Moon Knight Reading Guide: 1975-2000

Hi! Welcome to the Moon Knight comics reading guide! 

If you want a quick deep dive into the history of Moon Knight, the essentials are:

• Moon Knight Omnibus Vol. 1
• Moon Knight Omnibus Vol. 2

And that’s it! The two collections cover Moon Knight’s first appearances, Moon Knight (1980) #1-38, and Moon Knight (1985) #1-6. These 50-ish issues will give you a masterclass on the early days of Moon Knight and everything that makes him iconic today.

If you’re interested in Mr. Knight and newer Moon Knight comics, check out our modern Moon Knight comics reading guide (which includes the Jeff Lemire run). But if you want to see the character’s history and development over the years, then this is the article for you! Listed here is the first half of Moon Knight lore, from inception to death and beyond! Each solo series is listed with tie-in guest appearances (strong recommendations are in bold). Enjoy!

 

Following his 1975 debut in Werewolf by Night #32-33 and a series of early appearances in assorted titles, Moon Knight finally got his own book in 1980 by Doug Moench & Bill Sienkiewicz. The longest-running Moon Knight series with a single creative team, this quickly set the standard for the writing and art that Moon Knight deserved. These have been collected in both Essential Moon Knight Vol. 1-3 and Moon Knight Epic Collection Vol. 1-3, but the upcoming Moon Knight Omnibus Vol. 1-2 will be the only complete, full-color collection for all the early appearances, the complete 1980 Moench & Sienkiewicz run, and the 1985 Fist of Khonshu miniseries.

Although it’s a strange run, Fist of Khonshu is important because these six issues introduce Moon Knight’s multiple personalities, how moon phases affect his powers, and the only appearance of Arthur Harrow in the comics. (Harrow is the major villain played by Ethan Hawke in the Marvel Studios’ Moon Knight show).

• Moon Knight Omnibus Vol. 1
  • Werewolf by Night #32-33, Marvel Spotlight #28-29, Defenders #47-51, Spectacular Spider-Man #22–23, The Hulk! #11-15, 17-18, 20, Marvel Two-In-One #52, Marvel Preview #21
  • Moon Knight (1980) #1-20
    
  • Marvel Team-Up Annual #4, Amazing Spider-Man #220
  • The Hulk! #17-18 is the first appearance of Marc’s brother Randall Spector

• Moon Knight Omnibus Vol. 2
  • Iron Man #161, Power Man and Iron Fist #87
  • Moon Knight (1980) #21-38
  • Moon Knight (1985) #1-6 (“Fist of Khonshu”)
  • Marvel Fanfare #30, 38-39, Solo Avengers #3, Marvel Super-Heroes #1
  • Moon Knight (1980) #37-38 and (1985) #2 are the first appearances of Marc’s father Elias Spector
  • Out May 10, 2022

Also collected as:

• Essential Moon Knight Vol. 1-3 (only in black and white)
• Moon Knight Epic Collection Vol. 1-3 (missing Fist of Khonshu)

Another nice set is Moon Knight: Countdown to Dark, which includes a few early Moon Knight appearances. Since these comics are already included in the big books above, Countdown to Dark could be a fun substitute for a casual fan.

• Moon Knight: Countdown to Dark
  • The Hulk! #11-15, 17-18, 20, Marvel Preview #21

 

Guest appearances:

• Captain America (1968) #245
• Avengers (1963) #211
• Rom (1979) #23
• Contest of Champions (1982) #1, 3
• Power Man and Iron Fist (1980) #88
• Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man (1976) #72
• Marvel Age Annual (1985) #1
• West Coast Avengers (1985) #21-41, Annual #2-3
• Avengers Annual (1967) #16
• Iron Man (1968) #229
• The Punisher Annual (1988) #2 [A Story]
• Nick Fury vs SHIELD (1988) #2
• Marvel Graphic Novel (1981) #58

In 1989 a fun new series titled Marc Spector: Moon Knight was launched by Chuck Dixon. Lasting for 60 issues, the action-packed run showcases Moon Knight interacting with various corners of the Marvel Universe. Unfortunately, it is almost entirely uncollected in trade form with only a few issues scattered across assorted omnibus collections.

• Marc Spector: Moon Knight (1989) #1-60 (uncollected)
  • #1-24 by Chuck Dixon & Sal Velluto
  • #35–60 by Terry Kavanagh & various artists
  • #28 has a minor appearance of Marc’s father Elias Spector
  • #32-38 heavily feature Marc’s brother Randall Spector 

Partially collected in:

• • Acts of Vengeance Crossovers Omnibus (1989)
    • Marc Spector: Moon Knight #8–10
  • The Infinity War Omnibus (1992)
    • Marc Spector: Moon Knight #41–44
  • The Infinity Crusade Omnibus (1993)
    • Marc Spector: Moon Knight #57
•  
• Moon Knight: Divided We Fall (1992) #1 (uncollected)
  • One-shot by Bruce Jones & Denys Cowan

 

Guest appearances:

• Infinity War #2-4
• Amazing Spider-Man: Round Robin (1963) #354-358
• Web of Spider-Man: Hobgoblin Reborn (1985) #93-94
• Sensational She-Hulk (1989) #58
• Infinity Crusade (1993)
• Starblast (1994) #1
• Marvel Comics Presents (1988) #152-154 (uncollected)
• Code of Honor (1997) #1, 3

In 1998, original writer Doug Moench returned for two miniseries, but neither quite lived up to the standard of his initial run. Moon Knight also joined the gritty Marvel Knights, but even that was underwhelming. This was just a dark time for Moon Knight.

• Moon Knight: The Resurrection War (1998) #1-4 (uncollected) 
  • Doug Moench & Tommy Lee Edwards

• Moon Knight: High Strangeness (1999) #1-4 (uncollected) 
  • Doug Moench & Mark Texeira
  • Mistakenly printed as “High Strangers” on the original covers

 

Guest appearances:

• Avengers (1998) #1
• Wolverine (1988) #134
• Contest of Champions II (1999) #1
• Black Panther (1998) #20-22
• Marvel Knights: Defenders Of The Streets (2000) #1-15
• Thunderbolts (1997) #57
• Avengers/JLA (2003) #4
• Avengers: Disassembled (2004)
• G.L.A. (2005) #2
• Hercules (2005) #1
• Marvel Team-Up (2005) #3, 7, 10
• House of M (2005) #3-5