A lot went down in Episode 5 of Moon Knight. Marc (Oscar Isaac) is stuck in a mental facility. Or maybe not? He could also be in the underworld. With Steven (also Oscar Isaac). Who's in his own body. Confusing, right?
In case you need a recap, Marc is technically dead. After Arthur Harrow (Ethan Hawke) discovered him and Layla in Egypt, Arthur shot Marc twice in the chest. Instead of simply dying, Marc wakes up in a mental facility, drugged up and confused, with Arthur Harrow now Dr. Harrow, his psychiatrist.
As Marc breaks free of his restraints and wanders around, he discovers Steven is no longer just a personality in his head, but in his own body. Shortly after, they also realize they're not actually in a mental facility, but on the goddess Taweret's boat on the way to the afterlife. If they want to end up in A'Aru (also known as the Field of Reeds or the afterlife), Marc and Steven have to prove their souls are good. So, they return to the ship to relive their various memories and uncover what's causing their souls to be in disarray. Along the way, Marc shows Steven the day Khonshu (F. Murray Abraham) came to him, which is after Marc's mercenary partner Bushman betrays him.
While the show has so far only mentioned Bushman in somewhat passing, the character has a much more important role in the comics than just as a minor part of Moon Knight's origin story. Here's everything you need to know about Bushman, Moon Knight's most frequently recurring villain.
Who Is Bushman in Moon Knight?
Much like in the Disney+ show, Bushman (in his first appearance in the very first Moon Knight comic) was Marc Spector's boss back when he was a mercenary. During a mission in Egypt, Bushman demands Spector raid a tomb currently being dug by archaeologists. To loot the tomb, Bushman quickly resorts to violence, killing the lead archaeologist and others. Spector tries to stop Bushman, but is instead maimed and left for dead. It's here that Khonshu endows Spector with Moon Knight's powers and revives him.
As for Bushman's background, he's originally from Burundi and named Raoul Bushman. He initially became a mercenary because European entrepreneurs drove his family off their land, leading them to poverty. To increase fear in his adversaries, he tattoos his face and gets steel teeth. Throughout Moon Knight's various comic runs, Bushman is a constant, often appearing as a drug trafficker, arms dealer and terrorist.
Although Moon Knight has god-like powers, Bushman doesn't. Still, he knows how to catch Moon Knight off guard, and often puts Spector, his love interest Marlene (recreated in the show, kind of, as Layla), and his friend Frenchie in grave danger. And their fights are often gruesome and bloody, with Moon Knight sometimes driven to cut off Bushman's face.
As far as we know, Bushman in the MCU version of Moon Knight is still alive, meaning he could appear in future MCU projects—or perhaps even in the season finale.
