Episode 13 – SPLOOT! – Into the Knight – The Moon Knight Podcast Site

Episode 13:

The High Priests of Khonshu, Connor and Rey forge on despite a lack of news this week. Some tidbits of toy news and a brief chat about the release of Thor: Ragnarok before getting stuck into two cracker issues!

Lemire’s run is coming to a close in our OVER THE MOON, and along with a frantic issue of Black Panther #22 by Christopher Priest, we’re treated with the smooth bass tones of one of our heroes, guest narrator Derek O’Neill from ‘Gotham TV Podcast’ and ‘Defenders TV Podcast’!

It’s a feast for the ears, so get out that knife and fork, tuck the napkin under your ear lobes and indulge!!!!

OVER THE MOON- Comic Book Reviews

Moon Knight Vol. 8, Issue # 13- “Death and Birth – Part 4 of 5”

Bare Bones:

As Marc Spector and Bertrand Crawley alight from Anubis’ cosmic raft, preparing to re-enter the hospital and kill Khonshu, Anubis warns Marc of the path he is travelling. Having spent much of his life running from his illness, Marc sees this as the only path for him now, and bids Anubis a fond farewell.

Having saved Crawley’s soul, Marc also asks for Crawley to find Gena’s Diner and to stay there, away from harm. Crawley is reluctant, but Marc is firm in his belief to face Khonshu alone and so, Crawley honours Marc’s wishes and admire’s Marc’s resolve.

The journey through the Othervoid’s tomb-like passageways starts to speak to Mr. Knight – it is the voice of Khonshu and he is glad to see Mr. Knight’s return. Things never appear as they seem in the Othervoid, and what was once a passageway turns into a horizon of brain matter – a representation of Mr. Knight’s mind presented before him, by Khonshu. Taken aback, Mr. Knight’s moment of weakness echoes the brain he stands upon and like quicksand it slowly sucks him under.

A flashback to the past shows Marc and Frenchie, alongside Bushman, on route to their next job – an archeological site near the Sudanese-Egyptian border. Marc questions Bushman on the amount of weaponry they have brought along, considering that there will be no soldiers, only civilians present. Bushman replies that the reason is to create fear – the one true weapon for victory. As they arrive, Frenchie is uneasy, but Marc is still optimistic that no harm will come of the innocent and that Bushman’s tactics are all for show.

Busman terrorises Marlene and her father Peter Alraune (the head of the archeological team) and when Marlene refuses to relinquish the information on the tomb that they have recently unearthed, Bushman brutally murders Peter Alraune in front of her. Shocked, Marc decides to take action.

Returning to the Othervoid, Mr. Knight slowly fights his way out of the giant brain but it manages to smother him again, and this time Marc finds himself floating in the night sky, with Khonshu’s Eye – the full moon – peering at him.

Khonshu tempts Mr. Knight to embrace the Moon (and essentially succumb to Khonshu) but Mr. Knight refuses and remembering why he returned in the first place, Mr. Knight destroys the Moon by throwing his crescent darts at it. Khonshu is shocked and pleads for Mr. Knight to do no more damage, as it’s also his own mind that Mr. Knight is damaging. Ignoring Khonshu’s warnings, in one final blow Mr. Knight frees himself and finds himself burst out of the Brain and into the subway which leads back to the hospital.

Returning to Marc’s past, Marc and Bushman exchange blows and it’s Bushman who finally has the better of the two. Bloodied and unconscious, Marc is left for dead, whilst Bushman takes Marlene and another of her team to lead him through their site. In a final sweep before departing in the chopper, Bushman orders the rest of the archeological team killed, and Bushman’s men line them up and shoot them down.

Frenchie is forced to pilot the chopper for Bushman as they leave to head towards the entrance to the tomb, leaving Marc behind.

As memories of the past are played out, we see Mr. Knight finally make his way through the subway, and into the hospital where his final confrontation with Khonshu awaits.

Black Panther Vol. 3, Issue # 22 – “Nightmare”

Bare Bones:

 Everett Ross is stuck in dream after dream, the first we see playing out with Ross as one of the world’s most popular and celebrated lawyer, winning a case for Ka’zar to keep his kitty. He then awakes again, Brother Voodoo still dead at his side causing his dream after dream (he is Brother Voodoo after all).

We find out that Moon Knight and Black Panther have been gone in the spiritual plane to receive healing from Khonshu to restore his bonds to the Panther God for a week… Deep within the Kingdom of the Dead, Black Panther battles Nightmare ruler of the Dream Dimension, who has followed the two heroes into the Spiritual Plane. Nightmare easily overpowers Black Panther as he feasts upon the souls and dreams of Black Panther and his ancestors!

Nightmare has him trapped, forcing him to relive memory after memory of his childhood and failing to kill the man who would kill his Father. That is until Moon Knight, healed from his wounds of last issue, appears to slap him out of the villain’s hold, Nightmare then vanishing without a trace. Moon Knight and Black Panther discuss their next course of action, revealing that Nightmare feeds off the dreams of sleeping mortals, now feasting off Moon Knight and Panther inside their comas.  Realising that Nightmare cannot feast off dead souls and that Nightmare is not all-powerful outside his dream realm in the Kingdom, they venture forth to find the key to his demise while he is weakened in this spiritual realm.

Back in Ross’s own dreams, we see a Batman-parody with Black Panther as Not-Batman and Ross as Not-Robin, as they track down Not-Joker. But before the Black Panther in the dream can finish a monologue, Ross is ripped back to reality by the splash of cold water by Queen Davin of Wakanda.

In the Spiritual Realm, Moon Knight and Black Panther try to find Khonshu, only to be faced with Khonshu’s guardians stirred into battle with the two by Nightmare’s appearance prior! Using the Book of the Dead (retrieved last issue) however, they use the book’s ability to protect them from evil as a convincing argument that they mean no harm to Khonshu.  Khonshu greets the two heroes, belittling Moon Knight however for entering when Nightmare’s influence still remains. Moon Knight is unconvinced this is really Khonshu, but Panther accepts his presence and hears what he has to say. Khonshu warns that if they do not hurry and complete the pilgrimage for the renewal of communion with the Panther God they will be trapped as living soul in the kingdom of the dead forever, and that Nightmare has been the one to prolong their stay as he feasts upon T’Challa’s ancestors’ souls. With renewed faith and guidance from Khonshu, Black Panther finds he can use the book of the dead to travel to Nightmare’s realm and sever his connection to his own plane of existence.  Moon Knight takes control of his own memories to call forth the Moon Copter for the travel ahead.

Back again in the real world, Ross believes he has finally understood what his dreams have meant, and that he needs to use the emergency political powers T’Challa gave him before he left to lead Wakanda to safety in his absence. W’Kabi, Wakanda’s minister of security, tries to let someone with half a brain actually lead, but Ross is convinced and his position means he cannot be stopped.

In the final push to the end, Marc reclines in the Copter as Black Panther pilots with the book of the dead to make it to the outskirts of the Dream Realm. The two realises that Khonshu and his followers have followed them for the assault on Nightmare, only for Black Panther to come to a realisation. Nightmare’s weakened state means he has limited hold on those he submits to his will, and that he willingly let Black Panther take the book of the dead as it would lead Nightmare home also! Nightmare is lost in the land of the dead and growing weaker every hour and needs to return home or be trapped in the Spiritual Plane forever!

As T’Challa begins to destroy the book to stop Nightmare, “Khonshu” and his followers then reveal themselves as Nightmare’s minions and Moon Knight revealed as Nightmare himself!

Black Panther has the upper hand however. If T’Challa destroys the book of the dead then Nightmare can never go home and will be stuck in the Spiritual Realm forever until he perishes. He bargains with Nightmare, allowing Nightmare to use the book to return home only if he releases Black Panther, the souls of his ancestors and allows them to complete their quest! Nightmare accepts his defeat as he lets out a cry, and T’Challa then awakens, finally back in the real world. Moon Knight is returned and T’Challa’s bonds are restored.

Brother Voodoo reveals however, that his attacker in the prior issue was a being known as “Malice”. Someone deadlier than Nightmare and the biggest threat to the realm of the living they may ever have to face…

In America, Ross, unbeknownst of the King’s return, is using his status of leader of Wakanda to hire once-prisoner Kraven for unknown purposes…

Then book then ends with previews for Avengers as a new Black Panther arrived at Avengers mansion! And a preview for Deadpool as Black Panther villain Achebe asks for Deadpool’s services…

Show Notes: