Marvel's Moon Knight Dies in Latest Issue

Spoiler alert for Moon Knight #30. Knight has fallen. Fans knew that writer Jed MacKay and artist Alessandro Cappuccio's Death of Moon Knight storyline would mark the end for Marc Spector, only for a vengeful new avatar to rise in the next phase of Moon Knight. What fans didn't know is how the mercenary-turned-superhero — and his personas Steven Grant and Jake Lockley — would meet their end in the pages of Moon Knight #30, which ComicBook's Matthew Aguilar wrote "feels like a hopeful beginning as much as it does a heart-wrenching conclusion."

This week's issue, "The Terminal Seconds of Moon Knight," ends with the death of Moon Knight and two epilogues teasing the relaunched title Vengeance of the Moon Knight in January 2024.

To recap: Moon Knight and his allies — Tigra, Hunter's Moon, 8-Ball, Soldier, and Reese — were targeted by Robert Plesko, a former member of the Shadow Cabinet who returned from the grave as the latest incarnation of the Black Spectre. Before the villain could activate a resonator that would broadcast a "killsound" driving everyone in Manhattan insane, Marc entrusted Reese with leading the Midnight Mission in the event of his death and promised to return for Tigra, who he was forced to leave behind after she stepped on a floor tile rigged to explode.

The new Black Spectre triggered an explosion that trapped Marc on the top floor of the Mount, where the former psychologist mortally wounded Marc and revealed his master plan: watch as the city goes mad and kills itself. (Plesko visited the first man to kill Marc Spector — Raul Bushman — and observed the resurrected Moon Knight as one of the Karnak Cowboys. Years later, he would stage his death and become the Black Spectre, all the while concealing that his true interests were driven by psychological curiosity and observing atrocities.)

Meanwhile, at the Midnight Mission, the anarchist Zodiac explained why he partnered with Black Spectre: his plans for Marc Spector were happening with Robert Plesko. The metamorphosis of a man into a supervillain. "Even if he kills Moon Knight, and he will, Marc will just come back, like he always does," Zodiac told Reese. "And I can start my project again." Reese then told Zodiac that Marc is no longer the Fist of Khonshu. "There's no more resurrection," she said. "If the Black Spectre kills Marc, he's not coming back!"

At the Mount, a dying Marc appealed to Khonshu, who told him he's powerless to help after being imprisoned on Asgard (in Avengers Vol. 8 #38). "You are dying in my service, whether you acknowledge it or not," the Egyptian moon god told his former avatar. "Even in your rejection of me, your betrayal, you have distinguished yourself. For what it's worth... I am proud of you." Khonshu then told Marc he could not help him, but would await him in death to take his seat at Khonshu's side.

But Marc did not die alone. Steven and Jake were with Marc in his final moments, telling him, "This is what we do."

"It was always going to end like this for us," Steven said. "At least this means something." Jake added: "If we're going to go out... then we go out with a bang." Meanwhile, Zodiac escaped the Midnight Mission as Tigra, Hunter's Moon, and Soldier were unable to reach the top floor to save Marc. "It is not up to me to make his death mean something," Moon told Tigra. "It is up to him."

Marc made it to the resonator control panel just as it began to broadcast the killsound. Reciting the Shema, Marc activated a detonator as Reese, Tigra, Hunter's Moon, and Soldier stood by powerless; Steven and Jake toasted to Marc as the resonator exploded. The Moon Knight died sacrificing himself to save the city. Marc Spector's death meant something.

In the first epilogue, Zodiac blamed Plesko for taking Moon Knight from him. "You killed him, and he's not coming back. You took what was mine," he said. "You can't plan for Moon Knight, Plesko. But I have a plan for you. You wanted atrocity? I'm going to give you the full experience, up close." 

The second epilogue returns to the Midnight Mission one month after the death of Moon Knight. A man shows up asking for Mr. Knight's help, only to be told that he's gone. Moon Knight is gone, but the Midnight Mission remains. "His work is our work now. And our work never ends," said Reese, who heads the Midnight Mission with the black-and-white-clad Hunter's Moon, Tigra, Soldier, and 8-Ball, who have erected a statue in Marc's honor. "How can we help?"

Marc Spector is dead. Long live the Knight. The story continues in Vengeance of the Moon Knight #1, on sale January 3, 2024.