I Am Completely Serious

Posted by Erin Ptah

https://erinptah.wordpress.com/2026/03/14/erin-reads-what-if-marc-spector-was-host-to-venom/

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Finally got around to reading the What If…? book that has Moon Knight in it.

It’s good!

Age of MoonKnight over on Tumblr did a chapter-by-chapter liveblog, which I enjoyed. Check that out if you want a more beat-by-beat coverage of the plot (and lots of quotes). This is more of an overall post-game reflection.

Some short, spoiler-free reactions:

• Based on the title, I expected “a canon-divergence AU where Marc meets Venom instead of Khonshu.” Instead, it starts in a universe that’s pretty close to 616, Khonshu and all. That gets crashed by an AU Marc who did get Venom’d…but it’s not a long-term divergence for him either, it basically happened that day. So, not the story I expected to see, but it’s good at being the story it wanted to tell
• Jake and Steven get a very satisfying amount of page time. Haven’t counted, but I bet there’s a similar amount of chapters for all 4 POV characters (Local Marc, Import Steven, Import Jake, and Venom)
• There are lots of fun deep-cut references to all kinds of random comics stuff. You can tell the author had a good time finding things to add in, and asking their MK-fan friends for suggestions
• The author has good takes on Marlene! It’s one of their breakup eras, she helps out when the plot demands it and clearly still loves them, but she’s sticking to her boundaries and Marc is wistfully respectful about it
• There’s an ongoing plot through all the What If…? books, which I mostly wasn’t interested in. Very authentic to the experience of “reading a Moon Knight tie-in with a Comics Event”

Longer, full-of-spoilers analysis and reaction follows.

The Era:

The book opens with a transcript of Dr. Emmett talking to Local Marc, priming us to think he’s around [his universe’s version of] the 2016 Lemire/Smallwood run. And some events from earlier runs get referenced, like the gold-accessorized costume from the first Fist of Khonshu run, or the multiversal fight with Moon Shade in the 1989 MS:MK.

But not all the backstory matches the main comicverse timeline. Gena is still on speaking terms with them. Frenchie is dating Rob, but hasn’t started the restaurant (he makes a quip about maybe doing it in the future). Suggests a divergence before the 2006 Huston/Finch run…which is probably the Darkest And Edgiest one, so most of the especially-dark-and-edgy stuff didn’t happen. (Not complaining.) Marlene has only broken up with them twice, and there’s no Diatrice, so maybe she went into full “starting over under a false identity, no contact” mode earlier in their relationship. And this Marc actually coped, no stalking at all.

The author references comics info that was introduced in later runs, but only when it’s backstory or worldbuilding. From the Bemis run, we get a reference to Ernst (sigh), and some of their headspace hangouts. From the MacKay era, we get their history with Layla and the Karnak Cowboys.

As for the other universe…based on what we get from Import Steven+Jake’s POVs, their Marc never met Khonshu. Still decided to become a superhero, though, and their life is similar in a lot of convenient ways: Import Jake recognizes Local Jake’s street-level informants, Import Steven uses Local Steven’s security code to get into the mansion.

Differences they notice: Their physical state is a bit worse, because Khonshu hasn’t been healing/resurrecting them regularly. And their mental health is much better — not perfect, but shockingly good compared to their baseline — because they’ve actually been to therapy. Voluntarily!

The one thing that gets me is…Import Marc decided to be the exact same kind of moon-themed superhero as Local Marc. Import Steven+Jake even recognize the gold accessories (which they find while rifling through the mansion for a better suit). Which were given to Local Marc by priests of Khonshu.

I know, I know, this is a textbook MST3K Mantra situation. But still! I was looking forward to an AU that explored “how does Marc do superheroing differently when he’s going all-in on a Venom theme instead of a moon theme?” And what we get is “even the Marc who never met Khonshu still went all-in on a moon theme.” Whiffed opportunity, here.

The Setup:

To keep this double-the-systems cast list manageable, half of the headmates are suppressed for most of the book, so there’s only one of each headmate to deal with. The POV chapters alternate between Local Marc, Import Steven, Import Jake, and Venom.

(Local Marc makes an attempt to think of Import Marc as “Spector”, but the Jake+Steven chapters still regularly call him “Marc” or “our Marc.”)

Through classic Superhero Shenanigans, Venom enters this universe along with Import Marc, but then jumps into Local Marc’s body, where it suppresses Local Jake+Steven (suppresses Marc for a while too, but he claws his way back out eventually). The trauma knocks out Import Marc, leaving Import Jake+Steven tag-teaming the mission in their body. Khonshu, unable to reach his own Fists, hangs out with the imported duo.

The author’s note in the back says he pitched this as a multiverse story, because “how the hell do you write a narrative with Marc, Steven, Jake, Khonshu, and Venom all in one body? The answer is that you don’t.”

/laughs in Moon Knight fanfic writer

(It’s a fine setup! It works for the plot! But, whoo boy — skill issue.)

The Knights:

Most of this section is for the sake of talking about “which bits of multiversal canon and/or reasonable headcanons this author has assembled our main POV Steven and Jake out of.” Both Marcs are classic Marc, the relatively-consistent-as-comics-go guy we know and (usually?) love.

Local Marc is pretty depressed and bleak about the recent breakup, and his coping mechanism is “blame Steven and Jake’s existence for screwing up my life. But he is still talking to his other friends, and has not resorted to stalking and/or carving moons in people’s faces! So not doing too badly, on the Marc scale of things.

Import Marc (what little we see of him) was probably a happier version of himself, until the whole “getting hijacked and kidnapped by Venom” thing happened.

Local Steven and Local Jake are basically the MacKay versions. They were giving Marc the cold shoulder at the start, then Venom jumps into their body, and manages to block them from the front until he leaves. We do get the assurance that they’ve been trying to fight their way back in and help Marc the whole time. Feuding or not, they’re still a team.

Both these versions of Team MK have the members explicitly referring to each other as “brothers.” Not a word that either the comicverse or MCU systems use, but it’s canon for both of these sets.

Import Steven: Has the standard trait of knowing his way around a boardroom. He keeps using corporate jargon, Jake keeps eyerolling at it.

Also, the standard classy tastes: his internal self-image shows up in a tux (or the Mr. Knight suit), and his default headspace setting is the lobby of the Met. Which has a permanent Egyptian exhibit, so this is an excuse to give the no-Khonshu MK some Egyptian imagery, on top of the moon imagery.

Steven has spent some time in Hollywood, so he also slips into producer jargon. Pretty sure the author read the Lemire-run sequences of Steven as a movie producer, but hasn’t done any deep dive into the 2011 Bendis run. That’s the one where main-comicverse MK spends some time in Hollywood, and it’s all Marc fronting. (He tries to produce a TV series, but he’s too distracted with Moon Knighting to actually be any good at the job.)

This Steven was apparently successful at it. There’s a reference to Simon Williams starring in one of his movies! He notices when objects look like props, and he occasionally tries to explain things with sci-fi references, which Jake also shuts down.

Steven takes point on infiltrating a fancy auction, and he’s good at schmoozing with all the other rich people. But he’s also very aware that he’s putting on a front, and would really rather go home and read something. Echoes how the original 1980 run has Steven as “the headmate who tries hardest to be what other people want him to be,” and the MacKay run gives us “his dream world is just that he gets to have a quiet dinner at home.”

Introvert representation, we love to see it.

There’s some inspiration from MCU Steven. And it’s clear that doesn’t apply to the more comics-purist Local Steven: people who know him comment that Import Steven seems more anxious/neurotic, talks more, and has “a slight British accent.” At the auction, someone suspects that he’s Marc-pretending-to-be-Steven, on the grounds that he’s “trying too hard.” When, no, the problem is that Import Steven genuinely isn’t as calm/cool/suave as Local Steven.

Along with headspace interactions, the author uses the “perceiving co-conscious headmates as visually next to your body” trope that happens in some of the comics. Mostly with Steven appearing while Jake is fronting. This Steven is very flaily, waving his hands for emphasis a lot, and I’m not sure if that’s from any particular version of canon — I suspect it comes from “the author wanted to write him doing stuff with his hands, even when he can’t physically pick anything up.”

Import Jake: Has the standard trait of being the guy who handles driving. Even if that means hotwiring a car so they have something to drive.

Also, the standard trait of “putting on a fake mustache ASAP whenever he fronts.” The body gets passed between him and Steven several times throughout the book, to the point where it really strains credulity that the adhesive would hold up. Unless it’s magic. Honestly, the caliber of people they’ve worked with, I can easily believe it’s magic.

The narration keeps referencing the idea of “Jake as the most violent headmate, the one who does the dirty work that even Marc can’t handle.” Mostly associated with the Bemis run, since Bemis is the writer who really leaned into it, although we can’t blame him for creating it — the 2015 Ellis run and even the 2016 Lemire run both bring it up.

But the actions we’re actually shown…? They don’t back that up. Jake takes point on the parts of the mission that involve getting into physical fights, but he handles them in the same way I would expect Marc to handle them. He doesn’t kill anyone. The fighting isn’t even particularly graphic. There’s a reference to Jake wrestling with Marc in headspace, also Bemis-style, which lbr could be recreational for both of them.

As mentioned, Jake finds Steven’s chattiness annoying. He’s not mean about it, just grumpy — he’ll do things like interrupt when Steven is about to explain what “escrow” is, or walk through the place where he perceives Steven as standing. Steven isn’t offended or upset at all, he just takes it in stride.

As we see in the 1980 run and the MacKay era, Jake is the headmate who gets his intel by talking to people on the street, because he genuinely likes and cares about them. Venom in Local MK’s body interrogates a bunch of Local Jake’s contacts, which, reasonably, freaks them out…well, Import Jake does an apology tour. He passes out sandwiches. It’s great.

No real inspiration from MCU Jake. The only trait I remember being called out as different from Local Jake is, other locals observe that Import Jake curses less. Which seems like a meta-joke about “this book is T-rated at most, there was a limit on how much swearing the author was allowed to write.”

Everyone Else:

Frenchie and Gena are here intermittently, mostly to be support crew. Frenchie helps with some tech stuff, and does a dramatic helicopter rescue. Gena hides them out at the diner for a bit, and makes pancakes. Unlike in the comics, they seem to have their own existing familiarity with each other, which I think is just plot convenience.

Also unlike the comics, they’re already familiar with all three headmates! (Comics Gena interacts mostly with Jake in the 1980 run, then I think only Marc afterward. Comics Frenchie only interacts with Marc — I don’t think he’s ever so much as said Steven or Jake’s names.) And they take the news of “hi, we’re the Steven+Jake from another universe, your guys have been kidnapped by an alien symbiote” without even blinking.

Khonshu, like I said, is in one of his helpful phases. Bet he was strongly influenced by the MCU version. Lots of complaining and scolding and ordering, not so much manipulation or threats or abuse.

Layla actually gets a brief appearance — infiltrating the same auction as Steven, for a whole separate plot that only briefly intersects with the main story. (It involves Harrow, but it’s Comics Harrow, so who knows what he’s doing.

She’s alive! She casually talks about which headmate is fronting! Neither Local Layla nor Import Steven is surprised by any of this! Reference to the Karnak Cowboys backstory, but apparently that had a happier outcome here — in both their universes.

(There’s also a mention of her doing something in the Duat, and it’s weird that Import Steven would recognize or understand that without any Khonshu in his backstory, but eh, maybe he heard it somewhere.)

Marlene, as mentioned, is off living alone under a new identity, but the plot drags her back in. The villain is looking for (well, threatening Venom into looking for) a macguffin that her late father studied, so they’re hoping she still has the notes.

There are a couple times in the main comics when Plot Nonsense has made Marlene reach out to Moon Knight for help (notably, a Morpheus plot in the first Fist of Khonshu run, and a werewolf kidnapping in the first MacKay run), but I can’t think of any where the reverse happens. (Marc has a hard time finding any middle ground between “show up on her doorstep threatening to punch the guy she’s dating now, that’ll fix it” and “I would literally rather let myself get blown up than ask anyone for help.”) Probably helps that Venom is the one who goes there, just piloting Local Marc’s body.

Marlene tells him he can’t come in, but he can take the trash out to the curb if he wants! She’s clearly prepared for Moon Knight villains to show up, she doesn’t even come out at first, just talks via the security system from behind a bunch of locks! He gets about two lines into the conversation before she clocks that he’s not Marc! When Marc does surface, just long enough to tell her the backstory and ask for her help sabotaging the villain, she immediately gets on board and goes with the plan! It’s great.

Import Steven+Jake show up later (in the company of Frenchie and Gena, who Marlene also says hi to). There’s a very sad, sweet exchange where Marlene finds out her AU self is still dating Team MK, and asks if they’re happy — to which Import Steven has an unflinchingly honest reaction of “I thought so, but now that I know how we broke up in this universe, I should probably double-check some things.”

Local Marlene is wistful about it! But not enough to kid herself into thinking “maybe if we give it another go, it’ll be different this time.” The book ends on a note of “they still love each other, but Marlene is done with the life of a side character in a superhero comic, and Marc is doing his best not to be weird about it.”

Which is pretty much exactly what I want in the modern era. It’s also where the mainline comics stand in the MacKay run (although that Marc might be worse at the “don’t make it weird” part.)

They can be happy as a couple if their world has a serious canon-divergence before a lot of the mainline comicverse trauma. The other Marlene/MK in this book might have landed that! The local version seems to have dodged some of it…but not enough.

The other Marlene and Frenchie show up in a very brief flash, where we find out that they’re stressed as hell about trying to find their Team MK. Therapy/personal growth/healthy relationship notwithstanding, that version of the guys is still all-in on the Moon Knighting. Which is still a lot of worry and heartache for the people around them.

Venom is fine. Does typical Venom stuff. In the beginning he’s very serious, though some of the snark and humor from the movies creeps in toward the end. Has fond memories of Eddie, so this isn’t a “what if Venom met Marc instead of Eddie” AU either.

Dr. Emmett is there at the start, and with the Harrow cameo, I wondered vaguely if Ammit would be involved. (In the Lemire run, she is Ammit.) But there wasn’t any other serious foreshadowing about that, so I never got my hopes up too high. (In the Bemis run, she’s a non-powered human therapist who’s creepily obsessed with Marc, and that appears to be what we got here.)

The actual villain is presented as shady and mysterious. I just figured he was somebody new, and didn’t expect to recognize him. Toward the end, our heroes see him in person, and they don’t recognize him.

Anyway, it’s Doom. Seriously? All these characters, from multiple realities, and none of them know his distinctive armor on-sight? Haven’t you people even seen a Doombot before??

Miscellaneous thoughts:

– The macguffin is the psi-phon, a multiversal power device, which is just drawn like a shiny pair of headphones. It’s a good callback. In the classic tradition of lampshading Silly Things From Comics, lots of characters comment about how it just looks like shiny headphones.

It’s never 100% clear why Doom wants it (something something Import Marc is special something something never explained), but honestly, that’s fine. It’s just an excuse for all the characters to run around doing comic-book things, and occasionally making Dino-Knight callbacks, until our heroes finally figure out how to team up and make it explode. As you do.

– Because Khonshu is a separate entity who just hangs around in MK’s body for convenience, he can perceive things their body can’t (as in, he can see things they aren’t looking at). When Jake is perceiving Steven as visually next to the body, Steven figures out how to tap into Khonshu’s power, so his projection can do things like “look around corners for them.”

As comic-book logic goes, this is a fine explanation! But I kinda wish it hadn’t been included at all, purely on the grounds of, “how characters grapple with their limits is part of what makes a story fun.” You handwave too many of the limits, you lose some of the texture.

– The POV chapters are each written in a specific way. Marc and Jake are both third-person limited, past tense. Steven is first-person, past tense. Venom is first-person (although it’s mostly addressed to Marc), present tense. It’s a nice low-key way to set them apart for each other. Kinda wish Jake’s narration had been present-tense, just to push the distinction a little farther.

– Import Jake+Steven’s body goes from “severely injured, only Khonshu is keeping them alive” to “technically dead, only Khonshu is keeping them walking around” to “actually dead for real.” That final death scene isn’t as effective as the author probably wanted, because I’m low-key thinking “oh, hey, Moon Knight died again, five of these on his punch card and he gets a free soda.”

But it is a good one. Import Marc resurfaces just in time, so the three of them can go out together. Import Jake is fronting, and Local Marc makes sure he gets his mustache on. Nicely done.

Venom takes the body back to their original universe. Until proven otherwise, I’m going to assume their world’s Khonshu went “what a waste, this would be a perfect Fist(s), he already protects travelers of the night, he even already has a moon theme!” and promptly resurrects them. (The idea of the other Marlene finding out “you know your missing boyfriend(s)? They got kidnapped to another universe and died, here’s the body, have fun” is just too depressing.)

I think that’s everything

I liked it. A good time.

The author takes advantage of “both these universes are 616-adjacent, but you can pick and choose how much of that canon you want to include in the backstory” to make two that have plenty of deep-cut references, but are cohesive and mostly-consistent. (Minor continuity nitpicks, they don’t affect the overall story.) And then he just has fun with them.

Two big things I look for in a Moon Knight installment are “making clear that Steven and Jake are just as valid/important/worthwhile as Marc” and “good takes on Marlene (or whoever else the love interest is)”. This nails it on both counts. The way Steven+Jake get at least as much page time as Marc, that’s just spoiling us.

It hasn’t tempted me to go find the other What If novels in this series…but I hope we get more Moon Knight stuff like this. That, I would read.

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