The rabbit thing might be a reference to the moon rabbit that shows up several times in a lot of Asian folklore, particularly China and Japan. It's found its way into pop culture, of course. In the anime and manga, for instance, Sailor Moon's name is Usagi (rabbit/bunny). Which just had me flashing over to a Sailor Moon style soliloquy. "I am the Knight of the Moon and, in the name of the Moon, I condemn your cooties!"
I feel like this reference would have been lost on people who didn't know that. And not knowing about Crusader Rabbit would leave someone just as confused.
LOL. I just got done writing a similar comment. Glad I'm not the only one. Although, we did miss another character we could have referenced that just dawned on me; Miyamoto Usagi (from Usagi Yojimbo... which I think is what they called him in TMNT)
My favorite Moon Knight comparison to Batman was from The Comics Journal. One issue had a cover on which Moon Knight is shoving The Batman aside, saying, “Move aside, old timer!”. To which Neal Adams responded a couple issues later with a drawing of The Batman tripping Moon Knight with a batarang while saying “Well, Excu-u-u-se me!”.
I just love that a Werewolf’s human name is Jack Russell! A friend’s nephew had a Jack Russell terrier when he was 3 or 4 and he carried that poor little dog around like a stuffed animal.
Roy Thomas, who was a Marvel editor when the Werewolf by Night title was created, said in an interview years ago that if he'd known at the time that there was a breed of dog called a Jack Russell he would have had the name changed.
I have both collections of Werewolf By Night, back when Marvel did those omnibuses. The melodrama in this? Is nothing, it goes full soap opera and I *love* it
Jack apparently thinks there's a resemblance between how Moon Knight is drawn and the 1950s children's TV character Crusader Rabbit (but the future creators of Rocky and Bullwinkle), who wears armor and is light colored.
I am not sure if the similarity is visual, but mental. He is basically calling him a weirdo not quite in touch with reality, which also fits the way MKs employers talk about him taking the costume too seriously, and subsequent portrayals.
The character of Jack was 19 in 1975, which means he would have been born in 1956. It's very likely he would have seen old Crusader Rabbit cartoon (which still popped up on tv into the 1980s) as a kid.
"Crusader Rabbit" was an early children's cartoon about a heroic rabbit. ...who don't look much like Mark in any way, but whatever. It would have been a better snark at, I dunno, Iron Man.
Yeah I looked it up. It ran from 1950-1957 (according to Wikipedia) and was the first animated series made specifically for television. Why this is a relevant reference in the 1970s I have no idea.
@@thomaslangston6153 Yes, anything older than 20 years is instantly forgotten. That's why nobody would ever reference, e.g., Buffy the Vampire Slayer today! ☺
@@xtifr 20 years is hardly instant. Especially pre-internet. Home video was new and rare in the '70s. So yeah, expecting your target teen readers to get a 20 year old cartoon reference was a leap unless it was in regular syndication.
Yes, a Lon Chaney reference would work in 1975. "Young Frankenstein" came out in 1974, so there was a resurgence in interest in the old monster movies. "Werewolves of London" came out in '78 and calls out Lon Chaney Jr. in the lyrics.
My brother's and by extension, my, first introduction to Moon Knight was seeing him in Marvel Ultimate Alliance on Wii. My brother liked him so much, that my dad bought him the black and white Moon Knight Essentials Volume 1 as a gift. I'm glad that he's getting more attention these days.
Crusader Rabbit was a comic series on black and white TV and ran from 1950-1951 (195 episodes! laughs at puny 12-20 episode seasons!) and later came back as a color version in 1959-1960 (260 episodes!). One of the producers, Jay Ward, would later go on to produce The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show. The character appears as knight on a charger but does also sport a cape in a few. It could be one of the "hip" references since Moon Knight is all white garb or it could be just a bit of a Freudian slip. The creators were trying to make a knock off Batman and since he is known as the Caped Crusader, it just slipped out Crusader Rabbit. Len Wein did work on Detective Comics and wrote a Batman story.
The first time I saw Moon Knight was when he guest-starred in DEFENDERS (where he memorably used a beer can to escape the villain's death-trap!). I was a big fan of the Moench-Sienkiewicz series, even though that's when he started to really become more Batman-ish. It was fascinating watching Sienkiewicz's style evolve from being a Neal Adams clone to his own unique thing. Likewise, Moench started playing around with interesting ideas, such as gradually shifting the "multiple identities" thing from a gimmick to a genuine mental illness. Various writers have toyed with the idea of Batman being "not all there", but Moon Knight did it first.
I was actively buying/reading "Werewolf by Night" when it was coming out, and I loved the Moon Knight character when he first appeared. And to answer your question, yes Lon Chaney was relevant back then, at least to (classic horror movie fan) me. I always loved how, at least at first (it seemed to me), it was always an unanswered question as to is Konshu real, or not. As always, thank you so very much for the video. And if you want to talk '70's politics in the comics my three 'first' memories are: Green Arrow / Lanterns Road trip across the U.S. with Neal Adamswith the most notable panel being the one in "Green Lantern" 76 - were Green Lantern is confronted about "skins" GL never bothered with. Green Arrow becoming poor, and then a Newspaper Ediatorialist. Then there's DC's "Prez" the First Teen Age President.
Prez is...an experience lol Well so is Hard Travellin' Heroes. I had a whole segment about how often Ollie punches Hal in the face. I had to cut it cause it was not the time or the place.
So much odd fun stuff! Crusader Rabbit was a cartoon character from 1950’s television. The name Lon Chaney was far more associated with the Wolf-Man than Phantom, as it was re-run on tv more often. People knew it was Junior, but just didn’t care. The Bill Sienkiewicz/Neal Addams thing was a bi deal at the time, as fans accused Sienkiewicz(and, yes, you pronounced it correctly)of copying Adams style. To be fair, there were lots of similarities. But his style quickly evolved throughout Moon Knight, New Mutants, and beyond. To dispel rumors of ill will, both artists did tounge in cheek back covers of the Comics Journal. The first had MK tripping Batman with one of his Cresents, calling him a has-been old man or some such. The second had Batman tripping MK with a Batarang loudly saying “Well EXCUUUUUUUUUUSE ME!!!” Classic humor. Would love to see Jack go up against John Jameson though. The logistics would be very Ladyhawk. Spidey fans will get it. Had no idea MK debuted in WWBN. It was one of those titles I was aware of but had no interest in at the time. Guess he had an ugly puss.
It's interesting to see Moon Knight's first appearance, and to know how much he developed over time. And honestly I'm reminded of the Punisher. Both were basically villains of the week who became so much more over time. It's fascinating.
"Hi, I'm Moon Knight, and M-O-O-N spells *B R E A D !* ... and I need it now!" Werewolf by Knight is rumored to get a Disney Plus Halloween special next year, but it wasn't mentioned at Disney Plus day, so either it's not happening that soon, or they're pulling a Book of Boba Fett and he'll be in Moon Knight, then surprise, new show.
In the 70's old movies were on every tv station, some more than others, so we had much more awareness of knowing Lon Chaney, Jr., Boris Karloff, etc., as well as Fred Astaire, James Cagney, Doris Day, and so on. It's part of the reason we 'older folk' get annoyed/frustrated at younger people for not knowing more! LOL!!
Jack Russel actually shows up in a more modern Moon Knight comic, where Moony busts a werewolf fighting ring, which used Jack as a source of lycanthropy, or something.
I'm not entirely sure of what character Moon Knight was supposed to resemble in his first appearance. But by the time of his solo appearances, he was a fairly obvious copy of Pulp Character The Shadow. Mysterious Solider of Fortune guy (Marc) takes on the identity of a wealthy playboy (Steven Grant) to fight crime as (Moon Knight) with the aid of a team of agents. Swap out the character names of Kent Allard, Lamont Cranston and The Shadow and it's the same character. The major difference between the two is Moon Knight was never as murderous as the Shadow was. Since much of the Shadow's tropes ended up in Batman first, I can see how MK got pegged as a Batman ripoff.
The 70's did not have an oversaturation of media so the "greats" of cinema were a part of the common lexicon, Lon Cheney, Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, Buster Crabbe, etc. The "rabbit" thing, I never heard nor called anyone that, but heard "jackrabbit" thrown around a bit for someone who moved around really fast, or was very jumpy or nervous. Perhaps it was to mock Moonknight to be the "rabbit" while he was the wolf. Always the BEST purveyor of comics in their various eras, Thank you Sasha, PEACE and God bless. Oh, the 80's Sienkiewicz run was my first introduction so how does one go higher than that???
Moon Knight deserves more love. He's a really interesting character. So happy to see Oscar Isaac playing him in the TV show. The latest MK series is great.
Marc(k)'s prices to capture a werewolf are a pretty good deal. I bet Deathstroke would charge millions to do the same job with a DC werewolf (although it would be reasonable in Lar-On's case as a kryptonian werewolf to charge that much).
This back story is till one of my favourite dumb trivia from Moon Knight, that and they actually tried to make sense of it in latter Moon Knight cannon too, to even more ridiculous degrees and its great
There is also a connection between the moon, witches and transformation that probably trickled down into werewolves.In this this poem called 'The Lamas Hireling' we studied for Lit A-levels, there is a were-hare like figure, and it also references an older, witch poem.
The best Moon Knight trivia I know is the fact that he once escaped a death trap with a fan of beer. It happened when he was crossing over with the Defenders in the late 70s
The song, "Werewolves of London" makes a Lon Cheney (Jr.) reference, and it came out in 1978, so I suppose that could have been a reasonable reference when the comic was written. At the very least, it may have been something that people reading a werewolf comic would have been "hip" to ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
The best MK early appearance was DEFENDERS 47-51. His interactions with Nighthawk, as scripted by writer David Anthony Craft, were classic. You want 70's hip? During one battle, a villian catcalls Valkyrie "I'm done with the overblown blonde with the macho hangups!" Or Lunatic, probably the only character who could out crazy (and still be a serious threat) DCs Joker.
Yes, Lon Chaney was still somewhat relevant back in the 70's. There was a bit of classic monster nostalgia during the middle part of the decade. It was before Star Wars made a big cultural impact crater.
A bit of trivia about Crusader Rabbit. The original concept was Donkey Hote (obvious pun there), but animators not wanting to draw a donkey passed on it so the concept was re-worked with something easier and simpler to draw. The character was basically an animal Don Quixote, so calling MK a lunar Crusader Rabbit is basically calling him a crazy person with a moon theme... So you see, today it might seem like a mere odd way of talking, but one could argue that it was taken far more serious and been far more impactful than almost everything else in MK's first appearance.
I liked the Bill Sienkiewicz era - and his artistic growth during that run. Began as an Adams clone and really evolved on Moon Knight and New Mutants. The stories were interesting too. In one issue Moon Knight fought The Moon Kings... or thought he did. Actually he was hallucinating after having seen a No Smoking sign and seeing the letters swim and swirl around and spell out an anagram: Moon Kings.
Old monster movies like the ones starring Lon Chaney, Jr., were indeed pretty popular in the early to mid-70s. I remember reading books about how to do the makeup yourself as a kid then.
Wow. I come for the deep nerdy but I stay for the spot on voice impressions! Thank you Sash for sharing you technical skills and the undeniable artistry! Aahwoo!!!!
So was Moon Knight; remember that cover of the comic magazine--don't recall which one--which had Moon Knight shoving Batman aside, saying something like, "Move over old-timer!", with the cover declaring, "Marvel introduces their OWN creature of the night!"
Would love more videos on Moon Knight! Especially since this video was half Werewolf by Night. Also for the best Moon Knight related memes and info Moon Knight Core is pretty good person to follow on FB and Twitter. They’re the guys that started the Dracula nerd meme. Would love to see you talk about all of the runs except the Bendis… unless to make fun of it.
I've loved Moon Knight ever since the Sienkewicz run. So I was totally blown away by your vocal choices for Frenchy. Hoping you do more Moon Knight. Imagine, voices for all of Marc's personalities. A voice for Crawley! More Frenchy!
Seeing the X-Men Green panel makes me hope you cover it. My TH-cam feed seems to be filled with people (who I don't even watch) acting like it's literally the most morally offensive thing to ever be created and I'd love to hear the view on it from someone who isn't all about comic book culture wars give their two cents.
Werewolf By Night was used as a backup feature in Marvel Comics Presents in the early 90s, where Jack Russell accepted the werewolf part of himself and actually gained control during his transformations (this was a couple of years before his appearance in the "Capwolf" story arc).
Lon Chaney would have been a common reference in the seventies. There were only three broadcast networks and some independent local tv channels back then. Those local channels frequently reran old horror movies, black and white films from ‘30s and ‘40s like The Mummy, Dracula, Frankenstein. Those movie blocks had names like Creature Features and hosts like Elvira. Horror actors like Lon Chaney, Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff would be very familiar to the general public. So familiar that their horror characters were popular Halloween costumes and were mentioned in comedy routines. There were also magazines like Famous Monsters of Filmland that could be found nearby the comic racks in convenience stores. Finally, Crusader Rabbit was a syndicated animated show that kids might see on local tv after school (Danger Mouse was another character well known at the time) . It was mediocre but ubiquitous, so it wouldn’t be surprising if a New York based Marvel writer saw it on local tv.
Yes, a Lon Chaney reference would have been very well understood in 1975. Don't forget that Warren Zevon's song, which name-checked both father and son, came out in 1978.
All I can think of when I see Moon Knight is the edited panel of him going "I know you're here Dracula, you big fucking nerd. Where's my goddamn money?"
Would a Lon Chaney ref be relevant in the 70s?- absolutely! Creature Feature and Universal horror films were the highlight of Saturday afternoons for me and a lot of kids who grew up around this time. Auroa horror model kits and Mego monster toys were pretty big sellers. So ye olde Universal films were still popular enough to get Marvel to publish their monster comics.
With Jack being all hip 'n stuff is actually referencing Jefferson Airplane's song "White Rabbit" considering Moon Knight's costume, or maybe the White Rabbit in Alice in Wonderland. Jack always did seem to have a kind of an "Alice in Wonderland" vibe to him. Since they came out with the character Warwolf for Nick Fury's Howling Commandoes (2005) and he's powered by the planet Mars, does that mean he has the mars-cooties? Do all the planets in the solar system have it's own form of cooties? Do they all turn you into some form of werewolf? I have absolutely NO need for answers here people!
I was all about the horror themed comics as a teen and Werewolf by Night was one of my favorites. It would be fun to go back and reread the series now that I'm an old fart.
My first MK story was when he got caught up in a three way battle between himself Daredevil and (sigh) the Jester, Marvel's Cease and Desist version of the Joker...
Ayo! Nice Blacksad comic in the background! Do you plan on talking about the serie in the futur? Also yes, we ABSOLUTELY need to get "Moon-cooties" to be hip with the kids! And sorry if my english might not be correctly formulated.
The second person narration was a major part of Werewolf by Night (there was a bit of a fad for second person narration in the 70s, Gerry Conway did it a lot but I think in this case it was actually Roy Thomas' idea), in fact Roy's original pitch for the series had the title "I, Werewolf". But yeah, we're 32 issues in and it's gotten inconsistent. And yep, there were Lon Chaney references from the start of the series to the end - unfortunately for werewolves there really haven't been enough hit werewolf movies to overshadow 1941's "The Wolf Man". Arguably still. Literally everyone in this series (43 issues!) thinks the Werewolf is a guy in a costume or something, they have some iron-clad scepticism for a world full of superheroes and aliens. P.S. "Lunar Crusader Rabbit" is a reference to "Crusader Rabbit", a cartoon from 1950-1951, he's a bunny in plate armour riding a horse. I think the joke is because he's a "knight"?
As someone that struggles with getting a mental balance in life, I've loved to see what he has grown to become in some of the later works. I started reading his comic in this surreal special from the 90s. Lots of comedy. Just a weird book. Then of course SPLATT because...well I was a teen boy and "veins and pockets and guns and shit!!!!" But when you take a deep dive his publishing is so complex. A lot of weird gold. The newer stuff has tried to take that formula (I'm loving the Jed McKay series btw), but it seems like despite a couple shining gems (Ellis and Lemire did some great work with the character), that Bendis created a framework that has been followed, and created a lot of inflated talking heads doing nothing. No hate on Bendis but his run that kickstarted Moon Knight's "comeback" wasn't his high point. I think the biggest failing of characters like Moon Knight and Jack is there is no commitment to small character stories sadly anymore. These 70s characters are always spun off as some sort of gimmick. Telling honest, small, character driven stories that aren't wrapped up in the latest trends or modernizing what in the formula worked. Moon Knight should be Daredevil street level crime stuff with a touch of the weird and struggles of mental health and faith. Jack Russell works best in an "inner turmoil" deep dive on the level of Immortal Hulk or Sandman. His anguish and inner workings are what make him work as a character. I would love if the tv series takes on a David Banner wandering the world and in his mind. And mine that dialogue with poetry and visual nods showing the artistry and complexity of the human mind. Someone call Hollywood! 😁
I loved Werewolf by Night series back in the day. Yes, the Lon Chaney reference would have been relevant in the early 70s and saying Junior would have been too cumbersome, I think. Won't you upset your Quebec neighbors with your French accent? ;-)
The thing that will always strike me about these two issues is they make it a pain in the ass to collect the entire series! Even back in the day, most Werewolf By Night issues were relatively easy to find. Other than #32 And #33. Now they're so damned expensive it makes collecting the series an even bigger hassle. Other than that, Werewolf By Night is definitely a series worth looking into. It's fun for it's time! So many crazy side characters and subplots that it never really got boring! The kiss of death was when they decided to try to make the Werewolf just another superhero. Sales were down by then, but that sure didn't help!
You could do several episodes about characters who change into stupendously dangerous alter egos , keep that a secret from those they're intentionally endangering , and feel sorry for themselves while not taking simple responsible acts ( surrendering to the police or the freaking X-Men ) . Maybe it could tie in with the people today who refuse to wear masks or get vaccinated yet who consider themselves to be sooper heroes for those insanely dangerous personality flaws .
Yeah, Lon Chaney would be culturally relevant even back then. As the #1 most famous Werewolf movie of all time, and pretty much the one they were basing Werewolf by Night off of, Lon was definitely the right comment. Not to mention all the reruns and rereleases and stuff. Heck, this was before the Howling, and American Werewolf in London... "the Wolf Man" was pretty much the go to for Werewolf movies. As a side note... It was Lon Chaney Jr. However, that was more of 'nerd knowledge'... The posters and credits always listed him as Lon Chaney. Either A) He didn't care to be thought of as a Junior.... lots of people don't or, B) Screen Actors Guild wasn't around or didn't have the rules about sharing names like they do now.... and/or The studios wanted that 'star power' that still came with the Original 'man of a thousand faces' to bring in the crowds. Either way, just calling him Lon Chaney would still be correct to the posters and credits.
Sasha, thank you for the political commentary aside! Everytime I see some "critic" complaining that the MCU is "too political", it just reinforces that these guys arent really comics fans, the comics were doing that back in the 60s (remember how their were Communists *everywhere* in Marvel?? Hell, beating the commies to space was the whole point of the FF's origin!)! Anyway, I think it says alot about Moon Knight that a video ostensibly about HIM wanders off to any subject BUT him so much...hopefully the tv show will make him at least somewhat interesting...
What I want to know: was the line about "Moon-cooties" the inspiration for Cerebus taking to referring to The Roach (a deranged supporting character who was constantly changing his persona: the patriotic Captain Cockroach, the surly, beer-swilling Wolveroach, the brooding middle-aged Dark Roach [Returns]) as "Cootie", which IIRC happened during the period when he was calling himself Moon Roach...?
![BOWKYLION - วิงวอน (ex-change) [Official MV]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/cLdnZWDaO-w/mqdefault.jpg)
“Now where’s my bread?!”
Good to know Moon Knight’s characterization has been consistent from start to meme.
The rabbit thing might be a reference to the moon rabbit that shows up several times in a lot of Asian folklore, particularly China and Japan. It's found its way into pop culture, of course. In the anime and manga, for instance, Sailor Moon's name is Usagi (rabbit/bunny). Which just had me flashing over to a Sailor Moon style soliloquy. "I am the Knight of the Moon and, in the name of the Moon, I condemn your cooties!"
Nah, Crusader Rabbit is an old cartoon.
I feel like this reference would have been lost on people who didn't know that. And not knowing about Crusader Rabbit would leave someone just as confused.
This is how I read it too, but that seems odd for the 70's. Maybe it was just because Rabbits are mostly white and Moon Knight was all-white?
LOL. I just got done writing a similar comment. Glad I'm not the only one. Although, we did miss another character we could have referenced that just dawned on me; Miyamoto Usagi (from Usagi Yojimbo... which I think is what they called him in TMNT)
Good rabbit knowledge guys but..... *they aren't referencing any of that stuff because Crusader Rabbit is an old cartooooon*
😆
My favorite Moon Knight comparison to Batman was from The Comics Journal. One issue had a cover on which Moon Knight is shoving The Batman aside, saying, “Move aside, old timer!”. To which Neal Adams responded a couple issues later with a drawing of The Batman tripping Moon Knight with a batarang while saying “Well, Excu-u-u-se me!”.
It's interesting Batman's The Sadow but less killy and Boon Knight is in some ways closer to the shadow but also has the magic side of him.
Link to the second picture?
"Well excuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuse me, Moon Knight."
Somewhere out in the Marvel multiverse I'd like to imagine that there's a Moon Knight who really is a big ole rabbit fighting crime.
I just love that a Werewolf’s human name is Jack Russell! A friend’s nephew had a Jack Russell terrier when he was 3 or 4 and he carried that poor little dog around like a stuffed animal.
Roy Thomas, who was a Marvel editor when the Werewolf by Night title was created, said in an interview years ago that if he'd known at the time that there was a breed of dog called a Jack Russell he would have had the name changed.
I have both collections of Werewolf By Night, back when Marvel did those omnibuses. The melodrama in this? Is nothing, it goes full soap opera and I *love* it
“And the Werewolf got *wasted* “ - great panel narration
Jack apparently thinks there's a resemblance between how Moon Knight is drawn and the 1950s children's TV character Crusader Rabbit (but the future creators of Rocky and Bullwinkle), who wears armor and is light colored.
Jimmy we must both be old. I got the reference right away and I barely remember the character.
I am not sure if the similarity is visual, but mental. He is basically calling him a weirdo not quite in touch with reality, which also fits the way MKs employers talk about him taking the costume too seriously, and subsequent portrayals.
The character of Jack was 19 in 1975, which means he would have been born in 1956. It's very likely he would have seen old Crusader Rabbit cartoon (which still popped up on tv into the 1980s) as a kid.
I understood the Crusader Rabbit reference as well, but then again, i'm an old fart... :)
ah well ty, nice info, i stand corrected
"Crusader Rabbit" was an early children's cartoon about a heroic rabbit. ...who don't look much like Mark in any way, but whatever. It would have been a better snark at, I dunno, Iron Man.
Yeah I looked it up. It ran from 1950-1957 (according to Wikipedia) and was the first animated series made specifically for television. Why this is a relevant reference in the 1970s I have no idea.
@@thomaslangston6153 ...said Bunny IS dressed as *knight*... :I
@@thomaslangston6153 Yes, anything older than 20 years is instantly forgotten. That's why nobody would ever reference, e.g., Buffy the Vampire Slayer today! ☺
@@xtifr 20 years is hardly instant. Especially pre-internet. Home video was new and rare in the '70s. So yeah, expecting your target teen readers to get a 20 year old cartoon reference was a leap unless it was in regular syndication.
I say keep the 70s slang. I want a whole season of people looking at him odd in a "hello fellow kids" moment 🤣
"... oh, the lycanthropy!" 😂😂😂😂
Moon Cooties? Their early work was solid; but they got too commercial.
"now where's my bread?"
behold, a meme is born
I miss a lot of these older comics
even though they were technically before my time 🤣
Yes, a Lon Chaney reference would work in 1975. "Young Frankenstein" came out in 1974, so there was a resurgence in interest in the old monster movies. "Werewolves of London" came out in '78 and calls out Lon Chaney Jr. in the lyrics.
Jack may have been referring to the Crusader Rabbit cartoon series (it ran in syndication until the late 70's).
Even in a video about Moon Knight, Lois proves to be the craziest.
My brother's and by extension, my, first introduction to Moon Knight was seeing him in Marvel Ultimate Alliance on Wii. My brother liked him so much, that my dad bought him the black and white Moon Knight Essentials Volume 1 as a gift. I'm glad that he's getting more attention these days.
Crusader Rabbit was a comic series on black and white TV and ran from 1950-1951 (195 episodes! laughs at puny 12-20 episode seasons!) and later came back as a color version in 1959-1960 (260 episodes!). One of the producers, Jay Ward, would later go on to produce The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show.
The character appears as knight on a charger but does also sport a cape in a few. It could be one of the "hip" references since Moon Knight is all white garb or it could be just a bit of a Freudian slip. The creators were trying to make a knock off Batman and since he is known as the Caped Crusader, it just slipped out Crusader Rabbit. Len Wein did work on Detective Comics and wrote a Batman story.
The first time I saw Moon Knight was when he guest-starred in DEFENDERS (where he memorably used a beer can to escape the villain's death-trap!). I was a big fan of the Moench-Sienkiewicz series, even though that's when he started to really become more Batman-ish. It was fascinating watching Sienkiewicz's style evolve from being a Neal Adams clone to his own unique thing. Likewise, Moench started playing around with interesting ideas, such as gradually shifting the "multiple identities" thing from a gimmick to a genuine mental illness. Various writers have toyed with the idea of Batman being "not all there", but Moon Knight did it first.
Also Dracula owes him like 16 bucks!
Dracula is my least favourite avenger, even though I can’t remember why, but a guy’s gotta live by a code, you know?
I was actively buying/reading "Werewolf by Night" when it was coming out, and I loved the Moon Knight character when he first appeared. And to answer your question, yes Lon Chaney was relevant back then, at least to (classic horror movie fan) me.
I always loved how, at least at first (it seemed to me), it was always an unanswered question as to is Konshu real, or not.
As always, thank you so very much for the video.
And if you want to talk '70's politics in the comics my three 'first' memories are: Green Arrow / Lanterns Road trip across the U.S. with Neal Adamswith the most notable panel being the one in "Green Lantern" 76 - were Green Lantern is confronted about "skins" GL never bothered with. Green Arrow becoming poor, and then a Newspaper Ediatorialist. Then there's DC's "Prez" the First Teen Age President.
Prez is...an experience lol Well so is Hard Travellin' Heroes. I had a whole segment about how often Ollie punches Hal in the face. I had to cut it cause it was not the time or the place.
@@CasuallyComics I'm done for the Casually Comics: Director's Cut Special Editions!
I love the idea of Superman telling Lois Lane that he has a restraining order against her! 😂🤣😂🤣
So much odd fun stuff!
Crusader Rabbit was a cartoon character from 1950’s television.
The name Lon Chaney was far more associated with the Wolf-Man than Phantom, as it was re-run on tv more often. People knew it was Junior, but just didn’t care.
The Bill Sienkiewicz/Neal Addams thing was a bi deal at the time, as fans accused Sienkiewicz(and, yes, you pronounced it correctly)of copying Adams style. To be fair, there were lots of similarities. But his style quickly evolved throughout Moon Knight, New Mutants, and beyond. To dispel rumors of ill will, both artists did tounge in cheek back covers of the Comics Journal. The first had MK tripping Batman with one of his Cresents, calling him a has-been old man or some such. The second had Batman tripping MK with a Batarang loudly saying “Well EXCUUUUUUUUUUSE ME!!!”
Classic humor.
Would love to see Jack go up against John Jameson though. The logistics would be very Ladyhawk. Spidey fans will get it.
Had no idea MK debuted in WWBN. It was one of those titles I was aware of but had no interest in at the time.
Guess he had an ugly puss.
It's interesting to see Moon Knight's first appearance, and to know how much he developed over time. And honestly I'm reminded of the Punisher. Both were basically villains of the week who became so much more over time. It's fascinating.
"Hi, I'm Moon Knight, and M-O-O-N spells *B R E A D !* ... and I need it now!"
Werewolf by Knight is rumored to get a Disney Plus Halloween special next year, but it wasn't mentioned at Disney Plus day, so either it's not happening that soon, or they're pulling a Book of Boba Fett and he'll be in Moon Knight, then surprise, new show.
In the 70's old movies were on every tv station, some more than others, so we had much more awareness of knowing Lon Chaney, Jr., Boris Karloff, etc., as well as Fred Astaire, James Cagney, Doris Day, and so on. It's part of the reason we 'older folk' get annoyed/frustrated at younger people for not knowing more! LOL!!
Moon Rabbit myths reference could be the reason for the nickname.
I love the little pause every time you say the name "Topaz".
Jack Russel actually shows up in a more modern Moon Knight comic, where Moony busts a werewolf fighting ring, which used Jack as a source of lycanthropy, or something.
I'm not entirely sure of what character Moon Knight was supposed to resemble in his first appearance.
But by the time of his solo appearances, he was a fairly obvious copy of Pulp Character The Shadow. Mysterious Solider of Fortune guy (Marc) takes on the identity of a wealthy playboy (Steven Grant) to fight crime as (Moon Knight) with the aid of a team of agents. Swap out the character names of Kent Allard, Lamont Cranston and The Shadow and it's the same character.
The major difference between the two is Moon Knight was never as murderous as the Shadow was.
Since much of the Shadow's tropes ended up in Batman first, I can see how MK got pegged as a Batman ripoff.
The 70's did not have an oversaturation of media so the "greats" of cinema were a part of the common lexicon, Lon Cheney, Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, Buster Crabbe, etc. The "rabbit" thing, I never heard nor called anyone that, but heard "jackrabbit" thrown around a bit for someone who moved around really fast, or was very jumpy or nervous. Perhaps it was to mock Moonknight to be the "rabbit" while he was the wolf. Always the BEST purveyor of comics in their various eras, Thank you Sasha, PEACE and God bless. Oh, the 80's Sienkiewicz run was my first introduction so how does one go higher than that???
The Moon Knight muffled voice was the biggest highlight for me throughout this video lol
And by the way, that moon cooties line was just way too awesome a like. Can we try to get it popular amongst the kiddies? Lol
Moon Knight deserves more love.
He's a really interesting character.
So happy to see Oscar Isaac playing him in the TV show.
The latest MK series is great.
Yeah, I'm not familiar with the character but Oscar Isaac is an amazing actor so I'm pumped
🤣🤣🤣🤣. All speculation driven.
Marc(k)'s prices to capture a werewolf are a pretty good deal. I bet Deathstroke would charge millions to do the same job with a DC werewolf (although it would be reasonable in Lar-On's case as a kryptonian werewolf to charge that much).
This back story is till one of my favourite dumb trivia from Moon Knight, that and they actually tried to make sense of it in latter Moon Knight cannon too, to even more ridiculous degrees and its great
There is also a connection between the moon, witches and transformation that probably trickled down into werewolves.In this this poem called 'The Lamas Hireling' we studied for Lit A-levels, there is a were-hare like figure, and it also references an older, witch poem.
"Oh the Lycanthropy" legitimately made me chuckle.
The best Moon Knight trivia I know is the fact that he once escaped a death trap with a fan of beer. It happened when he was crossing over with the Defenders in the late 70s
I remember that story. Very silly.
The song, "Werewolves of London" makes a Lon Cheney (Jr.) reference, and it came out in 1978, so I suppose that could have been a reasonable reference when the comic was written. At the very least, it may have been something that people reading a werewolf comic would have been "hip" to ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
The best MK early appearance was DEFENDERS 47-51. His interactions with Nighthawk, as scripted by writer David Anthony Craft, were classic. You want 70's hip? During one battle, a villian catcalls Valkyrie "I'm done with the overblown blonde with the macho hangups!" Or Lunatic, probably the only character who could out crazy (and still be a serious threat) DCs Joker.
Yes, Lon Chaney was still somewhat relevant back in the 70's. There was a bit of classic monster nostalgia during the middle part of the decade. It was before Star Wars made a big cultural impact crater.
Thank you for listening to my & others' suggestion in the community post about making a video on The Moon Knight.
I'll be using that excuse for everything now. "Sorry, I can't fix your jewelry, I got The Moon Cooties!"
Crusader Rabbit was a cartoon character that had a short-lived but popular run in the early 60's. He had a sidekick, Rags the Tiger,
A bit of trivia about Crusader Rabbit. The original concept was Donkey Hote (obvious pun there), but animators not wanting to draw a donkey passed on it so the concept was re-worked with something easier and simpler to draw. The character was basically an animal Don Quixote, so calling MK a lunar Crusader Rabbit is basically calling him a crazy person with a moon theme... So you see, today it might seem like a mere odd way of talking, but one could argue that it was taken far more serious and been far more impactful than almost everything else in MK's first appearance.
I thought it was because MK is mostly white, like CR.
"Oh, the lycanthropy!" Heh.
Everytime you mentioned "Topaz" it makes me want to see you cover Witches, marvels weird Charmed knock-off that features her as an Indian woman.
That hair is awesome, and it’s coordinated with the outfit. This channel is truly next level
Oscar Issac’s Moon Knight and Gael García Bernal’s Werewolf by Night are gonna be great!
Crusader Rabbit is pop culture reference to the 1950's animated series of the same name. Marvel was all about the pop culture references at the time.
I liked the Bill Sienkiewicz era - and his artistic growth during that run. Began as an Adams clone and really evolved on Moon Knight and New Mutants.
The stories were interesting too. In one issue Moon Knight fought The Moon Kings... or thought he did. Actually he was hallucinating after having seen a No Smoking sign and seeing the letters swim and swirl around and spell out an anagram: Moon Kings.
Old monster movies like the ones starring Lon Chaney, Jr., were indeed pretty popular in the early to mid-70s. I remember reading books about how to do the makeup yourself as a kid then.
Wow.
I come for the deep nerdy but I stay for the spot on voice impressions!
Thank you Sash for sharing you technical skills and the undeniable artistry!
Aahwoo!!!!
The '70's were my pre teens years- lots of fun memories here.
The rabbit reference was to a the first animated series produced specifically for television; Crusader Rabbit.
I always though that the double person narrarion was confuse on purpose, because of the blured Jack identidy.
Amusingly, Nighthawk was Marvel's "answer" to Batman
So was Moon Knight; remember that cover of the comic magazine--don't recall which one--which had Moon Knight shoving Batman aside, saying something like, "Move over old-timer!", with the cover declaring, "Marvel introduces their OWN creature of the night!"
Would love more videos on Moon Knight! Especially since this video was half Werewolf by Night. Also for the best Moon Knight related memes and info Moon Knight Core is pretty good person to follow on FB and Twitter. They’re the guys that started the Dracula nerd meme.
Would love to see you talk about all of the runs except the Bendis… unless to make fun of it.
It's the accents and the comic book history that keeps bringing me back to these videos. Always a fun time.
Moon Knight and Werewolf by Night have an interesting dynamic. Makes me wonder if either of them will show up in The Midnight Sons event,
I've loved Moon Knight ever since the Sienkewicz run. So I was totally blown away by your vocal choices for Frenchy. Hoping you do more Moon Knight. Imagine, voices for all of Marc's personalities. A voice for Crawley! More Frenchy!
M-O-O-N, that spells, "the stand," reference? Nice
Seeing the X-Men Green panel makes me hope you cover it. My TH-cam feed seems to be filled with people (who I don't even watch) acting like it's literally the most morally offensive thing to ever be created and I'd love to hear the view on it from someone who isn't all about comic book culture wars give their two cents.
Great video - these deep dives show why comics have changed so much over time and they should not be viewed as some inviolable canon.
I now have Sasha's gravelly "Moon Cooties" audio clip playing every time I get a DM. This is the best! OMG I can't stop laughing.
Werewolf By Night was used as a backup feature in Marvel Comics Presents in the early 90s, where Jack Russell accepted the werewolf part of himself and actually gained control during his transformations (this was a couple of years before his appearance in the "Capwolf" story arc).
Lon Chaney would have been a common reference in the seventies. There were only three broadcast networks and some independent local tv channels back then. Those local channels frequently reran old horror movies, black and white films from ‘30s and ‘40s like The Mummy, Dracula, Frankenstein. Those movie blocks had names like Creature Features and hosts like Elvira. Horror actors like Lon Chaney, Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff would be very familiar to the general public. So familiar that their horror characters were popular Halloween costumes and were mentioned in comedy routines. There were also magazines like Famous Monsters of Filmland that could be found nearby the comic racks in convenience stores. Finally, Crusader Rabbit was a syndicated animated show that kids might see on local tv after school (Danger Mouse was another character well known at the time) . It was mediocre but ubiquitous, so it wouldn’t be surprising if a New York based Marvel writer saw it on local tv.
"Moon cooties" sounds like a euphemism for periods (after all, "Menstrual" and "Moon" have the same Latin root).
04:23 "M-O-O-N, that spells etc"
I understood that reference! It's Tom Cullen.
YES! I'm fresh off a The Stand rewatch lol
Yes, a Lon Chaney reference would have been very well understood in 1975. Don't forget that Warren Zevon's song, which name-checked both father and son, came out in 1978.
All I can think of when I see Moon Knight is the edited panel of him going "I know you're here Dracula, you big fucking nerd. Where's my goddamn money?"
We love THE Moon Knight (always with the determiners)
I’m sorry, is this some kind of DC joke I’m too Marvel to understand?
Would a Lon Chaney ref be relevant in the 70s?- absolutely! Creature Feature and Universal horror films were the highlight of Saturday afternoons for me and a lot of kids who grew up around this time. Auroa horror model kits and Mego monster toys were pretty big sellers. So ye olde Universal films were still popular enough to get Marvel to publish their monster comics.
Thank you for this, I've been depressed for a few weeks and I just laughed and laughed at your review! Now I'm going to watch more of them.
With Jack being all hip 'n stuff is actually referencing Jefferson Airplane's song "White Rabbit" considering Moon Knight's costume, or maybe the White Rabbit in Alice in Wonderland. Jack always did seem to have a kind of an "Alice in Wonderland" vibe to him. Since they came out with the character Warwolf for Nick Fury's Howling Commandoes (2005) and he's powered by the planet Mars, does that mean he has the mars-cooties? Do all the planets in the solar system have it's own form of cooties? Do they all turn you into some form of werewolf? I have absolutely NO need for answers here people!
I was just about to post that “White Rabbit” was still huge at the time. Beat me to it.
I have both of the Werewolf by Night collections and three collections of The Moon Knight. Love both characters. '70's Marvel was amazing.
I was all about the horror themed comics as a teen and Werewolf by Night was one of my favorites. It would be fun to go back and reread the series now that I'm an old fart.
My first MK story was when he got caught up in a three way battle between himself Daredevil and (sigh) the Jester, Marvel's Cease and Desist version of the Joker...
Never skip Buffy season 1, that is BLASPHEMY!!!!
The 70’s were a strange time for comics. Love a good werewolf, tho, and proto Moon Knight is educational about how humble beginnings can be
Ayo! Nice Blacksad comic in the background!
Do you plan on talking about the serie in the futur?
Also yes, we ABSOLUTELY need to get "Moon-cooties" to be hip with the kids!
And sorry if my english might not be correctly formulated.
Crusader Rabbit waa an old cartoon featuring a white rabbit in a silver suit of armour.
The second person narration was a major part of Werewolf by Night (there was a bit of a fad for second person narration in the 70s, Gerry Conway did it a lot but I think in this case it was actually Roy Thomas' idea), in fact Roy's original pitch for the series had the title "I, Werewolf". But yeah, we're 32 issues in and it's gotten inconsistent. And yep, there were Lon Chaney references from the start of the series to the end - unfortunately for werewolves there really haven't been enough hit werewolf movies to overshadow 1941's "The Wolf Man". Arguably still.
Literally everyone in this series (43 issues!) thinks the Werewolf is a guy in a costume or something, they have some iron-clad scepticism for a world full of superheroes and aliens.
P.S. "Lunar Crusader Rabbit" is a reference to "Crusader Rabbit", a cartoon from 1950-1951, he's a bunny in plate armour riding a horse. I think the joke is because he's a "knight"?
As someone that struggles with getting a mental balance in life, I've loved to see what he has grown to become in some of the later works. I started reading his comic in this surreal special from the 90s. Lots of comedy. Just a weird book. Then of course SPLATT because...well I was a teen boy and "veins and pockets and guns and shit!!!!" But when you take a deep dive his publishing is so complex. A lot of weird gold. The newer stuff has tried to take that formula (I'm loving the Jed McKay series btw), but it seems like despite a couple shining gems (Ellis and Lemire did some great work with the character), that Bendis created a framework that has been followed, and created a lot of inflated talking heads doing nothing. No hate on Bendis but his run that kickstarted Moon Knight's "comeback" wasn't his high point. I think the biggest failing of characters like Moon Knight and Jack is there is no commitment to small character stories sadly anymore. These 70s characters are always spun off as some sort of gimmick. Telling honest, small, character driven stories that aren't wrapped up in the latest trends or modernizing what in the formula worked. Moon Knight should be Daredevil street level crime stuff with a touch of the weird and struggles of mental health and faith. Jack Russell works best in an "inner turmoil" deep dive on the level of Immortal Hulk or Sandman. His anguish and inner workings are what make him work as a character. I would love if the tv series takes on a David Banner wandering the world and in his mind. And mine that dialogue with poetry and visual nods showing the artistry and complexity of the human mind. Someone call Hollywood! 😁
I loved Werewolf by Night series back in the day. Yes, the Lon Chaney reference would have been relevant in the early 70s and saying Junior would have been too cumbersome, I think. Won't you upset your Quebec neighbors with your French accent? ;-)
The hair , the outfit and the content iconic
The thing that will always strike me about these two issues is they make it a pain in the ass to collect the entire series! Even back in the day, most Werewolf By Night issues were relatively easy to find. Other than #32 And #33. Now they're so damned expensive it makes collecting the series an even bigger hassle. Other than that, Werewolf By Night is definitely a series worth looking into. It's fun for it's time! So many crazy side characters and subplots that it never really got boring! The kiss of death was when they decided to try to make the Werewolf just another superhero. Sales were down by then, but that sure didn't help!
Just subbed! Need more 70s hip comics reviews.
I still have my Stephen Platt issues of Moon Knight from the late 80’s run.
You could do several episodes about characters who change into stupendously dangerous alter egos , keep that a secret from those they're intentionally endangering , and feel sorry for themselves while not taking simple responsible acts ( surrendering to the police or the freaking X-Men ) . Maybe it could tie in with the people today who refuse to wear masks or get vaccinated yet who consider themselves to be sooper heroes for those insanely dangerous personality flaws .
5 years later after Moonknight, Rom the Silver Space Knight is created yet never fights a Werewolf :(
Yeah, Lon Chaney would be culturally relevant even back then. As the #1 most famous Werewolf movie of all time, and pretty much the one they were basing Werewolf by Night off of, Lon was definitely the right comment. Not to mention all the reruns and rereleases and stuff. Heck, this was before the Howling, and American Werewolf in London... "the Wolf Man" was pretty much the go to for Werewolf movies.
As a side note... It was Lon Chaney Jr. However, that was more of 'nerd knowledge'... The posters and credits always listed him as Lon Chaney. Either A) He didn't care to be thought of as a Junior.... lots of people don't or, B) Screen Actors Guild wasn't around or didn't have the rules about sharing names like they do now.... and/or The studios wanted that 'star power' that still came with the Original 'man of a thousand faces' to bring in the crowds.
Either way, just calling him Lon Chaney would still be correct to the posters and credits.
Hahaha… Très bien, spoken like a true French-Canadian! Viva la Québécois!! 😆
Sasha, thank you for the political commentary aside! Everytime I see some "critic" complaining that the MCU is "too political", it just reinforces that these guys arent really comics fans, the comics were doing that back in the 60s (remember how their were Communists *everywhere* in Marvel?? Hell, beating the commies to space was the whole point of the FF's origin!)! Anyway, I think it says alot about Moon Knight that a video ostensibly about HIM wanders off to any subject BUT him so much...hopefully the tv show will make him at least somewhat interesting...
Rocking that hair do! Love it
What I want to know: was the line about "Moon-cooties" the inspiration for Cerebus taking to referring to The Roach (a deranged supporting character who was constantly changing his persona: the patriotic Captain Cockroach, the surly, beer-swilling Wolveroach, the brooding middle-aged Dark Roach [Returns]) as "Cootie", which IIRC happened during the period when he was calling himself Moon Roach...?
No matter the topic, this channel never disappoints.
The current Moon Knight run has been amazing so far. Glad everyone's checking on MK finally
Lon Chaney Jr was almost always billed as "Lon Chaney," the old Universal horror movies were popular on TV from the late 50s through the 70s.