Marvel has big plans for Moon Knight, but first it has to kill him
Some of the biggest superhero stories begin with them dying; so is life of a superhero
Death becomes superheroes, at least for the people who create their stories.
Earlier this month, Marvel Comics announced plans for its white-cloaked hero Moon Knight to die in a story titled (fittingly enough) The Last Days of Moon Knight. Scheduled to begin in October 2023's Moon Knight #28, the storyline will no doubt about it, kill the hero; in fact, Marvel's website says so in the headline about the story: Marvel Comics Presents: The Death of Moon Knight.
"This epic new three-part storyline kicking off in issue #28 will be the culmination of Moon Knight’s current era and the beginning of his next chapter," reads Marvel's press material.
Further down it says that "Now, Marc Spector’s journey reaches a climactic end."
Of course for many of us, death is an end - but for superhero comics, its a transformation, a metamorphisis, and in many cases a prelude for something bigger.
"Death in superhero comics is meaningless," Matt Fraction told us in 2011, hot on the heels of the Marvel event Fear Itself. "It's the escape. It's the resurrection. That's the story."
And indeed, while "death" hangs like a noose around Moon Knight thanks to Marvel, we (and many other fans) see the next chapter clear as day.
The return of Moon Knight.
Or the beginning of a new Moon Knight.
Or perhaps he'll return as a mutant like the recently-departed-and-returned Ms. Marvel.
That story could begin being told as soon as this weekend with San Diego Comic-Con with announcements, even before Marc Spector's 'Last Days of Moon Knight', so stay tuned.