Moon Knight Episode 5 Finally Confirms How Marc Became Khonshu's Avatar
Contains spoilers for "Moon Knight" Episode 5
The Marvel Studios and Disney+ miniseries "Moon Knight" presents two different men, Marc Spector and Steven Grant (Oscar Isaac), who share the same body and grow engulfed in a conspiracy surrounding the Egyptian gods and villain Arthur Harrow (Ethan Hawke). Much of the series' first four episodes concern Steven's coming to understand that he and Marc share the same body, as well as that Marc is the avatar of the Egyptian moon god Khonshu and that Harrow is trying to revive the goddess Ammit to allegedly purge humanity of its evil. Steven and Marc's journey takes them from London to Cairo, where they confront Harrow's men in Ammit's tomb even after the other gods of the Ennead take away Khonshu's powers available to them.
In Episode 4, "The Tomb," audiences receive a first hint toward how Khonshu took on Marc as his avatar when Harrow tells Layla (May Calamawy) that Marc had a hand in her father's murder. Marc claims it was one of his mercenary partners who killed Layla's father and all other witnesses, including Marc himself, before Khonshu saved him and took him as an avatar. The fifth and penultimate episode of the series "Asylum," reveals exactly how it all happened and shows how Marc became Khonshu's avatar — as well as the rest of the character's tragic backstory.
Khonshu saved Marc Spector's life
In "Asylum," Marc and Steven find themselves separated within the Egyptian underworld after Harrow shoots Marc at the last episode's end. The two are tasked with visiting memories from throughout their lives in order to balance their hearts so the Egyptian goddess Taweret can allow them to enter the Field of Reeds in the Egyptian afterlife. In these memory sequences, audiences see that Marc's brother Randall drowned as a child while the brothers explored a cave, leading Marc's mother to show clear disdain for Marc for the rest of his childhood. Marc desperately tries to prevent Steven from viewing these memories, but eventually they both witness exactly how Khonshu took control of Marc's life.
Marc tells Steven that he was discharged from the military after going AWOL during a fugue state and afterward worked as a mercenary for his ex-commanding officer, Bushman. When Bushman tasked Marc with raiding an Egyptian tomb, Bushman ordered him to kill all witnesses — including Layla's father. Marc tried to help Layla's father and other witnesses escape, but he was also shot and nearly bled out before Khonshu's statue. Khonshu spoke to Marc just before the mercenary died by suicide, offering him a second chance at life as the god's avatar. Steven interprets Khonshu's offer to Marc as evidence of the god's manipulation from the start, even though Marc asserts that it kept both of them alive. The episode also reveals that Marc "created" Steven Grant as a method of coping with his abusive mother so he could live without that emotional and mental trauma.