Moon Knight spoilers follow.
As if Moon Knight didn’t have enough on his hands with that accent and his freaky beak buddy, there’s also the show’s Big Bad to consider too. We are of course referring to Ethan Hawke’s wig character, the esteemed Arthur Harrow.
Introduced in the show’s very first scene, this unhinged cult leader plans to make the world a better place. And much like Thanos’ original goal, this plan also calls for the deaths of millions. But unlike Thanos, Arthur likes to walk around with shards of glass wedged into his ugly sandals.
You’d think that might hold him back a bit, but Harrow actually wields some impressive power, including the ability to kill anyone who’s deemed unworthy with just a touch. And it’s always handy having a cult to hand, as well.
This all makes Arthur Harrow a far more formidable foe than he ever was in the comics, but that’s not hard given that he only appeared in one issue. His limited presence in the source material gives Marvel a lot of leeway here, to the point where they can essentially create a brand new character for the MCU — which, as you’re about to discover, is actually the best thing for this adaptation.
Disney+
Harrow’s sole comic book appearance came in 1985’s Moon Knight: Fists of Khonshu #2. There, we discover that this Nobel Prize-nominated doctor has developed a pain theory based on messed-up Nazi experiments from World War II.
What’s worse is that he’s using human test subjects in the present day, even transforming some into zombie-like people to do his bidding. There we can see some loose parallels with Harrow being a cult leader on the show, except there’s one key difference between the two Arthur’s.
Comic book Arthur suffers from a condition known as trigeminal neuralgia, which paralyses the left side of his face and contorts his mouth. Ethan Hawke’s version of the character doesn’t suffer from this illness, and the only physical pain he endures is actually self-imposed.
Why this decision was made is unclear. Perhaps the creators simply didn’t feel the need to translate this aspect of the character, especially as their version of Harrow is so different to the comics anyway?
Or maybe, if we’re giving Disney the benefit of the doubt, they might have deliberately chosen to omit Arthur’s condition in order to avoid a damaging villain trope?
For as long as cinema has been around, facial scars and disabilities have been cruelly associated with evil characters in a misguided attempt to reflect their nefarious ways on the outside. It’s a tired, damaging trope that’s actually more prevalent still than you might think. Just look at the latest Bond movie if you don’t believe us.
So with the likes of Voldemort, Freddy Krueger and, most recently, Lyutsifer Safin all knocking about, it would have been easy — albeit misguided — to continue using this cheap story device with Harrow.
Marvel Comics
But to Marvel’s credit, this aspect of the character has been erased entirely. Instead, Arthur’s physical pain and the reasons behind it flesh him out without resorting to these tired old villain tropes.
That’s not to say experiences with trigeminal neuralgia shouldn’t be depicted on screen. Used appropriately, positive representation can help raise awareness and educate people on the realities of living with a condition like this.
The problem is when people with visible differences are othered as something darker, something more evil, and that’s particularly true when it comes to comic book fare like this.
Ethan Hawke doesn’t need any of that to make Arthur Harrow menacing. In fact, a cheap shot at face paralysis would actually distract from his performance, which is easily the best thing about Moon Knight so far.
Well, that and his magnificent mane of hair.
This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io
Comments are closed.