Warning: contains spoilers for Moon Knight: City of the Dead #2!
Moon Knight’s Scales of Justice, as seen in last year’s live-action Disney+ Moon Knight adaptation, just received a dark twist, as Moon Knight: City of the Dead #2 finds Moon Knight and Scarlet Scarab stranded in the titular city, where they encounter a villain who puts a horrifying spin on the Scales.
Moon Knight: City of the Dead #2 – written by David Pepose, drawn by Marcelo Ferreira, inked by Jay Liesten, colored by Rachelle Rosenberg, lettered by Cory Petit – features Moon Knight and his former flame Layla, now calling herself the Scarlet Scarab, tracking a villain known as the Jackal through the City of the Dead, where they learn the horrifying truth of his plan to outwit the Scales of Justice.
The Jackal Has Found A Way To Beat the System
City of the Dead #2 is not for the faint of constitution. The arc is prompted by the villainous Jackal’ abduction of children, whose hearts he cuts out – something he should not be able to do, as he should be unable to fool the Scales of Justice. Eventually, Moon Knight and Scarlet Scarab learn the terrifying truth: the Jackal is using the hearts of the innocent children to escape justice; he is taking the hearts and using them to hoodwink the Scales of Justice. Previously, the Scales were a seemingly full-proof way to administer justice, but now the Jackal has found a gruesome way around it.
The Scales of Justice Have A Long Symbolic History
Many cultures have used the symbol of the scale to signify the concept of “justice,” dating back to Ancient Egypt and the goddess Isis. In certain texts, including the Egyptian Book of the Dead, a deceased person’s heart is put upon the scale and weighed against the Feather of Truth, with the outcome determining where they will spend eternity. Using scales as a symbol of justice continues into our modern culture, as seen outside numerous courthouses and law offices. The Scales of Justice also figured prominently into Moon Knight’s 2022 Disney + show, where they were an instrument of the show’s antagonist, Arthur Harrow, who judged several characters using the scales.
When a person’s heart is put on the Scales, it measures all the good and all the bad of their lives. Villains such as the Jackal, whose hearts have been completely hardened by evil, will most certainly fail, and spend the rest of eternity being punished. In order to function in the City of the Dead, the Jackal needed a way around the Scales – hence his gruesome, tragic use of innocent children to trick the Scales. The Jackal may have escaped the Scales of Justice for the time being, but he will not escape Moon Knight for much longer.
Moon Knight: City of the Dead #2 is on sale now from Marvel Comics!