Moon Knight: Marvel’s Egyptian Gods Explained

Marvel's Moon Knight is a character that has one specific thing separating him from the rest of Marvel's stacked superhero roster: the Egyptian gods. Not only are the powers of Moon Knight directly gifted to Marc Spector by an Egyptian deity, but the majority of his stories and villains surround the Ennead, the pantheon of the Gods of Egypt. With such a rich vein of mythology inspiring the Moon Knight character, it is no surprise that the same rings true for the Disney+ Moon Knight series as well.

The Gods of Egypt hail from Celestial Heliopolis, a small pocket-dimension that is adjacent to Marvel's prime Earth-616 timeline similar to the Black Panther fame, to name only a few.

However, there are some of the Ennead much more closely related to Moon Knight, not just in the comics but in the MCU interpretation as well. These gods have very distinct backstories, earning their place among Moon Knight's ing characters. Whether it be in the form of benevolent, more caring gods, or some of the more villainous deities, these specific figures are tied directly to the character of Marc Spector across both comics and the TV series: Khonshu, Ammut, and Ra.

Moon Knight is The Champion Of Khonshu, God of the Moon

Khonshu is a member of the Ennead with the most direct link the Marc Spector, a.k.a. Moon Knight. Khonshu goes by many names, including God of the Moon. Being a member of the gods who lived in the Celestial Heliopolis, however, Khonshu was unable to physically enter the earthly plane and so, throughout history, would pick champions of Earth to be guided by his own will, a lone warrior who was known as the Moon Knight. Marc Spector is the most famous of these champions, being the version focused on in both Marvel comics and the Moon Knight MCU series. The comic origin of Marc's abilities came from him being killed in Egypt while working as a mercenary, before having his body lain at the feet of a statue of Khonshu. The god then offered to spare Spector's life, in exchange for his service as the Moon Knight.

Since then, Marc fully committed to his role as Khonshu's will on Earth as a vigilante, from fighting crime to even having alliances with various Marvel superheroes, including the Avengers, the Defenders, and Heroes for Hire. Moon Knight's portrayal in the TV show is similar, with Marc Spector being the protagonist, played by Oscar Isaac. Khonshu also appears heavily in the show, plaguing some of Marc's (who has disassociative identity disorder) other identities with visions to awaken the Moon Knight persona. With Moon Knight portraying Marc's appearance and power set as virtually identical to the comic version, it is clear the god of Khonshu is a big reason for this, with the two origin stories being very similar between Marvel comics and the MCU.

Ethan Hawke's Moon Knight Villain Links To Ammut, Devourer of the Dead

Arthur Harrow walking through a crowd in Moon Knight

Ethan Hawke plays the human villain, Arthur Harrow, opposite Marc Spector in Disney+'s Moon Knight. Harrow is a religious zealot and cult leader who sees Marc as an obstacle to him "healing the world." Through Harrow's personal quest, he links to another Egyptian deity, Ammut/Ammit, the Devourer of the Dead (via hinting at Hawke's Arthur Harrow motivations.

Ammut, in both real Egyptian mythology and Marvel's interpretations, was shown to have the head of a crocodile and play a part in deciding people's fate after death. While Marvel doesn't go into as much detail, ancient Egyptian beliefs were that this was done through a ceremony called "the weighing of the heart." In the ceremony, a person's heart would be weighed on a set of scales against a feather of Ma'at, the Goddess of Justice. Should the heart prove heavier than the feather, Ammut would devour that person's soul, deeming them unworthy of the afterlife. The ceremony was indicated across Egyptian myth with one key symbol, a set of scales.

This does all tie in with Hawke's Marvel Studios villain. In the MCU version of Moon Knight, Hawke is shown to carry around a staff that is adorned at the hilt with two crocodile heads. Another interesting thing about Harrow is that he has a tattoo on his forearm, which shows a set of scales, held aloft by, again, two crocodile heads. These symbols point to none other than Ammut, Devourer of the Dead, being the catalyst for Harrow's personal mission that sets him at odds with both Moon Knight and through him, Khonshu.

Moon Knight's Connection To Ra & The Sun King

Another god with connections to Moon Knight comes in the form of Ra, also known as Atum. In real-world Egyptian mythology, Ra, the God of the Sun, ruled as the King of the Gods. Unlike the Khonshu, the Moon God.

Marvel depicts this relationship as tetchy at best, with the father and son duo often not getting along. As both have champions doing their will, the Moon Knight and the Sun King, the two human avatars have often clashed in the comics, carrying out the gods' rivalry on Earth. Though the Sun King never triumphed over Moon Knight, the rivalry is still one of the more prominent in his many comic runs. Given the MCU show's focus on Arthur Harrow, and through him deities like Ammut, Moon Knight season 1 of the show is likely not to feature Ra or the Sun King. However, given the strong comic book connections of the two gods and their champions, it seems the Sun King would be a good villain for the MCU's Moon Knight in the future.

Though the Ennead of ancient Egypt could be seen as too large a topic to tackle in the MCU, Marvel Studios have shown through their depiction of Asgard, and other hints like the panther goddess Bast appearing in Black Panther, that they would be up to the challenge. Through the many Egyptian gods and ancient deific connections to Moon Knight specifically, it would make sense for Marvel to start a facet of the MCU focusing on the Ennead, leaping off of the success of Disney+'s Moon Knight. It remains to be seen, though, just how many of the multitude of Egyptian gods will tie into the MCU, though it is safe to say they will all surround Marc Spector, the Moon Knight.

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Marvel's Moon Knight premieres on Wednesday, March 30 on Disney+.