MOON KNIGHT #25 (1982)
When veteran Carson Knowles returns to New York City, where his father was once mayor, he finds that the city is far different from what he remembered. After losing his family and unable to get a job, Carson turns to crime as Black Spectre. Not to be confused with the Mandrill’s criminal group also named Black Spectre, whose first appearance preceded Moon Knight’s Black Spectre by almost a decade in Daredevil #108 (1974). If being a supervillain wasn’t enough of a night-time hobby, Carson pursues a career in politics during the day. This blend of conflicts would surely offer a season’s worth of episodes; at least a bit more complex than just a fistfight.
Interestingly, in part 1 of the Moon Knight villain speculation, the key books observed had their large upward movements in sales prices centered around the 2019 official announcement of the Disney+ series; but with Moon Knight #25, both its first large jump in sales prices and all-time highs occurred a year prior in winter 2018. The highest 2018 sale of a CGC 9.8 slab reached almost $700; placing it well above the levels seen during the 2019 announcement spike. Quick note: since then, prices have been in decline; the FMV of CGC 9.8 currently sitting at $375. Back to the mystery of 2018, while roughly 50 CGC 9.8 slabs have sold since 2018, only two sold in all the years prior; for $35 and $50. What in 2018 could have caused this odd market movement?
MOON KNIGHT #12 (1981)
Another popular villain is the vampire-like in appearance Morpheus, aka Robert Markham, who makes his first appearance in Moon Knight #12 (1981). While suffering from a mysterious illness, Robert sought the help of a doctor Peter Alraune, Jr. (quick side note: he also happens to be the sister of archaeologist Marlene Alraune whom Bushman attacked in Moon Knight’s origin story in Moon Knight #1). The treatment that Dr. Alraune gives is an experimental drug that ends up causing Robert’s physical appearance to change into a vampire-like form, which also included no longer needing to sleep and powerful psionic abilities that he calls “ebon energy.” Robert adopts the name Morpheus, the god of dreams. Although Morpheus’ dream powers might be a bit more abstract than the usual TV villain; the recent trailer for WandaVision certainly shows that Marvel is willing to take on the creative challenge.
At the moment, the market for Moon Knight #12 is the cheapest of all the Moon Knight villains mentioned between this article and part 1. CGC 9.8 holds an FMV of $150, and CGC 9.6 at $60. Sales prices are off from the 2019 highs, and trending slightly positive for 2020 so far. Even if Morpheus doesn’t get the TV debut, you can be certain that if Marlene mentions her brother even casually as an Easter egg, connections will be made and this book could potentially take off.
WEREWOLF BY NIGHT #10 (1973)
Every good hero needs a good secret organization to fight. The Hand, the Foot Clan, the League of Assassins, the Court of Owls, Hydra, etc. For Moon Knight it was The Committee. The Committee was the organization that hired Moon Knight to hunt down Jack Russell/Werewolf in Werewolf by Night #32; also providing him with his iconic silver costume and weapons. Interestingly, it was a task they only paid him $10,000 for. Upon learning that The Committee intended on using the Werewolf as a weapon and that he was actually human, Moon Knight turned on The Committee and helped the Werewolf fight back. Outside of occasionally hiring assassins to kill Moon Knight, The Committee’s overall goal.
Over the last decade, the market for Werewolf by Night #10 has had a very low volume of sales; with only four recorded sales for CGC 9.8 copies of the book. CGC 9.8 currently holds an FMV of $325; CGC 9.6 at $70. Between all the villain speculations in this article and part 1, Werewolf by Night #10 at a CGC 9.6 could offer affordable and low-risk speculation for those looking to dabble in the Moon Knight villain speculation.
“Let me tell you a thing about Black Spectre. He really just wanted to be loved.” – Mr. Knight
