Warning: The following contains spoilers for Moon Knight.Though Moon Knight’s focus is on Marc Spector and Steven Grant, Layla El-Faouly has become an equal partner in his story. Wife of Marc Spector, she’s an ally to Steven Grant, willing to work with him because his knowledge of Egyptian history is even more comprehensive than her own. From her introduction, however, Layla has mentioned her late father and his work. An archeologist, her father’s death is largely left a mystery until Episode 4, “The Tomb,” in which she learns more details of his demise from Arthur Harrow.
The episode marks the first time Layla’s father’s name, Abdullah El-Faouly is mentioned in the series. That exact name doesn’t appear in Marvel Comics - neither does Layla - but his backstory in the Disney Plus series does hint at him being a replacement for one comic book character. His name and other hints dropped throughout the series point to a connection to another, making Abdullah El-Faouly an amalgamation of two different classic marvel characters.
What The Audience Knows About Layla’s Father
There isn’t a lot of information revealed about Layla’s father throughout the episodes. The audience learns three main things about him: he was an archeologist, he died tragically, and he had an affinity for scarabs. Layla is even mentioned as being called his “little scarab” at one point as Arthur Harrow muses that the scarf he wore on his last dig site might have been made for him by her.
The audience can also infer that he’s a well-respected man despite some of the beliefs he holds. Harrow mentions him possibly being mocked for believing the Egyptian gods walk amongst the people, but the people Layla encounters all seem to hold her father in high regards, whether that’s a woman forging a passport for her or a wealthy man hiding a prized sarcophagus.
He Is Inspired By Peter Alraune
The backstory of El-Faouly’s death coincides with that of Peter Alraune in Marvel comics. Alraune made his comic book debut in the first issue of Bill Sienkiewicz and Doug Moench’s Moon Knight series and only appeared in a couple of issues. His initial appearance provided the backstory for Marc Spector to become Moon Knight.
Alraune, like El-Faouly, was an archeologist killed on an Egyptian dig site. His daughter Marlene (whom Layla appears to be inspired by) was also present at the dig site when mercenaries appeared, paid to steal the treasures from a hidden tomb. Those mercenaries included Marc Spector, Jean-Paul Duchamp, and Raul Bushman. Bushman turned on the group when Spector called his violent methods out. While Spector was there to complete a job, he didn’t want anyone killed, and he protected Marlene from Bushman, but wasn’t able to save her father.
Bushman killed Spector, but left Marlene and Duchamp alive. Spector was brought back to life after they laid him at the foot of a statue of Khonshu and the deity made a deal with him. Though the Alraunes inspire the El-Faoulys in the streaming series, Layla isn’t present at her father’s final dig site in the show as she’s left in the dark about Marc’s involvement in his death.
He Is Also Inspired By Abdul Faoul
The many references to scarabs in the series, as well as the similarity in their names, points to Layla’s father also being inspired by the comic book character Abdul Faoul. He was also known as the Scarlet Scarab because he gained power from a magical jeweled scarab. The Scarlet Scarab was essentially to Egypt what Captain America was to the United States in the 1940s.
Faoul only appeared in a handful of comic books as part of the Invaders storylines, often coming into conflict with the superheroes. The Invaders, at the time, included Captain America, Namor, and the Human Torch. He made his comic book debut in an Invaders issue in 1977, created by Roy Thomas, Frank Robbins, and Frank Springer.
A professor, Faoul was a member of a patriotic group called the Sons of the Scarab. They dressed in ancient Egyptian garb and claimed to serve the ancient pharaohs of the country. That’s not unlike El-Faouly’s belief in the Egyptian gods in Moon Knight. He was able to help protect Egyptian citizens from invading forces with the help of his magical scarab. It gave him the power of super strength, flight, concussive blasts, and it could drain power from others. When his time came to an end, he passed the artifact onto his son Mehemet, who became the next Scarlet Scarab.
While Moon Knight hasn’t hinted at Layla having a brother, it has made connections between her and the scarab with her father’s nickname for her. In Marc’s vision of being stuck in an institution at the end of Episode 4, Layla even has a scarlet scarab drawn on a bandage on her finger. It seems more likely that if anyone would gain the mantle of the comic book character that might have been held by her father, it could eventually be Layla.
Moon Knight is currently streaming on Disney Plus.