That Time Moon Knight Got Stuck in a Water Tower

Power Man and Iron Fist #87
“Heatwave”
Writer: Denny O'Neill
Penciler: Denys Cowan
Inker: Carl Potts
Letterer: Janice Chiang
Colorist: Christie Scheele
Editor: Ralph Macchio
Editor-in-Chief: Jim Shooter
Released: Aug. 10, 1982

When new superheroes debut in movies and TV, I usually don't go with their greatest hits. I like to look a little off the beaten path – whether it's Black Widow discovering an Infinity Gem in an unexpected place or the five minutes Carnage was a hero.

With Moon Knight, there's a lot of weird from which to choose.

I'm not an expert on his history by any means. I first found him in the pages of West Coast Avengers and thought he looked cool. I snagged one of his early appearances in “Marvel Spotlight” and learned about his multiple identities. And I remember when those Stephen Platt covers were all the rage in the '90s.

At times, I think I compared him to Marvel's Batman. That's a pretty loose interpretation. But besides capes and urban backdrops, the main thing they have in common is they can work in just about any story, from street level to cosmic. And Moon Knight has the added wrinkle of having the potential to be nearly as awesome as Batman, but also falling way, way short.

Case in point: this issue of someone else's title.

It opens not with either member of one of the greatest odd couple pairings in comics history, but with Moon Knight, dangling from his helicopter's ladder in broad, 100-degree daylight as he closes in on his quarry, Green Lantern.

Wait. Sorry. That's Al Jordan, an average-looking construction worker who is part of a weapons-smuggling group headed up by Commodore Donny Planet (who is no William Hell but is still my new favorite obscure villain). Jordan decides to take on Moon Knight on at a rooftop water tower he helped build. When he fails to deck the vigilante with a crowbar, he draws a gun. Moon Knight tackles him, the gun fires and they both tumble into the empty water tower.

Eighteen hours later and Moon Knight's supporting cast of Marlene and Frenchie head to the Heroes for Hire office of Power Man and Iron Fist to, well, hire the heroes to find their boss. You can't exactly file a missing persons report for a guy with multiple secret identities.

Moon Knight wakes up in the sweltering water tower, having suffered a sprained knee, dislocated shoulder and concussion, while also losing his cowl mic to the errant bullet. Jordan does not, having died in the fall.

The only lead the Heroes for Hire have is Moon Knight's informant Crawley, who tells them where the smugglers his associate was investigating are supposed to meet up. This leads to fisticuffs and a face-off between Iron Fist and Commodore Planet, a Kingpin type in sailor's attire. His bulk belies his combat prowess, plus he's got the ability to, as he puts it, harden his entire body like Iron Fist focuses his chi in his fist until it is “like unto a thing of iron.” Nevertheless, Iron Fist triumphs and the fellas thwart the smugglers.

They still have no idea where Moon Knight is, as the desperate vigilante finds a loose panel in the bottom of the tower. It's where Jordan stashed his money, which is no good to Moon Knight because a) as Steven Grant (who does not work in the gift shop of a British museum), he's already loaded and b) he can't buy his way out of the metal mausoleum.

The next morning the heat wave has broken and a thunderstorm erupts. The Heroes for Hire have hit a dead end – until Al Jordan's wife comes to hire them to find her husband. Having talked to the police who came to round up Planet and his crew, Iron Fist recognizes the name. When Mrs. Jordan tells them she hasn't seen Al since he went to grab the money he hid in the tower, they put two and two together.

But with the rain falling, utility workers get the OK to refill the water tower, where Moon Knight is to weak to swim for it. The Heroes arrive at the same time as the escaped Commodore Planet, who is hoping to use Jordan's stash to flee the country. This time Power Man takes him on while Iron Fist scales the fire escape.

The issue ends rather abruptly, with Iron Fist pulling Moon Knight, who had stayed afloat using Jordan's bags of money, to safety. Power Man and Iron Fist discuss their admiration of the hero for his survival, and it ends on a poignant shot of Mrs. Jordan lamenting her late husband.

My first thought when I read this was that Moon Knight must have been between series at this time and just guest-starring. After all, he popped up in a variety of titles between his debut in “Werewolf by Night” #32 and the first issue of his own book. But that series was actually about two-thirds of the way through a 38-issue run of its own. “Power Man and Iron Fist” writer Denny O'Neil was the editor on “Moon Knight” and penned a backup story there featuring Commodore Planet that same month.

I laugh at Moon Knight a little for his predicament here, but it's actually an interesting story, especially illustrating the Heroes for Hire's place in Marvel's Manhattan. And Moon Knight is just a highly trained man (except sometimes he gets stronger when the moon is full), so it's not implausible that he could be placed in mortal danger by an errant gunshot and a few missteps.

But it also shouldn't be seen as an indication that Moon Knight can't pose a serious threat to criminals, villains... or other heroes.

To be continued...