Over the course of nearly five decades, Moon Knight has amassed a rogues gallery just as terrifying as it is expansive. Of course, not all of Marc Spector's greatest villains can make the jump to the silver screen alongside him. That any of Moon Knight's more recognizable enemies would join him was belied by the news that Ethan Hawke will be portraying one of Moon Knight's most obscure villains. Thankfully, that doesn't look like it will actually be the case, as all signs point towards the MCU's Arthur Harrow bringing a whole lot of Marvel's Sun King along for the ride.

First introduced in 2017's Moon Knight #188 by Max Bemis and Jacen Burrows, little was known about the man known as Patient 86 beyond his penchant for escaping difficult circumstances by immolating others. While being treated in the Ravencroft Institute by Marc Spector's former therapist Doctor Emmet, who saw no small number of similarities in their cases, Patient 86 was introduced to Amon Ra, the Egyptian god of the sun. This would lead Patient 86 to become obsessed with the rivalry between Amon Ra and Khonshu, the sun god's child and Moon Knight's own patron deity. Once Patient 86 decided to forego his treatments in favor of destroying Moon Knight, he was enveloped in flames and emerged as Sun King, the living manifestation of Amon Ra's power on Earth. When Marc Spector was more powerful than Sun King could handle, the villain amassed a cult-like following before luring Moon Knight into another trap. Even though Sun King was ultimately defeated, the impact he left behind was meaningful enough that it might be felt as far away as the MCU.

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Despite the confirmation that Ethan Hawke will be portraying Dr. Arthur Harrow as Moon Knight's primary antagonist in the upcoming Disney+ series, everything fans have seen of him so far is hardly recognizable as such. Making only one appearance in 1985's Moon Knight #2 by Alana Zelenetz and Chris Warner, Arthur Harrow conducted grotesque human experiments in the hopes of creating an unfeeling army. Though he escaped after being defeated by Moon Knight, the Arthur Harrow of the comics was little more than a stereotypical mad scientist. This is in stark contrast to the Arthur Harrow seen in early trailers for the upcoming Moon Knight, wherein throngs of awe struck followers reach out to and kneel before Ethan Hawke's rendition of the character. If there is any member of the titular hero's rogues gallery who the trailer imagery calls to mind, it is certainly Sun King long before it is the namesake villain of the comics.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe has never directly translated its characters for the big or small screen, and there is no expectation that they will with any part of Moon Knight. At this point it isn't a question of if, but how Arthur Harrow and Sun King will likely be amalgamated for the MCU. If the series leans into Sun King's origin with its Arthur Harrow, it would open yet another door into Moon Knight's own by way of their Ravencroft connection. Should Moon Knight go the other way and dive into the comic book Arthur Harrow's story, that same connection could easily be made in a professional rather than clinical sense. Doing so would give the MCU's Arthur Harrow just as much if not more insight into his enemy, as well as a potential advantage over Moon Knight through a better understanding of his own complex nature.

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Whichever way the series ends up taking things, it is hard to deny the similarities between the MCU's Arthur Harrow and the Sun King of the comics. It is also difficult not to assume that those connections will only run deeper as the story unfolds. Considering what glimpses of it that viewers have already been given, it is at least safe to say that Moon Knight is in for the fight of his life no matter what life his MCU rival ends up taking on.

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