It's been a long time since Moon Knight or any of his characters have appeared on Marvel Television. It was pretty clear that Marvel Studios was placing a direct focus on the supernatural characters of the Marvel Cinematic Universe at the beginning of the Multiverse Saga through projects such as Moon Knight and Werewolf by Night but, as the franchise has had to narrow its focus ahead of Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars, there hasn't been anything on that corner of the world in years.
However, one beloved character from Moon Knight returned to Marvel TV in the most unlikely place, and it is a reminder for fans that we need to see all of those characters return in the not-too-distant future.
Moon Knight's Khonshu returns in X-Men '97 season 2
Yes, Khonshu is back on Marvel TV. The legendary Egyptian Moon God who uses Moon Knight as his Fist in the war against crime made a surprising cameo appearance in Marvel Animation's X-Men '97 season 2. The fourth episode, titled "Rise of Apocalypse: Part II", saw the X-Men attempt to stop En Sabah Nur - the first mutant who they had befriended during his time - evolve into the villain known as Apocalypse in the future.
Marvel's Mightiest Mutants know that they shouldn't mess with time itself, but Magneto thought it was worth a try considering that they were stuck in the past. And then Nur found out that they had been keeping secrets and - as villains often do - he turned on them. That led us to this episode, where the villain's ascension into his future self took place - resulting in the appearance of none other than Kang the Conqueror. However, some eagle-eyed fans also spotted the Moon God himself, Khonshu, amidst all of the statues featured in the epic conclusion of the arc.
While Khonshu was more than likely just a cameo appearance given the second season's Egyptian setting, it was a stark reminder of how much the legendary Marvel Comics character - and his avatar Moon Knight - is missed on our screens. We haven't seen the live-action version of the characters since the conclusion of the Moon Knight series in 2022, with their immediate futures unclear right now. With that in mind, the cameo was a welcome surprise here - and it's a reminder of everything that X-Men '97 is truly capable of.
Although X-Men '97 isn't considered canon to the MCU's Earth-616, Disney Plus' official MCU category does include it as part of the franchise's Multiverse Saga. That would mean that the original X-Men: The Animated Series is also, in a way, parallel to the events of the MCU (as X-Men '97 is a sequel series). And, as the revival is overseen by Marvel Studios', the cameo appearance likely wasn't just a coincidence - they were allowed to do it, meaning that the studio hasn't fully moved on from Moon Knight and its characters.
As for why Moon Knight season 2 hasn't happened (as of yet, at least), the series got caught in Marvel's restructuring of its television output, as the studio moved away from miniseries and began developing cheaer, ongoing TV shows with the potential for multiple seasons. While that included going back to that original eave and potentially renewing some of them, Moon Knight was seemingly ineligible as the MCU has much bigger, cinematic plans for the character - according to Marvel Studios' own Head of Streaming, Television, and Animation Brad Winderbaum.
Those plans are likely the long-rumored Midnight Sons movie which, according to insiders, will feature a collection of the MCU's more supernatural characters. Therefore, it's safe to assume that Moon Knight and Khonshu would be joined by Werewolf by Night and Elsa Bloodstone, Man-Thing, Blade, and perhaps even Ghost Rider when the studio pivots its focus back to them in the Mutants Era.
The Man behind Moon Knight, Marc Spector, is likely going to take issue with Khonshu when the pair surface next. Marc and his alternate personality, Steven Grant, joined forces and told Khonshu that they no longer wanted to be part of his violent mission, forcing the Moon Good to agree. However, what they didn't know was that the pair's other personality - the ruthless, vicious Jake Lockley - surrendered himself to his demands. And that made the show's haunting post-credits scene one of the most gripping of the MCU's 18-year run thus far. It would be great if Khonshu's reappearance in X-Men '97 season 2 served as the beginning of a return to the supernatural corner of the MCU.
X-Men '97 season 2 episode 4 is now streaming on Disney Plus.
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