Um, actually I'm not that sick. Not even sick enough to not blog. I just wanted to be the first one to use that one for this, from Moon Knight #6, "The Bottom, Chapter 6" Written by Charlie Huston, pencilled by David Finch, inked by Danny Miki and Crimelab Studios. Y'know, I was thinking this was Moon Knight volume 4; but let's see: the original series, the Fist of Khonshu, the late 80's/early 90's version, this one...and then there's two limited series and at least one one-shot (with Shang-Chi!). So, volume 7?
I'm looking forward to putting all six chapters together and reading "The Bottom" straight through, although I just read and reread #6 because a couple parts were a little unclear, like the above vomiting. Also, Huston's Taskmaster isn't the same guy that was in Gail Simone's Deadpool/Agent X: that Taskmaster was hardcore, if a bit of a douchebag. Of course, Simone's Taskmaster was different than Christopher Priest's, which was different than Joe Kelly's...so you can't fault Huston for that: Taskmaster's that bad guy with the copycat reflexes, and anything else you need him to do to fit in the plot, whether it's self-esteem issues or a Spice Girls habit or a complete lack of identity.
That last one, which I recall from a Chichester issue of Daredevil back in the day, could explain all of that in continuity: Taskmaster could change personalities almost as quickly as he changes fighting styles...
Back to Huston's Moon Knight, the position on Khonshu--whether he is an actual deity or Spector's delusion--is made pretty clear. Maybe. In the original Doug Moench issues, it seems like Khonshu is no more or less real than anyone else's god, but Spector believes, and his faith gives him power. For someone who's just shy of being a godless heathen, that's an unusual concept, and would be difficult if not impossible to pull off if Spector had been Christian, or even Jewish. I'm not sure where they established he was Jewish, but that's in there somewhere; so one of the few Jewish characters in the Marvel U. gave up his faith to become a mercenary, then worship a statue he found in a desert. Huh.
For other writers, and I'm thinking of Steve Englehart on Moon Knight's tenure on West Coast Avengers, Khonshu was a very real deity, although not one that I recall as making on-panel appearances like Thor or Hercules. Of course, these stories also said Hawkeye travelled back in time and designed the crappy weapons Moon Knight used in the "Fist of Khonshu" issues, so I could take or leave that.
So, is Khonshu real or not? It absolutely depends on who's writing this month. I personally lean towards the not camp, but Spector believes, and for believers, that's what's important. And now the pills I took are starting to take effect, so I'm off to see if I have a vision or something...
No comments:
Post a Comment