Warning: contains spoilers for Moon Knight #5!
Despite Moon Knight writer Jed Mackay offering fans a prize for guessing the hero's newest villain - and even offering clues to their identity - not one fan got the right answer ahead of the recent Moon Knight #5, from Mackay and artist Alessandro Cappuccio, color artist Rachelle Rosenberg, and letterer Cory Petit.
While he's been around since 1975's Werewolf by Night, Moon Knight doesn't have much of a rogues gallery, and that's for one simple reason - former mercenary Marc Spector's crime-fighting persona is so hardcore, most of his enemies are either dead or were scared straight long ago. Of course, that poses something of a problem for a comic-book hero, and Marc's recent relaunch has seen him go up against Spider-Man villain Vermin, Punisher nemesis Jigsaw, and his secret opposite number Hunter's Moon. However, on November 2 Mackay shared a challenge on Twitter, promising a signed copy of Moon Knight #1 to any fan who guessed the mystery villain shown cloaked in shadow in issue 4, and set for a full appearance in issue 5.
Each fan got one guess, the competition would run until November 10, and a bif f***ing nerd" in the widely circulated meme.) The answer was revealed a week later on November 17, when brutal crime the Zodiac featured on the last page of the issue.
A few days later, would be Spider-Man ally Prowler as a new member of the criminal cartel known as the Zodiac. Mackay awarded the prize as this answer came closest, but it still wasn't correct - the Zodiac cartel are a group of villains based on astrological signs who have clashed with Moon Knight in the past, but they aren't d with the black-hooded version - in fact he beheaded them all when he decided he didn't want to deal with any other claims on the title.
Zodiac is a genuinely deep-cut comic reference, first appearing in Dark Reign: Zodiac #1 and just a few other times since. But while comic fans may not be immediately familiar with the villain, they can rest assured he's a genius choice. A counter-cultural activist concerned with tearing down established authority whether good or evil, Zodiac's signature move is to cause mass chaos to cover his own schemes - for example, releasing the Red Ronin mech on New York to obtain the powerful Scorpio Key. Having successfully operated behind the scenes for years, Zodiac now claims that he's grown irritated with Moon Knight's wasted potential, infiltrating his new Midnight Mission to get the measure of the hero before striking with a deadly and characteristically well-calculated plan.
Zodiac is a little more comfortable with sex and violence than the average Marvel supervillain, and is both unpredictable and joyfully vicious - in short, the perfect foil for a "hero" who instantly threatens to cut his opponent's face off when threatened. While no fans guessed Zodiac in Jed Mackay's contest, that only makes it more impressive that the writer has chosen a villain who's somehow both a perfect fit and someone not even the most committed Moon Knight fans guessed.
Sources: Jed Mackay, Jed Mackay
