See The Brand New Marvel Character Moon Knight Shocked Fans With
Who the heck was that?
Marvel Studios has a reputation for surprising fans with unexpected guests, cameos, etc. WandaVision fooled fans into thinking Evan Peters was reprising the role of Quicksilver in the MCU, Mark Ruffalo cameoed as a captive listener in a post-credits scene for Iron Man 3, and we think there were some fan-favorite appearances in Spider-Man: No Way Home; we’re not sure, there wasn’t much press about it (this is sarcasm). But at the end of the latest episode of Moon Knight, Marvel gave fans a surprise appearance by someone rare in the Marvel Cinematic Universe — a character who clearly exists beyond the realm of the ordinary and yet has no counterpart in the source material. WARNING! What follows are major spoilers for the latest episode of Moon Knight! Scroll at your own risk!
Episode 4 of Moon Knight, “The Tomb,” brings the series’ heroes and villains finally to the tomb of Ammit, which also turns out to be the long lost tomb of Alexander the Great. The conqueror was apparently the final avatar to Ammit — just as Marc Spector is avatar to Khonshu — before the death goddess was imprisoned. Toward the end of the episode, Marc is shot in the chest twice by Farrow (Ethan Hawke) and awakens not in the tomb, but in what appears to be a mental institution where Layla (May Calamawy) is another patient and Farrow is Marc’s doctor. Once he shakes off his sedatives, Marc escapes his wheelchair and runs around the halls, eventually finding his alter Steven Grant in a sarcophagus. After both Marc and Steven spot a standing, shaking sarcophagus, they continue down a hallway. The double doors at the end of the hall open to reveal what appears to be a person with the head of a hippo, wearing elaborate ancient Egyptian styled garb. The figure waves daintily at the pair and says “Hi” in a female voice, prompting Marc and Steven to scream in terror, and the hippo woman to respond in kind. You can see this incredible creature below.
This is Tawaret, voiced by newcomer Antonia Salib. Tawaret is a part of the Egyptian pantheon — a goddess often associated with childbirth, fertility, and healing. As we see in the latest episode of Moon Knight, in myth Tawaret was often depicted as appearing as a woman with the head of a hippo, the tail of a crocodile, and great feline paws in the place of hands. As we can see in the screenshot above, Marvel apparently chose to do away with the paws, though whether or not she has the crocodile tail remains to be seen.
Surprisingly, in spite of the many gods that have appeared as both heroes and villains in Marvel Comics, Tawaret is not among them. It’s interesting to note she appears in the Moon Knight episode the same week the long-awaited Thor: Love and Thunder trailer premiered. This is the first Egyptian god we’ve seen in the series in her godlike form beside Khonshu. Meanwhile, Love and Thunder‘s villain — played by Christian Bale — will be the Gorr the God Butcher, whose ultimate goal is exactly what his name would make you think it is.
By the way, if nothing else the appearance of Tawaret confirms that Marvel stars are always dropping hints. Last October, Moon Knight‘s Oscar Isaac appeared on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon to promote Dune. While there, he gave the audience the chance to hear an original song he’d written for his son about a very specific animal. Can you guess what it was? If not, check out the clip below.
