Marvel introduces a new version of Moon Knight, who’s set to have an important role in the return of an iconic timeline. Besides Earth-616, Marvel’s most popular characters thrive in other universes. The original Ultimate Universe was a modern sandbox that stripped away decades of convoluted continuity, while the modern Ultimate Universe inverts the premise with a world where a time-traveling Maker alters the heroic origins of dozens of heroes. Meanwhile, Marvel 1602 moves the entire heroic age to the Elizabethan era, Marvel Noir takes place in the 1920s and 1930s, and Marvel 2099 projects the universe into a dystopian cyberpunk future.
Initially launched at the turn of the millennium, the Marvel Mangaverse fused western superhero archetypes with the classic tropes of shonen, shojo, and mecha manga. Earth-2301 threw out standard continuity to introduce wild conceptual variations, For example, Peter Parker is the last ninja of the legendary Spider-Clan, Iron Man is a massive mecha squad, and a female Punisher named Sosumi Brown works as a strict school principal. This hyper-stylized reality took a dark turn with its 2006 sequel series, New Mangaverse: The Rings of Fate, where the Hand slaughters the vast majority of the timeline’s established heroes.
The original Marvel Mangaverse imprint ended on a massive unresolved cliffhanger that revealed a rogue Nick Fury as the true mastermind behind the global superhero massacre, which left the timeline frozen in a bleak, post-apocalyptic limbo for exactly two decades. Now, Marvel is finally revisiting the Mangaverse.
Marvel’s Mangaverse Revival Introduces A New Moon Knight
Marvel Mangaverse: Iron Knight #1; Written By Cody Ziglar; Art By Kei Zama
Marvel also brings back the Mangaverse timeline two in-universe decades after readers last explored this universe. Hence, dozens of new characters have long established themselves as major players, including new versions of icons like Miles Morales, Laura Kinney, Illyana Rasputin, and Riri Williams. By this point, magic has replaced technology as the world’s driving force. This means that Ironheart is powered by “a mana-powered suit of armor,” and her main antagonist in Iron Knight, a new version of Moon Knight, is a “legendary sorcerer.”
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Moon Knight’s Mangaverse design is perhaps the most eccentric look Khonshu’s avatar has ever had in his fifty-one-year comic book history. Moon Knight wears an elegant all-white suit on top of what appears to be a dark blue shirt or hoodie. He also sports a golden brooch on his blazer, two golden necklaces, and two golden cuff pins, plus a rosary or japa mala wrapped around his white-gloved hands, with jewels on his middle knuckles. Most notably, the Mangaverse Moon Knight wears a perfectly spherical white turban that ends in a half-mask covering his eyes, decorated with a half-moon-shaped jewel.
The Mangaverse’s Moon Knight is accompanied by a red dragon with a half-moon symbol on its forehead.
Moon Knight has one of the most varied and unique wardrobes in the Marvel Universe, in part due to his different superhero identities. He has fought crime as the traditionally hooded Moon Knight, as the dapper Mr. Knight, and even with his real name, as Marc Spector. As Moon Knight, he has worn a wide assortment of costume variations, including his classic all-white hood, his black bodysuit, and his 1990s silver suit of armor. However, few of the previous costumes resemble the Mangaverse’s Moon Knight. Only Mr. Knight’s all-white suit and tie approaches this variant’s eccentrically elegant style.
Marvel’s Mangaverse Has A Lot Of Characters To Catch Up With
Moon Knight Is The Most Visually Striking Of The Mangaverse’s New Generation
Each character in this new wave of Mangaverse additions arrives with a new twist on their classic look and powers. For example, Laura Kinney’s claws are serrated, and she possesses multiple extra eyes all over her body; Bucky Barnes’ prosthetic arm is organic instead of metallic, Magik’s Soulsword is bright green, and of course, Ghostlocke’s fire is her signature fucsia. Like the original Mangaverse Spider-Man, Miles Morales’ costume features armored coverings on his wrists and hands.
Moon Knight is Ironheart’s main antagonist in this timeline, and his look reflects it. While Moon Knight wears an elegant suit and turban, Riri Williams’ attire is all the opposite. The Mangaverse’s Ironheart armor is a modular yet sleek, industrial-looking suit with a much larger variety of shapes and textures than most Iron Man inventions, and it adds flair with a tattered yellow cape. Curiously, Riri’s heart-shaped mask resembles an owl’s face, a symbolic link to Moon Knight’s lunar themes.
Which version of Moon Knight is your favorite?
Marvel Mangaverse: Iron Knight #1 is available September 9 from Marvel Comics.
- Release Date
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2022 – 2022-00-00
- Showrunner
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Jeremy Slater
