The following contains spoilers for Moon Knight Episode 3, "The Friendly Type," now available on Disney+. This article also contains discussion of suicide.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe has produced several shocking deaths over its history. There was Agent Coulson being stabbed by Loki in The Avengers. Thanos snapping away half of all life in Avengers: Infinity War. Iron Man sacrificing himself in Avengers: Endgame. Marvel and Disney have proven they're not afraid to kill characters off in sometimes jarring ways.
However, the Disney+ series haven't quite had a moment that's matched all of those big-screen demises -- until now. The third episode of Moon Knight includes a character death that is more horrific than anything the MCU has seen before. Some viewers may also find it to be controversial for a number of reasons.
The tragedy unfolded when Marc/Steven tracked Arthur Harrow's cult to Cairo. He wanted to find Harrow and get the scarab back, knowing that the cult leader was obsessed with bringing the potentially rogue Egyptian goddess Ammit to life, so she could pass judgment on humanity (which would destroy many lives on Earth). His quest led him to a rooftop where the Marc and Steven personalities fought for control of Khonshu's avatar, causing the vigilante to also battle some Egyptian henchmen.
After Marc/Steven experienced several blackouts, Moon Knight placed everyone on top of a cliff with two of the three henchmen dead. Marc wondered why Steven would kill these men, and Steven was in total denial about doing so. Khonshu, uncaring as usual, urged Marc to hang the last member off the cliff, hoping to intimidate him into spilling the beans on Harrow's location. However, that lone survivor was just a teenager.
Even Marc was reluctant to threaten a child, but he eventually caved. Shockingly, as he held the boy off the cliff by his scarf, the teen cut the fabric, preferring to fall to his death rather than provide any information. Moon Knight created a terrifying moment, made even worse by Khonshu treating it so flippantly; the god's reaction was only to nonchalantly say that he thought the boy would talk.
An on-screen suicide was massively unexpected and incredibly dark, and Moon Knight also showed the impact it had on its main character. Seeing Marc so scarred from the incident, wondering if his role as the Fist of Vengeance was worth that, added nuance that reminded fans he has heroic qualities despite being this violent mercenary. Marc believes kids are off limits, which will continue to add an intriguing duality to his interactions with Khonshu.
However, it's slightly problematic in that it could be construed as perpetuating the stigma of POC, especially kids from the Middle East and Africa, being weaponized and made into child soldiers -- like with The Falcon and The Winter Soldier's Flag Smashers. It could be seen as tone-deaf and stereotypical to have a young child becoming an extremist, so only time will tell how director Mohamed Diab and creator Jeremy Slater rationalize this. Ultimately, it painted a harrowing picture of how Harrow programmed his legion but again, Moon Knight has to be careful it doesn't label certain ethnicities just for the sake of shock value or to teach the hero a lesson in ethics.
See how Marc accidentally enabled this brutal death in Moon Knight, which debuts new episodes every Wednesday on Disney+.
