Noteworthy Issues: Moon Knight #4 (October, 2021)

Did I say last time that I was never much of a Moon Knight fan, but I am actually digging this series’s run?

If I did, well, that’s still true.

Issue:  Moon Knight #4, October 2021

Writer:  Jed Mackay

Artist:  Alessandro Cappuccio

The Plot:  Tigra comes to visit her old West Coast Avengers teammate just as someone tries to blackmail Moon Knight.

Commentary:  The ongoing theme for this issue is, basically, why won’t Marc Spector take his Moon Knight mask off.  During the coarse of most issues, Marc appears in both his white suit look and his caped vigilante look, but the mask always stays put.  Why is that?

Part of it may be that Moon Knight, despite wanting to be seen in his pure white outfit, also wants to be mysterious.  He’s been seeing a therapist, he has a support staff in his temple to Khonshu, but none of these people have seen him unmasked.

Enter Tigra, who knows Marc from their time on the West Coast Avengers together.  She knows all kinds of things about Marc Spector, and she’s able to waltz in and be very friendly and sociable with everyone.  Part of the fun for this issue is see the normally unflappable Moon Knight get a little flustered as Tigra basically tells his associates that he’s, well, not just this inscrutable priest guy.

Oh, and then some wannabe supervillain, a guy who gave up stockbroking and got a badly scarred face after running with Punisher foe Jigsaw, manages to get his digital hands on Marc’s money and threatens to bankrupt Marc if he doesn’t do what he’s told.

So, I liked this issue a bit more than the others because it did two things.  First, it established a bit more about how Moon Knight and his mission works as well as how he feels about it while also allowing him to unwind just a little with someone who isn’t part of his new mission.  Tigra is someone Marc can let his hair down a bit, and she’s also someone who can also help him out on the superhero side if need be.  I rather liked that.

Then again, I have been liking this series.  I only wish the issues didn’t seem so short.

Grade:  A-