MOON KNIGHT
ISSUE ONE: MIDNIGHT SPECIAL PART ONE
EXT. EGYPTIAN DESERT – DAY.
A girl is on her knees in the sand. Her eyes are clenched tight. She is trying so hard not to cry. It’s a big gesture but her voice is small and reveals her fear.
GIRL
Please… please don’t do this…
There’s a gun pressed to the back of her head. It belongs to a man named JEFF WILDE. He stands tall and confident. Beside him, less so, is MARC SPECTOR.
WILDE
I told you to shut the hell up.
You better believe I won’t tell
You again.
MARC
Jeff, stop.
WILDE
You stop.
MARC
I’m serious, Jeff. Jesus Christ,
She’s…
WILDE
She’s the mission, Spector. That’s
All. Got secrets. Won’t spill ‘em to
Us but too important to let her spill
‘em to anyone else. Only one way this
plays out.
The gun clicks.
WILDE
Them’s the breaks.
MARC
Jeff! I mean it.
WILDE
I got from the tone in your
Voice, you weren’t joking around.
You know, kid, sometimes I really
Worry about you. Wonder if maybe
You’re not cut out for this sort
Of thing.
GIRL
Please…
Wilde hits her over the head with the butt of the gun. Not hard enough to knock her out, just enough to make her scream.
WILDE
What did I say? Huh? WHAT DID I SAY?
MARC
She’s just a little girl!
Wilde stops to look at him. Says nothing.
MARC
Is… is that what we’ve come to now?
Killing children? Killing unarmed
Children on their knees in the
Desert? Is that what we are?
WILDE
If those are the orders. Yes.
He presses the gun back to her head. She lets out a small squeal.
MARC
I mean it. I can’t stand here
And watch you do this.
WILDE
Then you better close your eyes.
Wilde squeezes the trigger. The world drains away and everything goes black.
BLAM!
INT. MARC’S ROOM – NIGHT.
Marc Spector wakes up screaming. The space is minimal and pretty bare. Not filled enough to be a bedroom, lacking the machinery of a hospital room. This is Marc’s room at
TEXT
EASTBROOK WELLNESS HOME.
UPSTATE NEW YORK.
Marc’s hair is longer. He doesn’t shave as often. He looks rough, but that’s only because he’s sitting up in bed screaming, his eyes rimmed with tears.
MARC
NOOO!
He hangs his head, breathes deep, tries to compose himself. There’s nobody here. It was just a dream. A memory.
He lies back in bed, eyes wide open.
He turns out the window to glance at the moon. It’s getting fuller.
INT. DR. FRANKLIN’S OFFICE – DAY.
Marc sits across from DR. LEILA FRANKLIN, a black woman in her early thirties.
DR. FRANKLIN
Heard you were screaming last
Night.
MARC
It was nothing.
DR. FRANKLIN
Pretty loud for nothing.
MARC
Bad dream.
DR. FRANKLIN
Iraq or Cairo?
Marc looks down, almost embarrassed.
DR. FRANKLIN
You gotta talk about it, Marc.
Therapy’s as good a time as any.
MARC
Cairo.
DR. FRANKLIN
Was that so hard?
Marc looks up, eyes piercing.
MARC
Yes.
DR. FRANKLIN
I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make light.
MARC
It’s fine.
DR. FRANKLIN
What happened? In the dream.
MARC
A memory. Nothing more.
DR. FRANKLIN
I’m so sorry. A mission?
MARC
One of the… more challenging ones.
DR. FRANKLIN
Did you pull it off?
MARC
If I didn’t, do you really think
I’d have woken up screaming?
DR. FRANKLIN
We’d made progress, though. Moving
Past the dreams, getting you beyond
The memories.
MARC
I came here to escape the memories,
Doctor. But I failed. Everything’s…
Off. Different. I was comfortable here,
But now… now it’s all caught up with
Me. No different than if I were home.
DR. FRANKLIN
If that’s the case, why stay? I’d
Recommend against it, obviously.
But you checked yourself in, Marc.
You’re free to go whenever you want.
Marc glances out the window, thinking it over. The world looks bright out there, in the daytime. He looks intimidated by it.
DR. FRANKLIN
Just like the dreams, Marc, the only
Thing standing in your way is you.
I think we might need to backtrack
Our methods, get you back into your
Breathing…
Marc stands up and walks to the door.
DR. FRANKLIN
…exercises.
He walks right out of the room.
DR. FRANKLIN
Marc?
He slams the door behind him.
EXT. EASTBROOK WELLNESS HOME – LATER.
Marc steps out into the open air, into freedom with a small bag of his things. He doesn’t look free, though. He looks nervous and scared.
A cab is waiting for him. Marc stares at it and the cabbie waits, expectantly.
CABBIE
You all right?
MARC
Yeah. No, just… been a long time
Since I’ve been in a cab. A… friend
Of mine used to drive one.
EXT. GEORGE WASHINGTON BRIDGE – DAY.
The cab is stuck in a sea of other cabs headed into the city.
INT. CAB.
The cab driver glances back in the rear view mirror. Marc is trying to soak in the city.
CABBIE
You want me to drop you at the
Penthouse, Mr. Spector?
Marc is thinking. He looks across to see someone seated beside him. The man’s name is JAKE LOCKLEY.
MARC
What do you think?
JAKE
I think I could drive this
Thing better.
MARC
Penthouse or the office?
JAKE
No, don’t go back to the company,
Not yet.
He leans in.
JAKE
Have him drive you to the docks
Instead.
The cab driver is still glancing back, raising an eyebrow.
CABBIE
Mr. Spector?
MARC
The docks.
Cabbie shrugs and looks forward again.
CABBIE
Hey, you’re the one who’s paying
For it.
Marc turns to look back out the window.
MARC
I know.
EXT. DOCKS – DAY.
It’s a shithole down here. An absolute mess. Populated almost exclusively by junkies, most of them being worked to death.
The cab comes to a stop.
INT. CAB.
Marc starts to open the door.
CABBIE
Really? You want to get out
Here?
MARC
Only for a few minutes. Keep
The car running.
CABBIE
No offense, Mr. Spector, but I’m
Really not comfortable with…
MARC
Just a few minutes.
CABBIE
I’m charging you extra for this.
MARC
That’s fair.
EXT. DOCKS.
Marc gets out of the cab and takes a few steps forward. Jake moves to stand beside him.
MARC
What the hell am I looking at
Here, Jake?
JAKE
New York. What’s left of it.
MARC
Just a section of the city.
Destroyed, maybe lost, but…
JAKE
No, Marc, this is the city. These
Junkies here? They’re everything
Now. They make the drugs because
They have no more money left to
Pay for them. They burn themselves
Out, they die, it don’t matter.
Because the drugs create new junkies
Every day. The system feeds itself.
A snake that eats its own tail and
Only gets stronger for it.
MARC
Why doesn’t somebody do something
About it?
JAKE
They own the police, Marc, you
Know that. That’s nothing new,
Just the way it’s been for years.
MARC
I mean, why doesn’t somebody…
JAKE
What, like Spider-Man? The Avengers?
They’re busy, Marc. They don’t care
About this, it’s too small for them.
And that Punisher guy, well, he’s
Just a nut job.
MARC
Funny.
JAKE
No, I’m serious. The guy has issues.
Someone starts to walk up to them. A big guy, but he looks sick. Definitely a part of whatever operation is going on down here.
BIG JUNKIE
I ain’t seen your face before,
Man.
MARC
I don’t want any trouble.
BIG JUNKIE
You don’t want any trouble,
You wouldn’t be here.
Marc rolls his eyes and looks over at Jake.
MARC
Well?
JAKE
Don’t look at me, man. I got
My pretty face to worry about.
Marc turns back to the big junkie.
MARC
Great.
JAKE
Sorry. This is your fight.
The Big Junkie swings at Marc, but Marc ducks under the blow and punches the junkie in the gut.
Jake smiles and watches the fight.
JAKE
Always was.
The junkie rolls with the blow and grins a snaggle-toothed smile.
JUNKIE
You hit me?
YOU #%$*ING HIT ME, BRO?!
He punches Marc right in the face and knocks him down.
Marc lies on the ground, disoriented.
Jake doesn’t buy it.
JAKE
You’re not that hurt, you
Pansy. It’s one hit. You
Can’t take one hit?
Marc coughs up a bit of blood.
JAKE
Get the ##$& up.
The junkie moves to stomp on Marc’s face.
Marc reaches up, grabs the junkie’s foot and TWISTS it around, snapping the ankle with a sickening crack.
JUNKIE
GHAAGH!
Marc stands over him.
MARC
Don’t get up.
JUNKIE
#$%& you, man! I seen you!
I know what you look like and
I’m gonna tell everybody! I’ve
Seen your goddamn face.
MARC
Yeah, well…
Marc brings his foot down and slams the junkie’s head into the concrete.
MARC
I doubt you’ll remember it.
INT. MARC’S PENTHOUSE – NIGHT.
It’s a lavish penthouse apartment. Big, spacious, screams of money. It also looks surprisingly well kept. There’s a woman in here, late twenties and pretty. Drinking alone, but she doesn’t seem to mind terribly much. Her name is LISA.
She finishes her glass, turns back and SCREAMS.
Marc is standing in the open doorway.
LISA
Jesus Christ! Get the hell out
Of—
She stops. Her eyes shift from fear to total disbelief.
LISA
Holy $%&#. Marc?
MARC
Hey, sis.
LISA
Oh my God, Marc! What are you
Doing here?
MARC
This is my apartment. I could ask
You the same thing.
LISA
Marc, you’ve been gone for two
Years.
MARC
I know. I’m sorry, Lisa, I really
Am, but I… I wasn’t myself for
Awhile.
LISA
Is that supposed to be funny? I
Know about the hospital. I take
It they let you go.
Marc thinks over the lie for a moment.
MARC
Yes. They told me that I’d made
A full recovery. There was nothing
Left they could do for me there,
So they sent me on my way.
He pours himself a glass of the wine she was having and makes his way over to the window.
MARC
Are you living here? Because
That’s fine if you are, I just…
LISA
No. No, I just come here to be
Alone sometimes. City’s so loud,
So active, it can get hard to find
Someplace quiet.
Marc takes a sip.
MARC
I know the feeling.
LISA
But I’d be more than happy to
Get out of your way, if you want
To…
MARC
No, that’s fine. You stay. I don’t
Want to intrude, not right now,
Anyway. I have to go out for awhile.
LISA
Out? It’s the middle of the night.
Marc doesn’t hear her. He’s looking out the window, looking down at the street.
MARC
What happened here, Lisa? Was it
Always this bad?
LISA
Something bugging you?
MARC
Not exactly. Just been away from the
City for so long it seems… almost
Abrasive. I remembered it as warm
And welcoming, but that’s all gone
Now. Now I just see its bloody
Knuckles.
He finishes his glass and looks back at her.
MARC
But I guess that’s how abusive
Relationships work, right? You
Can’t see the hurt until it’s
Over, if you ever see it at all.
Hindsight and all that.
LISA
Well, it’s tough to say. It was
Never—
MARC
I know it was never perfect. But
Was New York always this big of
A bully?
LISA
In some ways, yeah. But I can’t
Pretend to tell you things haven’t
Gotten worse out there. Anything
That can be sold is being sold.
To all the wrong people.
She steps closer to him, but she doesn’t look out the window. It’s almost like she’s afraid to.
LISA
Is that why you came back, Marc?
To save the city? Because you had
A perfect opportunity to do that,
When you were a philanthropist
Who could put a lot of money into
All the right places. All the
Charities that mattered. You could
Have been a much needed hand for
All the honest people before you
Walked away from your own company,
So forgive me for being skeptical.
MARC
I made a lot of mistakes, I see
That now. If anything, maybe I’m
Here to make up for them. To finally
Take control of my life instead of…
Instead of just hiding from it. I
Didn’t come back to save the city,
Lisa. But…
He presses a hand to the glass and gazes up at the bright, fat, full moon.
MARC
I think I know someone who can.
EXT. ALLEY – NIGHT.
A girl steps out of a bar at the end of the alley. Her phone starts buzzing and she fumbles around in her bag for it.
She finds it and brings it to her ear.
GIRL
Hello? Marcie? I…
There’s a beeping noise. She looks down at the big red indicator that reads “LOW BATTERY.”
The girl rolls her eyes.
GIRL
#$%*!
She walks forward, eyes on her phone, and bump right into a large MAN.
GIRL
GAH!
She tries to play it cool, but the guy just looks at her.
GIRL
Sorry. Sorry, I didn’t… I didn’t
See you there.
The man says nothing. The girl backs up. There are two guys standing behind her now.
Her eyes widen. A good look at them shows that one is blue and the other is green. Her voice is small.
GIRL
Oh, God…
One of the thugs elbows his friend to get his attention.
FIRST THUG
Look at her eyes, man! You know
What that’s gonna go for?
SECOND THUG
Oh, yeah.
FIRST THUG
We got us a find, man!
GIRL
No, please, no! Please, I’ll do
Anything. I…
FIRST THUG
Oh, I just hope you…
A large shadow casts across his face.
FIRST THUG
…will.
He looks up. There, on the rooftop above them, stands MOON KNIGHT. Dressed in body armor, form fitting but reasonable for combat. The entire thing is white and in places looks almost like a fortified fencing uniform. There’s a mask, but it’s barely visible behind the white hood and cape. The only touch of black is a crescent moon on the front of the armor that looks spraypainted on.
SECOND THUG
What in the Holy Lloyd Christmas
Is that #$&*ing thing?!
MOON KNIGHT
Let the girl go.
The guys look between each other, in total disbelief of what they’re looking at.
FIRST THUG
Um, probably not, bro.
MOON KNIGHT
Let the girl go, or I’ll…
The third thug reaches up, draws his gun and FIRES.
The bullet hits Moon Knight in the abdomen.
He falls from the roof and lands face first on the alley floor.
The thugs look down at him, then BURST OUT LAUGHING.
SECOND THUG
Oh, man, Georgie! Oh, MAN! That
Was perfect! Holy #$$* that was
Perfect.
FIRST THUG
That was some #$&*ing loon, guys.
Like, I know we live in New York
With that Punisher dude running
Around but THAT guy was a #$*ing
Loon.
THIRD THUG
Honestly, though, who wears white
To something like this?
The first thug looks back down at Moon Knight. He’s lying completely still.
FIRST THUG
He dead, though?
SECOND THUG
If he ain’t, he’s hurtin’.
FIRST THUG
Should probably see, though, for
Formality’s sake.
They all look at the second thug at the same time.
SECOND THUG
Ah, screw you guys.
He steps over to investigate, cautiously but not too cautiously because he really doesn’t take this seriously. He gets to Moon Knight and looks down, seeing a pool of blood forming at his feet.
SECOND THUG
Oh yeah, dudes. He’s…
SNICK!
Moon Knight produces a Moon Blade from a gauntlet on his wrist and SLASHES open the second thug’s Achilles tendon.
SECOND THUG
AAAIEE!
He grabs his leg and collapses to the ground.
Moon Knight gets to his feet. The second thug rushes at him, producing a switchblade.
He swipes wildly, but each swipe misses Moon Knight. Finally, Moon Knight catches the blade mid-swing and SNAPS the thug’s wrist.
The third thug, the largest of the three, picks up a piece of pipe from the ground.
Moon Knight is still wailing on the second thug, delivering a series of punches to the chest and then finally one to the face, knocking the guy down.
THIRD THUG
Hey!
Moon Knight looks up.
The third thug SLAMS him in the face with the pipe, smashing it into Moon Knight as hard as he can and knocking him down.
The thug starts hitting Moon Knight with the pipe while he’s down, not giving him a chance to get up.
THIRD THUG
You think you can #$$% with us?
Hell with you, man!
Moon Knight is bleeding. His armor’s beginning to crack. It takes all his strength to hoist his legs up…
And then deliver a double kick right to the thug’s groin.
The thug drops the pipe. Moon Knight picks it up and hits him across the face with it, knocking him out. He drops the pipe.
The girl stares at him, still scared and mostly confused.
MOON KNIGHT
You should… go… police. Wherever.
Just… somewhere… not here…
GIRL
Yeah, uh… OK. You got it.
She takes off running.
The moment she’s gone, Moon Knight falls flat on his face again.
INT. PENTHOUSE – NIGHT.
A vent in the ceiling pops open. Marc drops down, trying to hit the couch, but misses and smashes the table.
He pulls the mask off and coughs up blood.
MARC
Liked that table.
Stumbling to his feet, Marc sits on the windowsill and lifts up the armor, using a pair of tweezers to try and fish the bullet wound out.
The door opens.
Lisa stands in the doorway and SCREAMS.
Marc drops the tweezers.
MARC
I… I can explain.
LISA
Uh… Ok. Great. Please do.
MARC
Alright, I really can’t explain.
LISA
Marc! What is this?! What the #$&
Do you think you’re doing?
MARC
Trying to dig out the remains of
A bullet. Or I was, before you…
LISA
You got SHOT?!
MARC
Just a little.
LISA
What was all that crap about
Not coming back here to save
The city?! And by the way, I
Meant donating money like a
Decent rich person, not
Whatever the hell…
MARC
There are no decent rich people.
LISA
Right now I’m inclined to agree.
MARC
And I meant every word. This…
What I’m doing is so much beyond
Marc Spector. It’s more. More
Than me… more than anything I’ve
Ever had. Ever done. This is a symbol.
An avatar for something greater
Than myself. And that… that is
What’s going to save the city.
Not me.
Lisa crosses her arms and glares at him.
LISA
The hospital didn’t let you go,
Did they?
MARC
They agreed they could not stop me.
She punches him in the shoulder.
LISA
Dammit, Marc! That is not the same
And you know it. What the hell
Are you doing?!
MARC
I know it might sound hard to believe
If you look at me right now, but…
I am dealing with those problems. All
Of them. Crazy or not, this is me
Getting better.
LISA
Oh, I see. It’s a self-destructive
“If I save the city, I’ll save myself”
kind of deal.
MARC
I didn’t say that.
LISA
You really didn’t have to. I mean
It, Marc. Do you have any idea how
Narcissistic that sounds?
MARC
I…
LISA
Whatever. Let’s just get this bullet
Out of you.
She picks up the tweezers. Goes to work on the bullet wound, which is minor as far as bullet wounds go. The armor took most of it.
MARC
Ow!
LISA
You’ll get over it.
MARC
I know. That’s what I keep trying
To tell you…
Bigger shot now, revealing Marc sitting ALONE on the windowsill, taking the bullet remnants out of himself. Lisa is not there. She never was.
MARC
…I’m fine.
--END--