What do you think?
Rate this book
Moon Knight (2011)
Cavaleiro da Lua, Vol. 2: Recomeço
Sofrendo de um transtorno de personalidade, Marc Spector adotou as identidades do Capitão América, Homem-Aranha e Wolverine, para deter um chefão do crime e seu braço direito, Boca-de-Leão. Seu caminho cruzou com a heroína Eco, infiltrada no submundo, atrapalhando seus planos, mas nascendo uma atração entre eles. A cabeça de um Ultron continua sendo almejada pelo misterioso adversário de Spector, que sentenciou o Cavaleiro da Lua e seus aliados a morte.
132 pages, Paperback
Published April 1, 2015
8 people are currently reading
316 people want to read
About the author
Brian Michael Bendis
4,414 books2,574 followersA comic book writer and erstwhile artist. He has won critical acclaim (including five Eisner Awards) and is one of the most successful writers working in mainstream comics. For over eight years Bendis’s books have consistently sat in the top five best sellers on the nationwide comic and graphic novel sales charts.
Though he started as a writer and artist of independent noir fiction series, he shot to stardom as a writer of Marvel Comics' superhero books, particularly Ultimate Spider-Man.
Bendis first entered the comic world with the "Jinx" line of crime comics in 1995. This line has spawned the graphic novels Goldfish, Fire, Jinx, Torso (with Marc Andreyko), and Total Sell Out. Bendis is writing the film version of Jinx for Universal Pictures with Oscar-winner Charlize Theron attached to star and produce.
Bendis’s other projects include the Harvey, Eisner, and Eagle Award-nominated Powers (with Michael Avon Oeming) originally from Image Comics, now published by Marvel's new creator-owned imprint Icon Comics, and the Hollywood tell-all Fortune and Glory from Oni Press, both of which received an "A" from Entertainment Weekly.
Bendis is one of the premiere architects of Marvel's "Ultimate" line: comics specifically created for the new generation of comic readers. He has written every issue of Ultimate Spider-Man since its best-selling launch, and has also written for Ultimate Fantastic Four and Ultimate X-Men, as well as every issue of Ultimate Marvel Team-Up, Ultimate Origin and Ultimate Six.
Brian is currently helming a renaissance for Marvel’s AVENGERS franchise by writing both New Avengers and Mighty Avengers along with the successful ‘event’ projects House Of M, Secret War, and this summer’s Secret Invasion.
He has also previously done work on Daredevil, Alias, and The Pulse.
Though he started as a writer and artist of independent noir fiction series, he shot to stardom as a writer of Marvel Comics' superhero books, particularly Ultimate Spider-Man.
Bendis first entered the comic world with the "Jinx" line of crime comics in 1995. This line has spawned the graphic novels Goldfish, Fire, Jinx, Torso (with Marc Andreyko), and Total Sell Out. Bendis is writing the film version of Jinx for Universal Pictures with Oscar-winner Charlize Theron attached to star and produce.
Bendis’s other projects include the Harvey, Eisner, and Eagle Award-nominated Powers (with Michael Avon Oeming) originally from Image Comics, now published by Marvel's new creator-owned imprint Icon Comics, and the Hollywood tell-all Fortune and Glory from Oni Press, both of which received an "A" from Entertainment Weekly.
Bendis is one of the premiere architects of Marvel's "Ultimate" line: comics specifically created for the new generation of comic readers. He has written every issue of Ultimate Spider-Man since its best-selling launch, and has also written for Ultimate Fantastic Four and Ultimate X-Men, as well as every issue of Ultimate Marvel Team-Up, Ultimate Origin and Ultimate Six.
Brian is currently helming a renaissance for Marvel’s AVENGERS franchise by writing both New Avengers and Mighty Avengers along with the successful ‘event’ projects House Of M, Secret War, and this summer’s Secret Invasion.
He has also previously done work on Daredevil, Alias, and The Pulse.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 79 reviews
March 2, 2015
So...this turned out to be unexpectedly good.
I'm still sort of reeling from the FEELINGS! that Bendis shoved down my throat. I don't want to spoil too much (even though this came out in 2012), but a major character in the story bites the big one.
I. Did. Not. See. It. Coming!
Then there was this whole thing where Marc is beaten and bloody, lying in the gutter, and this person is in his head telling him to get up and make their death worth something...
*chokes back sob*
Anyway. Moon Knight intercepted the guys who were hired to pick up Count Nefaria's black market* Ultron head in the last volume, and now this (Thor-level) villain wants his stuff back.
*I'm just assuming he bought it on the black market, because I've never seen an Ultron head at Walmart.
Marc has to step up, get his multiple personalities to behave, and ask for some help from outside sources.
Because.
Thor-Level Villain! Hello?! He's gonna need someone with actual abilities to step in and finish this off. There's no way he would be dumb enough to take this guy on by himself, right?
Right?!
Well, read it and find out.
At any rate, I'm sorry that this was the last volume of the title. I think Moon Knight could have become a favorite of mine if there were a little more to this story.
I'm still sort of reeling from the FEELINGS! that Bendis shoved down my throat. I don't want to spoil too much (even though this came out in 2012), but a major character in the story bites the big one.
I. Did. Not. See. It. Coming!
Then there was this whole thing where Marc is beaten and bloody, lying in the gutter, and this person is in his head telling him to get up and make their death worth something...
*chokes back sob*
Anyway. Moon Knight intercepted the guys who were hired to pick up Count Nefaria's black market* Ultron head in the last volume, and now this (Thor-level) villain wants his stuff back.
*I'm just assuming he bought it on the black market, because I've never seen an Ultron head at Walmart.
Marc has to step up, get his multiple personalities to behave, and ask for some help from outside sources.
Because.
Thor-Level Villain! Hello?! He's gonna need someone with actual abilities to step in and finish this off. There's no way he would be dumb enough to take this guy on by himself, right?
Right?!
Well, read it and find out.
At any rate, I'm sorry that this was the last volume of the title. I think Moon Knight could have become a favorite of mine if there were a little more to this story.
December 15, 2014
Marc Spector aka Moon Knight is crazy. Mental instabililty might be a prerequisite for being a super hero but Spector takes it to a different plane altogether.
Moon Knight is not one of Marvel’s top line superheroes but in Brian Michael Bendis’s hands he becomes an interesting one (the humor helps). Kudos also for Alex Maleev’s evocative artwork.
This is the second volume of a storyline that takes place in Los Angeles, where Spector has become a TV producer for a show based on his own superhero exploits. He is also engaged in keeping an Ultron head away from Count Nefaria, the new crime Kingpin of the LA.
The “crazy” part here is Moon Knight is suffering from multiple personality disorder and those personalities are Wolverine, Spiderman and Captain America. He’s hampered not only by the conflicting advice given by the three parts of his psyche but is also battling the above mentioned Count Nefaria, a villain who is way out of Moon Knights league. He goes as far as having ex-Shield operative, Buck Lime construct Captain America’s shield, Wolverine claws and Spiderman web shooters.
Recommended for people (like me) who wouldn’t ordinarily pick a Moon Knight book.
Moon Knight is not one of Marvel’s top line superheroes but in Brian Michael Bendis’s hands he becomes an interesting one (the humor helps). Kudos also for Alex Maleev’s evocative artwork.
This is the second volume of a storyline that takes place in Los Angeles, where Spector has become a TV producer for a show based on his own superhero exploits. He is also engaged in keeping an Ultron head away from Count Nefaria, the new crime Kingpin of the LA.
The “crazy” part here is Moon Knight is suffering from multiple personality disorder and those personalities are Wolverine, Spiderman and Captain America. He’s hampered not only by the conflicting advice given by the three parts of his psyche but is also battling the above mentioned Count Nefaria, a villain who is way out of Moon Knights league. He goes as far as having ex-Shield operative, Buck Lime construct Captain America’s shield, Wolverine claws and Spiderman web shooters.
Recommended for people (like me) who wouldn’t ordinarily pick a Moon Knight book.
December 10, 2012
Marc Spector aka Moon Knight continues his mission to bring down the kingpin of LA, the monocle-wearing, awesomely-named Count Nefaria. But MK isn’t the kind of superhero who has powers to take down a powerful enemy like Nefaria on his own - enter the Avengers! Or are they? Marc does have schizophrenia and the superheroes do seem oddly involved in the events of his life...
This is the conclusion to Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev’s mini-series on Moon Knight and it has been a fun trip. They’ve managed to reintroduce and reinvent the character to a new audience and make him a freshly appealing hero in the Marvel U. A lot of this has to do with Bendis’ brilliant treatment of MK as a gung-ho schizo who sees people that aren’t there. He’s so lovably insane like a toned-down Deadpool that MK becomes an endearing character by the end of this book.
The last iteration of MK I read was Charlie Huston’s who focused on making MK tortured and twisted - it was too dark, unpleasant and overly serious. Bendis takes a different tack, having MK acknowledge and embrace his craziness, using his split personalities to craft a more interesting story while providing some laughs along the way. It’s a brilliant angle to take and really pays off, creating exciting and thrilling scenes with balanced moments of levity and even some pathos.
MK’s overdependence upon the gadgets he fixes up with that mirror his fellow Avengers’ - the claws, the web-shooters, the shield - does highlight his own character’s lack of identifying weaponry and even questions MK’s status as a superhero - what are his powers? I would’ve liked to have seen Bendis explore this angle a bit more but in the end he just ran out of pages, which is a shame. Not least because without a regular writer for this character, it’s unlikely Marvel will put him back in the spotlight anytime soon to build on Bendis/Maleev’s work here.
Maleev’s art is great as always but he manages to make MK’s costume seem less noticeable than previous versions which is quite a feat. It’s not that he does anything different but David Finch’s MK on the Charlie Huston run, while looking like a lot of Finch’s stuff - in a word, AMAZING - definitely made his costume really stand out as a poor design choice. Bright white? It’s striking but also looks really bad, strategically. Maleev’s treatment, while not deviating much from the costume, makes less use of the swirling cape motif and removes the hood for long stretches of pages - it makes a positive difference to the presentation of MK and focuses the reader’s attention more on the story than the prominent white figure in the panel.
This is a fun, solid mini-series featuring an oft-overlooked character given the spotlight by Marvel’s best creative team, Bendis and Maleev. “Moon Knight, Vol 2” is even more entertaining than the batty first book and rounds out an excellent adventure story featuring a mentally handicapped loon you’ll love after this series, Moon Knight.
This is the conclusion to Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev’s mini-series on Moon Knight and it has been a fun trip. They’ve managed to reintroduce and reinvent the character to a new audience and make him a freshly appealing hero in the Marvel U. A lot of this has to do with Bendis’ brilliant treatment of MK as a gung-ho schizo who sees people that aren’t there. He’s so lovably insane like a toned-down Deadpool that MK becomes an endearing character by the end of this book.
The last iteration of MK I read was Charlie Huston’s who focused on making MK tortured and twisted - it was too dark, unpleasant and overly serious. Bendis takes a different tack, having MK acknowledge and embrace his craziness, using his split personalities to craft a more interesting story while providing some laughs along the way. It’s a brilliant angle to take and really pays off, creating exciting and thrilling scenes with balanced moments of levity and even some pathos.
MK’s overdependence upon the gadgets he fixes up with that mirror his fellow Avengers’ - the claws, the web-shooters, the shield - does highlight his own character’s lack of identifying weaponry and even questions MK’s status as a superhero - what are his powers? I would’ve liked to have seen Bendis explore this angle a bit more but in the end he just ran out of pages, which is a shame. Not least because without a regular writer for this character, it’s unlikely Marvel will put him back in the spotlight anytime soon to build on Bendis/Maleev’s work here.
Maleev’s art is great as always but he manages to make MK’s costume seem less noticeable than previous versions which is quite a feat. It’s not that he does anything different but David Finch’s MK on the Charlie Huston run, while looking like a lot of Finch’s stuff - in a word, AMAZING - definitely made his costume really stand out as a poor design choice. Bright white? It’s striking but also looks really bad, strategically. Maleev’s treatment, while not deviating much from the costume, makes less use of the swirling cape motif and removes the hood for long stretches of pages - it makes a positive difference to the presentation of MK and focuses the reader’s attention more on the story than the prominent white figure in the panel.
This is a fun, solid mini-series featuring an oft-overlooked character given the spotlight by Marvel’s best creative team, Bendis and Maleev. “Moon Knight, Vol 2” is even more entertaining than the batty first book and rounds out an excellent adventure story featuring a mentally handicapped loon you’ll love after this series, Moon Knight.
April 19, 2025
Moon Knight, Vol. 2 by Bendis unfortunately fizzles out after a promising start in Volume 1. There are still some fun moments here and there, especially the dynamic between Marc and Echo, which gives the story a bit of spark, but once a certain character bites the dust, the tone shifts and it leans too hard into the zany, losing the grip on what made it interesting in the first place.
Bendis had a cool concept for Marc Spector, playing with his fractured identity in a unique way, but it never quite lands the way it should. It feels like he had the idea but didn't follow through all the way. The big bad in this volume is also pretty underwhelming, which doesn’t help.
The art remains solid throughout (Maleev’s style fits the gritty tone well), though even that feels like it’s not quite up to the level of their best collaborations. Overall, it’s not the worst Moon Knight arc out there, but definitely a step down from Volume 1. Worth a read if you're a completionist or a die-hard MK fan, but temper expectations.
Bendis had a cool concept for Marc Spector, playing with his fractured identity in a unique way, but it never quite lands the way it should. It feels like he had the idea but didn't follow through all the way. The big bad in this volume is also pretty underwhelming, which doesn’t help.
The art remains solid throughout (Maleev’s style fits the gritty tone well), though even that feels like it’s not quite up to the level of their best collaborations. Overall, it’s not the worst Moon Knight arc out there, but definitely a step down from Volume 1. Worth a read if you're a completionist or a die-hard MK fan, but temper expectations.
March 27, 2022
Second read: I would absolutely *love* to see Maleev’s take on MK with a writer who really greased themselves up on the Huston-level psychotic Marc Spector.
This is definitely dollar-store Moon Knight. Like a high-school play version of “multiple personalities” - no menace, no danger. Gumdrop crazy.
Like is said about the first book - fun, on the better side of a Bendis book, but nothing that burnished the Khonshu mythology. Actually diluted it.
==Original review==
Maleev does some amazing framing of his shots, and illustrates the minimalist view on great, fluid action.
It seems like this was another vanity project for Bendis and Maleev, like they did with Spider-Woman. Fun run, but they didn't seem to invest a ton into deepening the surroundings around the character, but instead just focus on having a good time with dialogue, action and settings.
I don't know why I feel in any way disappointed by this - it was fun, fast-paced and funny, and spent some time examining Marc Spector's current psychosis. It even had a serious death of a character we liked. Why shouldn't this feel important and meaningful?
Maybe it's the fact that, now that they've completed the run, this character will simply be folded back into the cast of another "event" with The Avengers, and probably not even a major featuring character at that. Is there any more ignoble way to give a character a taste of fame than to deliberately fold up his universe and hand him back to the mercy of a crowd shot?
Here are my plot notes because I can never remember who when and what, when I'm reading later books:
This is definitely dollar-store Moon Knight. Like a high-school play version of “multiple personalities” - no menace, no danger. Gumdrop crazy.
Like is said about the first book - fun, on the better side of a Bendis book, but nothing that burnished the Khonshu mythology. Actually diluted it.
==Original review==
Maleev does some amazing framing of his shots, and illustrates the minimalist view on great, fluid action.
It seems like this was another vanity project for Bendis and Maleev, like they did with Spider-Woman. Fun run, but they didn't seem to invest a ton into deepening the surroundings around the character, but instead just focus on having a good time with dialogue, action and settings.
I don't know why I feel in any way disappointed by this - it was fun, fast-paced and funny, and spent some time examining Marc Spector's current psychosis. It even had a serious death of a character we liked. Why shouldn't this feel important and meaningful?
Maybe it's the fact that, now that they've completed the run, this character will simply be folded back into the cast of another "event" with The Avengers, and probably not even a major featuring character at that. Is there any more ignoble way to give a character a taste of fame than to deliberately fold up his universe and hand him back to the mercy of a crowd shot?
Here are my plot notes because I can never remember who when and what, when I'm reading later books:
December 31, 2023
3.4/5.0
I was really hoping for a spectacular Marc Spector storyline with Bendis' run, but the plot all together just seemed messy from the beginning of this volume.
I was really hoping for a spectacular Marc Spector storyline with Bendis' run, but the plot all together just seemed messy from the beginning of this volume.
July 14, 2024
Finalizando a jornada maluca do Cavaleiro da Lua atrás do Rei do Crime de Los Angeles, que é o vilão Nefária, esse encadernado consegue manter os bons elementos de ação do volume anterior, mas agora com mais seriedade, com foco em derrotar o vilão.
Aqui vemos com mais afinco a relação de Mark com os Vingadores, bem como a criação das "armas" que ele utiliza dos heróis que ficam na sua cabeça. Toda essa dinâmica dos 3 heróis na cabeça de Mark, mais ele, da uma fluidez na trama e uma condução bem boa das lutas.
Com base na tradicional maluquice do Cavaleiro da Lua, é padrão que suas histórias trabalhem com suas diversas personalidades, mas destaco que o Bendis foi criativo e trabalhou muito bem essa questão, misturando outros heróis e dando diferentes pontos de vista e morais conforme a trama se desenrolava.
Aqui vemos com mais afinco a relação de Mark com os Vingadores, bem como a criação das "armas" que ele utiliza dos heróis que ficam na sua cabeça. Toda essa dinâmica dos 3 heróis na cabeça de Mark, mais ele, da uma fluidez na trama e uma condução bem boa das lutas.
Com base na tradicional maluquice do Cavaleiro da Lua, é padrão que suas histórias trabalhem com suas diversas personalidades, mas destaco que o Bendis foi criativo e trabalhou muito bem essa questão, misturando outros heróis e dando diferentes pontos de vista e morais conforme a trama se desenrolava.
February 5, 2022
The conclusion of the Bendis Moon Knight series.
Well, first off, I hate how they made Echo hot as hell and then
Much like the first volume, while I didn't hate it, I just didn't think it was that great. The whole Moon Knight split personality thing was interesting, but now that hes using Wolverine, Spider-Man and Captain America as his personalities its just a little annoying.
Overall the Maleev art is still good, and the story isn't bad, just a bit underwhelming. For die hard Bendis/Maleev or Moon Knight fans only.
Well, first off, I hate how they made Echo hot as hell and then
Much like the first volume, while I didn't hate it, I just didn't think it was that great. The whole Moon Knight split personality thing was interesting, but now that hes using Wolverine, Spider-Man and Captain America as his personalities its just a little annoying.
Overall the Maleev art is still good, and the story isn't bad, just a bit underwhelming. For die hard Bendis/Maleev or Moon Knight fans only.
July 16, 2013
.
Awesome!
!!!
Awesome!
!!!
March 16, 2022
2022 (releitura) - ⭐*4
2012 (1ª leitura) - ⭐*4
2012 (1ª leitura) - ⭐*4
April 1, 2021
Y como se veía venir desde que arrancó la colección, aquí llega el apresurado final de la serie, que probablemente vendiera mucho menos de lo esperado. Al menos no dejaron que pasara a ese extraño limbo de las colecciones alargadas de más, con bailes de dibujantes y todas esas cosas, así que se mantuvo con Bendis y Maleev, tal y como había comenzado.
Este tomo es corto, cinco números apenas, y argumentalmente sí que están un poco alargados, la verdad. La historia continúa exactamente donde quedó en el tomo anterior, con un Caballero Luna enfrentado al Conde Nefaria mientras va perdiendo la cabeza en esa particular nueva enfermedad mental suya que le hace escuchar las voces de Spiderman, Lobezno y el Capitán América, y en este tomo, Bendis lo lleva un paso más allá, con Spector consiguiéndose unas garras, un escudo y unos lanzarredes para hacer frente a Nefaria, que a nivel de poder está muy por encima de él. Y en esta confrontación van a intervenir tanto Eco como Madame Máscara, cada una apoyando a uno de los dos enfrentados. Y sí, entra Madame Máscara... pero realmente, lo único que hace es alargar en un número más una historia que ya estaba abocada a un final precipitado.
En fin, no es nada brillante, no es nada del otro jueves, el Caballero Luna mola... pero la versión de Bendis no demasiado.
Este tomo es corto, cinco números apenas, y argumentalmente sí que están un poco alargados, la verdad. La historia continúa exactamente donde quedó en el tomo anterior, con un Caballero Luna enfrentado al Conde Nefaria mientras va perdiendo la cabeza en esa particular nueva enfermedad mental suya que le hace escuchar las voces de Spiderman, Lobezno y el Capitán América, y en este tomo, Bendis lo lleva un paso más allá, con Spector consiguiéndose unas garras, un escudo y unos lanzarredes para hacer frente a Nefaria, que a nivel de poder está muy por encima de él. Y en esta confrontación van a intervenir tanto Eco como Madame Máscara, cada una apoyando a uno de los dos enfrentados. Y sí, entra Madame Máscara... pero realmente, lo único que hace es alargar en un número más una historia que ya estaba abocada a un final precipitado.
En fin, no es nada brillante, no es nada del otro jueves, el Caballero Luna mola... pero la versión de Bendis no demasiado.
March 26, 2022
I accidentally deleted my review before finishing so this just fills me with more salt.
Wow, a woman dying for man pain, in my comic book?? This has never been seen before ugh just so original!!! Absolute waste of a great character and for what? The same shit that's been done since the beginning of fucking time?
Like the first volume this has Moon Knight having Captain America, Spider-man, Wolverine as his alters. It was a whole thing where he was getting a shield, web shooters, and claws and that's cool but stop that. The energy shield was pretty cool though but idk, make it a moon instead of discount Cap shield. Legit so annoying other heroes are his alters like we get no Mr Knight, or even the other guys. For me it felt like he didn't get to be fully Moon Knight and was just being a crazy copycat. Loved his sass and hated everything else.
I didn't hate the art as much this time but that is really the only good thing I can say about this.
The plot was just bad guy gets Ultron head, bad guy kills one of the few female characters oh darn. Then the Avengers come in and save the day but stay tuned for robot apocalypse in random other comic.
Wow, a woman dying for man pain, in my comic book?? This has never been seen before ugh just so original!!! Absolute waste of a great character and for what? The same shit that's been done since the beginning of fucking time?
Like the first volume this has Moon Knight having Captain America, Spider-man, Wolverine as his alters. It was a whole thing where he was getting a shield, web shooters, and claws and that's cool but stop that. The energy shield was pretty cool though but idk, make it a moon instead of discount Cap shield. Legit so annoying other heroes are his alters like we get no Mr Knight, or even the other guys. For me it felt like he didn't get to be fully Moon Knight and was just being a crazy copycat. Loved his sass and hated everything else.
I didn't hate the art as much this time but that is really the only good thing I can say about this.
The plot was just bad guy gets Ultron head, bad guy kills one of the few female characters oh darn. Then the Avengers come in and save the day but stay tuned for robot apocalypse in random other comic.
January 20, 2023
Same as I said for the last volume. Pretty art, it’s fun seeing Marc talk to his idea of what ‘proper’ super heroes are like, and it’s honestly fun seeing how he talks to said heroes for real too.
But the characterisation often feels very corny and banter-filled in a way which fits Moon Knight really poorly. And the characterisation of the few women in the book, though somewhat better, is still really stilted and kind of sexist, and the killing off of Echo in a book which isn’t her own, isn’t a big event or even in a story which has much to do with her, felt very cheap and disposable.
But the characterisation often feels very corny and banter-filled in a way which fits Moon Knight really poorly. And the characterisation of the few women in the book, though somewhat better, is still really stilted and kind of sexist, and the killing off of Echo in a book which isn’t her own, isn’t a big event or even in a story which has much to do with her, felt very cheap and disposable.
March 17, 2020
Moon Knight be crazy! But this was a fun quick read, which is amazing for a Bendis book
February 9, 2022
I don't love everything about how this played out, but it keeps a lot of the momentum from Vol. 1 going as it wraps up Moon Knight's newest adventures in Hollywood and heroism.
August 23, 2012
Moon Knight is a character that I remember along with all of the other forgotten heroes like Darkhawk. And like Darkhawk, I loved him to death. I always loved the books on the fringes, the ones that seemed like they were always a month away from being cancelled. They always seemed to be able to go where they wanted and do as they pleased because they had little to no effect on the rest of the Marvel U. It wasn't like they were tied into the Avengers or X books and had to keep up with all of the loose threads each month. Instead, they were books that just got by on their own. For a while, at least.
Marvel tried revamping Moon Knight around 2006(?) or so, around Civil War. I wasn't involved with the world of comics at the time, but I've read the arcs. I liked them well enough, because it was still a fairly fringe book. Cancelled again and revamped and cancelled, it seemed like Marvel wanted to make MK work. In the end, they tried the only thing they knew would sell books- put Bendis and Maleev on it.
Bendis' MK work is probably my favorite book he's worked on in the last 4 years. It makes Spector a schizophrenic, but takes away the sheer brutality of his persona. It also injected humor, real humor, and removed the camp of Charlie Huston's run. I don't know that I agreed with the choice of villain, but the story is obviously going to be leading in to a much larger crossover event sometime in the future. No one introduces an artifact like this without it being the beginning of something much bigger.
All in all, the book was still cancelled after issue 12 and will most likely shelve the character altogether, unless we see him in Avengers books here and there. Like maybe Secret Avengers, Rick Remender, please please please?
As far as Maleev goes, the man is just phoning it in. There's a big difference between keeping to your style and just going by rote. Like I've criticized Sean Phillips before, it seems like he is just far too comfortable pumping out the same panels, the same shaded tones and the same computerized post production finishes. If not for a great colorist, it would've been an eye-rolling ride the entire way, asking, "are we there yet?"
Writing: B-
Art: C
Marvel tried revamping Moon Knight around 2006(?) or so, around Civil War. I wasn't involved with the world of comics at the time, but I've read the arcs. I liked them well enough, because it was still a fairly fringe book. Cancelled again and revamped and cancelled, it seemed like Marvel wanted to make MK work. In the end, they tried the only thing they knew would sell books- put Bendis and Maleev on it.
Bendis' MK work is probably my favorite book he's worked on in the last 4 years. It makes Spector a schizophrenic, but takes away the sheer brutality of his persona. It also injected humor, real humor, and removed the camp of Charlie Huston's run. I don't know that I agreed with the choice of villain, but the story is obviously going to be leading in to a much larger crossover event sometime in the future. No one introduces an artifact like this without it being the beginning of something much bigger.
All in all, the book was still cancelled after issue 12 and will most likely shelve the character altogether, unless we see him in Avengers books here and there. Like maybe Secret Avengers, Rick Remender, please please please?
As far as Maleev goes, the man is just phoning it in. There's a big difference between keeping to your style and just going by rote. Like I've criticized Sean Phillips before, it seems like he is just far too comfortable pumping out the same panels, the same shaded tones and the same computerized post production finishes. If not for a great colorist, it would've been an eye-rolling ride the entire way, asking, "are we there yet?"
Writing: B-
Art: C
October 30, 2015
Very disappointing, especially given the start of the first volume.
One problem is the book itself, which is incredibly slight--collecting the remainder of the run, issues 8-12--but which is priced like any other Marvel TPB.
The art is another problem. I understand the book was going for a fuzzy, surrealistic--for lack of a better word--feel--but the idea was taken too far. Faces became hard to see and it was unclear why the characters assumed the position that they did.
Then there was the story. The scripting was all right, although Bendis relied too much on blurred out curse words. Otherwise, though, there was a lot of laziness--it felt as rushed as the art. How many times does the hero's lady love have to de to facilitate the spiritual growth of the here? Infinity is the answer, I guess. Here, Echo needlessly dies and then literally aids in Moon Knight's spiritual evolution by becoming one of the voices in his head--a reasonable voice, replacing Spider Man.
Indeed, I was skeeved out by the use of women's body in the book. The first volume relied too much on cheesecake; this one on helpless women. The first scene has Moon Knight laying an unconscious woman across the hood of a car as some kind of a gift for a police officer. Echo is killed. Lady Masque is beaten and stripped. Just ugly, unnecessary stuff.
The same villain recurs here as in the earlier volume, but he never seems very threatening, even as he does kill Echo. (Her death seemed predetermined.) Everyone keeps saying how awful he is, but he is beaten relatively easily three different times. Moon Knight is never really stressed as a character--his money provides him all the weapons he needs--except when Echo is killed, and that just gives him a chance to go crazy, as is the usual case in stories such as this.
Bendis also does not really think through the universe he is creating. People seem confused that there are real Werewolves, and that Moon Knight might know them--but this is the Marvel universe. Of course there are Werewolves. The LAPD seems surprised by the presence of superheroes, as if big cities would not have procedures in place.
All in all, just a mess, an unfortunate ending to a well-begun story.
One problem is the book itself, which is incredibly slight--collecting the remainder of the run, issues 8-12--but which is priced like any other Marvel TPB.
The art is another problem. I understand the book was going for a fuzzy, surrealistic--for lack of a better word--feel--but the idea was taken too far. Faces became hard to see and it was unclear why the characters assumed the position that they did.
Then there was the story. The scripting was all right, although Bendis relied too much on blurred out curse words. Otherwise, though, there was a lot of laziness--it felt as rushed as the art. How many times does the hero's lady love have to de to facilitate the spiritual growth of the here? Infinity is the answer, I guess. Here, Echo needlessly dies and then literally aids in Moon Knight's spiritual evolution by becoming one of the voices in his head--a reasonable voice, replacing Spider Man.
Indeed, I was skeeved out by the use of women's body in the book. The first volume relied too much on cheesecake; this one on helpless women. The first scene has Moon Knight laying an unconscious woman across the hood of a car as some kind of a gift for a police officer. Echo is killed. Lady Masque is beaten and stripped. Just ugly, unnecessary stuff.
The same villain recurs here as in the earlier volume, but he never seems very threatening, even as he does kill Echo. (Her death seemed predetermined.) Everyone keeps saying how awful he is, but he is beaten relatively easily three different times. Moon Knight is never really stressed as a character--his money provides him all the weapons he needs--except when Echo is killed, and that just gives him a chance to go crazy, as is the usual case in stories such as this.
Bendis also does not really think through the universe he is creating. People seem confused that there are real Werewolves, and that Moon Knight might know them--but this is the Marvel universe. Of course there are Werewolves. The LAPD seems surprised by the presence of superheroes, as if big cities would not have procedures in place.
All in all, just a mess, an unfortunate ending to a well-begun story.
January 17, 2020
This arc didn't suck as much, so I'm glad I decided to read it. Also it's shorter, like the first one should have been. It's a good ending for the Ultron head case and has some cool fights, but I still wouldn't recommend it to anybody.
Count Nefaria is the kingpin of crime in LA. Marc gives detective Paul Hall evidence about Nefaria's dealings, but his captain wants to pass the case to the FBI. This makes Hall believe that his captain wants the case covered up.
Marc and Echo hit Nefaria's criminal empire until they draw him out. Because he's vexed...
Count Nefaria is the kingpin of crime in LA. Marc gives detective Paul Hall evidence about Nefaria's dealings, but his captain wants to pass the case to the FBI. This makes Hall believe that his captain wants the case covered up.
Marc and Echo hit Nefaria's criminal empire until they draw him out. Because he's vexed...
July 24, 2015
After rereading Moon Knight Volume One on Marvel Unlimited, I finally got to finish Bendis and Maleev's run on this title and I have to say, this short series is underrated. It is no secret that I love Bendis and Maleev and I think they bring some interesting and different ideas to this book. Moon Knight isn't as much of a crime book as some of Bendis's work, but it still reminds me of Daredevil to an extent because both are vigilantes and the police play a role in both plots. It is impressive how he takes the idea of Moon Knight hearing voices and makes it believable and not nearly as ridiculous as it should be. There are some clever moments in the dialogue as well. Best of all, there are also some things that happen in this volume that are genuinely surprising and kind of moving which many superhero titles lack. Maleev's art is fairly good in this series and is a little brighter and more colorful because of its Los Angeles location than some of his other work. Moon Knight is just a really cool looking superhero as well. Maybe Moon Knight is not for everyone, but I really enjoyed it and I am thinking about purchasing these two volumes to add them to my shelf.
July 7, 2016
Vol 2 wraps up a nice little run on Moon Knight for Brian Michael Bendis.
This is a cat and mouse story about a guy who is in over his head and out of his mind against a villain (THOR-level) he had no business dealing with, and where one of his primary sources of help comes from an imagined trio of Marvel's best A-listers. There's some dark humor to be had, but the consequences for Moon Knight here are very real, both in the micro and macro of his universe.
This is a character prime for a long run on a book.
This is a cat and mouse story about a guy who is in over his head and out of his mind against a villain (THOR-level) he had no business dealing with, and where one of his primary sources of help comes from an imagined trio of Marvel's best A-listers. There's some dark humor to be had, but the consequences for Moon Knight here are very real, both in the micro and macro of his universe.
This is a character prime for a long run on a book.
June 7, 2014
As I said in my review of Vol. 1, I was a big Moon Knight fan in the 1970's.
I'm not thrilled with this "Take" on Moon Knight....The Spider-Man/Captain America/Wolverine gimmick gets old fast for me.
I did enjoy the supporting characters-Echo, Count Nefaria(and his daughter)
Not crazy about the art either...
I'm not thrilled with this "Take" on Moon Knight....The Spider-Man/Captain America/Wolverine gimmick gets old fast for me.
I did enjoy the supporting characters-Echo, Count Nefaria(and his daughter)
Not crazy about the art either...
February 20, 2013
Crazy good fun.
July 19, 2014
It's too bad this series ended so suddenly. Definitely felt like Bendis had something bigger planned. Still entertaining to watch Moon Knight's personalities take over his fighting style.
July 10, 2018
I like Brian Michael Bendis. He's kind of like the Joss Whedon of superhero comics. He writes snappy dialogue, he sets up fun action sequences, and despite being a straight white man, he frequently casts from underrepresented groups. He (along with artist Michael Gaydos) was responsible for Jessica Jones as we know her now. With artist Sara Pichelli, he created Miles Morales (the "ultimate" Spider-Man). He was responsible for Bobby Drake (Iceman) coming out of the closet.
But Bendis drops the ball HARD in the second volume. (I'll talk more later after a spoiler warning.)
It starts out pretty good. Marc Spector (Moon Knight) has a long and weird history, and I think this is the sixth time someone's attempted a solo run for the character. Spector has that bizarre comic-book version of multiple personality disorder, where his various personalities mostly just hang out and kibitz (give unwanted advice) at the main personality. Bendis takes this and runs with it in a really interesting way.
The supporting cast is lots of fun, featuring Sheoke Sanada (Snapdragon), a Japanese supervillain; Buck Lime, a former SHIELD agent; and Maya Lopez (Echo), a deaf supervillain. I like this version of Snapdragon, who is clearly in this for the money, and has an interesting relationship with her mysterious boss who is a more traditional take-over-the-world supervillain. Buck is loads of fun, treating his job for Moon Knight as a babysitting gig instead of as his weapons supplier. I like how Maya's deafness is handled. It's not one of those superhero "disabilities" that is basically undone by superpowers. (Daredevil's "radar" basically lets him see, and Flash Thompson can walk just fine with the Venom symbiont.) But it's also not a major weakness. The only time it really becomes an issue is when Moon Knight keeps trying to talk to her with his mask on.
Alex Maleev's art is a mixed bag. Sometimes it looks absolutely gorgeous, with bonus points for not being the traditional Marvel house style. But in some pages, the action is a little hard to follow.
MINOR SPOILERS:
The main "personalities" in this run are Moon Knight's imaginary versions of Captain America, Spider-Man, and Wolverine. They sort of function as a triumvirate conscience for MK, and he clearly looks up to all three of them, going so far as to get Buck to create him a shield, web shooters, and claws. Imaginary Cap, Spidey, and Wolverine are over-the-top versions of the characters, the way MK views them, as role models or dare I say... heroes? These interactions bear little resemblance to actual mental illness, but they function as a fascinating window into Marc Spector's mind. Sometimes they are in agreement, and MK's actions are confident and usually effective. But when they start to argue, MK can start acting rashly or stupidly, or just inappropriately. Bendis likes flawed heroes, and this version of Spector is definitely flawed. He acts like a rich spoiled Hollywood celebrity because he thinks that's how he's supposed to act. He's arrogant enough to think that the world needs him to save it (he might be right, since this is the Marvel universe), but he's insecure enough that he isn't sure exactly how to go about this. The three role models in his head are this confusion writ large. And even with his three-way conscience, he still makes some really bad decisions.
At one point, he totally gets his ass handed to him for kissing someone without asking first, even though she was sending (subtle) signals that she liked him. The following issue undercuts this a little, as they both apologize, but her apology for sending mixed signals is given more weight than his. But I can forgive that much. Most writers would either have her immediately kiss him back (maybe even right after punching him, ugh), or it would be a case where she didn't like him at all and he was just being an idiot and a jackass. The latter is fine, if a bit clichéd by now, but I think it actually sends a *stronger* message to punish a character for acting without permission even in the presence of positive, but not explicit cues.
But this isn't the big problem.
MAJOR SPOILER:
The big problem is that Bendis unceremoniously kills Maya off, primarily as a reason for Marc to become completely unhinged. Worse, it happens close to the end of the run, so any impact the tragedy has is completely undercut by the "happyish" ending. Normally, I'm not one to let one stupid plot point completely overshadow all the good stuff, but frankly, there's just not enough good stuff in the rest of the run to make up for it. I might be able to forgive it if they completely undid the death in the next issue (these are superhero comics after all). I'd still be annoyed by the cheap ploy, but the character of Maya Lopez deserves better as a character.
I like Bendis a lot, but this was not his finest work.
But Bendis drops the ball HARD in the second volume. (I'll talk more later after a spoiler warning.)
It starts out pretty good. Marc Spector (Moon Knight) has a long and weird history, and I think this is the sixth time someone's attempted a solo run for the character. Spector has that bizarre comic-book version of multiple personality disorder, where his various personalities mostly just hang out and kibitz (give unwanted advice) at the main personality. Bendis takes this and runs with it in a really interesting way.
The supporting cast is lots of fun, featuring Sheoke Sanada (Snapdragon), a Japanese supervillain; Buck Lime, a former SHIELD agent; and Maya Lopez (Echo), a deaf supervillain. I like this version of Snapdragon, who is clearly in this for the money, and has an interesting relationship with her mysterious boss who is a more traditional take-over-the-world supervillain. Buck is loads of fun, treating his job for Moon Knight as a babysitting gig instead of as his weapons supplier. I like how Maya's deafness is handled. It's not one of those superhero "disabilities" that is basically undone by superpowers. (Daredevil's "radar" basically lets him see, and Flash Thompson can walk just fine with the Venom symbiont.) But it's also not a major weakness. The only time it really becomes an issue is when Moon Knight keeps trying to talk to her with his mask on.
Alex Maleev's art is a mixed bag. Sometimes it looks absolutely gorgeous, with bonus points for not being the traditional Marvel house style. But in some pages, the action is a little hard to follow.
MINOR SPOILERS:
The main "personalities" in this run are Moon Knight's imaginary versions of Captain America, Spider-Man, and Wolverine. They sort of function as a triumvirate conscience for MK, and he clearly looks up to all three of them, going so far as to get Buck to create him a shield, web shooters, and claws. Imaginary Cap, Spidey, and Wolverine are over-the-top versions of the characters, the way MK views them, as role models or dare I say... heroes? These interactions bear little resemblance to actual mental illness, but they function as a fascinating window into Marc Spector's mind. Sometimes they are in agreement, and MK's actions are confident and usually effective. But when they start to argue, MK can start acting rashly or stupidly, or just inappropriately. Bendis likes flawed heroes, and this version of Spector is definitely flawed. He acts like a rich spoiled Hollywood celebrity because he thinks that's how he's supposed to act. He's arrogant enough to think that the world needs him to save it (he might be right, since this is the Marvel universe), but he's insecure enough that he isn't sure exactly how to go about this. The three role models in his head are this confusion writ large. And even with his three-way conscience, he still makes some really bad decisions.
At one point, he totally gets his ass handed to him for kissing someone without asking first, even though she was sending (subtle) signals that she liked him. The following issue undercuts this a little, as they both apologize, but her apology for sending mixed signals is given more weight than his. But I can forgive that much. Most writers would either have her immediately kiss him back (maybe even right after punching him, ugh), or it would be a case where she didn't like him at all and he was just being an idiot and a jackass. The latter is fine, if a bit clichéd by now, but I think it actually sends a *stronger* message to punish a character for acting without permission even in the presence of positive, but not explicit cues.
But this isn't the big problem.
MAJOR SPOILER:
The big problem is that Bendis unceremoniously kills Maya off, primarily as a reason for Marc to become completely unhinged. Worse, it happens close to the end of the run, so any impact the tragedy has is completely undercut by the "happyish" ending. Normally, I'm not one to let one stupid plot point completely overshadow all the good stuff, but frankly, there's just not enough good stuff in the rest of the run to make up for it. I might be able to forgive it if they completely undid the death in the next issue (these are superhero comics after all). I'd still be annoyed by the cheap ploy, but the character of Maya Lopez deserves better as a character.
I like Bendis a lot, but this was not his finest work.
April 12, 2021
I really didn't enjoy this conclusion, especially because Echo is promptly killed off - and Bendis, you *chose* to kill off the only deaf and Native American woman superhero in existence, so it should probably be for a damn good reason! Nope, it serves no other purpose than for Marc's growth. (We don't see a funeral according to her tribe, none of her Avengers friends and family mourning her - even though she called Mockingbird in the first arc - literally nothing. She's just added to Marc's voices in his head.) Moon Knight's face off with Count Nefaria didn't wow me (possibly because Nefaria has zero percent wow factor in my book), and the Avengers taking care of business took the air out of the final fight.
The final pages basically meant that this was all a setup for the "Age of Ultron" event, which is...disappointing. If Bendis didn't have to shoehorn in Ultron, he could have done a much better Daredevil treatment of Moon Knight.
But he also completely forgets about Marc's Jewishness and again, kills Echo for reasons that feel very reminiscent of Batman: The Killing Joke and those are not the kind of Alan More comparisons you want. Blech. This was on the verge of becoming my favorite MK run, but for now, it stays with the Lemire & Smallwood series.
The final pages basically meant that this was all a setup for the "Age of Ultron" event, which is...disappointing. If Bendis didn't have to shoehorn in Ultron, he could have done a much better Daredevil treatment of Moon Knight.
But he also completely forgets about Marc's Jewishness and again, kills Echo for reasons that feel very reminiscent of Batman: The Killing Joke and those are not the kind of Alan More comparisons you want. Blech. This was on the verge of becoming my favorite MK run, but for now, it stays with the Lemire & Smallwood series.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 10, 2018
[Reading the oversized hardcover, but reviewing each arc separately - my thoughts on the run as a whole near the end]
Wow, they really dropped the ball on this second arc! More bad dialogue, no funny or meta stuff this time to redeem it. The Echo stuff was REALLY forced and the climax of her arc in this was straight up trash. It just felt shallow and flat, no emotional weight whatsoever. I don't know why Bendis wrote MK as if he loved her when he knew her for a couple of weeks (I guess it gets explained away with "HE'S CRAZY" like everything else in the series). While the plot in the first half was nothing great, at least we got to see a more classic MK investigating and outwitting villains. This time all of that is thrown out the window in favor of action. Action which isn't even good. Even Alex Maleev (whom I otherwise love) dropped the ball big time. The action scenes had no semblance of choreography or pacing, the panels didn't flow well, and it was unclear what was even happening in some panels. Bendis' scripting went full Michael Bay with no semblance of thought put into the story. Absolutely no reasoning was ever given to why Marc has those characters in his head, even more insensitive "crazy boy" jokes, and nonsensical plot developments. 5/10 for this arc. It's only not lower because the art is good outside of the action scenes.
Overall I'd rate this run a 6/10. First arc was at least fun, but the second arc was painful. Art was the main saving grace, but even that was iffy at times. If this wasn't easy to read and pretty to look at, I'd rate it even lower.
PS: Why the absolute fuck did Maleev design those big crescent sickles? They weren't use ONCE.
Wow, they really dropped the ball on this second arc! More bad dialogue, no funny or meta stuff this time to redeem it. The Echo stuff was REALLY forced and the climax of her arc in this was straight up trash. It just felt shallow and flat, no emotional weight whatsoever. I don't know why Bendis wrote MK as if he loved her when he knew her for a couple of weeks (I guess it gets explained away with "HE'S CRAZY" like everything else in the series). While the plot in the first half was nothing great, at least we got to see a more classic MK investigating and outwitting villains. This time all of that is thrown out the window in favor of action. Action which isn't even good. Even Alex Maleev (whom I otherwise love) dropped the ball big time. The action scenes had no semblance of choreography or pacing, the panels didn't flow well, and it was unclear what was even happening in some panels. Bendis' scripting went full Michael Bay with no semblance of thought put into the story. Absolutely no reasoning was ever given to why Marc has those characters in his head, even more insensitive "crazy boy" jokes, and nonsensical plot developments. 5/10 for this arc. It's only not lower because the art is good outside of the action scenes.
Overall I'd rate this run a 6/10. First arc was at least fun, but the second arc was painful. Art was the main saving grace, but even that was iffy at times. If this wasn't easy to read and pretty to look at, I'd rate it even lower.
PS: Why the absolute fuck did Maleev design those big crescent sickles? They weren't use ONCE.
May 27, 2021
I really enjoyed this version of Moon Knight. It definitely gave me a way better feel for the character, and I was able to connect with Marc Spector despite his lunacy. The story arc is great, it's fairly contained in it's own little universe, and it resolves after the 12 issues. I'm definitely going to read more Moon Knight (starting with Moon Knight, Vol. 1: From the Dead, which is apparently some of the best work), but I think that Moon Knight, by Brian Michael Bendis & Alex Maleev, Volume 1 is a good place to start with the character.
November 10, 2016
Maybe it's because I was getting tired, maybe it's because I read volumes 1 & 2 in virtually one sitting, but this one didn't do it for me as much as the first half. I miss Echo. Nefaria isn't a very cool villain. The gear he gets kitted up with feels a bit overpowered. &, this last one I can probably concede is the tiredness, I didn't laugh as much (though I did laugh). Actually, when I look at the things I loved most about the first volume, they really are missing - for instance, early on in the volume, his psychotic episodes get forced into taking a different turn, so now I'm down those AND the Echo connection. Anyway, it ties everything up I guess, & that last scene is a nice touch. Still G to me!
June 5, 2022
This book was certainly grim and gritty with Moon Knight's unique mental state becoming both a boon and a complication in this ongoing effort to thwart Count Nefaria. It's a very interesting character study and I can appreciate what Bendis was trying to accomplish here.
The final confrontation of sorts was okay but a wee bit underwhelming considering the build-up and the potential stakes. But I wouldn't have minded had this story been pushed further or allowed to run longer, even if just for at least another volume. And it's not like we get a full resolution as to these specific hallucinations/voices in his head and why it had to be Captain America, Spider-Man and Wolverine and eventually Echo?
We're all haunted by different things, I suppose.
The final confrontation of sorts was okay but a wee bit underwhelming considering the build-up and the potential stakes. But I wouldn't have minded had this story been pushed further or allowed to run longer, even if just for at least another volume. And it's not like we get a full resolution as to these specific hallucinations/voices in his head and why it had to be Captain America, Spider-Man and Wolverine and eventually Echo?
We're all haunted by different things, I suppose.
September 9, 2025
Definitely an overhated run, just like it's nice seeing stories where Mark is definitely a supernatural dude or where it's ambiguous, it's also nice seeing stories where it's clear he is undoubtedly mentally ill and there's nothing supernatural around to see.
Honestly, it was nice seeing a run focused on the fact he has schizophrenia, even if it was far from an accurate portrayal of the condition, since it's still better than it not appearing at all. I mean, yeah, Mark has brain damage and suffers from a lot of self-loathing, but he also has schizophrenia, and I like it when stories explore that too.
Honestly, it was nice seeing a run focused on the fact he has schizophrenia, even if it was far from an accurate portrayal of the condition, since it's still better than it not appearing at all. I mean, yeah, Mark has brain damage and suffers from a lot of self-loathing, but he also has schizophrenia, and I like it when stories explore that too.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 79 reviews