Real Marvel Zombies?! What Moon Knight's Episode 1 Ending Monster Is
Caution: spoilers ahead for Moon Knight episode 1
What monster shows up in the final moments of Moon Knight episode 1, and does it have anything to do with Marvel Zombies in the MCU? The latest addition to Disney+'s ever-growing collection of original MCU content is Moon Knight, starring Oscar Isaac as Steven Grant or Marc Spector, depending on the scene. Moon Knight's premiere mostly concerns itself with Steven's background, but the episode's final museum sequence reveals a harrowing monster beaten to death by the transformed Moon Knight.
The undead have become more prominent in the MCU as of late. Disney+'s What If...? introduced a parallel universe where Ant-Man accidentally brought a zombie virus back from the Quantum Realm, and now Marvel Zombies is confirmed for its very own animated spinoff series. Before then, trailer footage has revealed Zombie Strange will partake in the reality-hopping shenanigans of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
The monster introduced by Moon Knight episode 1's ending is a jackal. In the real-world animal kingdom, jackals are a species of canine native mostly to Africa, as well as nearby parts of Europe and Asia. They also enjoy a strong presence throughout ancient mythology, and are predominantly associated with Egyptian culture thanks to the popularized image of Anubis, who possessed the head of such a creature. A god representing death, the afterlife and embalming, Anubis' jackal head was (via Harvard Museums of Science & Culture) inspired by the dogs themselves, which would stalk cemeteries for fresh(ish) food. The jackal's connotations to Anubis and death may explain why it was chosen for the "little bugger" in Moon Knight episode 1.
Ethan Hawke makes his MCU debut as Moon Knight's Arthur Harrow, who claims to be a herald of the Egyptian god Ammit. In ancient mythology, Anubis and Ammit are closely related, with the former judging a person's heart, and the latter devouring those deemed impure. If Hawke's character summoned a jackal to attack Steven (which certainly seems to be the case), his connection to Ammit is likely the source of that power. Harrow also alludes toward bringing Ammit herself back to Earth, hinting jackals aren't the only things he can conjure from beyond the veil... Is the villain's method of summoning how "real" zombies (those that don't hail from the multiverse) are introduced to Kevin Feige's sandbox?
Previously, most undead incidents in the MCU involved some kind of meta parallel universe angle, keeping zombies at arm's length from main continuity. Though we don't get a clear view, the jackal in Moon Knight episode 1 appears semi-rotted - as if it's reanimated after centuries underground - and comes with glowing eyes, all of which point towards the beast being undead in some manner of speaking. This is about as close as the main MCU has come to the Z-word. In Thor: Ragnarok, we saw Hela (a fellow goddess of death, incidentally) revive Fenris and an army of dead Asgardian warriors, but that all took place on Asgard, whereas this jackal has been summoned right into the middle of London. Moon Knight's jackal summoning leaves the door open for other characters wielding God or Goddess of Death abilities to bring their own favorites back from the grave in future projects.
Arthur channeling the powers of Egyptian gods to summon jackals from the afterlife may bring Moon Knight to within touching distance of zombies... but that's unlikely to result in a full-scale Marvel Zombies-style infection. Arthur's gifts appear tied to his specific god, so while he can control the dog-like creatures of Anubis or Ammit, there's no method of reviving everyday folk, nor spreading the jackal's affliction onto the population at large. Which is good news for Marc Spector, who now has lots of red on him...
Moon Knight streams Wednesdays on Disney+.