WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Avengers #33 by Jason Aaron, Javier Garron, Jason Keith and VC's Cory Petit, available now.
Moon Knight has always been an inherently contradictory superhero. Even beyond his multiple personalities, the hero has always been connected to the enigmatic mystical being known as Khonshu and carried out his will, even when he didn't want to. This extends to his most recent actions, which have seen him attack, defeat, and seemingly steal the powers of several Avengers for a potential fight with Mephisto, one of Marvel's most wicked devils.
Now, we're taking a closer look at everything we know about Khonshu and what his battle with Mephisto could mean for the Marvel Universe.
WHO IS KHONSHU?
Within the Marvel Universe, many ancient deities have been revealed to be real forces in the universe, such as Hercules or Thor. Khonshu is one such being and one of the Celestial Heliopolis, a cache of powerful beings worshiped by the ancient Egyptians. Formerly the mentor to Horus and the rival to Seth, Khonshu's motivations have always appeared mysterious to the human eye - even once the being chose a human avatar in the form of Moon Knight.
While on assignment in the modern era, mercenary Marc Spector finds himself at an archaeological dig at a temple of Khonshu. After being left for dead by his former allies, Spector agrees to become Khonshu's disciple on Earth, eventually becoming the superhero Moon Knight. Even while actively serving as more of an independent hero, Moon Knight seems to be guided by Khonshu's designs, and he even joined the Avengers secretly at his urging so Khonshu could more easily confront Seth in a battle in Asgard that involved Moon Knight. Moon Knight would occasionally receive powers from the being, only to end up having them taken away.
Eventually, Marc turned his back on the diety and briefly he thought him to be imaginary, only to run into new conflicts and threats from the furious god. The force has chosen other avatars over the years, and alternates between seeming to actually care about Marc or considering him the ultimate expendable tool his silent battles with other deities. However, Moon Knight ultimately serves at the command of Khonshu, even when he doesn't want to or actively defies him. But what kind of threat could be so big that Khonshu would need to essentially wage war on the rest of the most powerful beings in the Marvel Universe?
As one of Marvel's chief Lords of Hell, Mephisto is usually held up as one of the most powerful single forces in all of the Marvel Universe. Mephisto gaining power is a cause for concern for any and all peoples, especially beings within the magical sphere. It makes perfect sense why Khonshu would draw his attention towards Mephisto, given how he's recently allied himself with Phil Coulson's Squadron Supreme of America and now finally appears to be calling upon an old bargain with Howard Stark. Mephisto is clearly planning something tied to the history of the Avengers, and any scheme being carried out by this devil could be problematic for whatever other plans figures like Khonshu have for the world, which might explain why Khonshu explicitly seems to be moving counter to Mephisto's plans.
The sheer level of power that Khonshu has made Moon Knight amass and wield against the Avengers speaks to the apparent threat that Mephisto presents to the world. Working with the other priests of Khonshu, Moon Knight has essentially assembled an entire army that's prepared to go to war with him. It would explain why Moon Knight is willing to attack his fellow heroes like Iron Fist and Thor to try and take their capabilities for himself, and why he's using a mysterious Ankh to seemingly absorb their powers for his use. Notably, Moon Knight mentions the successors of the Avengers of 1,000,000 B.C., hinting that the mysterious events of that era are responsible for these specific heroes being targeted.
Khonshu has always wanted power, and in some cases that don't exactly line up with the survival of the human race. But with his intention seeming to be to save the Earth from the clutches of Mephisto, it might be better for the Avengers to work with their former ally and the enigmatic Khonshu to ensure there's still a world to defend after everything is said and done.