In “Moon Knight” #25 (by Jed MacKay,Partha Pratim, Allesandro Cappuccio, Alessandro Vitti, Rachelle Rosenberg, and VC’s Cory Petit), the story shifts back and forth between the past and present. While Moon Knight deals with the arrival of a new Black Spectre and tries to figure out who is behind the mask of the latest iteration of the villain, the comic’s flashback sequences offer readers a closer look at his old mercenary team, the Karnak Cowboys.
The team is hired as independent contractors to target Christopher Bousquet, a former C.I.A. scientist who explored different mind control methods before going rogue and working alongside bad actors. The Karnak Cowboys are introduced individually ahead of a job dubbed Operation Mongoose. Mark Spector is described as a leader with a history of mental instability who specializes in small-unit tactics, asymmetrical and unconventional warfare, and close combat. Jean-Paul Duchamp (aka Frenchie) is the team’s pilot and wheelman, and is called out as dangerous. Dr. Robert Plekso is the Karnak Cowboys’ “Intel Specialist,” an expert in psychological profiling, reconnaissance, and information gathering who is academic in his actions.
Finally, Layla el-Faouly is introduced, though her background is unclear. She is referred to as a wild card with connections to criminal smuggling and counterfeiting networks. Beyond that, what is known about her is so vague the group that hired the Karnak Cowboys deems the lack of information as “worrying.”
