Marvel Writer Unveils First Choice for Moon Knight Villain

After months of waiting, Moon Knight finally premiered on the streaming service Disney+ last Wednesday. Moon Knight’s first episode centered on Steven Grant, a gift shop employee with a disassociative identity disorder, trying to outrun the Egyptian god, Khonshu's control. Alongside Grant, we are also introduced to the show's big bad featuring Ethan Hawke as Arthur Harrow.

While it has already been confirmed even before the show's release that Hawke will be starring as Arthur Harrow, fans are still confused about the villain's inclusion. In Marvel comics, Arthur Harrow is a minor character because he doesn't possess any special abilities aside from being a brilliant scientist. In the live-action adaptation of the villainous character, Harrow is portrayed as a follower of Ammit, an Egyptian god that counterparts Spector’s Khonshu. Harrow's villainous motivation is revealed when Hawke's character is speaking to Steven Grant, revealing that he wants to resurrect Ammit.

However, Arthur Harrow isn't the initial choice for Moon Knight's antagonist. Moon Knight writer Jeremy Slater revealed that the initial villain for the show is supposed to be Raoul Bushman, but was scrapped due to similarities with Black Panther's Killmonger.

According to Scribe, Moon Knight's production team wants to invent a villain rather than pulling a recognizable character from the comics, that is too similar to Black Panther's nemesis, Erik Killmonger.

"His only recognizable villain was Bushman, who just felt too close to Black Panther's Erik Killmonger. So we decided to invent a villain instead. Ethan Hawke in particular was instrumental in creating Harrow" Slater continued to explain the relevance of Steven's Jewish faith to the show, "Preserving the character's Jewish faith was important to our entire writing team. It's something that definitely gets explored in later episodes."

Roald Bushman is originally Marc Spector's nemesis in Marvel Comics. Like Moon Knight, Bushman is also a talented mercenary, swordsman, and unarmed combatant. He is also skilled in guerilla warfare with exceptional battle tactics. It's clear that Bushman might look like another variant of Erik Killmonger, and introducing Bushman as the main villain for the show disregards the Egyptian mythology that is being highlighted in the series.

Moon Knight’s decision to shift from Raoul Bushman to Arthur Harrow was generally favored by the viewers. Bringing an Academy Award nominee going against the show's protagonist, who's also a Golden Globe nominee, we are certainly endowed with such quality performances from two A-list actors.

Moon Knight episode 1 is now streaming on Disney+.

Also Read: Moon Knight Producer Says The Show Stands on Its Own: "I Think You're Going to Enjoy It"