Moon Knight’s Marvel Cinematic Universe connections

After Disney Plus’ first four Marvel Cinematic Universe series continue the stories of established characters, Moon Knight is the first show that introduces a new hero.

Moon Knight is the most disconnected MCU Disney Plus show thus far and there are two overriding reasons for that. Primarily, all the protagonists and antagonists have never before appeared in a Marvel movie or show. They have not directly interacted with other heroes or villains and do not even mention any of them by name. Secondly, the plot takes place mainly in Egypt, with some scenes in England. Egypt, in particular, is a part of the world that has not previously been explored in the franchise. Since almost all of the Avengers operate out of America, this explains why Moon Knight would not be rubbing elbows with Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.

However, this is still a Marvel Studios production, and it does inhabit the Marvel Cinematic Universe, so we can take a look at any links that do exist, as subtle as they may be.

We can start with a little foreshadowing in the first episode, when a store in the London background is called Atlantis. So far, Atlantis was hinted at in Iron Man 2 when Fury’s map pinpoints key locations around the world, such as Wakanda, in Africa, and one dot in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Then, during Black Widow’s Avenger briefing in Avengers: Endgame, Okoye notes underwater earthquakes – could they be originating in Atlantis? So, with this latest Easter Egg literally spelling out the name of the Sub-Mariner’s home, could we be all the closer to Namor’s first MCU appearance?

In the second episode, there is an advertisement on the side of a double-decker bus for the GRC. That stands for the Global Repatriation Council, which was featured in the Disney Plus series, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. This is the controversial organization that managed the effort to transport displaced refugees that returned from the blip.

Another equivocal connection in Moon Knight is the focus on Ennead Egyptian gods. Of course we have encountered “godlike” characters before; the most obvious is Thor and his kin from Asgard. Then the Eternals were also viewed similarly in mythology. Could the Egyptian gods of old somehow link to the history of the Eternals?

When Arthur Harrow summons the powers of the banished god Ammit, his sorcery manifests a purple energy, which is similar to Agatha Harkness’ dark magic in WandaVision. Marvel fans know better than to think it a coincidence that both Harrow and Harkness conjure a purple hued magical power for their evildoings.

In the third episode, the Egyptian gods hold a meeting to determine whether or not to heed Khonshu’s pleas. While we have not been introduced to these specific gods in precursory MCU content, their congregation is reminiscent of the Eternals, who themselves could be thought of as deities to some. After thousands of years of working together, the Eternals break off into different directions, but can also reunite when there is a worthy cause. The Egyptian gods in Moon Knight convene this way as well.

Also in the third episode, we meet Midnight Man, who Layla had prior business with in Madripoor. The city’s name is briefly mentioned, however it may sound familiar to those who watched The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. This is where the super soldier serum was being secretly re-commissioned by the Power Broker, a.k.a. Sharon Carter.

After Moon Knight is shot by Harrow, Tawaret, the hippo goddess, explains to Marc and Steven that the asylum is their version of a road to the afterlife. She clarifies that there are many forms of this post-mortem state, giving the example of the Ancestral Plane as a gorgeous looking one. The Ancestral Plane is where the Black Panthers reside once they move beyond the physical world. T’Challa speaks with his father’s spirit there in the Black Panther movie.

In the Moon Knight concluding chapter, Khonshu, Moon Knight, and Layla (who transforms into a version of Scarlet Scarab) struggle to defeat Harrow and mega-Ammit. The method in which Ammit sucks up the souls around her is not unlike the Dweller in Darkness from Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. They do have different motives, since the creature from Ta Lo is a soul eating dragon, while Ammit claims to be judging (or actually pre-judging) her victims if they fall on the wrong side of the scale. Regardless, the visual style in which they both consume souls is not accidentally comparable.

Moon Knight stands as one of the MCU’s more singular entities. The season ends with the big reveal of Marc and Steven’s deadly third counterpart, Jake. This confirms that we clearly are not done with Moon Knight and his various personas. Whether it is through a second season, a standalone movie, or Oscar Isaac reprising the role in other MCU content, it will be increasingly likely that the hero will begin to build more bridges to the larger universe as he carries on with his journey.

Do you think Moon Knight should continue to isolate from the rest of the Marvel Cinematic Universe or would you be excited for him to team-up with the Avengers?