There are a number of recent and upcoming games, films and tv shows that use various cultures and mythologies to drive their stories. This series aims to explore the relationship between an IP and its surrounding mythology and how this shapes its characters. Today, we look at the tv show Moon Knight, exploring the character design of Khonshu and his links to Egyptian Mythology.

Warning: This article contains spoilers for Moon Knight. 

Moon Knight

Moon Knight is Disney+‘s latest TV show set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Oscar Isaac stars as Steven-‘with a v’-Grant, a museum gift-shop employee, who has blackouts and a sleeping disorder. Steven learns he has dissociative identity disorder and shares a body with Marc Spector, a mercenary. Steven is suddenly thrust into a world of violent Egyptian mythology when it turns out Marc Spector is the chosen avatar of Khonshu, the Egyptian god of the moon. Under the guise of Moon Knight, Steven and Marc must work together if they are to overcome the evil forces that seek destruction of the world.

But who exactly is Khonshu?

In the TV show, Khonshu is a mysterious figure that seems to haunt both Steven’s mind and city rooftops. A violent god who uses his avatar to kill people – the god seems to be a mix of a petulant child throwing temper tantrums and a narcissist, claiming to be “true justice”. This unpleasant mix is also seen in the comics, with Khonshu manipulating Marc Spector to do his bidding and bring “vengeance” on those he deems deserving. The similarities between the comics and the TV show also extends into the character design of Khonshu. The god is presented as a looming figure, wrapped in bandages with a large bird’s skull for a head. But who exactly is this god?

Khonshu is based on the Egyptian god Khonsu. Khonsu was the god of the moon, but also associated with fertility and healing. It’s thought the name Khonsu comes from the Egyptian word, khenes, meaning to wander or travel. Khonsu, as the personification of the moon, would travel across the sky and was changeable in his nature – waxing and waning throughout the year.

Seen as the sole source of light during the night, Khonsu was seen as a protector against evil – battling the darkness, while Ra descended into the underworld to do battle there. Closely related with the darkness, therefore, Khonsu was also seen as a violent and vengeful god – and it’s here we see the links with the comic book Khonshu. In fact, Khonsu is mentioned in both the Pyramid Texts and Coffin Texts – Ancient Egyptian sources – as a force of vengeance. The Pyramid Texts state “he is the envoy who is sent to punish” and this is clearly echoed in Moon Knight, where Khonshu declares “I only punish those who deserve it, I am true justice.”

On a side note, it is also interesting how the concept of Khonsu changed over time. This is the only mention of Khonsu in the Pyramid Texts, suggesting he wasn’t that prevalent in early Egyptian mythology. This might explain why in the TV show, Khonshu seems to be sidelined by the major deities of the Egyptian pantheon. However, in the later Coffin texts, Khonsu is mentioned far more often, suggesting he had grown in importance. And by the time of the New Kingdom, when his temple was built at Karnak, he was described as “the greatest god of the great gods.” An epithet that was also used in Vol 188 of the Moon Knight comics.

The Iconography of Khonsu and Khonshu

The Egyptian god Khonsu was either depicted in mummiform or wearing a bird head. In the TV show and comics, we see Khonshu’s design takes both these elements. The mummified aspect in Egyptian iconography was probably used to point towards the eternal aspect of the god. But it also perhaps points to his protection of the wandering souls, seen in the Coffin Texts. In the comics and TV show, it serves to connect Khonshu with Ancient Egypt and also adds a disturbing element to the character. The flowing robes of the character also makes it feel ghostly – as well as a priestly image.

The TV and comics also make use of the bird head depiction. However, whilst in Ancient Egypt Khonsu was presented with a hawk or falcon head, Khonshu seems to have a raven or crow head. The falcon or hawk in Ancient Egypt was a symbol of power and sight – king of the sky overlooking his domain. However, the character design of Khonshu once again focuses on death imagery, with ravens and crows being carrion and scavengers of corpses. In addition, the use of a skull creates this unsettling image and the long, overreaching beak creates a more threatening feel than that of a hawk or falcon.

With this in mind, it is clear the character design seems to pull as much from Grim Reaper iconography as it does Egyptian mythology. With his flowing bandages, hollow skull and crescent moon-adorned staff, the character seems designed to evoke the image of Death – which can only be bad news for Steven ‘with a v’.

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The post Mythology Corner: Moon Knight and Khonshu first appeared on Get2Gaming.

The judgment spinoff series of the yakuza franchise is in a weird spot right now. The second game, Lost Judgment, came out last year. However, with rumors that the actor for lead character Yagami was severing ties with the studio, it seemed that the series might be on its way out.

While right now there is still no word on whether we will actually see a third Judegment game, it does seem the franchise is set to continue in a new form. According to a report from the Japanese Publication by Nikkan Gendai, TV Asahi is preparting to produce a Television live action series based on the Judgement franchise, with series actor Takuya Kimura said to be reprising his role as private investigator Takayuki Yagami.

The live action version doesnt have an official title yet, but is being referred to as “Sabakarezaru” (裁かれざる [According to google translate]) which can be translated as “unjudged”, which was *also* the japanese title for Lost Judgement. Another source has said a film may be in the works, although no word on whether that is a made-for-tv film or A feature Film.

The news has come during a bit of a drought in Yakuza series content. Fans are currently Waiting to hear more about the sequel to the spinoff “Yakuza: Like A Dragon” (no, its not main series, you dont play as Kiryu), and there is a DLC for lost Judgement called the Kaito DLC coming but it currently has no concrete release window outside of “spring 2022”

As of right now, Lost Judgement is not on PC, which will probably be a sticking point for Sega given the main Yakuza series success on the platform. However, if the TV series turns out to be real it would suggest the actor and their agency are still willing to work on the franchise, even if it isn’t as a videogame any more.

You can grab games from the Yakuza franchise from go2games.com

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The Original Mass Effect was released back in 2007, and told the story of Commander Shepard. A story that would go on to span 3 games, with your choices from each game carrying over from one to the next. A decade later, in 2017, Bioware followed up the series with mass effect: Andromeda which… was not so well received.

Today, a report from deadline has suggested that the series may be getting a tv adaptation through amazon studios.

This is no-doubt coming off the heels of Netflix adapting League of Legends as “Arcane”. Amazon studios seems hell bent on taking a crack at adapting mass effect to a wider audience. As of right now, neither Amazon or EA have actually agreed to the project, but the report from deadline does suggest a deal could come about in the not too distant future.

As of right now what this series will be is unclear. Its possible that this could be an original story set within the universe of mass effect, which would probably be for the better in my opinion, or this could be a film or TV adaptation of the mass effect games. A film was in production briefly in 2010, being produced by Warner Bros. and Legendary studios, best known for the recent Godzilla films and pacific rim. 

Despite interest in adapting the story of the game, I personally feel it wouldnt work. Mass effect is all about the choice aspect. Everyones playthrough is different, with everyone choosing different relationships and places to go. Unless it was A “bandersnatch” choose your own adventure type situation, the preferable option is to do a story set within the world, but not a direct adaptation.

EA and Bioware have recently been teasing a potential new game in the series, this one set back within the milky way galaxy and set centuries after the end of mass effect three. While right now this is little more than rumour, the next few years may prove to be a bit of a renaissance for mass effect fans.

You can pick up mass effect legendary edition, a collection of all 3 main trilogy games, for PS4 from go2games.com

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 In The Works – Resident Evil TV Show
Story details are not yet available, but a series is to launch after the debut of next movie!

How very exciting for all you Resident Evil fans out there! Let’s see what this is all about then…

The Germany-based Constantin Film (the production company behind the Resident Evil movie franchise), according to a report form Variety, is planning this spinoff series as a part of their interest in TV programming. The next Resident Evil movie does not yet have a release date and may well be the last in the franchise as it is named Final Chapter.

The Resident Evil movies are not re-tellings of any of the game’s, although they do keep with their best known themes! The report from Variety does not mention any actors included or any details regarding the plot; only that the TV series is actually in production.

Just like a TV show, the next RE game will be released episodically and is set to launch in 2015.

The post In The Works – Resident Evil TV Show first appeared on Get2Gaming.