Moon Knight [2021] #30 - Marvel Comics

MOON KNIGHT No. 30, February 2024

In view that this thirty-page plot essentially just focuses upon the last few moments of Moon Knight’s life as he painfully crawls towards the Black Spectre’s sound machine of death, many a reader must surely have been pretty impressed with just how pulse-poundingly paced the publication was. Indeed, as much as Robert Plesko’s explanation as to his sinister scheme steadily holds the interest, it is arguably a bleeding out Marc Spector’s agonising journey across the evil doctor’s floor which proves particularly spell-binding, with every excruciating inch travelled on his belly making the audience wince with sympathy – as literally every second of this journey takes a physical toll.

Furthermore, the frustrated fury of Tigra and the rest of the titular characters’ friends desperately trying to reach him before his end also adds an extra element of urgency to Jed MacKay’s well-penned proceedings. The utter despair felt by the former West Coast Avenger as she savagely turns upon her comrades-in-arms is genuinely palpable, and impressively makes matters even more tense as valuable moments tick by whilst she berates the likes of Soldier for his supposed shortcomings; “Turn into mist and get up there - - Marc needs us! Then what good are you? He’s going to die, Badr! Doesn’t that mean anything to you?”

Debatably this comic’s biggest surprise though arrives with Zodiac making a shocking deal with the Midnight Mansion so as to save the serial killer’s life in return for avenging Spector’s death. Once it becomes clear that the murderous maniac’s sole future ambition is to brutalise Plesko for ruining his own plans concerning the "Lunar Legionnaire", the sinister House of Shadows appears perfectly willing to release its captive. Admittedly, this agreement does mean that both of Moon Knight’s arch-foes are still breathing following his sad demise. But it is clear from Black Spectre’s horrified face that he certainly won’t enjoy whatever the masked anarchist has in store for him.

Undeniably imbuing the “explosive conclusion” to this Battle of the Mount are Alessandro Cappuccio’s layouts. The Italian illustrator manages to let all this book’s considerable cast wear their hearts upon their sleeves, so it’s always evident even to the most casual of bibliophiles just what emotion Reese or Hunter’s Moon are feeling. Of particular note is the artist’s prodigious pencilling during a tender flashback to when the Fist of Khonshu first bonded with his fellow crime-fighters, and how these relationships have only strengthened through time and adversity.

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