Every Alternate Personality Used By Moon Knight Explained

Alter egos are a common trope in superhero comics, movies, and TV series. But when you're dealing with a character like Moon Knight, the term "double life" becomes something of an understatement.

As a man with Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID), Marc Spector doesn't just lead a double life — he leads a triple, quadruple, and sometimes quintuple life as a superhero, mercenary, cab driver, socialite, detective, businessman, little girl, super-soldier, and more. New personas or "alters" regularly manifest in Marc's fractured mind, leaving those around him confused as to whom — or what — they're dealing with at any moment.

If your knowledge of Moon Knight is limited to the Disney+ "Moon Knight" series and Oscar Isaac's popular depiction of the character(s), keep reading. We're going to take a deep dive down the rabbit hole and discover just how many alternate personalities Moon Knight has revealed in his long career.

Let's start with the so-called "core personality" Marc Spector. Debuting in "Werewolf by Night" #32, Spector's history has been explored and expanded upon greatly over the years. Originally, readers learned Spector was a soldier-for-fortune who worked with fellow mercenary Raoul Bushman.

After being left for dead by Bushman during a job that went bad in Egypt, Spector is resurrected by the moon god Khonshu and made into his "knight of vengeance," Moon Knight. Upon returning to the United States, Spector adopts multiple identities, including Steven Grant and Jake Lockley, granting him access to both white-collar and street-level criminals so he can serve Khonshu better. However, the stress of maintaining so many lives causes Spector's mind to fracture and he develops multiple personalities.

That's not the whole story. Seizing on the idea that many people with DID manifest this condition due to childhood trauma, writer Jeff Lemire and artist Greg Smallwood establish in their 2016 "Moon Knight" series that Marc Spector was a Jewish boy who discovered a friend of the family was actually a Nazi serial killer who was secretly murdering Jews. In the aftermath, Marc developed imaginary friends named "Steven Grant" and "Jake Lockley," who sometimes took over his identity when Marc couldn't cope with his life.

During this time, Khonshu kept watch over Marc, including when he was sent to a psychiatric hospital and later enlisted in the Marines. Khonshu spoke to Marc on occasion, but Marc would deny the Egyptian moon god until Khonshu finally saved Marc from death in Egypt and resurrected him as Moon Knight.

People only familiar with Oscar Isaac's bumbling "Steven-with-a-V" character on "Moon Knight" may be surprised to learn that "Steven Grant" was originally a charming millionaire in the comic books with a personality more akin to Batman's Bruce Wayne playboy image.

Initially presented as an alias Marc Spector adopted after he parlayed the money he made as a mercenary into a fortune, the identity of Steven Grant let Moon Knight walk among corporate criminals. This created personal problems for Marc, especially when his girlfriend, Marlene Alraune, began preferring "Steven" over his other personalities. Eventually, Marc (temporarily) gave up his Moon Knight career and began living with Marlene in Steven Grant's lifestyle.

However, readers later learned "Steven Grant" manifested earlier as an imaginary friend during Marc's childhood. In a story by Jeff Lemire, Greg Smallwood, Wilfredo Torres, Francesco Francavilla, and James Stokoe that appeared in "Moon Knight" (2016) #9, "Steven" reveals he has his own memories and history, which make him "real." When Marc asks Steven to relinquish control over his body, Steven agrees and states he just wants Marc to be happy, showing he exists to help protect the core persona.

Much like DC's Batman, who uses the criminal identity "Matches Malone" to infiltrate Gotham's underworld, Moon Knight often gathers intel as "Jake Lockley," a cab driver who frequently overhears illegal dealings discussed in the backseat of his car. Jake has a rougher personality than Steven or Marc. He develops a network of spies and informants among the criminals he interacts with, gradually carving out a life of his own in this seedy community.

One of the most shocking things about Jake comes to light in "Moon Knight" #190 when, in a story by Max Bemis and Jacen Burrows, we learn Jake fathered a daughter named Diatrice with Marc's girlfriend Marlene Alraune and managed to keep his other personalities from finding out. Needless to say, this revelation causes a lot of friction among Marc's personalities, although Marc does eventually establish a type of relationship with Diatrice, who now has ambitions of one day being "Moon Girl."

Moving from the mainstream Marvel Universe to the "Ultimate Marvel" comics, which operate in a separate continuity, readers learn that Moon Knight developed in a very different way on this alternate Earth. Written by Brian Michael Bendis, who leaned hard into the character's alternate personalities, we discover "Moon Knight" is a separate persona developed by the mind of a man who is also "Marc Spector" and "Steven Grant."

Little mention is made of Khonshu here. Instead, Moon Knight's superhuman abilities seem to come from both his DID and his participation in an experimental super-soldier program during the Gulf War that went awry. He finds himself frequently at odds with the Ultimate Universe's Spider-Man, although he later teams up with the wall-crawler—as well as Daredevil, Doctor Strange, Shang-Chi, and Iron Fist—to take down the Kingpin.

While this Moon Knight doesn't seem to have mystical powers, he can take an insane amount of punishment. At one point, he's stabbed in the chest by Kingpin's assassin Elektra and manages to not only survive but also impale Elektra in the back of the head with one of his moon-shaped crescent blades. Later, one of his other alternate personalities gets shot point-blank in the head, yet Moon Knight still takes control of the body and continues on with his mission, proving that for him, dedication and insanity form an uneasy balance.

The Ultimate Universe likes to mix and match different aspects of a character's traditional history. As a result, the Steven Grant of "Ultimate Marvel" is very different from his original socialite self or his nerdy MCU version.

Here, "Steven" is much more like the mainstream Moon Knight's "Jake Lockley" persona as he drives a cab and mingles with the seedier elements of society. He also regularly interacts with his other personalities on a "mental plane" in his head, frequently arguing with his "Marc Spector" persona.

Interestingly, while Marc is annoyed by Spider-Man's interference in their activities and wants to beat him up, Steven is fine with ignoring the web spinner, wanting to stay focused on their mission to take down major criminals like the Kingpin.

In another odd twist, "Steven Grant" may actually be Moon Knight's legal identity in the Ultimate Universe, since the media refers to him by this name when his identity as Moon Knight is exposed. Either Marc is really good at forging fake identities, or "Steven" may be the original persona in this universe.

Just as Ultimate Steven Grant took on the personality traits of Marvel's mainstream Jake Lockley, Ultimate Marc Spector is an amalgamation of his mainstream mercenary self and the original debonair Steven Grant. According to files dug up by the Kingpin, "Marc Spector" is an ex-Navy seal who took part in a failed Gulf War super-soldier experiment before becoming a wealthy businessman who uses his money to fund Moon Knight's activities.

Inside the mindscape that he shares with his other "alters," Marc frequently debates with his Steven Grant persona over the best course of action they should take as Moon Knight. Interestingly, Marc also hints that the different personas can bleed into each other, as he once told Steven in "Ultimate Spider-Man" #83 that Spider-Man "beat the hell out of you," although it was Moon Knight that Spider-Man was fighting. This suggests these alters identify more with each other than in other depictions of Moon Knight's DID and don't leave the memory gaps seen in the Disney+ "Moon Knight" show.

Now here's a bizarre alter we haven't seen in either the mainstream comics or the TV show. In "Ultimate Spider-Man" #83, we get a glimpse into Moon Knight's mind and discover that along with Moon Knight, Steven Grant, and Marc Spector, there's a fourth identity in the mental plane — a precocious, red-haired little girl who sits on a swing set while her other personalities bicker with one another.

Unlike the other "alters," Moon Knight's inner child never takes over the body and manifests in the real world. However, she has a very commanding presence and functions as the voice of reason in Moon Knight's fractured mind. Where the other alters seem nervous about their dangerous personalities, the girl simply acknowledges they are all parts of the same person and need to make sure their mind does not fracture any further.

Unfortunately, this good advice goes unheeded by the other personas when Steven Grant and Marc Spector decide in "Ultimate Spider-Man" #108 to intentionally fracture their mind and create a new alter who can infiltrate the Kingpin's organization. Although the girl is against this idea, once she realizes she's been overruled, she helps build the new identity.

Things only go downhill from there...

"Ronin" is an identity that has been claimed by many characters in Marvel comics, films, and TV. In the mainstream Marvel Universe, both Hawkeye and the deaf warrior Echo have taken on the identity of this deadly antihero to gain access to criminal society. In the MCU, a traumatized Clint Barton temporarily becomes Ronin in "Avengers: Endgame" (2019) after losing his family in "The Snap."

In the Ultimate Universe, Ronin isn't Hawkeye or Echo. Instead, he's another alter of Moon Knight, created to pose as a criminal hitman seeking to become the Kingpin's new bodyguard. Although Moon Knight's other alters thought they could use Ronin to help take down the Kingpin, Ronin soon proved too violent and unstable. He drives a bus through Peter Parker's school on the Kingpin's orders and later seemingly kills his own Moon Knight personality inside his mind.

Eventually, the Kingpin discovers "Ronin" is a plant, brutally beats him, and has his men shoot him in the head. Amazingly, Ronin survives by reawakening his "Moon Knight" self and manages to drag their shared body out of a river despite the gunshot wound.

Ronin also uses his "Marc Spector" credentials to gain access to the Kingpin's inner circle. Interestingly, the Kingpin's men discover Marc used another identity as "Paladin" to work for the corrupt company Roxxon. In mainstream Marvel comics, Paladin is the name of a mercenary anti-hero unrelated to Moon Knight. Since we never see "Ultimate Paladin" appear in Moon Knight's mindscape, it's possible he's just an alias and not an alter. Then again, since Moon Knight's alters can kill each other, it's possible the other personalities just got rid of him.

Okay, now things are getting weird(er). In a 12-issue "Moon Knight" 2011 miniseries written by Brian Michael Bendis and drawn by Alex Maleev, Moon Knight basically becomes a one-man Avengers team.

The story starts with Marc Spector in Hollywood making a TV show based on his life (wonder if it's produced by Disney+?) when he's approached by Spider-Man, Captain America, and Wolverine. The Avengers ask Moon Knight to prevent an up-and-coming crime boss from becoming the Kingpin of the West Coast.

Only it turns out that these "Avengers" are all in Marc's head and he's manifested new personas to help in his crimefighting activities. Even weirder, he starts dressing in a Spider-Man costume and webbing up bad guys with a cheap web fluid knockoff that looks like silly string. Eventually, Marc gets a SHIELD tech to reverse-engineer some better web-shooters for him, but none of the criminals he fights believe he's really Spider-Man. Meanwhile, the "Spidey" in Marc's head continues to offer him encouragement and becomes a representation of his kinder, more compassionate side.

As alternate personalities go, having Captain America there to provide you with moral guidance and support isn't the worst thing that can happen to you. Like many, Marc Spector sees Steve Rogers as the pinnacle of virtue, so it isn't surprising that the Captain America alter he manifests encourages him to go on missions to protect the people of Los Angeles. This illusory Cap also helps keep the other alters (Wolverine and Spider-Man) in check and focused on their mission.

Notably, Cap never takes over Moon Knight's body, but only exists as a hallucination that Marc interacts with. However, Marc does have his SHIELD tech build an energy shield similar to the one the real Cap once used to temporarily replace his traditional adamantium-vibranium alloy shield. When you've got Steve Rogers in your head, who wouldn't want to be Captain America for a day? Unfortunately, all this is jeopardized thanks to Marc's third Avenger "alter"...

He's the best there is at what he does, and what he does best is — bust Marc Spector's chops? That's what this Wolverine alter, who seems to represent Marc's anger and savagery, does. Possessing none of the real Logan's honor and sense of decency, this Wolverine alter simply insults Marc's TV show and urges him to kill his enemies.

At one point, this Wolverine takes over Marc's body while Marc is still dressed in his Spider-Man costume, causing an unmasked Marc to act even crazier than usual while fighting in an underworld strip club. Despite this, Marc has his SHIELD tech craft some fake Wolverine metal claws to make him a better "one-man Avenger." Unfortunately, the Wolverine persona grows too aggressive and ends up murdering Marc's Spider-Man and Captain America alters to gain more control over Moon Knight's activities. Even the real Wolverine would probably feel that was crazy.

Echo (aka Maya Lopez) has been getting more attention lately in the MCU, with a version of the character appearing in the Disney+ "Hawkeye" TV show and slated to appear in her own series later on.

In the comics, Echo is a deaf woman who possesses photographic reflexes, enabling her to perfectly mimic the actions of those she sees. This lets her go toe-to-toe with Daredevil and even adopt the identity of Ronin temporarily. In the 2011 "Moon Knight" comic book series, she reluctantly teams up with Marc Spector to take down the villainous Count Nefaria. Unfortunately, during one of their battles, Echo is killed by Nefaria, triggering Marc to go into a berserker rage thanks to his Wolverine persona.

Shortly after, Marc manifests an Echo "alter" who takes the place of Spider-Man as the voice of his compassion. She urges Marc to get up after he's nearly beaten to death by Nefaria's daughter, Madame Masque, and continues to offer him advice later on, although she never takes over his body. 

Near the end of Brian Michael Bendis' 2011 "Moon Knight" series, Marc manifests yet another alternate personality based on an Avenger. Shortly after meeting with Tony Stark, we see Marc has an Iron Man persona in his mindscape, along with Echo and Wolverine. While this Tony Stark never speaks, it's possible that "Iron Man" has now replaced his Captain America persona as the voice of his morality (just as Echo replaced Spider-Man as the voice of Marc's compassion).

Of course, knowing how arrogant and close-minded Tony Stark can be, this isn't necessarily a good thing. Cap and Iron Man were on opposite sides of the Superhero Civil War, after all, and it would have been interesting to see what kind of guidance Marc and Moon Knight get from this Iron Man. However, the series soon ended and we never got to see how Marc dealt with these new Avengers in his head.

If "Steven Grant" and "Jake Lockley" are fragments of Marc Spector's personality, it stands to reason that Moon Knight's own personality would eventually splinter and develop a new alter of its own. This happens in Warren Ellis and Declan Shalvey's 2014 "Moon Knight" series, shortly after Marc manifests his alternate Avengers identities. Suddenly freed of those personalities, Marc instead dresses in a dapper white suit and mask, rolls up in a self-driving white limo, and announces himself as "Mr. Knight."

More of a detective than Moon Knight, Mr. Knight assists the police in analyzing their crime scenes. The police reinforce this new identity, telling their fellow officers to see Marc as a "concerned citizen" who is definitely not Moon Knight. Indeed, where Moon Knight is a vigilante who enjoys beating up criminals with his fists, Mr. Knight prefers tracking down crooks with Sherlock Holmes-style deductions and taking them out with subtle, precise movements that require a minimum of violence.

Later comics show that "Mr. Knight" is who people seeking out Marc Spector's help tend to deal with, while "Moon Knight" is whom he transforms into when things need to get more physical. It's a bit complicated, but Marc's clients are basically getting two heroes for the price of one.

When discussing Khonshu, Marvel's version of the Egyptian god of the moon, things can get complicated. For most of Moon Knight's history, Khonshu was depicted as a separate entity who recruited Marc Spector to be his avatar. Since gods like Thor and Hercules exist in the Marvel Universe, most readers had no trouble accepting this. Plus, it provided a good explanation for Moon Knight's powers, particularly the tendency for his superhuman strength to wax and wane with the phases of the moon.

However, this isn't the case with all versions of Khonshu. In Jeff Lemire and Greg Smallwood's 2016 "Moon Knight" series, Marc encounters a Khonshu in his head that might just be another alternate personality. This Khonshu berates Marc Spector, claiming Marc needs him to be Moon Knight. However, Marc begins viewing Khonshu as nothing more than his madness, claiming, "You're that thing in my mind that is wrong." He reintegrates with his Steven and Jake personas. Together they break "Khonshu" apart, stating they never needed him to be a superhero.

In the MCU, Steven Grant (Oscar Isaac) isn't a charming millionaire or a seedy cab driver. Instead, he's a sweet-natured British man who works in a museum gift shop. An expert on Egyptology and Egyptian gods, Steven dreams about being a museum tour guide, but receives nothing but disdain from his bosses.

To make matters worse, Steven has a sleepwalking problem and later discovers his other personalities are constantly hijacking his body and leaving him in dangerous positions—like when he wakes up in a remote village and gets targeted by Arthur Harrow (Ethan Hawke) and his cult of Ammit-worshipping zealots.

Despite his seemingly weak-willed nature, Steven gains a stronger backbone when he learns he's part of the collection of personalities that comprises Moon Knight. He stands up to Harrow, tries to protect innocent people, and even discovers he can access a version of a "Mr. Knight" mystical suit (which Marc sarcastically refers to as "Psycho Colonel Sanders"). While he doesn't start out as a fighter, once he accepts that he's a part of Marc, his combat skills improve, and he adopts a unique "tag team" style of fighting with Moon Knight.

In the episode "Asylum," we learn "Steven" was created by Marc as a way to cope with childhood abuse. After an accident claimed the life of his younger brother, Marc's mother blamed Marc for the death and regularly beat him. To escape, Marc regularly switched places with Steven, whom he based off of his movie hero "Dr. Steven Grant" to gain some semblance of a happy childhood.

After being shot by Harrow, Steven and Marc end up in the realm of the dead where Steven saves Marc from being dragged off a ship sailing to A'Aru or the Field of Reeds, the Egyptian version of heaven. Tragically, he falls off the ship and becomes frozen in the sands, but Marc — unwilling to let a part of himself die — forsakes heaven and returns to free Steven so they can escape the afterlife together. Later, Steven returns the favor by making a deal with Khonshu to release himself and Marc from his service after they defeat Ammit.

Where MCU's Steven Grant is a major departure from his comic book counterparts, Oscar Isaac's depiction of Marc Spector is a fairly faithful recreation of the original, with a few added wrinkles. Like the comic book version, this Marc is an American mercenary who solves most of his problems by beating people up. He sees himself as a killer partly because his abusive mother always blamed him for his younger brother's accidental death.

One interesting change from the comics is Marc's wife Layla El-Faouly (May Calamawy), the daughter of an archeologist Marc failed to save during a raid on an Egyptian tomb. His death left Marc suicidal and allowed Khonshu to manipulate him into becoming Moon Knight. However, when Marc suspects Khonshu wants Layla to become his new avatar, Marc tries to divorce Layla in an attempt to keep her safe. Instead, Layla starts falling for Steven, who shares many of Layla's interests in French poetry and Egyptology, showing Marc's DID turned him into his own romantic competition.

Despite their initial animosity, Marc and Steven grow closer and Steven helps Marc forgive himself for his brother's death. Marc, in turn, calls Steven "the only real superpower I ever had." By the end of Season 1, Marc and Steven seem to be happily co-existing, unaware they still need to contend with a third personality...

Although the MCU version of Jake Lockley doesn't make his formal appearance until the post-credits scene in the final episode of Disney's "Moon Knight" TV show, his misdeeds are literally strewn across the series. It's almost certainly Jake who takes over Steven's body in the first episode when he's being pursued by Harrow's cultists and murders them all. In episode 3, "The Friendly Type," Jake briefly takes control of Marc's body and kills the cultists Marc was trying to question, to the confusion of both Marc and Steven.

By the season finale, Jake reveals he's also one of Khonshu's secret avatars when he manifests in Moon Knight's body and beats Arthur Harrow nearly to death. After Marc refuses to kill Harrow, Khonshu simply directs Jake to abduct Harrow from a mental hospital and shoot him, showing the Moon God still has dominion over at least one of Marc Spector's multiple personalities.

So what kind of person is the MCU's Jake Lockley? More violent than either Marc or Steven, Jake may have his own unique charm. It's very likely Jake who gets a date with an attractive museum tour guide (whom he later stands up) in the first episode. Unlike his mainstream cab driving counterpart, Jake drives a white limousine like Marvel Comics' Mr. Knight (it even has the same "SPKTR" license plate). He speaks Spanish, talks in a Brooklyn accent when he briefly manifests in an asylum scene, and has no problem carrying out Khonshu's more lethal directives. In fact, he seems to flat out enjoy them.

If "Moon Knight" gets a Season 2, it's almost inevitable that we'll be seeing more of Jake Lockley in the future. Marc and Steven may believe they're free of Khonshu's influence, but with Jake secretly still working for Khonshu (and probably sporting his own version of the ceremonial armor), the MCU Moon Knight saga may be heading down an even darker path.