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It’s not all blood-splattered doom and gloom in Marvel’s current big comic book event Blood Hunt; the penultimate issue of the series actually features the return of Moon Knight - a hero who’s been missing from Marvel’s comic book universe for a moment or two — and someone whose return, perhaps, shows that Marvel’s corporate synergistic powers are alive and well and strong as ever.

(An earlier version of this story didn't mention Moon Knight in the opening paragraph or the headline, but then Marvel released the info itself in a press release.)

Be warned: Spoilers follow for Blood Hunt #4 and a certain other ongoing Marvel comic book series. Do not read on unless you’re prepared to know too much!

Less than a year after Marc Spector died at the hands of Zodiac and Black Spectre in December 2023’s Moon Knight #30, Moon Knight is back in action in the latest issue of Blood Hunt, resurrected by the entity Khonshu as part of the final push against the vampire invasion of Earth — and he’s not alone. In fact, Spector is just one of a number of former agents of Khonshu returning from the dead as part of the effort, with Khonshu’s own narration explaining, “My dead fists, stirred from their sleep, leap to battle across the world, hands filled with the silver of my armories. Warriors with no fear, no blood, no mercy. And led by my resurrected son. My Moon Knight.”

Those last two sentences, of course, are accompanied by a dramatic image of the hero jumping back into action. Look:

Look, if you’re looking to defeat a vampire army, a horde of zombies is certainly a way to attempt it, at the very least. Given that the survival of the human race in this battle was never really in doubt — what, you didn’t think that all of Marvel’s comics would be about vampires forever after this event, did you? — what’s perhaps more interesting is that Moon Knight has returned from the dead just six months after his death.

Of course, desperate times call for desperate measures, and Earth being overrun by zombies is the kind of thing that might make an Egyptian god go back on his promise to let Spector remain in the afterlife as a reward for his service, as seen in Moon Knight #30. It also allows Marvel to keep the character in circulation to keep interest up at a time when Oscar Isaac’s on-screen version is rumored to be returning at some point in the future. The question now is, how long if this resurrected Moon Knight going to stick around? Is this a permanent return?

The answer appears to be yes, with Marvel announcing a new series officially launching in October, titled Moon Knight: Fist of Khonshu. "The streets have changed since Moon Knight died, and I'm excited to explore how he deals with all-new threats to his territory along with fellow Midnight Missionaries Alessandro Cappucio, Rachelle Rosenberg and Devmalya Pramanik," writer Jed McKay said in a statement, naming the rest of the creative team for the series.

The new series will replace the current Vengeance of the Moon Knight title, which ends with #9 in September - an issue that previously had a purposefully mysterious description from Marvel. But here's the twist: Moon Knight: Fist of Khonshu is already available, with comic store retailers having received a secret "zero issue" of the title this week by McKay and Cappucio, which Marvel describes as "follow[ing] up on the events of Blood Hunt #4 and not only is it an essential chapter, it’s also a perfect starting point for readers who want to jump into one of the hottest modern Marvel sagas."

The version of Moon Knight: Fist of Khonshu #0 retailers got this week featured a cover by Cappuccio, but this week, store owners also have the opportunity to order copies of a different edition featuring a cover by E.M. Gist to arrive in stores by July 3.

Blood Hunt #4 is available now.

Keep up to date on Popverse's Marvel coverage, with these highlights:

• Marvel Studios has accidentally created a new Phase that predates Phases 1 - 6: the MCU Phase Zero
• Which Secret Wars comic the Russos are basing Avengers 6 off of
• Overgrown children of the atom: Marvel's X-Men can't evolve past their '90s commercial peak
• The biggest outstanding questions of the Marvel Studios' movies & TV shows
• Marvel's accidental closure on the Kang storyline
• Robert Downey Jr. is entering his villain era
• Donald Trump is the landlord for Marvel's House of Ideas
• For Marvel actors, the MCU also stands for the Marvel Commercials Universe
• The Fantastic 4: First Steps offers Marvel a visual makeover, courtesy of a classic movie designer
• Marvel Studios swapping out Doctor Doom for Kang offers the chance to jettison the Multiverse Saga
• What Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige is saying (and not saying) about the MCU X-Men franchise says a lot about the future of the Mutant Saga