The Black Panther Connection You Missed In Moon Knight Episode 1

Contains spoilers for "Moon Knight" Episode 1

With its spooky vibe and dark atmosphere, "Moon Knight" Episode 1 has a vibe that can remind the viewer of the "Defenders Saga" (the artist formerly known as the Marvel Netflix shows), and the very Marvel Cinematic Universe-style chase scene with its bright colors and comedy beats only makes the shadows around it even darker. As such, it makes sense for the show to avoid rubbing Avengers and other major aspects of the MCU in your face, and focus on telling its own story.

However, fans who are familiar enough with the source material may notice that if you know where to look, the show actually wears its MCU connections proudly on its sleeve. In fact, the very first episode makes clear that the mythology of "Moon Knight" is tightly connection to "Black Panther." Let's take a closer look at the two MCU properties' cool connection. 

Deities are a big thing in "Moon Knight." The evidently villainous Arthur Harrow (Ethan Hawke) heads an order that worships the goddess Ammit, and the bird skull giant who stalks Steven Grant (Oscar Isaac) and speaks inside his head is Khonshu (voiced by F. Murray Abraham), a moon god from the Ennead pantheon.   

In the comics, the Ennead is a group of gods from Egyptian mythology, such as Isis, Osiris, Horus, Thoth ... and Bast. The last name, incidentally, may sound familiar because she's the chief goddess of Wakanda, and the force behind the heart-shaped herb that gives Black Panther kings their powers. "Black Panther" establishes Bast as a legendary mystical presence who watches over the Wakandan afterlife and created the Black Panther system to protect the country. Though Khonshu's methods appear to be somewhat more drastic, the mysterious Moon Knight might be his angle on that same protection theme. So, if nothing else, Steven probably has plenty to talk about if he ever meets any Wakandan heroes.