The Marvel Universe Gets a New Violent Master of Mystic Arts
The brutal man is targeting Marvel’s magical heroes with surprising efficiency in Avengers # 33 to embark on a new, violent mission.
The pressure and importance of being the magical Supreme of the Marvel Universe has frequently targeted Doctor Strange over the years. Since becoming the Master of the Mystic Arts, Doctor Strange has fought for the right to hold the most important magical place of power within the universe, from Baron Mordo to Loki.
However, Strange‘s latest battle does not come from a longtime rival or new nasty villain, but from the familiar face of secretly hunting down magic users around the Earth: Moon Knight.
Within his usual mission in the sanctum, Strange fights with an army of Egyptian mummies that rise in an attempt to sink the sorcerer into his own home. He is amazed to see Moon Knight appear, initially believing that the mummy team aids his fateful arrival. Instead, the mummies were called by Moon Knight and his ancient Egyptian God Khonshu to distract and weaken Strange before the infiltration of the sanctum.
Moon Knight reminds him that Earth’s Moon Phase is currently a Supermoon, which significantly increases his superhuman abilities. The idea that Moon Knight‘s powers are derived directly from lunar phases and strengthen as the moon completes was first introduced by creators Moench and Dan Perlin in the 1976 Marvel Spotlight # 28.
As Moon Knight wins over Doctor Strange, he uses the supernatural Ankh amulet that Khoshu gave to be his incarnation and to drain the Strange of his magical abilities. Moon Knight then adds Strange’s power to his own, which makes him the latest magical Supreme in the Marvel Universe.
With each superhero he defeats, Moon Knight‘s magical powers become stronger as he absorbs the potential of each target. All that has been done in service to Khonshu, Mark Specter’s original superpower group has been restored, and then some, more dangerous than ever before.
Interestingly, the tough superhero is targeting heroes connected to 1,000,000 B.C. – including Black Panther and Doctor Strange – as part of their recent destruction. As the new Master of the Mystic Arts, the odds are definitely stacked as Moon Knight continues his violent prey.
