WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Moon Knight, Episode 1,"The Goldfish Problem," now streaming on Disney+
In the world of comics and superheroes, secret identities and double lives are commonplace. Batman and Bruce Wayne, Superman and Clark Kent, Daredevil and Matt Murdock, the balance between an everyday life and the superhero life is a constant struggle. And recently, the latest Spider-Man movie examined the consequences of having one’s secret identity exposed. Yet, all these heroes have made the conscious choice to adopt a secret identity and willingly step into the role of being two people. What if your secret identity didn’t know the hero persona existed?
This is the idea that Moon Knight is exploring, as the main character of the show has dissociative identity disorder. The viewers come into the show not from a superhero perspective, but through the life of the "secret" identity. As Episode 1 begins, viewers are introduced to mild-mannered Steven Grant, a museum gift shop worker with an avid interest in Egyptian mythology. He is struggling to fit into society, exacerbated by what he believes is a sleepwalking disorder. Instead of seeking professional help, he deals with these issues on his own, somewhat unsuccessfully. Steven’s been waking up in strange places, and even more perplexing, he doesn’t remember making a date with a woman he likes.
Still, he thinks he’s coping... until he wakes up in a field outside a castle with a voice in his head calling him an idiot and ordering him to surrender to Marc. Floundering and confused, he flees strange men shooting at him, blacking in and out of consciousness, only to find himself in deeper trouble each time. Poor Steven is essentially along for the ride, waking up in awkward situations he has no memory of participating in and needing to deal with the consequences. It is the quintessential nightmare, and when he finally awakens in his apartment, that’s what he believes happened. Just a nightmare.
Except now, the nightmare is slowly seeping into reality and messing with his life. A few superheroes have dealt with being late to dates, held up by the latest world crisis or supervillain, making lame excuses for their tardiness. Steven, however, shows up to his date two days late and doesn’t even know he’d lost time; the resulting scenes showcase his heartbreaking disappointment in vulnerable detail. His character spirals into a fracturing emotional state and he didn’t even know why.
Events keep spiraling, pulling Steven into a world he’d rather avoid, until the last confrontation of the episode and his safe, segmented identity crashes hard into both the supernatural and his alternate self, Marc Spector. This new reality floods in and he succumbs, not to becoming the hero, but to fear and self-preservation. From that surrender, rises the Moon Knight and the first real look at the superhero identity.
The question now is how will Steven handle all this? How much will he remember and how much control will he have, or be willing to give over to Marc and his mission? Most superheroes have full control of their own destinies and can keep or give up their secret identity at will. Both Steven Grant and Marc Spector/Moon Knight are singular people working independently of each other. They will either have to learn to cooperate or continually fight against each other. That narrative pits an ordinary man against supernatural forces within himself, wrestling with a situation he doesn’t understand, thrust past his own comprehension. The dual identity of a superhero has suddenly become far more intricate and nuanced. And with hints of more personalities to come in future episodes, this complexity will only deepen.
The first episode of Moon Knight is streaming now on Disney+, with new episodes arriving on Wednesdays.