Every time there is a new episode, Moon Knight becomes more than just a story about two people who share one body and one costumed identity. Group of Egyptian gods who use Moon Knight and Arthur Harrow (Ethan Hawke) as little more than puppets are at the heart of the show.
The show is about the Ennead’s most recent version of a conflict that has been going on for a long time. With tensions rising between Khonshu, Ammit, and the other gods, Moon Knight is a big step for Marvel. It introduces these deities into its movie world.
At the end of Episode 3, the gods and their avatars meet together at the request of Khonshu, and it all comes to a head. Here, we explain what the Ennead is, both in the real world and in the movies. We also talk about what we can expect from this powerful council.
Steven says in the first episode of Moon Knight that the Ennead is a group of nine Egyptian deities that were worshiped by them. In the real world, the Ennead is made up of the sun god Atum and his descendants Shu, Tefnut, Geb, Nut, Osiris, Set, and Nephthys. They are not in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. As soon as we’re done, we’ll talk about the Marvel version of the line up, which is very different.
The number of gods is important to note. The name “Ennead” comes from the Greek word “ennéas,” which means “the nine.”
References to things that happen in the real world Ennead can be traced back to the Fifth Dynasty of Ancient Egypt, when people lived in Egypt. Mostly, the group was worshiped in what is now called Cairo. Heliopolis was an ancient city that used to be in Cairo. Something to think about as Moon Knight moves to Egypt for its third episode.
When it comes to Marvel mythology, Heliopolis is a big part of the group’s history. During the time of the pharaohs in Ancient Egypt, the Egyptian gods left Earth and moved to a multidimensional city called Celestial Heliopolis. This city has been the home of the Egyptian gods for many years.
According to Marvel’s comic book mythology, the Ennead is a term used to describe the most powerful deities in the Egyptian pantheon. Over time, the members of the Ennead have changed. During the time the group was still on Earth, gods could retire and be replaced by their offspring or other people who were deemed worthy.
Marvel’s comic book universe is a place where real polytheism is practiced. Stories show multiple deities from different faiths meeting and interacting with each other (and, at times, with humans) on a regular basis. When it comes to Marvel’s Ennead, for example, it has gotten into trouble with Thor and his Asgardian gods a few times. It also comes into conflict with Celestials, the alien race that helped seed the Earth with life.
So-called “Council of the Godheads” is a group of gods from many different religions who try to solve interfaith conflicts through discussion and democracy instead of the more exciting option for fans of the gods. Even if you’re not a fan of fighting, the Ennead’s complicated and often revenge-driven dynamics could satisfy your desire for a good fight.
In Marvel mythology, Khonshu, the god of the moon, is one of the Ennead. Ammit, the devourer of the dead, is also one of the Ennead. This is where the MCU version of the characters comes in.
People who watch Moon Knight learn about the Ennead in the MCU through Khonshu, who is Moon Knight’s patron and maybe even master. Arthur Harrow worships Ammit, who isn’t shown in the movie. Break: This, on its own, is a break from the real-world Egyptian myths. In ancient Egypt, people didn’t worship Ammit. Instead, they feared her because she worked for Anubis, a god who weighed the value of a person’s life and ate the hearts of people who didn’t measure up.
However, this doesn’t mean that people won’t be able to see the rest of the Ennead, either. In Episode 3, Khonshu puts together a group of the gods and their avatars to try to get them to stop Ammit and Harrow. Fans get a good look at what could be a big new character in the MCU. Things don’t go well for Khonshu as a result, though. This is especially true at the end of the episode.
When it comes to the Egyptian gods, there is no attempt to explain them as anything but gods. When you think about the MCU, remember that Asgardians are now aliens. Similar to the comics, Eternals thinks that the Incan deities were just the Eternals. So, it looks like the Ennead are the first real deities to show up in the MCU. A lot of people don’t think about it.
But, you say, what about the afterlife shown in Black Panther in 2018 and the panther god worshiped by T’Challa and the people of Wakanda? Here’s the surprise: There are nine gods in the Ennead, and one of them is Bast, or Bastet, the Egyptian deity who has a cat’s head.
That fact is true in comic books, even though it hasn’t been confirmed in the MCU itself. There’s one thing, though, that ties Moon Knight even closer to the big screen Marvel Cinematic Universe, even though Thor: Love and Thunder is coming out this summer.
That movie, of course, has Christian Bale as the main bad guy, who is called Gorr, the God-Butcher. How likely are there to be a link between Disney+’s new show and Chris Hemsworth’s return as the third-most popular Avenger, Moon Knight? All in all, as Marvel Studios’ unofficial motto says, “it’s all linked together.”
