This is Abdul Faoul, the Scarlet Scarab from Marvel Comics. He was a protector of Egypt and technically a “villain” who fought against the Invaders (the WW2 era team with Namor, Human Torch and Captain America) but his goal was to end Britain’s rule over Egypt, so… technically he’s not evil, he just joined the Axis to do it. Comics are weird and sometimes racist.
InMoon Knight several people were speculating that since Layla had the a similar surname (Layla el-Faouly) and was called “little scarab” by her father that she would turn into a modern-day version of the Scarlet Scarab. And indeed, the Marvel.com description of the finale calls her the Scarlet Scarab. That’s her superhero name.
But what’s fun about this is that it means Taweret, since she said she had an idea for the costume, picked this costume specifically for Layla. Whereas we were told earlier than the Moon Knight costume was Khonshu’s ceremonial armor and it’s assumed that is the armor all of his avatars have had (excepting Steven Grant in the Mr. Knight costume.) The Moon Knight hood is supposed to evoke the beak of Khonshu. But Layla’s costume isn’t hippo related.
AmazingProject Runway challenge for Taweret.
The moment when the little girl asks if Layla is an Egyptian superhero isn’t just a “girl power” moment (as I have seen some men complaining). It is a reference to the fact that the Scarlet Scarab is the protector of Egypt in Marvel world. TheEgyptian superhero.
Marc/Khonshu are the Fist of Vengence. Layla/Taweret are the Protectors of Egypt. (Taweret’s image really was used for protection, so that lines up even if the iconography doesn’t.)
ETA: It’s possible, since Abdul Faoul gave the Scarlet Scarab later gave the mantle to his son, that he was her grandfather in the MCU. Layla’s father was called Abdallah El-Faouly which is a different name than the son in the comics but who cares. It’s all made up.
So I think Marc and Steven (and Jake) is on a metaphysical plane somewhere. Specifically that boat Steven talked about in episode 1 that takes them to the Field of Reeds. And my girl Taweret (Goddess of Rebirth) here is to help them come back to life. But in order to do that, Marc will have to deal with his past and his present.
Where’s my proof? Remember when Marc is running down the hall of the mental ward and the lights and carts are swaying and shifting around? It’s like they’re on a boat. And the trailer has shown a boat like this showing up.
Plus some critics accidentally got to see episode 5 when they were given advanced previews by Disney and they said not only will we be surprised but that this episode will deal with Marc’s backstory and his Jewish heritage.
I think the boat is supposed to manifest a persons fears as a way to test them. So this episode is where we’re going to meet Jake. This is where we’ll learn Marc’s backstory. And this is where we’re all going to cry because Marc is so scared of his condition that his test comes in the shape of a mental hospital. But he’ll triumph by embracing all sides of himself.
Also I think Layla will sadly sign those divorce papers by the end of this. Mainly because I see Marvel setting her up to be the MCU version of the Scarlet Scarab. An antihero/villain that goes to extremes to steal back Egyptian artifacts. Technically Layla is already doing this thanks to her Madripoor connections. Her name is similar to that of the character in the comics. The red flares Layla used through the episode invokes the red fireballs the Scarlet Scarab uses in the comics. Plus they gave us a little Easter egg of a red scarab drawn on a bandage Fake Layla wore on her pinky in the mental ward.
I’ll even bet she’ll get recruited to the Dark Avengers. And she won’t be able to do that if she’s married to the avatar of an Egyptian moon god of justice and his adorable alters. Plus after the tragic passing of the actor that was supposed to play Moon Knight’s arch enemy, I can see them setting up this dynamic of a hero literally in love with his villain. And it would be so interesting to watch.
MAY CALAMAWY for ELLE US April 2022 “I think every girl has an alter [ego] in a way and I just wanted to watch a movie that’s showing, like, the side of the personality that’s not being shown to the families and parents and whatnot, because that exists. It keeps getting hidden but that’s where we can all relate to each other. We’re in this weird place where I don’t really relate to everything there because we’re not fully showing ourselves.”
![marcspecthor: MAY CALAMAWY for ELLE US April 2022 “I think every girl has an alter [ego] in a way an](https://64.media.tumblr.com/19a6c1b4b342a1121bc868dd8f07eb35/6f981882f7812fe3-d3/s540x810/8f4d8c056b44b1d80717fa071f4ee46cad174696.png "marcspecthor: MAY CALAMAWY for ELLE US April 2022 “I think every girl has an alter [ego] in a way an")
![marcspecthor: MAY CALAMAWY for ELLE US April 2022 “I think every girl has an alter [ego] in a way an](https://64.media.tumblr.com/644d00587aaa409946f4b3bcc6a92c4f/6f981882f7812fe3-fa/s540x810/8a420eb6348b398aa3d92c1f11eb2e5f4d344480.png "marcspecthor: MAY CALAMAWY for ELLE US April 2022 “I think every girl has an alter [ego] in a way an")
