The third episode of Moon Knight was just released about a week ago and n this packed episode, Marvel explored the Egyptian gods and laid out a foundation for the future Avengers villain. The Egyptian deities, called the Ennead, were active for many millennia. However, during that time, the relationship between gods and humanity became strained. The gods believed that humankind abandoned them, so they only used their avatars to carry out their will on Earth from that point onward.
In this third episode, Marc Spector and the moon god Khonshu summoned the Ennead members to accuse Arthur Harrow of a conspiracy to resurrect Ammit. Before the trial, Marc met Yatzil, the current avatar for the goddess of love and music, Hathor. It was revealed that before the Egyptian gods banished Khonshu in Moon Knight, Khonshu enjoyed Hathor’s melodies and friendship. But audiences may have missed that Hathor was already mentioned in the MCU, dating back to Captain America: Civil War. After King T’Chaka died, T’Challa mentions the Egyptian goddess, but by a different name. In the comics, Hathor was also Known as Sekhmet. T’Challa says, “in my culture, death is not the end. It’s more of a stepping-off point. You reach out with both hands, and Bast and Sekhmet, they lead you into a green veld where…you can run forever.“
Moon Knight introduced Hator as the goddess of love and music, but the Egyptian goddess has a much darker side. This dark side is what could end up turning the Egyptian deity into an Avengers villain in the future. In the comics, Hator became bloodthirsty after her father Amun-Ra sent her to punish humanity. Her hunger for death transformed her into Sekhmet, and she later became known as the lion goddess, sharing similarities with the Thor: Ragnarok villain, Hela. Sekhmet eventually became an enemy of Wakanda and, more specifically, of the Black Panther. In the comics, she even kidnapped Black Panther to attack the Avengers at one point. Thus, it’s possible that Hathor/Sekhmet could turn out to be a bigger Avenger threat in the future.
Currently, Hathor seems sympathetic to Khonshu’s plight, as demonstrated by Yatzil’s effort to help Marc find Ammit’s tomb. Hathor’s loyalty to Khonshu is the perfect setup for some trigger that could transform Hathor into Sekhmet. As has been shown in Moon Knight, Khonshu doesn’t particularly think about the feelings of others or consider than at all. Hathor believed that Khonshu would, at the very least, mention her to Marc, but that was not the case. Therefore, while Hathor showed a commitment to Khonshu in her aid, sentiment may not be returned by the moon god. It’s possible that Khonshu taking Hathor for granted in Moon Knight could be what tips her over the edge. That could be enough to transform Hathor into the bloodthirsty Sekhmet in the future.
As mentioned by T’Challa, the panther goddess Bast and Hathor shared a connection by guiding souls to the astral plane. Reports suggest that Bast will feature in Thor: Love and Thunder, so the dynamic between Hathor and Bast’s relationship could be further explored. Audiences will have to wait and see if more could transpire in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and the next episodes of Moon Knight.
