Moon Knight episode 5 has revealed that all religions are true in the MCU. While speaking to Marc and Steven, Tawaret, the Egyptian goddess of Women and Children, explains that there are many different afterlives, referencing the beauty of the Ancestral Plane previously seen in Black Panther. She also mentions that what you believe in life determines the afterlife you will end up in.
Theology is occasionally mentioned in the MCU. In Thor, Asgardians were revealed as a race of highly advanced aliens that were worshipped as gods and Thor mentions Valhalla when convincing Volstagg to attack Jotunheim. In Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 when speaking on his godhood to Star-Lord, the Celestial Ego emphasized he was a god with a “small g” alluding that he believes there is a greater power at work. Captain America mentions there is only one God in The Avengers. Ultron references God and Noah when speaking to Wanda and Pietro in Avengers: Age of Ultron. In Daredevil, Matt Murdock is shown to be a devout Catholic, but that’s only if the Netflix series are canon. This might be true after the events of Hawkeye and Spider-Man: No Way Home.
“There’s only one God ma’am, and I’m pretty sure He doesn’t dress like that.”
Captain America – The Avengers
T’Challa mentions the gods Bast and Sekhmet when speaking to Natasha Romanoff in Captain America: Civil War. In Black Panther, N’Jobu tells a story to his son N’Jadaka about how Bast led a Wakandan warrior to the “heart-shaped herb” and M’baku praises “glory to Hanuman” after T’Challa accepts his challenge at Warrior Falls. In Eternals, several members of the immortal group, Thena, Phastos, Sersi, and Makkari were said to have inspired the Greco-Roman gods Athena, Hephaestus, Circe, and Mercury respectively. The Prime Celestial Arishem programmed them to believe that were from the planet Olympia but they were actually created in the World Forge. In the new trailer for Thor: Love and Thunder, we can see Zeus and other Olympians in what looks like the true Olympia.
“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 the green veldt where you can run forever.”
T’Challa – Captain America: Civil War
The Egyptian pantheon seen in Moon Knight has not been revealed as aliens (at least not yet) and exist in another dimension similar to Dormammu. They are shown to be very powerful, with Khonshu manipulating space and time to turn back the night sky 2000 years to find the location of Ammit’s tomb. They also no longer interfere in human affairs and take human avatars so that they can observe them. If a god breaks this rule too many times it will result in imprisonment by their fellow gods. It also seems that allying yourself with a god overrides which afterlife you end up in. This is seen when Marc and Steven end up in the Duat instead of Heaven despite being Jewish.
Hopefully we get more explanation for this when the final episode of Moon Knight airs on Disney+ Wednesday May 4th!
Are you enjoying Moon Knight? What other gods would you like to show up in the MCU? Leave your thoughts below!