The last few years have been years of change for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. After Phase Three ended almost three years ago, new arcs and new characters have been introduced to the MCU, especially through a new format; the TV series. WandaVision, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Loki, and Hawkeye will be soon joined by Moon Knight, Marvel's own Fist of Khonshu.

RELATED: 10 Moon Knight Storylines The Disney Plus Series Might Adapt

Scheduled for release on March 30, 2022, Moon Knight will tell the story of Marc Spector, a mercenary with Dissociative Identity Disorder that will find a way to redeem himself in life. Although Spector is a new character in the MCU, he has been in the comics for almost half a century. This means there's plenty about him that fans of the MCU don't know yet.

10 He Was Created In 1975 For Werewolf By Night

moon knight fighting werewolf by night

Although he didn't star in his own comic until 1980, Marc Spector was created in 1975 by Dough Moench and Don Perlin for Werewolf by Night #32. This comic book series follows Jack Russell, a Transylvanian werewolf and occasional crimefighter. Although he can't always manage his curse of Lycanthropy, Russell can transform at will by thinking about a full moon.

In Werewolf by Night #32, Moon Knight is forced to fight Jack in order to gain the Committee's trust. This criminal organization pays him to battle Jack, but Moon Knight chooses to let him live when he realizes Jack isn't a bad person. Together, they defeat the Committee. Although Moon Knight is introduced as a mercenary, his actions show his real nature isn't villainous.

9 He Was Revived By Khonshu To Protect The Innocent

classic moon knight

The son of a Rabbi, Marc Spector started his career as a U.S. Marine before becoming a CIA operative. But then, he became a mercenary after meeting Raoul Bushman, who hired him for all kinds of jobs. Against his own peaceful nature, Spector worked for Bushman until the man murdered archeologist Dr. Alraune.

Horrified by Bushman's bloodlust, Spector saved Alraune's daughter but he was fatally wounded by Bushman. However, the Egyptian moon God Khonshu resurrected him and tasked him with protecting and avenging the innocent in order to redeem his own violent life. This was only the beginning of Spector's career as Moon Knight.

8 He Lives With Dissociative Identity Disorder

Marc Spector Moon Knight Marvel

Like Doom Patrol's Crazy Jane, Marc Spector lives with Dissociative Identity Disorder  although some stories wrongly refer to his mental illness as schizophrenia. Since he was a boy, he has had different alters such as billionaire businessman Steve Grant and taxicab Jake Lockley, both very useful in his crimefighting days.

RELATED: 10 Things You Need To Know About Moon Knight Before The MCU Series

In addition to Grant and Lockley, recently Spector developed new alters, such as Mr. Knight a law enforcement consultant, as well as versions of Captain America, Wolverine, and Spider-Man. Given that this can be an offensive take on Dissociative Identity Disorder, fans are still wondering how will Disney tackle this topic in its upcoming series.

7 He Has Always Had A Special Connection To Khonshu

Moon Knight

Although Khonshu doesn't connect with Spector until he's an older man, it was established that Moon Knight's psychic connection to the Moon God is as old as he is. Khonshu admits Marc Spector is set to be his avatar on Earth since he was a young boy.

In fact, some theories indicate that Spector's Dissociative Identity Disorder is the result of his connection to Khonshu. Since the god has a layered nature, Spector developed DID to be able to embrace his four aspects: the traveler, the pathfinder, the embracer, and the defender of those who travel at night. Other theories show childhood trauma as the real motivation for DID, but nothing is set in stone so far.

6 His Biggest Enemy Is Raoul Bushman

bushman from moon knight

Since he has been around for almost 50 years, Moon Knight has battled countless villains. However, the deadliest is also one of the first, Raoul Bushman, also known as only Bushman. This bloodthirsty mercenary started as Spector's boss, but he became his sworn enemy after realizing Khonshu's powers favor him. His main motive against Spector is envy.

With face tattoos and metal teeth, Bushman is one of the scariest foes Moon Knight has ever faced. Funny enough, he isn't the main villain in Moon Knight. Instead, Ethan Hawke plays Dr. Arthur Harrow, a mad scientist who will push Marc to the limit. While the trailer promises Harrow will be a formidable opponent for Moon Knight, many fans are hopeful that Bushman will also appear in the series.

5 His Evil Doppelgänger Is Called Moon Shade

Moon Knight 8 Hunters Moon Header

During The Infinity War, Magus —Adam Warlock's doppelgänger from the future — attempted to take absolute control over the Marvel Universe using Cosmic Cube-like items and evil versions of most heroes and villains on Earth. Moon Knight's evil twin was named Moon Shade, a monstrous creature with the ability to absorb powers.

RELATED: Moon Knight: All Of His Costumes, Ranked

Spector fought against Moon Shade to stop him from absorbing the powers of other Moon Knights from across the multiverse, like Earth-9209 Dark Moon and Earth-92942 Moon Fang, the vampire. Finally, Moon Man, from Earth-42992, helped Moon Knight to defeat Moon Shade.

4 He Starred In One Of The First Direct Market Only Series

Moon Knight Comics Brooding In Rain

Before, comics were sold in newsstands, gas stations, and grocery shops. Comic book shops appeared until the '70s, but they soon modified the comic market. Marvel supported them from the beginning, publishing their phones and addresses for fans to find them easily. In addition to this, they created direct market-only editions, inspired by companies whose comics were exclusively sold in comic book shops.

Some of Marvel's first books under this format were Dazzler, Moon Knight, and Ka-Zar. Since anyone could purchase a comic in a grocery shop unaware of the content, Marvel had to censor its comics. The direct market allowed Marvel to create more mature stories, for adults pursuing comics as a hobby in a specialized store.  In this format, Moon Knight's story blossomed without limitations.

3 He Starred On A Very Obscure Manga

moon knight manga

In the '70s, Toei Animation known for very popular animes such as Sailor Moon, Dragon Ball, and One Piece struck a deal with Marvel and, according to Doug Moench, a Moon Knight series was licensed. No one knows why but the anime was never developed, instead, Gosaku Ota (Groiser X) was commissioned to do a serialized manga.

According to Tumblr user leica-tengo, there's a copy of the Moon Knight manga in the International Library of Children’s Literature of Tokyo. But, unfortunately for the fans, it's impossible to find the manga online. Most search engines provide less than a dozen results about it and, of course, a couple of untranslated pages from the series.

2 He Definitely Can't Hold The Mjolnir, Can He?

moon knight lifts the mjolnir during doctor strange damnation

In Doctor Strange: Damnation #3 by Donny Cates, Nick Spencer, and Szymon Kudranski, Wong conjured a new team of superheroes with mystic abilities Elsa Bloodstone, Blade, Iron Fist, Moon Knight, among others to battle the Avengers after Mephisto turned them into Ghost Riders. During his battle against Thor, Moon Knight surprised everyone by lifting the Mjolnir.

After the social media ruckus about it, Donny Cates himself went public and explained via Twitter that the only reason Spector manages to move the hammer was that the Goddess of Thunder was already calling Mjolnir to return to her side. This announcement left the fans debating whether Moon Knight is worthy of this weapon or not, given that he moved it before in Avengers #33.

1 He's Often Compared To Batman

Batman and Moon Knight side to side - DC and Marvel Comics

One of the first versions of Moon Knight was created by Bill Sienkiewicz, who drew inspiration from Neal Adams' Batman. This, together with Moon Knight's modus operandi and Spector's wealth and high-tech weapons, created prejudice towards Moon Knight, so people usually believe he's just a Batman copy.

Although both characters share some similarities, it doesn't take a keen eye to notice they're also different. For instance, Batman doesn't have DID, nor does he have a connection to a god. In addition to this, Moon Knight tends to battle alongside unorthodox groups, such as the Heroes for Hire or the Secret Avengers while Batman leads the most popular DC superteam, the Justice League.

NEXT: 10 Reasons Why Moon Knight Is Not Marvel's Batman