Marvel Review: ‘Knights End’ Looms in an Oversized MOON KNIGHT #25

Credit: Marvel Comics

After being teased several weeks ago as the start of a major new story arc, MOON KNIGHT #25 finally hit shelves this week and boy was it a doozy. The oversized milestone issue was written by Jed MacKay with art by Alessandro Cappuccio, Alessandro Vitti, and Partha Pratim. This entire creative team, including colorist Rachelle Rosenberg and letterer Cory Petit, does an impressive job spanning multiple time periods across the Moon Knight mythos, keeping stories fresh while also providing enough background and context for infrequent or new readers to catch up and enjoy this as a standalone issue.

Credit: Marvel Comics

Including various eras and making them all feel distinct and meaningful isn’t an easy task but MacKay tactfully combined recapping and adding new layers to past events in addition to keeping current storylines moving forward and adding new chess pieces (namely Layla El-Faouly and the new Black Spectre) to the board for upcoming story arcs.

Credit: Marvel Comics

Cappuccio, Sabbatini, and Rosenberg kept with their artistic approach that has come to define this era of Moon Knight. As usual, it was done very well and effectively, but Vitti’s portion of the book brought a new perspective that perfectly matches a darker, grittier tone for the character. Overall, the combination of artists provided for distinct visualizations without feeling frenetic or disorganized. Each approach felt appropriate for what was unfolding on any given page.

Overall, fans of MacKay’s run on Moon Knight should feel rewarded with this major undertaking and new readers will leave with the anticipation for wanting more given the delectable complexity and darkness of the Moon Knight world MacKay has established. We’re left with the feeling that Moon Knight might not have his best days ahead in the story, but MacKay’s MOON KNIGHT run has never looked better.

Rating: 9/10