What Could Moon Knight Survive? Is He More Powerful Than Wolverine?
Warning: Spoilers for Moon Knight episode 1
Marc Spector’s apparent healing abilities in Moon Knight have raised interesting comparisons to Wolverine. The iconic Marvel Comics mutant and member of the X-Men is well-known for his healing factor, which allows him to survive injuries that would have killed any human. So despite not having the colossal strength of Thor or Hulk, Wolverine is one of the hardest Marvel characters to kill.
After Moon Knight episode 1, it’s worth wondering if Oscar Isaac’s MCU character should be lumped into the same category. For now, exactly what the Crescent Crusader is capable of isn’t altogether clear. His transformation at the end of the series premiere confirmed that Marc is already Moon Knight, but he clearly has no knowledge of what’s going on or who he really is. Due to the show’s mystery element, no explanations have been given about Moon Knight’s nature or his powers. For the time being, much of what’s understood about the character’s abilities comes from the comic books. Moon Knight’s rich history in Marvel Comics provides insight into what he can accomplish in the MCU.
However, not all the clues are rooted in the comics. Moon Knight episode 1 included some important hints about Marc's powers. One particular moment has given some viewers the impression that he may be invincible or at least has some form of a healing factor. For an unexplained reason, Steven survived a massive fall. Here’s what this means for his character, how powerful Moon Knight is in Marvel Comics, how he compares to Wolverine, and how his healing factor works.
In the comics, Moon Knight recovers from injuries much faster than normal humans. That plays an important role in his fighting style, as the Fist of Khonshu is famous for his reckless and unpredictable approach to fights. Rather than dodge or avoid attacks, Marc tends to take the hits and continue to move in on his opponent. This aspect of his character is what makes him so challenging to fight. This is the very reason why Taskmaster once said that he’ll never copy Moon Knight’s movements. Why Marc Spector fights in such an unorthodox manner can be attributed at least partially to his healing factor. Since he doesn’t retain injuries for long, he doesn’t have to fear heavy hits as much as most street-level superheroes.
It appears that the moonlight – which also grants him super strength – is what activates his healing factor. In the classic comics, Marc’s powers were in sync with the phases of the moon. For instance, his strength was at its peak during the full moon. This also accounted for how his healing powers worked. At this juncture, it’s not clear if the moon directly enhances Moon Knight’s powers in the MCU. The incident where he survived the fall happened in the daytime, so his superhero activities may not depend on the moon’s rays.
The idea that the MCU’s take on the hero shares the comic character’s healing factor is supported by Moon Knight episode 1 where Marc is shown waking up on the ground with a dislocated jaw. In addition to forgetting rather quickly about his injured jaw, he presumably fell from the highest floor of a large building. The fall itself wasn’t seen, but the broken glass nearby hinted that falling through the window is how Moon Knight ended up on the ground. This heavily implies that not only can he rapidly heal, but he can live through situations that would be instantly fatal to any non-powered human.
The fact that such a huge fall didn’t kill Moon Knight is surprising, but not necessarily inconsistent with Marc's portrayal in the comics. People around him have stared in bewilderment when seeing him shake off explosions, bullet wounds, and powerful energy blasts. He’s also walked away from blows taken from characters as powerful as Venom, Werewolf by Night, and even Wonder Man. The comics have proven that it takes quite a lot to keep Moon Knight down. It’s unlikely that he would last long in a prolonged showdown with a character like the Hulk or Thor, but he does have an impressive degree of physical toughness for a street-level hero.
How difficult it is to kill Moon Knight has generated discussions about the character potentially being immortal. The comics have demonstrated that Moon Knight can die. In fact, this has happened before. That being said, the idea that he still lives says something significant about Moon Knight’s mortality. Khonshu memorably brought Marc back to life when he made him his champion, but that wasn’t the last time he did that. Khonshu’s history of resurrecting Marc reveals that in a certain sense, Moon Knight is immortal.
Moon Knight’s healing abilities are useful – but not quite as advanced as the ones that Wolverine has. Unlike Marc, Wolverine can take high-caliber bullets to the head, collisions with vehicles, and devastating stab wounds that puncture major organs. Plus, he’s been on the receiving end of brutal beatdowns dealt out by Marvel’s strongest powerhouses, including the Hulk and Namor the Sub-Mariner. It stands to reason that the several, crushing blows he’s sustained from these fights would have killed Moon Knight. His healing factor is certainly noteworthy, but he’s just not in the same class as Wolverine and Deadpool when it comes to this ability.
In the original comics, Moon Knight's supernatural powers weren’t tied to the suit, but the mystical nature of the MCU version hints that it may have special properties. How the suit molded onto Marc’s body when the creature attacked hinted that he may need it to fight. If that’s true, he may have been wearing the suit when he fell. If the suit really is that important, Marc’s healing factor and toughness may not matter so much when he’s in his “Steven Grant” persona or not wearing the suit. That would explain why Khonshu was so insistent that Steven “surrender the body” to Marc, who may be the only one who can activate it. If this is how the suit works, suiting up as Moon Knight may be about so much more than protecting his secret identity. His activities in the service of Khonshu may be contingent on the Moon Knight costume.
Moon Knight releases new episodes on Wednesdays on Disney+.