Broken Frontier

Steve Rogers pays Marc Spector a visit, but it’s not what you may expect as one of Marvel’s greatest soldiers throws down the gauntlet against Moon Knight.

This issue of Moon Knight is a tad late since it bears the moniker of "Casualties of War" on the front of the cover. Of course, the outcome of the Civil War has been revealed and of the tragic events that befell Steve Rogers shortly afterwards, so his presence here in this issue is ultimately a moot point.

In this case though, Steve Rogers shows up sporting military gear and then tries to dissuade Marc from continuing to pursue his heinous acts as Moon Knight. Perhaps Steve felt that appearing as a soldier would appeal to Marc’s greater sense of morality, but his words have no effect on the man. He shrugs off Steve’s warnings and then continues to follow through on his investigation into the murders that seemingly point to the return of the Midnight Man. Although Emile Mogart is now believed dead, his M.O. seems to be glaring down on Moon Knight as the mystery deepens.

Now I can’t say this issue thrilled me as much as the previous arc did. For one, writer Charlie Huston seems stuck in pastiche by the over usage of anti-hero logic. I’m beginning to tire of this grittier than ever approach, and although it worked at the outset it now stagnates the growth of the character. Spector just isn’t likeable for my tastes and his rebuttal against Cap certainly proves this to me. If anything else, Huston’s dialogue was riveting, since tempers flared during the face to face confrontation with Cap, but the context of his visit had very little to do with Civil War. I’m not sure I could see Cap taking time out from his busy schedule to lecture Marc on the repercussion of methods, but I guess it did serve to illustrate how the superhero community perceives Moon Knight.

Now this is also David Finch’s last issue on the book since new artist Mico Suayan is set to take over art duties next month. I know that I am not entirely thrilled with David’s style of storytelling, but I will miss it here on this book. He certainly brought a unique look to the book and his gritty pencils surely suited the lacerating plots and no holds barred action of Huston’s scripts. At least in this issue David will go down swinging, since he brought the action sequences to an all time high. There is a wonderful splash page of Marc in action to totally sum up his run on this book. Now we have to see what Mico Suayan brings to the table in terms of artistic abilities, and I know he’s going to have big shoes to fill in David’s absence.

So we’re now eight issues into this new monthly series and I am beginning to feel a tad bored. It’s not that I don’t appreciate good writing, but Charlie Huston appears to be running out of steam in my humblest of estimations. I was hoping for a broader perspective in terms of the urban landscape in which Moon Knight lurks about, but sadly it’s beginning to be ho hum for me. At least we have been treated to one of the most unflinching portraits of a hero seen at his worst, so now I am waiting to see the opposite end of the spectrum. I’m guessing though that Charlie Huston will probably not allow this to happen since he’s determined to keep this hero down.