Depicting mental illness on the screen is a monumental task with a lot of responsibility. The MCU tried its hand with Thor’s depression and Tony Stark’s PTSD but missed its mark. But when it comes to Moon Knight, it’s a little difficult to ignore since his mental health is part of what gives the hero his strength.
In a few comics, Moon Knight’s dominant personality Marc Spector would “put on” different personalities to help him with his mission. But later, this changed to him having DID, with only limited grasp over the personalities.
Here’s how the Disney+ show has decided to deal with it:
In Moon Knight, Steven Grant does portray signs of dissociative identity disorder but there has been no verbal confirmation about the same. Executive producer Grant Curtis had stated in a press brief that psychiatrist Dr. Paul Puri (Assistant Clinical Professor at UCLA) was a consultant who helped provide authenticity to Steven’s character.
Going back to the comics—when Moon Knight’s story was retconned from being able to voluntarily step into these personas as mere disguises to a mental condition he couldn’t control, it was also depicted that Marc suffered from a childhood trauma that caused the “split” and created the other personalities.
His then becoming the Fist of Khonshu further drove a wedge in his psyche. But his quests, over time, proved that he took care of himself and grew stronger despite how tormenting this illness can be.
(In fact, there are quite a few funny Moon Knight moments in the comics too, especially his conversations with Spider-Man. Look it up!)
Since the MCU has switched things up, I don’t necessarily think they’re going to go down the path of exploring his childhood trauma. Instead, there’s a hint in Episode 2 itself.
While watching, we realize that while Steven is the protagonist of Moon Knight, Marc could’ve been the first dominant personality. A lot of Steven’s own personality is borrowed traits from Marc’s wife Layla.
Since we know that Marc went AWOL a few months ago on that “one last mission” from Khonshu, it’s possible there is a traumatic episode around this mission that caused Steven’s personality to emerge from all Marc’s memories of Layla. I’m sure we’ll find out in the upcoming episodes.
What if Steven doesn’t have DID?
Now a popular fan theory is that, what if Steven is not simply Khonshu’s vessel? What if he’s the vessel for all other iterations of himself throughout the multiverse?
Have you noticed how even Khonshu talks to and about Steven like he’s a whole other person? He doesn’t indicate that Marc or Steven is suffering from any mental illness. Is it then possible that Steven is actually from another universe?
The show is not shy about rewrites, given how they changed both Moon Knight and Mr. Knight into mere suits, instead of giving them personalities of their own.
But as interesting as this theory is, I don’t think the multiverse is at play here—no matter how close Moon Knight’s finale date is to the release date of Doctor Strange 2.
About Moon Knight
Moon Knight is an American superhero television series created for Disney+ based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name. The 6-episode series is directed by Mohamed Diab and the team of Justin Benson & Aaron Moorhead. Jeremy Slater is the head writer for the sixth MCU Show.
The series follows Steven Grant, a mild-mannered gift-shop employee, who becomes plagued with blackouts and memories of another life. Steven discovers he has dissociative identity disorder and shares a body with mercenary Marc Spector. As Steven/Marc’s enemies converge upon them, they must navigate their complex identities while thrust into a deadly mystery among the powerful gods of Egypt.
Oscar Isaac, May Calamawy, and Ethan Hawke star in the Disney+ series.
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