An amazing cosplay pays homage to one of the ghost-ripper armor), this minimalist reinvention is what many fans think of when they think of the Fist of Khonshu.
While sometimes referred to as "Marvel's Batman," Moon Knight is a complex, multifaceted character with a long and often tragic history. Born Marc Spector and first appearing as an adversary in Werewolf by Night vol. 1 #32 by Doug Moench and Don Perlin, Moon Knight is a former US Marine who went on to work as a mercenary. Betrayed and fatally wounded by his associate Bushman while on a mission in Egypt, Spector was resurrected by the ancient Egyptian Moon God Khonshu. Khonshu entrusted Spector with powers to protect "travelers of the night" from harm, and so he became Moon Knight, one of Marvel's most colorful characters - even if his outfit says otherwise.
Moon Knight has a striking yet simple silhouette, usually wearing a white outfit - an outfit he chooses so that his enemies can see him coming. Despite this, his costume has gone through several changes over the decades, partially in response to the changing relationship Marc has both with Khonshu and his other personas. One of the latest iterations of the outfit, first appearing in the eponymous 2014 run by industry legends Warren Ellis and Declan Shalvey, recently inspired an amazing cosplay from Derek Shackleton, a San Diego cosplayer known as kreedcosplay who has created multiple versions of the character.
This costume takes a completely different approach from Moon Knight's usual style. Instead of a blinding all-white costume that intimidates his enemies, this time Moon Knight opted for a black bodysuit. Shackleton recreates the armored look incredibly well, with Spector's trademark gadgets and accessories, as well as the bullet-riddled cape. The different materials and textures used give this cosplay an air of realism, and the poses displayed show that it would look great in action. This was a team effort, and Shackleton credits photographer @faerenfaeren, as well as @sonthebun for helping make the metallic chest and shoulder portions, which add to the overall look tremendously.
While the comics run that this costume first appeared in only lasted six issues before changing creative teams, it set the stage for modern depictions of the character, as well as his MCU interpretation. Ellis and Shalvey attempted to tell Moon Knight stories that are self-contained, done-in-one issues and yet wildly ambitious in posing him surreal and disturbing new problems. This was the run that introduced Mr. Knight, Moon Knight's distinctive alter-ego famously used in the Moon Knight Disney+ series. The creative team used the opportunity to put Spector in novel situations, telling stories that saw Moon Knight encounter everything from punk ghosts to a sleep experiment that drove people insane. Likewise, the daring art utilizes negative space in surprising ways not seen in other mainstream comics and his stark costume stands out thanks to a genius command of color that often plays it against bold block color.
In this incredible cosplay, kreedcosplay captures Moon Knight's armored look with amazing accuracy and attention to detail. Moon Knight is one of Marvel's more troubled heroes, facing demons within and without, but that has never stopped him from having some of the most striking looks put to page, and this cosplay does Moon Knight justice.
