Marvel: Moon Knight is dead, long live Reese
By Mark Lynch
It was announced earlier this year that Moon Knight was going to die. If you're a fan of Marc Spector, then you know he's died before. He's usually resurrected by his god, Khonshu or one of his personalities takes over. However, in issue 19 of Jed MacKay's Moon Knight, readers learn Khonshu can't bring his avatars back to life. That took Marc's safety net away. Nevertheless, no one believed Marc would die. Issue No. 30 proved everyone wrong.
The Black Spectre teamed with Zodiac to drive New York crazy. Issue No. 29 revealed that a former ally of Marc (Robert Plesko) was the Black Spectre. Instead of killing Moon Knight when he had the chance, Plesko left his rival to die. With his last bit of strength, Marc's personalities Jake Lockley and Steven Grant pushed him to stop Plesko’s device. Unfortunately, the explosion that stopped the weapon killed Moon Knight.
A lot of people may be shocked that Marc Spector didn’t survive. He’s been killed before, but it never sticks. This time, it did. Sure, there’s no way that he won’t return at some point. It will probably coincide with Marvel Studios bringing the character back for an upcoming project. For now, it appears he’ll be replaced with the first woman to be the Avatar of Khonshu as Reese runs the Midnight Mission.
Before Marc embarked on his last mission, he told Reese that she couldn't join him. He says that if something happens to him, he needs her to run the Midnight Mission. On the very last page of Moon Knight No. 30, she does exactly that. Reese is sitting in Marc’s former seat with Dr. Badr (Hunter’s Moon) Tigra, Soldier, and 8-Ball standing behind her.
It’s not guaranteed that Reese is the next Moon Knight, but the visual can’t be ignored. Not just the last page of the issue. There’s a reason Jed MacKay introduced Reese in Moon Knight No. 1. He likely planned on making her important to Marc. He definitely succeeded in doing so.
Sure, Hunter’s Moon may be more qualified, but Reese is the better character. She's someone that Marvel can build a franchise around in comics and maybe in their cinematic universe too. People love Moon Knight and vampires. Combining the two is definitely a money maker.
Stay tuned to Bam Smack Pow to find out what's next for Reese and Midnight Mission in Marvel Comics.