Moon Knight: What Condition Marc Spector Has

The Disney+ Marvel show Moon Knight introduces Marc Spector, a superhero with a rare real-life mental disorder. Imbued with the power of the vengeful moon god Khonshu, Marc Spector, a.k.a. Moon Knight, fights crime in a uniquely brutal fashion, but this isn’t the only adult content Moon Knight addresses. In addition to navigating his newly-supernatural life as the Fist of Khnonshu, Oscar Isaac’s Moon Knight character, who actually spends much of the series as Steven Grant, must also manage worsening symptoms of a complex psychological condition.

The son of a rabbi, Marc Spector later on joins the U.S. Marine Corps and becomes a mercenary. As a child, he has caught the interest of the Egyptian god Khonshu, who, through a psychic connection, chooses him to be his avatar someday. However, not long after that, Marc discovers that Yitz Perlman, a close friend of his family, is actually a Nazi who has disguised himself as a rabbi in order to carry out a series of antisemitic murders without rasing suspicion. This pushes Marc to fight Perlman, but the latter escapes without a trace. Following this encounter, Marc begins to manifest symptoms of a mental condition, making Moon Knight different from other MCU shows.

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Marc Spector’s traumatic childhood experience, along with the force of Khonshu’s connection, caused him to develop Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID). Previously called Multiple Personality Disorder (MPD), DID is a mental disorder characterized by having at least two distinct identities. Aside from a “core” identity, people with DID also have “alters,” or alternate personalities. These identities can be quite different from each other in terms of ethnicity, gender, and even preferences, which affects behavior, functioning, and thinking processes. Additionally, DID is often accompanied by memory gaps about personal details and history and/or day-to-day events. As a result, those with DID may feel disconnected from their own bodies, and at times, they may lose control over their speech and actions, becoming mere observers of themselves.

How Marvel’s Moon Knight Portrays DID

With Moon Knight, the MCU takes a deeper look into Marc Spector’s Dissociative Identity Disorder. Marvel has already explored mental health themes, albeit rather unsuccessfully. While Iron Man’s Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder from Loki’s attack was the focus of Iron-Man 3, Thor’s depression was sadly turned into the source of jokes in Avengers: Endgame. Hopefully, Moon Knight’s debut in Phase 4 signals that the MCU is finally open to discussing such issues in-depth, beyond crass humor or casual comments. Given the gravity of Marc Spector’s Dissociative Identity Disorder and how it affects his actions, Moon Knight should be embracing this condition as a significant part of his origin story rather than sensationalizing it, thus avoiding unrealistic and harmful representation in the process. The fact that Isaac has already received praise for his nuanced portrayal of multiple DID identities bodes well.

Why Steven Is The Main Alter In Moon Knight

In the Moon Knight comics, Marc Spector has alters that include billionaire businessman Steven Grant, cab driver Jake Lockley, and consultant Mr. Knight. He uses these identities to gather information from various social circles and fight crime. However, the Moon Knight show on Disney+ deviates from Steven’s background, as he becomes the focus of the story and is portrayed as a gift shop employee instead. In contrast to other alters like Marc and Moon Knight, Steven is markedly less violent and is more alarmed by the dark changes happening to him as the Fist of Khonshu. This has mostly to do with the unique role that Steven plays among Marc’s alters.

The different alters that can manifest in someone with DID are often classified into different roles. In the case of Marc Spector/Moon Knight’s system, Steven seems to act as a protector, a role designed to shield the host identity from trauma. Protectors focus on defense and managing feelings. By contrast, Marc himself seems to be more of a persecutor type, who acts out in ways that are often harmful, in a misguided attempt to act as a protector. Because Steven is protecting the system from the trauma Marc welcomes in, this makes him a crucial alter to explore in Moon Knight‘s story. By placing Steven’s perspective at the forefront, Moon Knight is able to highlight the destructive tendencies of Marc and Moon Knight even further.

Are Steven’s Visions In Moon Knight Real?

Because one of the symptoms of Dissociative Identity Disorder can be hallucinations, it’s worth asking whether Steven’s visions in Moon Knight are actually real. Throughout Moon Knight episode 1, he repeatedly sees Khonshu appearing before him and is attacked by a jackal-like creature at the end, but because nobody but Steven can see these visions, they could potentially be hallucinations. However, Moon Knight actually does make clear that Khonshu is real, not a figment of Steven’s imagination, mostly because his god-given powers are clearly real as well. That’s not to say, however, that Oscar Isaac’s character won’t experience some legitimate hallucinations, or other extreme symptoms of DID, as Moon Knight goes on.

Moon Knight: How Many Alters Does Marc Spector Have?

All told, Marc Spector’s system contains five alters: Marc, Steven Grant, Jake Lockley, Mr. Knight, and Moon Knight. Marc is the host, or main identity, while Steven and Jake Lockley (an NYC cab driver) help gather resources and intel for Moon Knight’s masked escapades. Mr. Knight is a public-facing alter who engages in investigations and a degree of crime-fighting, though not to the aggressive, over-the-top extent that Moon Knight does. Moon Knight’s five identities each play a key role in his comic book character, and many of them feature in Moon Knight as well. Because Dissociative Identity Disorder is a critical component of Marc Spector’s character and is a condition often misrepresented in the media, it’s good that Marvel’s Moon Knight seems to be approaching the topic with seriousness and sensitivity.

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