WARNING: Spoilers ahead for Moon Knight Episode 4, “The Tomb.”
Marvel’s Moon Knight was initially hyped as the darkest, most mystifying offering yet from the Disney+ delivered, movie-canon-adherent serial television realm. Four episodes in, the series—having unraveled circuitously from London to ancient tombs in Egypt with psychologically vexing unreliable narrator tropes—would suddenly send viewers to a surreal, symbolism-teeming mental institution. However, as Oscar Isaac’s personality-divided Marc Spector delicately discerned the dubious new setting, he found himself holding a Moon Knight action figure, leaving collectors (well, some of them, anyway) to wonder if something they might own just made a major meta-based cameo. Well, the answer is slightly more complicated than it might initially seem.
Upon a tremendous third-act twist, Moon Knight, Episode 4, “The Tomb,” showcased the sight of a dazed, bewildered and wheelchair-bound Spector suddenly residing in a mysterious, clinically white-walled institution filled with versions of people he knows, notably ex-wife Layla El-Faouly (May Calamawy). Pertinently, he’s gripping an actual Moon Knight figure, a representation of his crime-fighting alter ego. As far as onscreen symbolism goes, the imagery is about as clear as it gets. After all, with the source of Marc’s superheroic powers, Egyptian moon god Khonshu (F. Murray Abraham), currently imprisoned—at the behest of his Egyptian god peers—inside a small figurine, the side of himself that wears the supernatural white shroud armor and cloak is now similarly separate and miniaturized. Subsequently, Marc’s weakened attempt to stand results in a humiliating fall, during which he drops the figure (and all that it represents), leading to a slow, tightening shot of the item resting on the floor, highlighting its importance.
So, does the figure in focus actually exist? Is it in stores now? Will there be a price jump on the secondary market due to the cameo? First and foremost, based on the visible scale and articulation points, the item appears to hail from Hasbro’s 6″ scale modern Marvel Legends line. One would think that clue narrows things down since the past few years have only seen a few Moon Knight figures released in the line (he has been, up until now, a character generally ignored by the mainstream), and most recently had an all-white comic book version released last year as a Walgreens exclusive. Yet, the onscreen figure bears specific attributes that don’t quite line up with anything actually released by the company under the brand. Additionally, it doesn’t even come close to resembling anything in the scale from yesteryear released during the 2000s era by the now-defunct Toy Biz. However, an apparent answer arrives during the aforementioned tight shot. While the figure’s gauntlet and boots line up with previous Moon Knight releases, the shot clearly showcases some crude black paint work around the eyes and, most importantly, a soft-goods cape.
The conclusion: The Moon Knight figure featured in Episode 4 is, in all likelihood, a customized creation that utilizes an existing Moon Knight figure—possibly last year’s all-white Walgreens exclusive release—as a base for some non-factory feature-accentuating paint detailing. Moreover, the cape in question appears to be made from material that resembles the stained shrouds used by the genuine article onscreen; a feature that, for certain, no plastic-caped Legends Moon Knight has ever included—although, make no mistake, they absolutely should. Perhaps the show’s producers felt the need to take an extra bespoke step to enhance the figure’s aesthetics onscreen, rather than just ripping a retail-sold release straight out of the package and putting it into Oscar Isaac’s hand.
Regardless, more Moon Knight figures are already being teased, namely ones that represent this television series… which just happened to showcase a Moon Knight figure. Hasbro recently revealed (as seen just above) its Marvel Legends takes on the television Moon Knight and the Khonshu-upgraded, more polite, dapper, (sort of) super-powered version of Steven Grant, known as Mr. Knight. However, fans will need to exercise patience here since the figures, while currently available for preorder on Hasbro Pulse and other online retailers, aren’t currently set to arrive until March 2023. By that point, a second season of Moon Knight will most likely be on the slate, if not in production.
Moon Knight will continue its weekly Wednesday run on Disney+, but it won’t last much longer, seeing as the next episode, arriving on April 27, will quickly see the show’s inaugural season to its finale, which premieres on May 4.
