The final episode of Moon Knight not only revives Marc Spector, but also brings to the MCU a new superhero: Scarlet Scarab – transformed into by Layla El-Faouly after accepting the invitation to become the avatar (replacement) of the goddess. Taweret. In fact, Marvel Studios has “teased” this superhero in previous episodes, through images of scarab beetles and Layla’s nickname “Little Scarab” (you can learn more at here). this).
The Origin and Power of the Scarlet Scarab in the Marvel Comics
Layla El-Faouly is not a Marvel character, and was created by Marvel Studios specifically for the Moon Knight series. However, her background and personality are heavily inspired by a comic book character named Marlene Alraune. Similar to Layla, Marlene is an archaeologist, and her father was also murdered by a group of mercenaries.
However, the final episode of Moon Knight showed the biggest difference between these two characters: While Marlene never became a superhero, Layla was favored to transform into Scarlet Scarab (based on Scarlet Scarab). on the armor she uses). And all can be explained logically when compared to the original.
In the comics, Scarlet Scarab is the superhero nickname of Abdul Faoul (the image that inspired the character Abdallah El-Faouly – Layla’s father), and then passed on to his son, Mehemet.
Scarlet Scarab in the original is Abdul Faoul, the inspiration for the character Abdallah El-Faouly.
In his first appearance, Dr. Faoul is described as the leader of the Sons of the Scarab – a group of Egyptian patriots who resisted British rule. After tricking the Human Torch and Namor into locating the legendary Ruby Scarab, Faoul monopolized the treasure for himself, thereby transforming into the Scarlet Scarab. He participated in World War 2, confronting Captain America’s Invaders group, before “turning the car” because he realized the nature of the Nazis.
When she stepped onto the small screen, the story above was completely changed, and Layla received the super power to become Scarlet Scarab after accepting the invitation to be the avatar of the god Taweret. This is actually just a reluctant choice to defeat Arthur Harrow and the evil god Ammit.
Despite these changes, Marvel Studios still knows how to connect with the original thanks to the fact that Taweret met Layla’s father in the afterlife and said he would definitely be proud when his daughter becomes 1 Super hero except for the eradication of tyranny. In addition, whoever it is, in whatever version it is, Scarlet Scarab’s mission: It is to protect Egypt at all costs.
Explaining the power of Scarlet Scarab
Receiving power from Taweret, an Egyptian god similar to Khonshu, Scarlet Scarab also possesses many of the same basic superpowers as Moon Knight. In addition to the armor with bulletproof and magic resistance, she is also equipped with dual swords to easily attack enemies. This armor also somewhat helps Layla heal herself during combat or when injured.
Layla herself was a very good fighter. Now, with more power from the gods, her entire physical strength, stamina, and speed improved markedly. If Moon Knight has a cloak that can spread out like a crescent moon when he flies, Scarlet Scarab also possesses golden metal wings, allowing her to easily move and attack from the air. In the original, in addition to the above superpowers, Scarlet Scarab can use the Ruby Scarab treasure to absorb or release energy at enemies.
The future of Scarlet Scarab in the MCU
The Moon Knight series ends on a rather vague note in many ways, including Layla’s future as Scarlet Scarab. As stated above, she only temporarily accepted to be Taweret’s avatar to aid the Moon Knight in his fight with Arthur Harrow. However, there are no details to indicate that the Egyptian hippo goddess has left Layla, in the same way that Khonshu did with Steven Grant and Marc Spector.
This is not difficult to understand, because Taweret was built with a quite pleasant and somewhat innocent personality. Unlike Khonshu, this goddess does not take advantage, manipulate her avatar to carry out barbaric revenge, cruel plans. After seeing how easily Egypt can be vulnerable to the malice of the gods, it’s not surprising that Layla decides to stay attached to Taweret to become the superhero protecting this nation. .
The biggest question right now is whether fans will see Scarlet Scarab again in which MCU project? Currently, Marvel Studios has not confirmed that it will produce a season 2 for Moon Knight, and the future of the superhero itself is still quite unclear. However, since the gods of different mythologies are all connected in the MCU, Scarlet Scarab could return in blockbusters like Thor: Love and Thunder or Wakanda: Forever.
According to ScreenRant