Moon Knight's Avatar Joke Reminds James Cameron He's Wrong About The MCU
Warning: This article contains spoilers for Moon Knight episode 1.
The arrival of Moon Knight episode 1 on Disney+ brought with it a strange Avatar joke that means more than you might realize. Moon Knight saw a surprising shift in tone for the MCU and a true stand-alone for Marvel, but the reference to James Cameron's blockbuster movie stood out. On the surface, it was merely a play on words, given the fact that Oscar Isaac's Marc Spector is an avatar for the moon god Khonshu. But looking deeper, it's actually a genius gag.
Marvel's Phase 4 has delivered on the promise to do new things and add difference to the MCU, but in almost every case, the releases — even Eternals and the innovative WandaVision — have still been defined by their place in the wider pantheon. For Moon Knight, tying to the MCU is a far lower priority than telling an interesting, sometimes difficult story about a complex antihero. Traditionally, the introduction of a new MCU hero would immediately prompt an inevitable question, but whether Moon Knight will become an Avenger isn't a primary concern. At least not yet. Instead, the references in Moon Knight tend to be to mythology and external pop culture influences above all else.
Related: Moon Knight Proves How Weak Almost Every MCU Villain Is
In Moon Knight episode 1, Steven Grant manically responds to the reveal of Marc Spector's existence and his role as Khonshu's avatar by jokingly referencing James Cameron's Avatar and its blue-skinned heroes. The moment is a funny reflection of Steven's state of mind as he seeks a humorous coping mechanism for what Marc is telling him about his link to an ancient, all-powerful Egyptian god, but it's more than that. Because whether intentionally or not, it calls
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