With Moon Knight's surge in popularity following his MCU debut as the plaything of a god, his roots as a street-level detective and vigilante are often overlooked. However, recently Marc Spector made a return to his origin as a protector of everyday people. After tons of Marvel events where he headlines as the residing mystic-themed character - even kicking around Thor and Doctor Strange - it was about time he returned to his original themes. Marvel's ongoing run of Moon Knight proves that he was always better as a street-level vigilante and should remain that way even during big crossover events.
Many of Moon Knight's biggest stories show him adopting a higher position of power, but this is a decision which generally sets him back as a character and stunts his growth. Now, though, Moon Knight is starting to grow into his own again and soon could achieve the levels of trust within a community that he used to have. His newest mission helps him just as much as it helps the people he's protecting, and it seems to also offer a meta-commentary on how Marvel has used the character in the past.
The release of Moon Knight volume 9 (by Jed McKay and Alessandro Cappuccio) sees Marc Spector facing the consequences of his actions during Age of Khonshu. Forced to see a therapist and undergo surveillance by his former Avengers teammates, Moon Knight decides to step back from the chaos of world-ending events, famous teams, and all the magic and mysticism that has come to surround him. Now he works in one city, protecting its citizens through a new program he's dubbed the Midnight Mission. Through Mr. Knight's growing network of connections, Marc is able to find those who need help and effectively deploy himself to their aid. Having created a help hotline, the citizens of the city have direct access to help from Moon Knight and aid him in protecting the city. Using his fists and brains in a grounded world has corresponded with a major uptick in the quality of Moon Knight stories, and within the story, it also gives him a level of success and satisfaction he's been lacking for years.
The Midnight Mission Is Moon Knight's Best Idea Yet
Moon Knight volume 9 may show how working as a street hero humanizes and grounds Marc, but it doesn't just ignore the magic in his life. In Moon Knight #12 he is forced to traverse a passageway created by Khonshu, where long-dead Fists of Khonshu awaken to fight him. This acknowledges how he can never escape that side of his characterization as it's what gives him powers and makes him unique. However, Marc's fighting methods and his desire to stay on the street-level side of Marvel provides a very valuable insight into his character. Having struggled with all kinds of faiths and beliefs, Moon Knight's best stories revolve around his decision to stay true to himself. Even the therapist he's seeing now explicitly tells him that he shouldn't be forced to listen to a god like Khonshu. The series suggests that Moon Knight is best as a hero who confronts pseudo-mystic threats as a champion of real people, rather than himself being a mystic enforcer.
Intentional or not, Moon Knight volume 9 can be read as an extensive commentary on the type of stories that get the best from the character and the hang-ups that threaten to derail him - even the series' ongoing big-bad Zodiac is presented as a murderous super-fan who wants Moon Knight to return to his ultra-violent era rather than being humanized. Reading the series with this in mind offers a whole new level of meaning to Moon Knight's ongoing adventures and shows that his current creative team are very aware of what makes the character work and why.