We are gearing up for the premiere of Marvel Studios’ next live-action series with Moon Knight. Right off the bat what makes this stand out from the rest is the fact that we aren’t piggybacking off the characters of the beloved films. WandaVision, Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Loki, and Hawkeye were all tied down to the events of the films. While enjoyable that still made them feel a bit unoriginal. But that all stops now with the debut of Moon Knight.

This character first appeared in Marvel Comics in Werewolf by Night Vol. 1 issue 32 in 1975. He was created by writer Doug Moench and artist Don Perlin. His appearance proved to be very popular so he continued to make appearances in other books until his own solo title in 1980. While comic book fans may know him due to some excellent runs, the casual MCU movie audience probably has no idea who he is, to which you can label him an “obscure” character.

But if there is anyone who is going to be able to bring this figure to the light, it’s going to be Marvel Studios with Jeremy Slater as a head writer, Grant Curtis as Executive Producer, and Mohamed Diab, Justin Benson, and Aaron Moorhead as directors. Of course, it also helps to have the beloved Oscar Isaac as your leading man.

In Moon Knight Isaac plays the character of Steven Grant. He is a sort of timid man that works at a museum gift shop. His current goal in life is to become a tour guide at the said museum. Evident by the fact that he is constantly talking to patrons about some of the exhibits, only to have his boss reprimand him. Not much going on here right? There is one problem, he apparently has such troubles with sleepwalking that on his bed he has restraints to keep him there.

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We quickly learn how bad it is when Grant wakes up in the Swiss Alps near a village where he meets Arthur Harrow, played by Ethan Hawke. Harrow is an acolyte for the Egyptian god Ammit. He is kind of a Minority Report type code of justice where he judges people on events that may have not even taken place yet. He is trying to unleash Ammit to Earth, a threat that could kill millions.

It is at this time that we start to see more of what is actually wrong with Grant. He is not sleepwalking. Rather he has another personality trapped inside of him. His name is Marc Spector and while Grant is not aware of Spector, Spector on the other hand is aware of Grant. We learn that he has been able to operate in Grant’s body without him knowing until this point, but something has changed. This will lead to both of them having to figure out a way to work together as the vessel for the Egyptian god of the Moon, Khonshu, and stop Harrow as Moon Knight.

There is no point in me continuing to describe Moon Knight. It can come off as a very complex story in writing. But it’s partially because we are so used to having so many pieces at the beginning of these MCU series. We know the characters, we know some of their baggage. Moon Knight is the first time in the Marve Studios series where they have to spend some time laying the foundation for the protagonist. They need to set up the mythology of the Khonshu as well as Isaac’s two characters that we see in the series. This requires a little time and patience.

Luckily, it goes without saying that Isaac is a fantastic actor that can carry that load and allow audiences to follow his journey without it feeling too complex. This is why it may take just a little longer than we are used to getting to some of those action sequences we all love. But in the meantime, we do get a great story that starts in London and takes us to Egypt and other places. At times it feels more like an adventure than a superhero show. Allowing it also to stand further apart from the rest of the MCU series that we have enjoyed. I do not say this meaning that they are bad, just excited to have something different from Marvel Studios.

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One of the issues I will highlight is that Isaac does such a great job as the two Grant and Spector that he almost completely overshadows the Moon Knight character. There were moments during the first few episodes that I felt I was enjoying his performance more than when Moon Knight would show up. Almost as if I was looking for it to be more of an Indiana Jones type of adventure. But of course, that is not the intention. I am looking forward to seeing if his personality can come through the suit a bit more.

Visually I have no problems with it, I think that the suits look great. I love the sleek suit look the best. Some of the backdrops and settings were also very appealing. It’s was very apparent that they wanted to make sure that this series could stand out on its own.

It will be interesting to see how MCU fans react. Will they embrace the fact that it’s something new and different? Or will it feel too disconnected from the rest of the MCU? Will the work of Isaac be enough to carry the character and the series to a future season or film? We will have to wait and find out! Luckily, not too long as the series debuts tomorrow on Disney+.

OVERALL GRADE: B