Moon Knight: Who Is Layla? X-Men Link, Powers & Comics Origin Explained
WARNING: Spoilers for Moon Knight episode 1.
Moon Knight episode 1 sees Steven Grant speaking on the phone with a woman named Layla, who in the comics has a strong link with the X-Men. 47 years after its comic book debut, Moon Knight has finally made its live-action debut in the form of a Disney+ series. Oscar Isaac was chosen to bring the many facets of the anti-hero to life in a show that has already proved to be quite different from what the MCU is used to.
Initially following the almost ordinary life of Steven Grant, Moon Knight quickly revealed that there's a lot more to Oscar Isaac's character's life than he realizes. The countless blackouts followed by waking up in strange situations hide the fact that Steven is living two different lives, the second one being much more dangerous than the other. Between a gift-shop worker and a mercenary lies MCU's new major player, Moon Knight.
As is usual with the franchise, each new movie or show is an opportunity to introduce new characters in the MCU. In the case of Moon Knight, one of those news characters is Layla Miller, the contact on Marc Spector's cell phone with whom Steven Grant had a quick conversation. Amongst the show's comic book audience, the name Layla will not go unnoticed, as the character has a history with the world of the X-Men.
Created in 2005 by Brian Michael Bendis and Olivier Coipel for House of M #4, Layla Miller was a mutant who grew up in an orphanage after an accident took the lives of her parents. Like many mutants, Layla struggled to fit in after the emergence of her powers, which initially included the appearance of a horn and the ability to breathe fire. It was when Scarlet Witch at the peak of her powers started playing with the fabric of reality that things became a bit complicated for Layla. As a consequence of the perfect world for mutants that Wanda tried to create, Layla was placed in a reality in which her parents were alive and in which her powers passed on to include the perception of different realities.
It was thanks to that power that Layla realized something was off and was later used by Doctor Strange to try to revert what Wanda had done. Layla's ability was used to "wake up" key players from Wanda's perfect world, even though it would eventually mean Layla losing her parents for the second time. As a consequence of the end of House of M, in which Scarlet Witch removed the powers of most mutants in the world, Layla returned to her normal life but was no longer a mutant. She did, however, gain a new ability: interacting with the souls of the dead and resurrecting them. Later in the timeline, a future version of Layla would return to her younger self's orphanage days and pass on all knowledge about the future. This would make Layla grow up with the ability to anticipate future events, change the outcome of certain situations, and as a consequence create parallel universes for each decision she makes.
In the comics, Lyla's powers can then be divided into three stages: before House of M, after House of M, and after the time travel with the X-Men. In the first case, her mutant powers gave her a horn and the ability to breathe fire. In the second case, the ability to raise the dead and heal the seriously injured. In the third case, the ability to predict the future and interact with different timelines. In the comics, Layla also studied mystical arts with Doctor Doom in Latveria, becoming able to perform exorcism and location spells.
In Moon Knight, it is still not possible to say what powers Laya will have - if at all. It wouldn't be the first time the MCU would take inspiration from just a few elements of a comic book character to create a brand new one for live-action, especially considering lesser-known names from the Marvel universe. That said, the more mystical side of Lyla's powers as well as her ability to predict the future would be interesting things to see in live-action, even if not tied to the MCU's X-men.
Categorizing certain characters as mutants or not in the MCU has been a tricky issue in the franchise since Wanda and Pietro appeared in Avengers: Age of Ultron. At the time, without the rights over the X-Men, the MCU was forced to change the origins of the twins and use the mind stone as a way to explain their powers. More recently, after Disney acquired Fox, another character who in the comics was a mutant appeared in the MCU in Black Widow: Ursa Major. However, nowhere in the film is acknowledged that Ursa Major is a mutant, meaning it would be a bit of a stretch to claim that he is the first mutant in the MCU.
All that considered, it could be that Layla in Moon Knight is just a loose adaptation of the post-House of M version of the character, which essentially was no longer a mutant. Moon Knight is diving into the mystical and supernatural side of Marvel, and Layla's powers of interacting with souls would fit right into what the show needs. That's not to say Layla can't be a mutant in the MCU, especially if the character sticks around in the franchise. Once the mutants and the X-Men are properly introduced, it will be easier to retroactively define which mutants had already been introduced in that universe.
In the comics, Layla and Moon Knight are in completely separate corners of the Marvel universe and have never interacted. That considered, the more supernatural and mystical nature of many of Layla's abilities post-House of M may have been what made the MCU bring her in as part of the Moon Knight series. In the show, Layla appears to be an associate of Marc Spector, the mercenary version of Oscar Isaac's character and is unaware of the fact that her partner has dissociative identity disorder. Except for just one name, Layla appears to be the only person who Marc Spector has a direct channel of communication with.
It’s likely that Layla was with Marc Spector on the mission that Moon Knight episode 1 followed, and believed that he had died after not hearing from him for two days. It's also likely that from now on, Layla will become the connection between Steven Grant and Marc Spector. The mystical nature of Moon Knight's powers is also something Layla can help Steven, Marc, and the viewers find more about.
New episodes of Moon Knight release every Wednesday on Disney+.