Marc Spector: Moon Knight 10 - Acts of Vengeance

It feels as if Moon Knight was forgotten about by both the villains and the editors co-ordinating "Acts of Vengeance". In his third and final issue in the crossover he once again encounters villains as a side-effect of the events rather than being targeted by the conspiracy.

Marc Spector: Moon Knight #10

Words: Charles Dixon
Pencils: Sal Velluto
Inks: Keith Williams
Letters: Ken Lopez
Colours: Nel Yomtov
Edits: Danny Fingeroth
Chief: Tom DeFalco

What's also surprising is the poor level of checking. Thus one of the villains he encounters here is the Ringer, who was one of many lame villains killed off by the Scourge of the Underworld some years earlier. This is even acknowledged in the story itself, with the comment "Well, I'm the new Ringer. I'm even better than the original!" But new versions of deceased foes simply isn't what this event is all about and this panel is the only acknowledgement of this state of affairs. Thus it's hard to avoid the obvious conclusion that it was only after the story was pencilled and inked that someone realised the character had been killed off and hastily came up with this brief exchange to patch it over. The villains seen here - the Ringer, Coachwhip and Killer Shrike - have all come to New York in the hope of taking part in the grand conflict going on but have so far been unable to find any heroes to fight and agree to team up in the hope of discovered ng some action. It's a pretty incoherent teaming with their abilities easily used against each other. It's also a terrible motivation to simply attack a hero they've never encountered before for the sheer sake of it.

Moon Knight starts the evening saving a young student from killing themselves after getting poor marks, then has to overcome a small boy's fear of costumed figures in order to save him and his mother from a fire. Then the trio of villains find him and attack. A repeated theme throughout this issue is Lula, the suicidal student, steadily rediscovering the importance of all life and realising that she can go on. It's one of the more positive features in an otherwise dull script, though the art does help to bring the fish scenes to life and creates a real sense of tension as Moon Knight/s pilot and friend Frenchie is wounded.

But despite the good art this issue reads like the series was added to the wider crossover event as an afterthought with no proper attention given to Moon Knight by either the editors of the villains. As a result this is a highly forgettable chapter in the crossover.

Marc Spector: Moon Knight #10 has been reprinted in:

• Acts of Vengeance Crossovers Omnibus (2011)