‘Moon Knight’ Episode 3 Easter Egg Cleverly References Another Marvel Series
Going off the first three Moon Knight episodes, it’s hard to tell that the show takes place in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. People who have no knowledge of the MCU can tune in to the Marvel Disney+ series and fully understand what’s happening. But Moon Knight Episode 3 slyly included an Easter egg that finally tied the show to the MCU.
A recap of ‘Moon Knight’ Episode 3
Marc Spector searches for Ammit’s tomb and Arthur Harrow in Moon Knight Episode 3. Unfortunately, Arthur finds Ammit’s tomb before Marc can stop him.
As a last-ditch effort, Khonshu calls a meeting with the rest of the Egyptian gods, and Marc meets other Avatars. They gather inside the Great Pyramid of Giza, and Marc and Khonshu try to warn the other gods that Arthur intends to free Ammit. Unfortunately, the gods summon Arthur, and he repeatedly denies the accusations. The cult leader also paints Marc as a mad man, so the gods believe Arthur.
One Avatar pulls Marc to the side, though, and she tells him that the sarcophagus of a Medjay named Senfu could point him toward Ammit’s tomb. While trying to track down Senfu, Marc encounters Layla. She helps him find the sarcophagus, which Anton Mogart, an acquaintance of Layla, possesses.
Marc and Layla meet with Anton, who lets them look at Senfu’s sarcophagus. But the meeting turns sour when Arthur arrives and destroys the coffin. A fight ensues between Marc, Layla, Anton, and his men. Fortunately, Marc and Layla escape with fragments from Senfu’s sarcophagus that come together to form a star map from 2000 years ago.
Khonshu uses his powers to turn back the sky to the night the map was created. Layla can then find the coordinates of Ammit’s tomb, but the Egyptian gods imprison Khonshu for his actions. As a result, Marc/Steven falls unconscious in Moon Knight Episode 3, and they no longer have access to Khonshu’s powers.
‘Moon Knight’ Episode 3 included a nod to ‘The Falcon and the Winter Soldier’
When Marc and Layla arrived to meet with Anton in Moon Knight Episode 3, one of the thief’s guards told Layla, “[Anton’s] looking forward to seeing you. After Madripoor, I’m sure you two will have a lot to talk about.”
Layla and Anton obviously have history, but Madripoor should ring a bell for the fans who watched The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. As some might remember, Sam Wilson, Bucky Barnes, and Helmut Zemo traveled to Madripoor in the Marvel Disney+ series. There, they find Sharon Carter, who is later revealed to be the Power Broker. Sharon secretly runs Madripoor, which is a criminal sanctuary.
Perhaps Layla and Anton know Sharon Carter, and this connection between them will come into play later in the MCU. It’s even plausible that The Falcon and the Winter Soldier Easter egg from Moon Knight Episode 3 foreshadows a cameo by Sharon in the show.
Mohamed Diab wanted ‘Moon Knight’ to be a standalone series
Even though Moon Knight Episode 3 references another MCU series, director Mohamed Diab is glad that the show can stand on its own regardless of its Marvel ties.
“I wanted to push it,” Diab told Collider. “I wanted something that [Marvel] usually wouldn’t think that they want, which is I wanted it to look and feel different than every other MCU project, which eventually is the case. And today, you might say, some people keep telling me, if there’s no Marvel logo at the beginning of episode 1, you wouldn’t necessarily know that this is a Marvel show, which is something I’m proud of.”
He continued, “And I’m proud of how we deleted the idea of any crossovers, and we didn’t have need [for] crutches. We stood on our own, and the project … Maybe that’s the surprise, rather than a crossover, that we can stand on our own.”
Moon Knight airs Wednesdays on Disney+.
