Moon Knight: Khonshu Could Have A Much Darker Plan For Marc Spector

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Warning: Spoilers for Moon Knight episode 3

 

Moon Knight depicts Khonshu as the Egyptian god who delivers justice, however, the deity could have a darker plan for his avatar, Marc Spector. Moon Knight episode 3 gave viewers some understanding of the Ennead, their history, and the role they play with humans. With the gods existing in another dimension called the Overvoid, they could not exert their full power in the Earth realm. Thus, they must use human avatars as a medium to channel communication and their powers.

 

On the brink of death, Khonshu selected Marc Spector to become his avatar and deliverer of justice. Marc seemed willing to serve the god out of obligation rather than actual willingness and only did so to pay a debt after Khonshu saved his life. There could be a number of twists with Khonshu in Moon Knight as a result of their relationship—he could even be planning to use Marc Spector as more than just another avatar.

 

The god of justice's real motive could be to break Marc down to the point where he can not mentally fight against the deity any longer. With no mental resistance, Khonshu could fully inhibit Spector's body. During the trial of Arthur Harrow, when the gods spoke of trusting their avatars to carry out their purposes, Khonshu fired back by saying, "Avatars are not enough! We need the might of gods!". Khonshu's statement implied that using humans as avatars was insufficient, and a stronger solution was necessary. Recall that the Egyptian gods in Moon Knight have limited powers on their own, yet they become more powerful through their avatars. If Khonshu successfully possessed Marc's body with no resistance or free will from Spector, then the Egyptian god would become even more powerful in the Earth realm.

 

Arthur Harrow gave some crucial insights about Khonshu and the god's motives. As the former avatar for Khonshu, he said that the Egyptian god abused him in his pursuit of justice. Harrow also implied that Steven has the potential power to mentally fight off Khonshu's influence. Also, after learning of Marc Spector’s mental condition, Harrow wondered whether Khonshu chose Steven because his mind would be easy to break or because it was already broken. Either instance insinuates that Khonshu seeks to mentally wear down his avatars with the goal of total possession.

 

There is comic book precedence for Khonshu's darker motives. The comics revealed that Khonshu would hollow out his avatars to make them empty vessels. The purpose behind this was to break the avatar's mind so that they could no longer resist Khonshu's commands. To the diety's great dismay, his plans to make Marc an empty vessel were thwarted when Marc resisted the god's mental abuse. By reconciling his multiple personalities, Marc, Steven, and Jake came together to free themselves from Khonshu's influence.

Khonshu's true motivations have yet to be revealed, but there's enough evidence that the god is not entirely benevolent. Khonshu wants Layla as his next avatar, and the deity has used that as an attempt to blackmail Marc into serving as Moon Knight. That threat was another indication of Khonshu's even darker motivations. Audiences will have to see if future episodes of Moon Knight will reveal the god's ulterior motives.

 

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