest fear is that whichever personal I adopt, It'll be somehow destroyed by the other three..."

OKAY. Let's... Take a moment to look at that.

It's hard to say who is speaking here. Jake was the one that arrived at the house, but he's in the process of switching out to deal with Marlene and her brother. In this moment, he should be going to Steven, as this is Steven's area. But sometimes in between changes, we see Marc when he's alone.

But is this a fear of all of them? That somehow they will be deemed unacceptable and destroyed by the others?

I think this might be a realistic worry that some part of them is seen as not needed and gotten rid of. Perhaps it is Steven who worries that his lavish dealings are not needed. Or Jake who struggles to live his own life with his friends. Or even Marc who hates his life so much that he often self-destructs.

Marelene interrupts their musings, calling for Steven to come calm her brother down.

Peter is down in the library having his own little nervous breakdown.

Peter explains to Steven that he keeps having recurring dreams that Morpheus is coming for him. The night terrors are getting so bad that he's growing physically ill.

He worries that he himself is growing to be more like Morpheus due to his lack of proper sleep and dreams. That he might mutate and become the monster too.

Peter has started to study Oneirology (the study of dreams) and sleep science. He believes that dreams and the hormones and chemicals around dreams are the key to things like ESP and telekinesis and the likes.

Peter describes a dream he has of Morpheus waiting outside his window before shattering it. He then wakes to find the window intact, but a glass he left next to the window broken without cause.

Steven sends Marelene and her brother up to their vacation home in Maine to get some rest, driven by Frenchie. He has his own research to do.

But as Frenchie drives, Peter falls asleep and suddenly Frenchie is hallucinating a giant monster in the road! He swerves to avoid it and crashes.

Meanwhile, Moon Knight is up visiting Morpheus again, checking him fully this time to see if he's really dreaming.

The shadowy figure shows up again and attacks him from behind!

Moon Knight gets in a good hit and the figure flees.

This time, Moon Knight gives chase!

He’s in for a good time.

I love how he’s drawn when he’s startled or confused. A blank face in darkness but those little eyes still give away SO MUCH.

He dreams of a New York blasted to rubble by a nuke.

Also of a weird gruff clown that asks him how Marlene is.

Moon Knight takes it in stride.

I can’t stress enough how well Moon Knight has always dealt with things like this. Odd things that don’t make sense. Things that might make other people freak out or realize something is wrong. He just takes it as it’s presented to him and goes about his merry business.

This is an extreme coping mechanism for someone used to dealing with extreme stress, trauma, survival, and also just weird things.

In the tunnel, Moon Knight comes across models in bikini's being judged by men in top hats in innertubes in a pool.

One of the ladies declares Moon Knight to be her "white knight" and asks to be rescued. He just kinda shruggs and goes "Sure--Right this way."

And then he's attacked by large screaming bats.

"Into that tunnel up ahead! Bats hate caves!"

Yeah... this... this is gonna get weirder people.

Then the model he's rescuing turns into Marlene, complaining about Bloomingdales to Steven.

A huge snake appears and attacks him.

Marlene declares that she can take care of it. She walks into the snake's mouth and uh... I'm not sure what this is supposed to imply but I’m sure it implies something.

And just like that, he wakes up in a subway on the tracks with a train heading right to him!

He dives out of the way just in time and finds the shadow man still running from him.

It would seem that even in his dream state, he still managed to chase the man.

"I've got to overcome these bizarre dream attacks [...] But I can't just give up and let this guy get away! Got to risk the dreams--Try to stop him before I"m lost in that nightmare world again!"

He momentarily gets the best of the shadow man when suddenly he finds his worst nightmare.

I adore this art. The reaction. THe hand. The difference in style with the three of them.

It also further points to my theory that Moon Knight is his own alter. He is not Marc, Jake, or Steven. Maybe he isn’t a fully realized alter and not fully self aware of being his own person, but he really is his own person.

Now we get to see how Moon Knight himself deals with the trio. His different views on them and how he thinks they might see him and themselves.

As sad as it is, I’m cheering because this is the first time Moon Knight has declared himself his OWN person. “I’m Me! I’m Moon Knight!” He has gained self recognition!

But what does this mean for him and the others?

Moon Knight breaks free of the dream and finds himself beating up a store manikin in a street. He looks up in time to see Lockley’s cab careening down the street towards him being driven by the shadow man!

He makes work of the crescent darts and gives the cab a flat tire (Lockley's gonna be pissed later).

The cab crashes into a light pole.

The shadow man attacks him again and Moon Knight attempts to fight off the dreams.

He uses his crescent dart to stab himself in the leg to attempt to wake himself up!

He stabs himself over and over again as he fights off the shadow man.

He knocks the shadow man down.

Cut back to Peter, Marlene, and Frenchie! An ambulance has arrived to the scene of the car crash!

But Peter is missing! The ambulance driver informs them that they didn't find another passenger and only them!

Moon Knight unmasks the shadow man only to find PETER!

"The man who's been trying to kill me for two nights running is Marlene's brother-- Peter Alraune!"

Back at the research facility, the two janitors run into a very much awake Morpheus!

Turns out the drugs they were forcing into him to help him dream was only making him stronger till he linked up with Peter and gave Peter the ability to induce dreams and use him as a pawn!

Oh no! A Cliffhanger!

This one is really something else! The fear of the other alters trying to make him go away. The declaration of Moon Knight being his own person. The art and the weird dreams!

**This is going to be a multi-parter as I’m going to review the next one then come back and do the mini story! Stay tuned for part two!

#Moon Knight #Moon Knight Comics #Analyzing the comics #Steven Grant #Marc Spector #Jake Lockley #Marlene Alraune #Classic villains #Hot damn this one goes hard

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xenonmoon · 1 year

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WAIT WAIT WAIT, PETER ALRAUNE?

That was Marlene's brother, who conducted the experiments that lead to poor Robert Markhram loosing the ability to sleep and becoming Morpheus

Some panels from the #12 of the Moench Run:

(oh, it also features Detective Flint. Yeah he looks better with the moustache)

Morpheus comes back in issue #22, where things get a weee bit rough for the main characters (at some point they're forced to flee to a lodge in the mountains)

Long story short, Peter ultimately decides to sacrifice himself to silence Morpheus for good (or at least, for a good while)

END

So, back at the limo:

You know you're getting old when you start giving "back in my days" speeches

#moon knight #moon knight comics #moon knight 2014 #warren ellis #xenon reacts #q tag

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holly-poly · 2 years

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Nomination Clarifications #2

We're now at about 340 fandoms and 1978 ships nominated. And we've currently got another 41 fandoms to look at. We have a countdown here for how long until nominations close. Update on the glitch that was happening - it was mainly happening to Marvel 616 nominations, with a couple of Stargate ships also rejected. Thankfully, AO3 support was able to change the rejected nominations back to not rejected for us, so people should be seeing Marvel 616 nominations going through okay now. We have a few fandoms we want input on since we're not familiar with them and what level of shared characters and canon there is. Firstly, Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series) and Pokemon Rangers, would fan of these recommend combining into a general Pokemon (Video Games) category or keeping them separate? We also have a number of Yu-Gi-Oh Anime & Manga fandom nominations, which we're currently assuming probably ought to be kept as separate but would appreciate input on whether that is best too: Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS, Yu-Gi-Oh! GX, Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V, Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga), Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's, Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal and Yu-Gi-Oh! - All Media Types.

More individual nominations clarification questions below the keep reading cut.

If you nominated Annabeth Chase (Percy Jackson)/Percy Jackson (Percy Jackson)/Dick Grayson (DCU) under Crossover - Fandom, can you let us know if you mean Percy Jackson books, films or any version. If you nominated Clint Barton (Marvel)/Kurt Wagner (Marvel)/Dick Grayson (DCU) under Crossover - Fandom, can you let us what you mean by Marvel - is it MCU, X-Men Original or Alternate timeline movies, or if comics which Marvel comics universe. If you nominated Kurt Wagner (Marvel)/Pietro Maximoff (Marvel)/Dick Grayson (DCU)/Wally West (DCU) under Crossover - Fandom, can you let us what you mean by Marvel - is it MCU, X-Men Original or Alternate timeline movies, or if comics which Marvel comics universe. If you nominated MacGuyver (MacGuyver)/Tony Stark (MCU)/Bruce Wayne (DCU) under Crossover - Fandom, we assume you mean Angus "Mac" MacGyver but could you let us know if you mean MacGyver (1985 TV series) or MacGyver (2016 TV series) or either of them. If you nominated The Doctor/Jack Harkness/River Song/Rose Tyler under Doctor Who, please clarify what version of the The Doctor you're referring to. If you nominated The Doctor/The Master/The Rani under Doctor Who, please clarify what version of the The Doctor, The Master, and The Rani, you're referring to. If you nominated Tegan Jovanka/Nyssa of Traken/Any Female Character(s) under Doctor Who, do you mean any canon female characters or literally any female characters, including original female character(s). If you nominated Peter Parker (Spider-Man 2001)/Peter Parker (The Amazing Spider-Man)/Peter Parker (MCU) under Marvel Cinematic Universe, we assume you probably mean the Tobey Maguire version from Spiderman 2002 and Andrew Garfield Spiderman for the first two characters since they have appeared in the MCU but please can you confirm. If you nominated Clint Barton (MCU)/Pietro Maximoff (MCU)/Pietro Maximoff (X-Men: Alternate Timeline Movies) under Marvel Cinematic Universe, we assume you meant Peter Maximoff from X-Men but wanted to check since there's also Pietro Maximoff in WandaVision as played by Evan Peters and this was nominated under MCU. If you meant Peter Maximoff from X-Men, we would probably consider this a crossover ship instead, although feel free to put forth why you believe it belongs in the MCU and we may reconsider that. If you nominated Adil/Abigail Bellweather/Gregoria Shellbark/Tally Craven under Motherland: Fort Salem (TV), can you confirm if you meant to type Gregorio Shellbark or is Gregoria another character? If you nominated Marlene Alraune/Layla El-Faouly/Steven Grant/Jake Lockley/Marc Spector under Moon Knight (TV), can you confirm whether Marlene Alraune actually appears in the TV show? From what we could tell looking online it looked like she wasn't, which would make this a crossover ship instead, but none of the mods have seen it yet to be sure. If you nominated Darlene Conner/Molly Tilden/Marcy (Roseanne) under Roseanne, could you confirm if you mean the character Marcy Bellinger who appears on the related show of The Connors or another character? If you nominated Hernando Fuentes/Lito Rodriguez & Daniela Velasquez under Sense8, please can you edit that to be a "/" rather than a "&". If you want to request that a relationship be asexual/queerplatonic/etc., then that's something to include in your details when signing up. If you nominated Zakia Asalache/Capheus Onyango/Jela/Jela's wife under Sense8, can you confirm if you mean Eleana for Jela's wife? If you nominated Raffi Musiker/Seven of Nine/B'Elanna Torres AU under Star Trek: Classic Timeline, can you clarify what you mean by B'Elanna Torres AU. If it's an AU version of her from a particular episode the episode name added would help identify who you mean. If you nominated Raffi Musiker/Seven of Nine/B'Elanna Torres freeform under Star Trek: Classic Timeline, can you clarify what you mean by freeform, is this referring to the AO3 tag as a freeform tag or something else? If you nominated Padmé Amidala/handmaidens under Star Wars - All Media Types, do you mean handmaidens generally or did you mean specifically Royal Naboo Handmaiden Characters. If you nominated Ivan Vorpatril/Byerly Vorrutyer/OMC under Vorkosigan Saga - Lois McMaster Bujold, did you mean Original Male Character(s) or something else? If you nominated Elizabeth Burke/Peter Burke/Neal Caffrey and Neal Caffrey/Mozzie under White Collar, please can you edit that to be all one ship using a "/" rather than two linked with an and. If you want to request that parts of an OT4 relationship be asexual/queerplatonic/etc., then that's something to include in your details when signing up. If you have any questions about what fandom to use when making nominations, or any other questions in general, please feel free to leave a comment on this post. You can also send an e-mail to [email protected]. Collection: https://ao3.org/collections/holly_poly_2022 Tag Set: https://archiveofourown.org/tag_sets/12906 Tumblr: https://holly-poly.tumblr.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/holly_poly_ex

#holly poly 2022 #nominations

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blade-liger-4ever · 2 years

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Comic Analysis: Toxic and Healthy Relationships, Part 1 - Moon Knight

Now, before I begin, there are a few things I need to clarify. Firstly, I have only seen/read a few scenes and comics featuring Moon Knight; that said, what I have gathered from both (as well as other sources) is enough, I believe, to make a decent review of Marc Spector’s relationship with his two most prominent love interests. And second, this is all my opinion. If you disagree with my points, that’s fine; you are not obliged to adopt my viewpoint. I’ve just had plenty of thoughts about the relationships between Marc and his girlfriends, and I have a need to get said thoughts off my chest.

With that said, let’s delve into the first part.

The Toxic Relationship with Marlene Alraune

To give a brief summary for those out of the loop, Marlene Alraune was the daughter of Prof. Peter Alraune, and accompanied him on his expedition in Egypt when Bushman attacked them, and who was killed when Marc instinctively warned Bushman of an attacker behind him (sound familiar?). Shortly afterwards, Marc scared off the furious Marlene before attempting and failing to kill his boss. Once he became Moon Knight, Marc returned to the States with Frenchie and Marlene to fight crime and make up for his past. Marc also subsequently created the false identities of millionaire Steven Grant and cabby driver Jake Lockley to aid in his ventures, normally having to switch between the two phony IDs and Moon Knight.

You may notice I didn’t add his life as Marc Spector to the list above, and that’s because Marc, quite possibly out of shame/necessity, gave up his life as Marc Spector. That’s not to say he was dead inside (at least, I hope not); in fact, he was quite the wise-butt in the early days of his run. But Marc didn’t leave any time for himself outside of those three lives, instead focusing on making up for lost time. Anyone with a brain would be driven crazy by this daily juggling show that Marc performed, and it’s a testament to his mental strength that he was still able to know right from wrong.

Now some of you might be wondering: how does Marlene fit into this? The answer is, she was his girlfriend - who did her darnedest to mold Marc into the millionaire playboy she desired.

Allow me to show you some panels with the two from their debut. Frenchie’s here, too, and trust me when I say his minor role in the panels are important for the points I’m making.

The giveaway to Marlene’s true intentions are in how she interacts with him. As you can see, she consistently refers to him as Steven Grant - the millionaire - despite the fact that they’re generally alone when they talk to each other. By contrast, Marc’s best friend calls him by his birthname. Over comms. When leaving the scene. And even when he’s taking on a different identity. Calling him Marc would naturally keep our beloved Silver Crusader (did I seriously just coin that??) from losing his sanity and remind him that he shouldn’t cut himself off from his past, no matter how painful it is.

Marlene, on the other hand, is always, always trying to keep him from accepting his past, and embrace an identity he clearly has disdain for. She repeatedly hounds him to be Steven Grant, and only barely tolerates cabby Jake Lockley by the end of the second issue. That’s right, that final shot is from the second comic with Moon Knight, and not once does she refer to him as Marc Spector in either comic.

Another key detail is how self-absorbed she is. Marlene has an absolute fit when he has to continue his vigilante work, saying he has stood her up for the sixth time in a week. While it’s understandable that one would grow frustrated with not being able to spend time with their lover, it is not excusable to use that as a means of guilting/making an ultimatum with the person in question in order to get them to pay attention to you. By throwing this in Marc’s face, Marlene is essentially telling him to forget the killers and robbers in the world so Marc can be with her all the time.

The immediate flaw with her logic lies in the fact that Marc is a superhero. Not being present every second of every day is literally a part of the job, and the fact that they’ve been together for some years, and she still throws a temper tantrum over this shows just how vain and superficial she is. Marlene Alraune only ever saw Marc Spector as a handsome man who seemed to have a change of heart, but as soon as he came back to the States and created a millionaire persona, she dropped all interest and pursued the money, the prestige, and the high life that identity offered. And if that meant Marc had to lose his sanity and the bridge to his past, then so be it.

The Healthy Relationship with Layla El-Faouly

Forgetting for a moment that Layla is a composite character, when we’re introduced to her, Layla is married to Marc Spector. That immediately puts her light years ahead of Marlene, because it shows that she’s honest in her relationship with Marc. Is she petty when she meets with Marc again in Cairo? Yes. Is she still frustrated with him until the finale? Yes. However, every couple on Earth has moments like that in their marriage, especially when you throw in a divorce (which was solely done to protect Layla).

And in spite of those shortcomings - as well as the unnecessary drama and similarities to Marlene - Layla continues to reach out to Marc. She knows his struggles with communication and vulnerability, but despite that, not only does she continue to choose Marc, but she continues to be patient and receptive with him. Layla doesn’t care for his money, his looks, or his abilities - she cares for Marc as a human being, even above her own safety.

Don’t believe me? Just look at the fight scene at Mogart’s. Marc has the power to literally become a living pincushion without suffering permanent damage, and the woman still rushes over to shoot at his attackers. And again, when Marc has “died”, she grieves him and hunts down Harrow to get revenge, repeatedly referring to Moon Knight as Marc.

Not the agreeable, well-meaning Steven, but the noble-unto-death Marc, who is the man she loves. The man who gives her strength, respect, safety, and a love no one else could possibly offer. Their entire relationship is healthy, with the only trouble in it coming from Marc’s inability to communicate. glares viciously at Wendy Spector

Layla never tells Marc to stop being a hero, to leave the unfortunate Travelers of the Night to whatever grim fate awaits them. She accepts his duties, accepts his flaws, accepts him for who he is, not what she can make/gain from him.

Where Marlene is a bratty socialite who abandons Marc at the slightest hint of emotional instability, Layla is a loyal wife who stays by her man through the hardest moments of his career. Marlene seeks riches and connections from Marc, while Layla only asks to share her life with him. That is the key difference between these two women and their relationship with Marc, and why Layla El-Faouly is arguably the greatest thing to come out of the Moon Knight series.

Before I sign off, you may recall that this is my first relationship analysis post. I have another in mind, although I don’t know when I’ll be able to get to it. If you wish to know what comes next, I will only say that the couples are from DC Comics. Until then, I wish you all safe journeys.

#marc spector #moon knight #layla spector #layla el faouly #marc spector x layla el faouly #marc x layla #steven grant #jean-paul duchamp #frenchie #marlene alraune #khonshu

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gerrysherry · 1 year

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Moon Knight headcanons you can pry from my cold dead hands

Jake Lockley is named for his vivid dreams (Jacob) and his system role as gatekeeper (Lockley). He wasn't given a surname until much later.

Nobody calls Marc Marcus because Marcus Spector, Marc's grandfather, was a resistance fighter during WW2 who died fighting. Everyone including Marc himself wants to make that very clear. Marc is very proud of his namesake and it's part of the reason he joined the Marines.

Marlene and Peter (Jr) Alraune lost their mother early in life much like Marc and Randall but Dr. Peter Alraune Sr was much closer to his children than Rabbi Elias Spector.

Moon knight's choice to strap the truncheon to his right leg is due to Marc having to wear a leg brace and learning to fight with the leg brace until he didn't even notice the weight.

Marc's brief time with CIA led to Jason Bourne level loss of identity shenanigans and was why he went back to the Marines.

Frenchie was in deep denial of his bisexuality but Marc and especially his current boyfriend Rob, help him accept himself.

#moon knight #moon knight comics #moon knight 2022 #jake lockley #marc spector #steven grant #marlene alraune #jean paul duchamp

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age-of-moonknight · 11 months

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“Ill Met by Moonlight,” Moon Knight (Vol. 9/2021), #24.

Writer: Jed MacKay; Penciler and Inker: Federico Sabbatini; Colorist: Rachelle Rosenberg; Letterer: Cory Petit

#Marvel #Marvel comics #Marvel 616 #Moon Knight vol. 9 #Moon Knight 2021 #Moon Knight comics #latest release #Moon Knight #Marc Spector #Marlene Alraune #Diatrice Alraune #Peter Alraune #Elias Spector #Randall Spector #Detective Flint #so yeah right off the bat I am Weeping #I was just looking into Peter Alraune the other day and realized how much of the Spector-Alraune family tree is followed by ‘deceased’#but yeah Mr. MacKay does such an excellent job in bringing in all the figures from their past (even Rob!!!#it makes me endlessly excited that someone at Marvel hasn’t forgotten Rob)#because yeah realistically Peter was only in about two issues but gosh did he have an impact on Marlene #but anyway speaking of Marlene it gets me that the tidbit that snaps Marc out of this is the element of her and him getting married #Being a…concerning child? Yeah that tracks #but actually taking the step to marry Marlene is a bridge too far (ouch)#and more confirmation that Marc and Greer are in a serious relationship seems like #anyway hi Detective Flint always great to see you #(none murderous Randall is also a joy to see)

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comicwaren · 2 years

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From Moon Knight: Black, White & Blood #004

“Good Morning”, by Christopher Cantwell and Alex Lins

“The Scent of Blood”, by Nadia Shammas, Dante Bastianoni and Chris Sotomayor

“Born to Be”, by Paul Azaceta

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arcadiafm · 9 months

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i asked our members what their most wanted legacies were and this is what they said -- [ children of ] doug ramsey, roberto da costa, quentin quire, ororo munroe + t'challa, namor + jim hammond, namor + sue storm, namor + shuri, jessica drew, loki, felicia hardy + flash thompson, scott lang + jesssica jones, felicia hardy + matt murdock, scott lang + hope van dyne, otto octavius, johnny storm, illyana rasputina + kate pryde [ adopted ], marc spector + marlene alraune [ diatrice, dm first ], marc spector + greer nelson, peter parker + mj watson [ mayday parker ], raven darkholme + irene adler, thor + diana, arthur curry + mera, irene adler [ adopted independently ], loki + selene gallio, bruce wayne, harley quinn, pamela isley, wally west, crystal amaquelin + pietro maximoff [ luna maximoff, dm first ], ben reilly, kaine parker, harry osborn [ adopted ], jade nguyen !!

#marvel rp #dc rp #city rp #nyc rp #mcu rp #xmen rp #mutant rp

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justdealingwithsomeissues · 2 years

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These swings are RAPID like everytime Jason is like “no no... I’m good.... sike!”

#Marvel #Marc Spector Moon Knight #Marc Spector ~ Moon Knight #Peter Parker ~ Spider Man #Marlene Alraune #Jason Macendale Jr. ~ Hobgoblin

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drifting-pieces-blog-blog · 6 months

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Breaking down the comics: End of dreams (Issue 12)

Moon Knight, Issue #12: The Nightmare of Morpheus

Written by Doug Moench and drawn by Bill Sienkiewicz

Let’s head back to 1981 when Doug and Bill were still on the team.

So originally I was only going to review a few key issues. And then I just… did them all. But I skipped a few of the early ones that just didn’t strike me as key. Or ones that just didn’t click with me when I initially read them back in the day.

This was one of them. Which was a bit of a disservice because it introduces Morpheus, who ended up being a big deal as far as his recurring or vital villains go in the early run. Then he came back later in Mackay. To those that didn’t read the early runs, they just didn’t understand where Morpheus was coming from or why it was bittersweet to see him go the way he did.

I’ve already reviewed subsequent Morpheus issues and we’ve seen the death of Marlene’s brother at the hands of Morpheus, which lead to a major blow between Marlene and MK and MK and his own self doubt.

So let’s go back to the start.

We open on an office building at night. Dr. Peter Alraune is working late.

"And in a way, it's all my fault... And now that Markham is missing, I'm even responsible for his disappearance." He thinks to himself.

"He must be in torment by now...Half-mad with anguish, unable to sleep, unable to even close his eyes, stumbling through the streets in a perpetual daze...He could be anywhere out there in the city...Anywhere at all."

We see a man in a trenchcoat moving down the street towards Peter's office. He tries the door to find it locked.

The man reveals a clawed hand and he breaks the window.

"Locked doors can't hide Alraune from me...Nothing can hide him from the vengeance of Morpheus!"

Peter decides that despite his 'professional ethics', he has to report the disappearance.

He calls the police to report his patient is missing. Just as he's about to give the name, the man in the trench coat bursts in.

"You! Markham! But...But that black field! My god--What happened to you?!"

The man in the shadows unveils himself to be a terrifying looking creature.

"You happened to me, Dr. Alraune...And now I am about to happen to you!"

He pleads with Markham, "I warned you of the risk, Markham! Your disease was completely unknown--An uncontrolled breakdown of chromosomal structure--"

Markham claims the experimental drug reacted with the disease and mutated him, turning him into the monster before us.

Dark shadows emanate from Markham to wrap around Peter's neck.

Peter again points out that Markham did sign a release and knowingly took a drug that was untested.

Yeah, because logic is going to get him out of this situation.

Markham claims that he is unable to sleep. Unable to close his eyes and unable to dream.

"It deprives a man of his psychic need for dreams..And it drives him mad! But those psychic dream energies must go somewhere, Doctor--They must be released somehow..." And more dark shadows emanate from him.

"In my case, thanks to the effects of your drug, that psychic dreamstuff has become a tangible physical energy...The Ebon sleep-energy which even now squeezes the life from you!"

It tightens around Peter's throat. He claims that he can put others to sleep and force them to dream, or he can put them in a 'permanent sleep'.

Alluding to the Greek god Morpheus, son of somnus, we see where he gets his new name from.

Just as he's about to off poor Peter, the police arrive.

Markham, now Morpheus, blasts Peter once more before he flees the scene.

The next night we see Moon Knight returning to Grant Mansion.

As he lands, Marlene rushes out to meet him.

"Quick, Steven--I just got a call from the hospital--They've been trying to locate me all day! It's my brother, Peter--He's badly hurt! We've got to get down there!"

Now, we it's interesting that to this point we've only really seen Marlene and don't know anything about her family. She was the one following her father out to the dig sites and into the desert in Egypt. Also interesting is that she was hard to locate. Meaning perhaps her brother didn't really know her location or her standing with 'Steven Grant'.

Moon Knight pulls off his cowl, "Of course, Marlene. Just give me time to change to Steven Grant."

It's these social situations that always call for Steven. Jake never goes anywhere with Marlene and Marc isn't invited. Steven is the socialite. He's the one that knows how to be proper and deal with adult situations.

At the hospital Marlene demands to see Peter, claiming that she's his only surviving family.

When she is finally let in to see him, we find him in poor shape.

He struggles to tell her that "Morpheus...Patient named Robert Markham...Rare disease...Experimental drug...turned him into a monster...Tried to kill me...For revenge and.." It's more than he can take and he slumps back, slipping into a coma.

Steven tries to comfort Marlene and take her home, but outside the hospital the police have gathered and are shooting at someone.

Morpheus has arrived at the hospital. He uses his dark powers to deflect bullets and toss about cars. He will have his revenge!

Steven rushes off to change and Moon Knight introduces himself the Moon Knight way.

He's doing fine.

Morpheus attacks and drains Moon Knight.

Moon Knight tries to keep attention on himself and away from the crowd of people nearby.

It works.

He’ll be fine.

But you see, the more he uses his powers, the more the become depleted and the big show with the police and with throwing Moon Knight around has worn him out.

He runs off again to recoop.

As Moon Knight extracts himself from the car, Marlene runs up to ask if he's alright.

"Be serious, Marlene... After he made me look like an amateur?"

He's so hard on himself all the time.

He tells Marlene to go home while he heads to Peter's office to look through his files for Robert Markham.

And to Peter’s off we go where we find DETECTIVE FLINT! And my all time favorite panel.

Let me introduce to you Detective Flint. This man has put up with so much.

(six through the window entrances on the counter now)

I love how Flint just rolls with the fact that Moon Knight just crashed through the window behind him. Could have used a door or opened the window of the crime scene... But no.

Still, he just invites Moon Knight to come in and do his thing.

Let’s take some time to devote love to this man.

He introduces himself. He knows vigilantism is frowned on, but he could care less. Flint figures it's help or watch them do it anyways.

He tells Moon Knight the details on the medical experiments and lets Moon Knight do his thing in the files while he has himself a cup of coffee.

And I just appreciate the way this page is done. Flint making his coffee so meticulously, looking so tired, and Moon Knight just digging through the file cabinet in the background. It's beautiful. It’s also a brilliant way to lay the ground rules of the bad guy and move the story along without a lot of investigating and exposition.

There's this beautiful respect here. Moon Knight is used to dealing with people that don't trust him, that give him a hard time, or that just refuse to work with him.

He instantly takes a shine to Flint and I must say that I do too.

Also Moon Knight totally just jumped out his broken window.

Moon Knight returns to Grant Mansion to find a hysterical Marlene.

"He's still in a coma, Steven. He's my brother and I hardly even think about him--And now he may be dying!"

"My brother. Steven, do you understand?! You've got to stop Morpheus--You've got to!"

Yeah... It's safe to say he understands. Considering that Marc's brother Randall was killed a long while ago early on in the Moon Knight career before he got his own comic.

Elsewhere, we find Morpheus gloating about being stronger than even Moon Knight.

It's dawn and Morpheus finds himself drained, but now he rebuilds his Ebon energies.

Come nightfall his energy has rebuilt to a dangerous level.

Each night that he fails to sleep the more his energy builds.

He concludes that if he waits a week he'd be able to destroy the hospital and Moon Knight. So he decides to unleash his energy robbing banks in order to build a palace for himself in the meantime. “A dream palace”.

Look, I never said his plans were coherent.

It’s a sleepless man with no eyelids that walks around shirtless all the time. He’s going to be a little eccentric.

So he goes and blows up a bank. This attracts a little attention.

Moon Knight gets the drop on Morpheus and punches him in the back of the head.

Then Morpheus uses his powers to fling Moon Knight around a little.

Look at this dramatic man. He’s so hard on himself!

…Oh no. Not the zoo. Moon Knight no. You know you and animals never ends well…

I really wish I had kept a count of the number of times Moon Knight is attacked by animals.

Yeah that seems about right.

He manages to get away from the panther. Just a little torn up.

Morpheus taunts him to take his best shot. Moon Knight throws his truncheon past him to ricochet off a wall and bean him in the back of the head.

Unfortunately for Moon Knight Morpheus still has a load of power and he blasts Moon Knight away.

Worn out but desperate not to lose again, Moon Knight makes a break for the caretaker's building.

Cornered in the building, he puts his plan into action, he tells Morpheus to just finish him.

At the last second, Moon Knight doges out of the way and Morpheus strikes the generator.

The electrical backlash runs up his Ebon energyand strikes him right in the eyes.

The light negates his dark energies and strips Morphus of his powers.

And Moon Knight takes advantage of Morpheus' lost powers to knock him out.

The police are called in to clean up.

Flint shows up and we've got a buffed out but exhausted Moon Knight with a panther clawed up mask and this man...

"You're a good man, Moon Knight. Now you'd better split. Before I'm forced to ask questions. I hate questions. The answers never cut it."

"Yeah. Well take good care of him, Flint. --And make sure you have the "Do not disturb" sign on his bedroom door knob."

Moon Knight is such a cad.

They transport Morpheus to the hospital where he is sedated. They note they have to sedate him 8 hours every night forever unless someone comes up with a cure.

Many days later, we come to Marlene waiting next to her comatose brother, who finally wakes. They are reunited in a hug and end issue!

OKAY! So why did I skip this issue in my original review run? I’ll be honest: I was never a Morpheus fan and my memory is terrible. I forgot about Detective Flint and the joy of the panels I included here. Aside from introducing Morpheus and Detective Flint, not much actual Moon Knight advancing in character actually happens here (if you discount him sobbing to himself in a crumpled heap about being a loser).

And you know, maybe it was a happy accident that I skipped this one till now. It works now that MacKay has killed off Morpheus. Now you can see his start. We know that he comes back and there’s a huge run with Moon Knight hallucinating about being on the moon and then he comes back again to kill Peter, which I feel is the starting point of sending Marelene into a spiral that eventually does lead her to pull away from the Moon Knight system.

Considering this is issue 12 and so close to the start, we are trying to build up a villain base for our new hero. In classic comic book fashion, they are looking for villains that can come back again and again and up the stakes each time. And, Morpheus did do that. He has scary powers, a scary appearance, and Marelen’s brother is often at stake (until his death at Morpheus’ hands).

And I’ve said it before, but the thing about Moon Knight villains is that they are weird. They aren’t typical and don’t have the personal vendetta that, say, Spider-Man villains have. They tended to just come out of nowhere and have their own issues that may or may not make sense, and then they disappear for long stretches at a time.

The most common villain in Moon Knight’s roster tended to be mental health and self doubt.

And while Morpheus can now be looked back on and given an approving nod, it feels sad now knowing that all of Moon Knight’s original villains have been killed off in today’s runs. Making room for bigger and better villains with higher fight value and bigger stakes.

But a part of me can’t help but miss the old villains. The old stakes. The way they challenged him in ways that were more than fists and weapons. And perhaps, it feels like the old Moon Knight is fading away too. Or more still, perhaps we lost the old Moon Knight many years ago as the writers lost sight of where he came from. With the death of Moon Knight approaching in the current MacKay run (We shall see how future me looks back on this once it is all said and done), is it a way to kill what has been done and finally start fresh? A way to bring back something lost? Or is it a way to finally put an end to the dreams of the past?

#Moon Knight #Moon Knight comics #Analyzing the comics #Marc Spector #Steven Grant #Jake Lockley #I legit forgot how much this particular issue gives us #window smashing #Detective Flint #Fighting a panther #Crumpled little meowmeow #It's so hard not to call him a wet meow meow while analyzing #you have no idea

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