After a couple of issues without any Marvel Universe tales, we get an issue of Marvel Preview that has not one but two superhero stories.
First: Moon Knight. In his millionaire identity, Steven Grant receives a body in the mail. A human body is delivered to his mansion in a box. It leads to a conflict with “The Company,” which is clearly supposed to be the CIA. We’re told that Marc Spector worked for the CIA for two years but left because they wanted to brainwash him into being a mindless super-assassin.
He takes down some super soldiers. But the important piece of this is learning of his CIA background and seeing Steven Grant’s mansion from the outside for the first time.
It’s an early issue, expanding the Moon Knight mythology far beyond the simplistic character introduced in Werewolf by Night.
My version of this is black and white. I offered the above colorized pictures (from reprints) as well, to show the contrast. Personally, I like seeing Sienkiewicz’s art without the color.
The second story in MP#21 is about Shroud, and seems to be an attempt to establish him as an anti-crime vigilante that matters.
He’s even given a couple street urchins to serve as informants and assistants, named Cat and Mouse.
But if Marvel was trying to launch a new idea here, they would have been better off not putting this very retro story with Steve Ditko art up against the modern storytelling by Moench/Siekiewicz. It pales in the light of Moon Knight. (See what I did there?)
Note: The next issue of Marvel Preview is not a Marvel Universe tale, and then the magazine maintains its numbering but changes title to become Bizarre Adventures.