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43-594: A young Randall makes his live-action debut in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) television miniseries Moon Knight , played by Claudio Fabian Contreras. Randall Spector was introduced in the "backup feature" of Hulk! Magazine #17 in October 1979 as a mysterious serial killer known as the Hatchet-Man who violently murders nurses around New York City . Moon Knight attempts to stop

86-457: A 95% approval rating with an average rating of 8.40/10, based on 19 reviews. The site's critical consensus reads, " Moon Knight turns inward with a self-contained installment that fills in the hero's backstory while deepening the overall season's emotional stakes." Den of Geek 's Kristen Howard thought that, while the episode did not "fix all the tonal and structural issues" from previous episodes, it offered audiences an "olive branch" in

129-618: A free digital copy of Moon Knight vol. 1 #1. After the episode's release, Marvel announced merchandise inspired by the episode as part of its weekly "Marvel Must Haves" promotion for each episode of the series, including a Moon Knight statue, apparel, and accessories. "Asylum" was released on Disney+ on April 27, 2022. The episode, along with the rest of Moon Knight , was released on Ultra HD Blu-ray and Blu-ray on April 30, 2024. According to market research company Parrot Analytics, which looks at consumer engagement in consumer research, streaming, downloads, and on social media, Moon Knight

172-401: A lot of it was Grant learning things he and the audience had already been told, but he praised Isaac's "ace acting" and that it was "enough to easily carry the trippy, effects-filled" episode. Fowler further explained that the series felt like it needed a full episode without blackouts or an extended flashback, saying Moon Knight basically began in the third act of "a much larger saga" and there

215-458: A memory of Spector's younger brother Randall drowning and Spector's mother Wendy blaming him for it, while Spector reveals to Grant how he became Khonshu 's avatar on a mission with his partner Bushman . Spector and Grant convince Taweret to let them return to the living world to stop Arthur Harrow , who has released Ammit , and she steers the boat towards the Gates of Osiris . "Dr. Harrow",

258-572: A mood and make it seem appropriately dark. It's a feeling of mystery" while Diab said "It's such a haunting moment. And then you don't see what happens, but you see the aftermath. I love the storytelling in that [moment], the cuts and what you leave and what you see. Visual effects for the episode were created by Framestore , Method Studios , Zoic Studios, Base FX, Keep Me Posted, Crafty Apes, Mammal Studios, and WetaFX . Middleton used gold, due to its in Egyptian mythology, to light scenes featuring

301-667: A new phase of the moon, starting with a crescent moon in the first episode. Filming took place at Origo Studios in Budapest , with Diab directing, and Gregory Middleton serving as cinematographer. Isaac's brother, Michael Benjamin Hernandez, performed as a double alongside Isaac in scenes featuring both Spector and Grant, which helped develop a "very familiar and very brotherly atmosphere that translated to both Marc and Steven on-screen". Middleton used three cameras to capture scenes featuring Spector's past, and wanted to make sure

344-405: A normal human's. Randall Spector possessed extensive training in espionage and military combat tactics. However, he was barely able to access these skills after becoming insane. As the Hatchet-Man, he used an off-the-shelf Halloween mask to hide his face. As Shadow Knight, he wore Kevlar body armor for further protection. Wooden-handled hatchet. A young Randall Spector appears in flashbacks in

387-487: A psychiatrist version of Harrow, convinces Spector to fully open up to Grant, and Spector reluctantly explains that he unknowingly created Grant as a result of their mother's abuse. Grant and Spector reconcile with each other, but their scales fail to balance, causing hostile spirits to attack them. While fending them off, Grant falls off the boat and is consumed by the Duat. The scales become balanced, and Spector finds himself in

430-542: A three issue limited series where Moon Knight deals with his brother in a final confrontation. This is also the first time Randall is referred to as Marc's younger brother; in all previous appearances, it has been clearly stated that Randall is the older sibling such as in Marc Spector: Moon Knight #28 where Marc refers to Randal as "MY BIG BROTHER. MY HERO." Spector was born in Chicago, Illinois , and

473-572: A tree branch. It is later revealed that the person killed was not Randall but an impostor with implanted memories. Randall is actually a member of the Cult of Khonshu, having been mystically enhanced with impenetrable skin and superhuman strength by Princess Nephthys . During the Shadowland storyline, Randall mysteriously re-emerged as the Shadow Knight, convinced by The Profile that he

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516-450: Is a form of cinematography or videography that uses photography instead of animation . Some works combine live action with animation to create a live-action animated feature film . Live action is used to define film, video games or similar visual media. Photorealistic animation, particularly modern computer animation , is sometimes erroneously described as "live action", as in the case of some media reports about Disney's remake of

559-407: Is consumed by the Duat. Boccella said that the idea of Grant having to "die" for Spector's scales to balance felt like "a betrayal of everything up to this point"; She theorized there might be a much deeper meaning to this, noting Marvel Studios' history of unexpected twists. Matt Fowler of IGN gave the episode a 9 out of 10, saying there was not much revelatory elements in the episode, since

602-690: Is out of throwing crescents; however, Moon Knight launches the Sapphire Crescent and kills his brother. The Shadow Knight made his return in Strange #4 as a revenant, under the direction of the Blasphemy Cartel, enemies of Clea Strange. His body was taken over by rebellious dead souls that reanimated it and fought Clea Strange and her mother, the warlord Umar. Nepthys' "lunar treatments" granted him superhuman strength and external durability, although his internal organs were like those of

645-736: Is the fifth episode of the American television miniseries Moon Knight , based on Marvel Comics featuring the character Moon Knight . It follows Marc Spector and Steven Grant as they try to make sense of their situation in a psychiatric hospital. The episode is set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), sharing continuity with the films of the franchise . It was written by Rebecca Kirsch and Matthew Orton and directed by Mohamed Diab . Oscar Isaac stars as Marc Spector and Steven Grant, alongside May Calamawy , Ann Akinjirin, David Ganly, Fernanda Andrade , Antonia Salib, Karim El-Hakim, Rey Lucas, F. Murray Abraham , and Ethan Hawke . Diab joined

688-525: Is the next Khonshu avatar on Earth. Sharing essentially all of the Moon Knight's powers, except that he can emit a radioactive blast from his eyes, the two are almost evenly matched. Randall attacks Moon Knight's pregnant girlfriend, Marlene. The two eventually meet up in New Orleans following the mysterious Sapphire Crescent. Randall ends up using a hostage as a shield with a bomb, and Moon Knight

731-569: Is the protector of the system, and him finally stepping up and doing that job, and sort of assuming the mantle of what he was always supposed to be", while Spector was aware of who he was throughout the episode, and was "repressing it and delaying it" throughout. The episode stars Oscar Isaac as Marc Spector / Moon Knight and Steven Grant / Mr. Knight, May Calamawy as Layla El-Faouly , Ann Akinjirin as Bobbi Kennedy, David Ganly as Billy Fitzgerald, Fernanda Andrade as Wendy Spector , Antonia Salib as Taweret , Karim El-Hakim and F. Murray Abraham as

774-547: Is the son of Elias Spector , a rabbi who survived Nazi persecution. Randall and Marc are brothers, and at times both have been cast as the avatars of the Egyptian moon god Khonshu . Randall Spector grew up with his brother Marc, playing army games with him. He followed his brother into the Marine Corps, and eventually they both became mercenaries in northern Italy . It was later discovered that Randall killed Marc's then-nurse girlfriend. Marc chased his brother until there

817-500: The Marvel Cinematic Universe / Disney+ miniseries Moon Knight episode " Asylum ", portrayed by Claudio Fabian Contreras. This version died in a flooded cave that he and his older brother Marc found. As the latter survived, their embittered mother Wendy blamed him for Randall's death, which caused her to become abusive towards Marc, who consequently developed dissociative identity disorder and created Steven Grant to protect himself from her. Live-action Live action

860-450: The origin story for Spector and Grant; it shows how Spector developed dissociative identity disorder (DID), leading to the creation of Grant's persona. Diab said that Spector's biggest fear was the death of his brother. Both Diab and Sarah Goher, a consulting producer on the series and Diab's wife, wanted the episode to depict Spector's internal struggle along with his struggle with Egyptian gods interfering in his life. Goher explained that

903-526: The traditionally animated The Lion King from 1994. According to the Cambridge English Dictionary , live action involves "real people or animals, not models, or images that are drawn, or produced by computer". As the normal process of making visual media involves live action, the term itself is usually superfluous. However, it makes an important distinction in situations in which one might normally expect animation, such as when

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946-474: The "real" actors, such as Michael Jordan , Bob Hoskins and Julie Andrews , as opposed to the animated "actors", such as Roger and Jessica Rabbit . As use of computer-generated imagery (CGI) in films has become a major trend, some critics, such as Mark Langer, have discussed the relationship between live action and animation. New films that use computer-generated special-effects can not be compared to live-action films using cartoon characters because of

989-411: The "shots still work". To shoot the scene where Grant watches Spector try and save his brother in the cave, the production team used an actual cave to capture the exterior shot. For the interior, they built another cave and submerged Isaac in a controlled tank. The creative team decided to show as little as possible, as they felt that it was better that way. Middleton explained that this was done to "create

1032-552: The Egyptian goddess Taweret , who explains to him and Marc Spector that they are dead and that the "psychiatric hospital" is actually inside a boat sailing through the Duat . She weighs their hearts on the Scales of Justice to determine if they would be allowed to enter the Field of Reeds , and she advises them to help each other uncover hidden memories causing their imbalance. Grant sees

1075-589: The Field of Reeds. In August 2019, Marvel Studios announced a series based on Moon Knight was being developed for the streaming service Disney+ . By October 2020, Mohamed Diab was set to direct four episodes, including the fifth episode. Diab executive produces alongside Marvel Studios' Kevin Feige , Louis D'Esposito , Victoria Alonso , Brad Winderbaum , and Grant Curtis , star Oscar Isaac , and head writer Jeremy Slater . The fifth episode, titled "Asylum",

1118-432: The Gates of Osiris and Khonshu's temple. He also consulted with the pre-visualization team, who created computer-generated animatics for Taweret's characters, and sought to capture Salib's performance as much as he could during filming. The song "Más Allá del Sol" by Manuel Bonilla is featured in the episode. Like the first two episodes, a QR code was featured in the episode and when scanned it allowed viewers to access

1161-421: The creatives wanted to be respectful in how the team depicted grief, as they did not want to depict Spector's mother as a bad person. Diab also explained that the episode was a "major turning point" in the series, as both Spector and Grant begin working together, adding that "Marc and Steven are a fraction of the same person. But you feel like Marc is the older brother and there is that dynamic". Slater also wrote

1204-400: The episode an "A+", feeling it as "a kind of therapy in a way, the kind of necessary healing every great hero must come to terms with in order to be the best version of themselves." She thought that, while the episode lacks the "globetrotting adventure aspects" of the previous four, it is perhaps one of the most important episodes, "bonding Marc [Spector] and Steven [Grant] together" before Grant

1247-406: The episode to revolve around Spector and Grant "reconciling who they were" and their "internal journey over the course of that episode". As such, he felt that there was no need for them to balance Jake Lockley's soul, another identity of Moon Knight, as Grant and Spector were not aware of his presence. He also felt that Grant would be the one to balance their scales at the end because "realizes that he

1290-559: The murders and eventually deduces that the killer is his estranged brother Randall. In #18, Moon Knight confronts his brother in Central Park and a fight ensues in which Randall is killed. This was later retconned by writer Howard Mackie to be an impostor, and in Marc Spector: Moon Knight #33 and #35–38, Randall returns. During the Shadowland crossover, writer Gregg Hurwitz and artist Ron Garney wrote

1333-434: The on-set performer and voice of Khonshu , respectively, Rey Lucas as Elias Spector , and Ethan Hawke as Arthur Harrow . Also appearing are Claudio Fabian Contreras as Randall Spector , Carlos Sanchez as a young Spector and Grant, David Jake Rodriguez as a teenage Spector, and Usama Soliman as Abdallah El-Faouly. The series' main-on-end title sequence was designed by Perception . Each episode's end credits feature

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1376-507: The perceived realism of both styles combined. In producing a movie, both live action and animation have their own pros and cons. Unlike animation, live action involves the photography of actors and actresses, as well as sets and props making the movie seem personal and as close to reality as possible. The only drawback is one's budget. On the other hand, animation works well in conveying abstract ideas but it generally takes much longer to produce. Asylum (Moon Knight) " Asylum "

1419-414: The series by October 2020 to direct four episodes. Filming took place at Origo Studios in Budapest . "Asylum" was released on the streaming service Disney+ on April 27, 2022. Critics highlighted the episode for its plot twists, emotional weight, Isaac's performance, and its portrayal of Spector and Grant's dissociative identity disorder (DID). Steven Grant identifies the hippopotamus-headed woman as

1462-437: The series' interest in mental health and the ways people develop coping mechanisms to grapple with what we'd rather forget, it was "no surprise to have  Moon Knight become a splintered, [Christopher] Nolan –esque psychological drama." What worked best for Betancourt was the way the psych ward conceit mixed in with the weighing of the heart mythology allowed the series to bring its two main thematic concerns together. Isaac

1505-433: The site felt that Isaac was able to use his face and voice to convey the urgency as Grant asked Spector "why are you remembering her like that"? as he learned of the abuse given to them by their mom. The site said it was a "gut punch" when Isaac was barely able to get the words out when Grant said "you made me up" as he realized that he was not the original after all. At the 74th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards , Middleton

1548-586: The way of "essential cohesion" that was "practically AWOL". Howard thought that their core problem with Moon Knight was "[being] invest[ed]", saying it was a little hard to embrace half a character as the series was focusing on Grant until this episode; and even third a character, noting " The Friendly Type " ' s tease of a third alter in Spector. Howard concluded that the episode felt like "a long, cool glass of water" after four episodes, and gave it 4.5 out of 5 stars. Writing for Collider , Maggie Boccella gave

1591-456: The work is adapted from a video game , or from an animated cartoon . The phrase "live action" also occurs within an animation context to refer to non-animated characters: in a live-action/animated film such as Space Jam , Who Framed Roger Rabbit , Looney Tunes: Back in Action , or Mary Poppins in which humans and cartoons co-exist. In this case, the "live-action" characters are

1634-402: Was a confrontation. Marc threw a grenade at Randall's sniper position, thinking he killed him, but then Randall returns to New York on a murder spree focused on killing nurses with a hatchet . Moon Knight uses his girlfriend Marlene as bait, but he can't stop being stabbed. He swears revenge but cannot kill his brother. Randall then jumps at Marc, but he dodges; however, Randall impales himself in

1677-429: Was much of Spector's dissociative identity disorder to explore, and his origin and beginnings as Moon Knight. Fowler concluded that the series took "a beautiful detour" with the episode, and cleverly covering a lot of ground and answering much questions of Marc Spector's life until the series. Manuel Betancourt at The A.V. Club called placing Spector and Grant in a psychiatric ward "quite ingenious", noting that given

1720-469: Was named TVLine ' s "Performer of the Week" for the week of April 25, 2022, for his performance in this episode, along with Michael Mando for Better Call Saul . The site commended Isaac on his dual roles in "Asylum", especially with Isaac acting alongside himself for the bulk of the episode as Spector and Grant "ran through gamuts of emotions". As the duo relived the traumatic memory of Randall's death,

1763-400: Was the second most in-demand breakout show in the U.S. for the week of April 30 to May 6. Breakout shows are defined as the most in-demand series that have premiered within the past 100 days. Moon Knight achieved 35.1 times the average series demand, which marked a 3% increase. Nielsen Media Research , which records streaming viewership on U.S. television screens, calculated that Moon Knight

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1806-451: Was the third-most watched original series across streaming services for the week of April 25-May 1 with 681 million minutes watched, which was an 8.1% increase from the previous week. Whip Media , which tracks viewership data for the more than 21 million worldwide users of its TV Time app, reported that it was the top-streaming original series in the U.S. for the week ending May 1. The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reports

1849-477: Was written by Kirsch and Orton. During development of the series, Slater kept returning to a poster that featured the various Egyptian deities, and was fascinated with the hippopotamus -looking one, Taweret . Once he determined she would be included in the series in some form, knowing she was the goddess who guided souls through the Duat helped craft the story for the back half of the series and deciding to kill Marc Spector and Steven Grant . The episode shows

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