With 2022 in full swing, Marvel Studios dives deeper into Oscar Isaac’s Moon Knight with its third full episode having dropped just earlier this week and is now available for viewing on Disney+. Expanding on Isaac’s Marc Spector while also featuring more story and action for both Ethan Hawke’s Arthur Harrow and May Calawy’s Layla, Episode 3 gave fans a thrilling new round of action and drama. This show has yet to fail any of us with a good time.
Moon Knight has largely told its own self-contained story rather than trying to connect Marc and the crew to the larger expanding universe. There’s already so much going on that it would be insane to keep up with all the MCU as well, although I wouldn’t put it past Marvel Studios at all. There are rumors about Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk potentially showing up later and Isaac’s vision for a Midnight Sons arrival, this character’s adventures in London and Cairo haven’t put him in any past characters’ crosshairs yet.
That isn’t to say that Moon Knight is in a completely separate universe either, as Episode 2 featured an ad for the Global Repatriation Council, first introduced in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Now, the follow-up episode has included a second nod to that show as well, noting a location that fans got a taste of only nearly a year ago.
Warning that the following contains spoilers from Episode 3 of Moon Knight.
In Episode 3, the show featured a reference to Madripoor, a location with heavy ties to Wolverine from the Marvel comics. Wolverine is apart of the X-men, but hasn’t been confirmed to be in the MCU that we know of as of yet.
When Layla and Marc Spector speak with Loic Mabanza’s Bek in Cairo, Bek references the time that Layla spent working with the late Gaspard Ulliel’s Anton in Madripoor.
“After Madripoor, I’m sure you two will have a lot to talk about.”
Along with its ties to Wolverine, Madripoor was also the central location for Episode 3 of Marvel Studios’ The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. This episode reunited Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes with both Helmut Zemo and Sharon Carter as they learned more about the Super Soldier Serum that the Flag Smashers used.
Moon Knight Ties to MCU and Wolverine Through Layla
Even for a reference that only came through one line of diagloue, hearing a nod to Madripoor will certainly perk fans’ ears as this story continues.
In both the comics and the MCU, this Southeast Asian location plays host to mostly lawless criminals looking to earn some kind of living through the country’s massive criminal underworld. Almost all of the Falcon and the Winter Soldier’s third episode took place here, laying out the first teases for the Power Broker before Sharon Carter revealed herself to be in that position.
Additonally, Wolverine from the comics was one of the Madripoor’s regular visitors, most often frequenting the Princess bar that was seen for a split second in that same episode from the MCU.
As for Layla and Marc’s time spent in this country, it’s unclear what exactly the formerly married couple were up to there or when they were actually stationed in Madripoor. Even without those details, looking at Marc’s work as a mercenary, it’s not too much of a shock to find out that he and his now ex-wife bumped shoulders with Madripoor’s local lawlessness.
Given Anton’s ‘profession’ as an art thief, it is very possible that he and Layla may have come into contact with the Power Broker herself and dealt with her shady black market art dealings. Perhaps the two worked with Sharon Carter for a time, aiding the former SHIELD agent in amassing the art collection that was seen in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. On the other hand, the two may have collaborated in pulling the wool over the Power Broker’s eyes, conning Carter out of her some of her most valuable pieces.
While it’s unknown if and when this location will show up in the MCU again, Madripoor remains an important player in the shadier side of Marvel’s story.
