Moon Knight [2021] #12 - Marvel Comics

MOON KNIGHT No. 12, August 2022

Painting an intriguingly grim picture of the afterlife for the many previous incarnations of the Fist of Khonshu, Jed MacKay’s storyline for Issue Twelve of “Moon Knight” certainly seems to provide its audience with an exciting “final struggle for Marc Spector's soul in the Battle of the Midnight Mission.” Indeed, the ensuing fracas between Zodiac’s heavily armed mercenaries and a gaggle of the Egyptian God’s mummified minions is one of this ongoing series’ most memorable moments to date; “How. How the hell was I supposed to plan for this?! Damned zombie Moon Knights!!!”

Furthermore, the Canadian author pens a disconcertingly dark aspect to the costumed crime-fighter’s vampiric secretary Reese, who momentarily appears to completely lose herself to the ‘Red Rage’ when she realises her friend, Soldier, has been brutally gunned down by Terry’s villainous alter-ego. This “monster” adds an entirely new layer to the usually somewhat stiff, self-controlled character, and ably demonstrates just how narrow a tightrope the fanged office worker walks every night to maintain her sense of normality. 

Perhaps therefore this comic’s sole disappointment arguably comes at its conclusion when the Cowled Avenger surprisingly stops himself from killing his latest nemesis by swapping his current murderous personality for that of the much less aggressive Steven Grant. Sure, there’s an unwritten rule within comic book writing that super-heroes don’t intentionally kill their opponents, even ones as disconcertingly dark as MacKay’s current manifestation of Moon Knight. But to simply leave an astonished Zodiac impotently squirming on the floor after all the mayhem he has caused is debatably rather anti-climactic.

Minor quibble as to this publication’s ending aside however, a lot of its storytelling success also lies in the lap of Alessandro Cappuccio and the artist’s incredibly dynamic layouts. The sheer chaos depicted in the Italian illustrator’s splash pages depicting Khonshu’s former agents savagely shredding the cartel are absolutely breath-taking, and well-worth the cover price of this twenty-page periodical alone. Whilst, Zodiac’s infuriated body language as he watches his well-laid out plan for Spector go catastrophically awry is equally as captivating, and even manages to squeeze in some moments of humour during an otherwise ultra-intense fracas.

Writer: Jed MacKay, Artist: Alessandro Cappuccio, and Color Artist: Rachelle Rosenberg