A Third Moon Knight Personality Briefly Took Control In Episode 3 - But Who Is He?
Spoilers ahead for "Moon Knight" episode 3.
Life as a purveyor of vengeance is hard enough with the voice of an Egyptian deity in your head. Pair that with a growing number of dueling identities, and things are bound to get messy fast.
Marc Spector (Oscar Isaac) understands this perfectly by the end of "Moon Knight" episode 3. Following a quarrel with his bumbling alter ego Steven Grant in episode 2, Marc trekked to Egypt, where Arthur Harrow (Ethan Hawke) and his fellow Ammit enthusiasts hope to resurrect the vengeful goddess.
When we meet up with Marc again, he's pursuing two of Harrow's followers through the streets of Cairo. He's in control, but not for very long, as Steven is beginning to get the hang of controlling their shared body himself. Once things get a little violent between Marc and Harrow's henchmen, Marc loses control — and what follows is a tug-of-war that, ironically, ends with both henchmen dead.
But here's the kicker: Neither Marc nor Steven has any idea how it happened. Despite the blood on their hands, Marc knows better than to kill two potential assets. And given Steven's squeamishness, it's clear he didn't have a sudden change of heart. So does that mean there's another alter ego in the mix? And if so, who might that be?
Moon Knight's third identity
Moon Knight fans are no stranger to any of the vigilante's disparate identities. In the comics, Marc Spector has shared a body with as many as four alters at a time, and some have even manifested as popular heroes like Spider-Man and Wolverine. But for the most part, it's just Marc, Steven, and their third alter: Jake Lockley.
In the comics, Jake represents the street-level element of Moon Knight's crime-fighting enterprise. He's a savvy cab driver that occupies more of a detective role, an unassuming presence with a wide-spanning web of connections across New York. On the surface, Jake's a bit gruffer than either Marc or Steven. But is he as violent in the comics as he seems to be in the "Moon Knight" show?
While anyone under the Moon Knight umbrella is known to resort to violence when necessary — or when driven to especially brutal methods — Jake is not necessarily the most violent. It's likely that the show's take on Jake will lean into his darker side, just as it tweaked Steven to favor nonviolence. It's a good way of setting each of Marc's alters apart, and possibly explaining why exactly this person is so useful to Khonshu.
After the events of episode 3, it's apparent that Marc, while uber-competent, isn't always on the same page as the moon god. Jake, however, may be a more pliable tool for Khonshu — especially moving forward, when things will undoubtedly require a bit more violence. In the fight against Harrow and Ammit, anything could happen, and if Marc fails to follow Khonshu's instructions, will Jake inevitably step in the get the job done?
"Moon Knight" episode 3 is now streaming on Disney+.