Today, March 30, it finally opens moon knight (2022), the Disney+ series with the actor oscar isaac. Many fans regard this superhero as marvel batman, basically because his greatest superpower is money. Although in his case he has another difference, it is that in addition to a great fortune, he suffers from a mental illness: the dissociative personality disorder. And this is precisely what gives rise to a good part of his powers.
Around Marc Specter and its main personalities, Steven Grant, Mr. Knight and Jake Lockley, there may be a bit of fantasy, but nothing supernatural. He’s not an alien, like Superman, or a mutant like Wolverine. Nor was he bitten by a radioactive spider, like Spiderman. He is simply a child who had a traumatic experience that changed his life forever. Another parallel with Batman.
But then, what is reality in Moon Knight? How does the reality of dissociative personality disorder reveal itself in the character? And, more importantly, how can traits of mental illness become superpowers?
The origin of Moon Knight
Moon Knight was born as Marc Specter. As a child, he fled Czechoslovakia for the United States with his mother and father, a rabbi called Elijah who was followed by the Nazis.
Once in America, the family felt safe until Marc discovered that his father’s good friend was actually a Nazi spy who killed Jews. When he found out that the boy had discovered him, he wanted to kill him so he wouldn’t talk, but Marc defended himself, brutally beating his enemy. The scene was so harsh that it was traumatized. And it was said trauma that sowed the seed of her dissociative personality disorder.
The disorder began with a major childhood trauma
Seeing his situation, his father admitted him to a psychiatricwhere one of his personalities developed, the violent taxi driver Jake Lockley. Soon after, he escaped from the center where he was intern and sought employment as a Marine. However, they fired him as soon as they discovered his dissociative personality disorder. Later, he practiced many professions. First a short stay at the CIA, then a longer one like boxer and mercenary.
As a mercenary, he was hired to rob a pharaoh’s tomb in egypt. However, he ended up getting into a fight with his client, which fatally injured him. With his last strength, he dragged himself to the tomb of the pharaoh, where he appeared to him Konshu, the moon godwho offered to save his life in exchange for him becoming his avatar on Earth.
After this adventure, he returned to the United States, where he invested the money he earned as a mercenary and made a great fortune. Thus is born a new personality: the millionaire Steve Grant. Steven and Jake were joined by appearances from Konshu; who, despite being conceived by Spector as a true deity, may just be another personality figment of his imagination. and also joined mr knighta more heroic version of Moon Knight, who always acts according to the law and enjoys helping the police.
All form the Moon Knight. Steven Grant uses his money to build all kinds of gadgets, in true Batman style, Jake uses his job as a taxi driver to make contacts and find out what’s happening on the streets. Mr. Knight is the kind hero of the story. And Konshu brings that touch of mysticism that Spector combines with the refinement of the techniques of Martial Arts and the use of weapons of the most varied.
What is Dissociative Personality Disorder?
Dissociative personality disorder is a fairly rare disorder, affecting approximately 1.5% of the world’s population. It is believed to have a strong relationship with the development of childhood trauma, as was precisely the case with Moon Knight. But what are its symptoms?
Basically, the criteria Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-5) They establish that for a dissociative personality disorder to be considered as such, it must include at least two different personalities, such as those of Moon Knight.
Dissociative personality disorder is estimated to affect 1.5% of the world’s population.
Additionally, as the US National Institute of Health explains, “each personality varies in behavior, sense of awareness, memory, and perception of the outside world.” All of these symptoms cause “a remarkable lack of functioning in daily life”.
This is an important point, since the Moon Knight is still a comic character. Dissociative personality disorder is a disease Real life, which can be very hard for the person who suffers from it and those around them. It is therefore necessary to take it seriously and above all to follow the treatments prescribed by psychiatrists.
A mental disorder that becomes a superpower
In line with dissociative personality disorder, Moon Knight has totally different personalities. The elegant millionaire, the violent taxi driver, the good citizen and the Egyptian god. Nothing is missing.
As for his superpowers, most are not. It seems that his strength and resistance increase according to the phases of the Moon, supposedly thanks to the influence of the god Konshu. However, it could be some kind of suggestion caused by his mental state.
His mental state protects him from certain psychic attacks from his enemies.
On the other hand, another of his superpowers is considered to be the resistance to psychic attacks, although in the comics it is acknowledged that this resistance is somewhat related to his dissociative personality disorder. By not working your mind like most people, you also cannot manipulate it in the same way.
In fact, in one of the comics, the moon knight makes sure that he lost his powers. Although the reason is not stated, he may have started treatment and is feeling better for his dissociative personality disorder.
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Either way, it all goes hand in hand with Moon Knight being an intriguing character. A street vigilante who fascinates and frightens criminal gangs. In short, something like Batman, Robin, and Alfred were all in one person. Maybe he would be an even better superhero than the original. As soon as he managed to escape Arkham, of course.
