Nerds That Geek Comic Book Review - 'Moon Knight' (2017) #191: 'Crazy Runs In the Family - Part 4'

Written by Joel T. Lewis

I’ve given up trying to figure out what will come next from Max Bemis’ Moon Knight run. I have no idea. He’s broken the part of my brain that used to speculate about the next adventure my favorite superhero would embark on. Opening his run with a whole issue where Moonie doesn’t show up: brilliant. Giving Bushman a tragic and relatable bit of character development and pairing him with a more dramatic villain: inspired. Having Jake and Marlene raise a daughter behind Marc’s back: fascinating. At every turn, Bemis has defied prediction and made Moon Knight dance in ways I never would have thought possible. So I’ve given up trying to predict the next step in the storyline and I’ve decided to just let Moon Knight happen to me.

​That being said part 4 of ‘Crazy Runs in the Family’ does not disappoint. After an epic battle of flame and fist, Moon Knight manages to escape the clutches of Bushman and the Sun King with his newly discovered daughter. Marlene, proving herself to be much more than mere damsel in distress by attacking Bushman with a knife, is unable to escape and abducted. As Khonshu explains the history of his ongoing battle with Ra to Marc, Jake, and Steven, the Truth is freed from prison and joins Sun King and Bushman in their plot to set yet another trap for the jet and silver avenger. The issue wraps up as Marc prepares to rescue Marlene and calls upon his oldest and closest friend Jean-Paul ‘Frenchie’ DuChamp to look after his daughter. But while the man who comes to Marc’s door is definitely Jean-Paul, the fact that he appears to be a zombie throws his fitness as a babysitter into question. Do you see why I’ve given up on trying to predict Bemis? The last issue ended with, ‘Surprise Moonie, you are the father!’ and this one dropped the mic with Undead Frenchie. Shut up and take my money Max Bemis.

The introduction of Diatrice (Moon Knight and Marlene’s Daughter) and the contrasting innocence she brings into the world of Moon Knight is truly refreshing. Moon Knight has never been a happy comic book hero, and the brief glimpses of kindness and tenderness within his story have been few and far between; his is a universe which was abandoned by innocence a long time ago. Enter Diatrice, a veritable moonbeam (please let that be her superhero name!) of innocence and curiosity who gives the audience a way of discovering a whole new side of Marc Spector. We see through Diatrice how complex and confusing Moon Knight is, how the madness we’ve normalized in our fandom would appear to someone outside of it, but she also brings a vulnerability and tenderness out of Marc.

Even as he butchers his explanation of his alter egos, we see him share his music with her in a very intimate and wholesome scene. The normalcy of this domestic scene is something that we’ve never seen in Moon Knight, and it’s something that I never knew I wanted for this character. Twisted and dysfunctional as Marc’s introduction to his own family is, what Bemis highlights in this issue is the potential for a real family connection for Marc in the arcs to come. This is a pretty huge shakeup in terms of motivation for this character, his relationship with Marlene, and how Moon Knight’s vigilante philosophy adapts (if at all) as a father.

Jacen Burrows is outstanding as always, playing with fire, Egyptian mythology, and even Cthulhu briefly in this issue (yes reader that’s right, I said Cthulhu). But in this issue Matt Lopes’ colors really stood out for me. The dramatic contrast he plays with within the pastel pallet he’s established is really striking. The heat that comes off of the panels where Moon Knight dodges the flames cast by Sun King and the cool blues that accompany the return of the Truth demonstrate the importance of an exceptional colorist when it comes to bringing comic book panels to life. Also, I cannot get enough of Diatrice’s splash of Pink hair. There is something so punk rock and at the same time innocent about her and it is only elevated by Lopes’ skillful color work. Until next time, Geek On!

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