My idea for a "Moon Knight" movie.
Marvel are on a roll as it stands, but they're not really pushing many boundaries. What they need is a truly "adult" movie, something uncensored and with an 18 certificate, tackling dark themes and having a central character arc. What better way to do this than with Moon Knight, a murderous vigilante with multiple personalities?
Marc Spector/A.K.A Moon Knight - Dylan McDermott
Raoul Bushman - Jamie Hector
The Profile - Jack Coleman
Agent Donna Perlin - Meagan Goode
Khonshu - Arnold Vosloo
Dr. Madeline Alarune - Lea Seydoux
The film focuses upon S.H.I.E.L.D agent Marc Spector, one of the first to sign up for the super serum project, which continued going after Captain America (see The Incredible Hulk). Desperate for results which didn't end in disaster, doctors accepted Spector (a versatile and competent agent as well as an exemplary soldier) as a test subject for the latest strand. But injecting him and observing him, they found no effects whatsoever, and thus allowed the dejected Spector back into active service.
Spector was an exemplary agent, who was deployed in Africa during the events (and twist) of Captain America: The Winter Soldier with a squad of fellow S.H.I.E.L.D operatives on their way to make contact with the King of Wakanda. HYDRA makes their presence known and chaos reigns supreme when the group stop off in a small village. Split from the rest of his squad, and his right hand man and best friend Bushman, Spector fights for his life, confused as to why men have turned on him, and escapes the ensuing carnage with a group of terrified civilians, who he bravely protects from harm (including crazed soldiers and even most of his trusted men whom he is forced to kill in self defence and to protect the defenceless group) and leads to a mysterious temple devoted to "Khonshu: The God of Vengeance."
Taking shelter there, the delirious Spector begins to succumb to his wounds when he is visited by a ghostly apparition which calls itself Khonshu. For all that he has done here today, Khonshu shall bestow his powers onto him, to better protect the innocent and the unrighteous.
Spector wakes up to see that he is not in fact in a temple, but an abandoned barn. The civilians are all horribly butchered around him. Bushman enters the barn, seeking Spector and the rest of the squad after having to kill HYDRA operatives as well, and is relieved to see his old friend, but also put off by the grisly sight of the bodies. He helps a catatonic Spector to evacuate to an airfield, where they fly to safety.
Upon his return to he U.S, Spector is treated for his wounds and gives his account of events to a psychologist named Alarune, whilst images of strange men flicker before his eyes. He is quickly diagnosed as delusional and suffering from PTSD after his reports of a temple are dismissed and he is told that there is no such thing as Khonshu, leaving him to try to comprehend the horrors of what has occurred.
Spector tries to return to his wife and young daughter but cannot truly adjust to normal society, tormented by the visions of the strange men and crippling nightmares which cause him to break down and lash out at those around him.
By contrast, Bushman has not only adapted back home, but thrived. He is at peace with his ruthless nature and now markets his skills as a mercenary in the criminal underworld. He meets with Spector and, upon seeing how badly he is taking unemployment and the scars of his actions, offers to help him by offering him work in the shady sector within which he is now employed. Spector promises to think on it and leaves.
Troubled by nightmares and now living in a run-down, sparse flat in the city, Spector finds that sleep is eluding him, when the figure from his visions finally reveals himself as "Khonshu", here to thank him for trying to protect his people, and now here to give him purpose. He shall bless this warrior with powers befitting the god of vengeance, and allow him to wreak havoc upon the criminals in the city who go unpunished. But from the shadows steps the other figure, who appears to be a clean-cut Spector in a uniform, much like he wore as a soldier in S.H.I.E.L.D. This version calls himself "Major Spector", and represents the cold, pragmatic and efficient side of the man, the one with purpose and seemingly accepting of the fact that he is a murderer. Spector first dons a home-made costume and then embarks upon his crusade, witnessing a mugging in progress, and soon "Major Spector" takes over, brutally beating the mugger to death in the name of "vengeance", to the horror of Spector. Delirious, tripping on his medication and half drunk, Spector begins to continue to vent his rage and impotence upon the criminal underbelly of the city, his displays of athletic prowess astounding the few witnesses to his attacks on the criminal underbelly.
In one of his initial excursions at a drug manufacturing warehouse, he seizes an enormous amount of money before burning the building down. This money is quickly squirrelled away and used to commission an improved costume, and some Khonshu themed weapons...
He attacks organised criminal organisations, under the influence of Khonshu and Major Spector, and becomes a scourge of the underworld, earning the ire of a unseen bosses known as Nathan Essex and "The Deacon", the various rooftop and back-alley murders actually helping Spector to get his life back on track. He begins to stabilise and clean up his act, though he is still denied access to his wife and daughter, and the voice of a girl begins to haunt him.
When he kills a drug dealer pleading for his life, throwing him from a rooftop, he earns the attention of the F.B.I, for whom the man was working for as an informant. Thus law enforcement are approached by a criminal profiler simply calling himself "The Profile" (fresh from a case involving "The Scourge of the Underworld", and famous for solving multiple supposedly unsolvable cases) and his young protege, Agent Perlin. They quickly begin to establish something of a case, investigating multiple scenes, and realise that they are dealing with possibly the weirdest and most dangerous vigilante yet.
"The Deacon" puts out a bounty on Spector, and soon one of the most dangerous criminals is after him: Bushman.
A cat and mouse game, with three parties playing (Bushman, Spector and The Profile) soon unfolds in the city. With one man rapidly unravelling as his addictions to drugs, alcohol and the thrill of the hunt consume him, and the others so dedicated to their craft and their obsessives desires that they alienate all those who love and trust them, until they have only this hunt to keep them going.
In one final confrontation, Moon Knight (now the identity that Spector believes is the only "true" role that he has) does battle with Bushman at the man's lair, along with a large number of thugs (whom he kills brutally before and during the horrific battle) and despite his equipment and training, is quickly overwhelmed. Bushman was always the better soldier, and has come to terms with the fact that he is a killer. He demands to know what separates the two of them, aside from a depraved madness which he tries to use to excuse his actions.
Spector cannot give him an answer, then breaks down. But within his mind, he confronts not two, but three personalities: Khonshu, Major Spector and the girl who died in his arms in that temple. The latter's voice preaches forgiveness and reconciliation, and manages to sway Major Spector into understanding that he can be both a warrior of justice and a good person at the same time, forgiving him for his actions in Africa. They weren't his fault.
He finds the strength to break free of Bushman and brutally maim, maul and scar him. But he has not forgotten his lesson, and refuses to kill him. Though Bushman promises that "The Deacon" will have his head for this, Spector welcomes the challenge. The Profile arrives at the scene in time to witness Spector vanish and arrest Bushman, who is now babbling maniacally about a "Deacon Frost" and his revenge. The Profile and Agent Perlin bring the man in, although they know that this case is far from over.
Spector looks out over the city, the tree personalities behind him, his true family now. His madness is being kept in check, and he has achieved a perfect balance between the three ideals preached by Khonshu, Major Spector and The Girl.
Beneath the light of a full moon, he leaps into the night, ready to dispense justice once more.
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