The first four episodes of Moon Knight have been light on Marvel Cinematic Universe references, as the Disney+ series has instead focused on telling a standalone story about Marc Spector (Oscar Isaac). One could therefore be forgiven for being unsure about Moon Knight’s actual place in the MCU, or what Marc Spector’s future might be after the conclusion of Season 1.
That said, Moon Knight Episode 3 does include one very brief and easy to miss Marvel Comics Easter egg, which references a variant of none other than Kang the Conqueror (Jonathan Majors).
A Memorable Design — In the first half of Moon Knight Episode 3, Oscar Isaac’s Marc tracks down and confronts a group of Ammit’s followers in the hopes of getting some information from them. The encounter doesn’t go as well as he hoped, but during this sequence Marc battles a cultist wearing a blue jean jacket.
On the back of the jacket is a pharaoh design that, as several keen-eyed Marvel fans have noted, bears a striking resemblance to the headpiece worn by Rama-Tut, a Kang the Conqueror variant who travels back in time and becomes an Egyptian pharaoh. New Rockstars has even confirmed with members of the Moon Knight production team that the jacket’s design was intentionally included as a reference to the Marvel Comics villain.
Kang’s Variants — It’s been almost two years since Jonathan Majors was cast as Kang the Conqueror in next year’s Ant-Man 3, and nearly a year since he made his quasi-debut as the character in the Loki Season 1 finale. The villain hasn’t really been referenced in any of the MCU’s post-Loki titles, which makes Moon Knight’s brief Rama-Tut Easter egg exciting, although there was always reason to believe that the Disney+ series might reference the character.
In the comics, Khonshu and Marc Spector both have a bit of a shared history with Kang the Conqueror. The former has frequently called upon his Moon Knights to stop Kang at various points throughout time, and has pulled Marc Spector back in time to fight Kang whenever he’s deemed it necessary. Khonshu, notably, has even had a few direct confrontations with Kang’s Rama-Tut variant.
With all that in mind, it makes sense that Moon Knight would reference Rama-Tut. However, does the Easter egg itself mean that Rama-Tut or Kang will actually show up in Moon Knight? The likelihood of that happening seems low based on how much Marvel has worked to keep Moon Knight separate from the rest of the MCU, but there’s always a chance Kang could make a cameo appearance.
The Inverse Analysis — Coming off Kang’s explosive debut in Loki Season 1, it’s been somewhat disappointing to see the character fade into the background over the past few months. Despite its multiversal premise the character wasn’t referenced in last year’s Spider-Man: No Way Home, or in any other non-Loki title that Marvel has released so far.
For that reason, it’s genuinely exciting to see Moon Knight reference Kang. But it remains to be seen whether the show’s Rama-Tut Easter egg actually ends up leading to anything more than a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it comic book reference.
Moon Knight is streaming now on Disney+.
