"I don't steal. They've already been stolen. That's what people forget. I take them off the black market and return them to their rightful owners. I might keep a few to pay the bills."
Layla Abdallah El-Faouly (Arabic: ليلى عبدالله الفولى) is an archaeologist and the wife of Marc Spector. As Spector was missing for months, she discovered that he had dissociative identity disorder and encountered his Steven Grant alter. Together with Spector and Grant, El-Faouly took on a mission to stop Arthur Harrow and his followers from unleashing Ammit upon Earth, during which El-Faouly found out that Spector was present for her father's murder. In the final battle against Ammit and Harrow, she made a deal with Taweret to be her Avatar and became Scarlet Scarab, fighting Harrow in Cairo alongside Moon Knight and Mr. Knight.
Layla Abdallah El-Faouly was born on October 28, 1994 in Egypt,[5] with her father Abdallah El-Faouly being a renowned archaeologist. During her tenure as an archaeologist, El-Faouly went to various black markets, citing an intention to acquire stolen artifacts from there so she could return them to their rightful owners. During this time, she forged a partnership with Lagaro, an identity forger with connections to her father. She also traveled to Madripoor and met Anton Mogart, with whom she became acquainted with.[3]
Married Life[]
El-Faouly found out that her father was murdered during the attack on a dig site in Egypt.[1] While grieving, El-Faouly was approached by Marc Spector and fell in love with him. They got married and she met his mother and father. They went on countless adventures together and began searching for the Scarab of Ammit. She also became aware of his alter ego as Moon Knight. However, Spector eventually declared he wanted a divorce and disappeared from her life for months, ignoring all of her calls and messages.[4]
Reunion with Marc Spector[]
A Hidden Phone[]
"What do you mean, 'who'? What's wrong with you, Marc?"
One day, when El-Faouly tried to call Spector's phone again, it was answered and El-Faouly began worrying for Spector's wellbeing, surprised by Spector not knowing her. However, the voice on the other end was confused by El-Faouly's call and asked her, why she insisted on calling him "Marc". El-Faouly was confused as well and then hung up abruptly, ending the call.[6]
El-Faouly tracked the phone down to London, England, and used a motorcycle as a means of transportation. She found who she thought was Marc Spector lying on the ground outside the Central London Storage and picked him up, telling him that whatever he was running away from was no longer there. As she rode off with him, she told him not to hold onto her shoulders, and asked him why he was speaking in an accent.
They returned to his apartment where Spector did not drop the act, despite the fact that El-Faouly wanted to talk to him normally. El-Faouly then brought out the divorce papers, wanting Spector to sign it. However, he claimed that he would never divorce her. Although she believed him to be Spector, she was actually speaking to Steven Grant, an alter of Spector. Suddenly, two detectives arrived. El-Faouly hid behind the chimney until Grant was taken. She then followed him.[4]
After Steven Grant was taken away by two Disciples of Ammit, El-Faouly tracked Grant's location again and confronted Arthur Harrow, revealing to him the Scarab of Ammit. She then went to Grant and asked him to summon his suit. Before he could respond, Harrow summoned an Egyptianjackal and the two ran away.
As they ran away, El-Faouly fought off one of the disciples. She and Grant then ran inside an upper room and locked the door. She told Grant they would figure his problem out together and asked him to summon his suit again. When the Jackal burst into the room, she couldn't see it, but saw Grant getting thrown out of the window.
She made her way outside and upon seeing Grant, wearing a different suit, tried to help him fight off the Jackal, even though she couldn't see it. As the Jackal became too powerful, El-Faouly told Grant that they needed Spector, in which he allowed Spector to become Moon Knight to defeat the Jackal.
El-Faouly then reclaimed her scooter bike to find Spector, and instead saw Harrow down an alleyway, having gained possession of the Scarab. After Harrow saw her, she drove away.[4]
Search for Ammit's Tomb[]
Returning to Egypt[]
El-Faouly gets a fake passport
"That's why you look so unhappy to be going home." "Anxious, maybe. It's been ten years."
El-Faouly used her tracking app on her phone to locate her husband and found out that he had gone to Egypt without telling her. In order to get there, El-Faouly met with Lagaro at her office to provide her with a forged fake passport.[3]
El-Faouly then went to Cairo, Egypt and found Marc Spector at a street market. She learned he was looking for Senfu's sarcophagus and told him she knew how to find it.
El-Faouly and Spector went on a boat to get to another part of Cairo. As they rode, El-Faouly told him that she could've helped him with his problem, in which he told her he thought he had it under control. She held his hands as he reflected on their wedding, as the music on the boat reminded them of it.[3]
Once the boat docked, El-Faouly and Spector spotted another boat following them. They deduced that the people on board were Disciples of Ammit spying on them. As they walked up towards the estate, El-Faouly told Spector that he would be called Rufino Estrada and that they were back from a honeymoon in the Maldives.
They were then met by Bek, who greeted them and told El-Faouly that it was nice to see her again. He told them that they were happy to see her since their time together in Madripoor. He then led them to the arena where they saw Anton Mogart practicing El-Mermah on horseback.
Mogart then welcomed El-Faouly and kissed her hand in tradition. He was introduced to Spector and asked them why they were interested in Senfu's sarcophagus. El-Faouly explained they were interested in its history and was led by Mogart to its location.
Once there, she and Spector walked inside the exhibit to see it. El-Faouly examined the sarcophagus, but was unable to decipher the translations. Spector told her he needed some time to do so as he needed Steven Grant in order to decipher the translations.
El-Faouly told him she would buy time and went outside to distract Mogart and Bek. She talked to them and tried to get their attention on her rather than Spector. However, this failed as Bek realized that Spector was doing more than just looking at the sarcophagus.
El-Faouly is held at gun point
Mogart then rushed inside and confronted Spector, while El-Faouly was held at gunpoint by Bek and some other guards. She tried to explain their intentions only for Mogart to tell them that a third party was approaching.
She and Spector watched as Arthur Harrow and his followers walked up. He proceeded to tell them that Spector was keeping a secret from El-Faouly, in which she looked at him, confused. They then watched as Harrow showed the Staff of Ammit to Mogart and used it to destroy the sarcophagus.
Harrow and his men left, and upon doing so, El-Faouly noticed that Spector had left as well. She then looked up and saw that he transformed into the Moon Knight. He glided down and used his suit to shield himself and her from the gunfire. He then engaged in a fight against Mogart's men.
El-Faouly ran back to the sarcophagus and inspected its remains only to be confronted by Bek. Bek tried to stop her and proceeded to fiercely fight her. He gained the upper hand and tossed her into the side of the exhibit. Angry, she managed to get up and used the metal clasps on her shirt to stab him in the chest.
After the fight, she ran out to see Spector in the arena, but was attacked by Mogart and thrown onto the ground. As she was trying to catch her breath, Mogart prepared to kill her, only for Spector to use one of his Crescent Blades to stop him. He then helped El-Faouly up and they exited the estate.
[3]
"Why isn't it working?" "Yeah, yeah, you see, Senfu... Senfu marked that tomb, like, two-thousand years ago. And stars drift over time. Not much as far as stars go, but it could mean the difference between us searching miles and miles away from where we're supposed to be looking."
In search for stars, El-Faouly and Marc Spector drove to the edge of the desert. During their commute, El-Faouly questioned Spector about Arthur Harrow's ominous claims surrounding a secret that he had kept from her. Although Spector was quick to dismiss her questions as just Harrow trying to divide them, El-Faouly grew upset, began accusing Spector of keeping too many secrets and doubting that she ever knew him at all, before Spector ended the conversation abruptly.
El-Faouly and Marc Spector try to decipher the cartonnage
Arriving to arid sands of the Siwa Oasis, El-Faouly and Spector got out the Jeep and tried to piece together the cartonnage. However, Spector was unable too, and El-Faouly told him they needed Steven Grant.
Spector ripped off the Jeep's side mirror and used it to change into Grant. Grant then impressed El-Faouly with his knowledge on navigation. They decipher that the cartonnage can be used to find constellations, but the feat would be impossible as the placement of the stars would have drifted and changed after 2,000 years.
El-Faouly sees the sky change
Fortunately, Grant, who was transformed into Mr. Knight, was assisted by Khonshu, who offered his skill of turning back the sky to the proper placements, at the cost of alerting the Ennead. She watched as the night sky began reversing backwards changing at rapid speed.
El-Faouly uses her tablet to find the coordinates
While Grant and Khonshu reverse the sky, El-Faouly is able to successfully triangulate the coordinates of Ammit's tomb in time. The phenomena exhausts Grant, who is now stripped of the healing armor, following Khonshu's punishment, causing him to fall unconscious. El-Faouly attempted to help him get up, but was unable.[3]
At this time, the vehicle following them; an armed pickup truck driven by two Disciples of Ammit, arrive to kill them. Upon seeing this, El-Faouly tried to get Grant up again, but not being able too, pushed him away from the oncoming truck into a dune.
El-Faouly hides in the Jeep
El-Faouly then utilized the darkness of the night sky to her advantage, eluding the militant cultists and saving herself from gunfire. Noticing an exposed box of ammunition in the bed of their truck, El-Faouly staggered to their Jeep and hid inside the back to grab flares.
El-Faouly tricks the cultists by luring them to her with one flare, then diving under the Jeep, readying a second flare to throw onto the ammo crate, which goes volatile. This results in the ammo exploding, causing the truck to erupt in flames, and killing the cultists, all to the surprise of Grant who had woke up.[1]
"Your father was murdered by mercenaries. And no one knows who they were, do they?" "You're saying that Marc was one of them?" "You said it. What do you think?"
When morning came, El-Faouly drove Steven Grant to the location provided by the coordinates. Along the way, she heard him speak to Marc Spector and found out that he had made a deal that Spector would leave once they were freed from Khonshu. El-Faouly interjected saying that she should have a say so since she was Spector's wife.
After coming to a much narrow portion, El-Faouly stopped the Jeep and proceeded to walk the rest of the way. Soon, she and Grant came across an empty camp that the Disciples of Ammit had set up along with their camels. She then told Grant to explore the tents for anything helpful.
El-Faouly explores a tent
She went inside one tent and acquired harnesses for herself and Grant. After finding nothing else of importance, she left the tent and regrouped with Grant by the entry.
As she put on her and Grant's harness, she noted he smelled like Spector. She then leaned into to kiss Grant, who interrupted her and blurted out that Spector was trying to keep her distant because Khonshu had seen her as a possible Avatar for him. She was taken aback and then said it wasn't Spector's call to make.
She was then kissed by Grant. Afterwards, she smiled as he tried to make a joke, but came across awkwardly. She then used her harness and descended down into the tomb.
El-Faouly began exploring after safely landing onto the ground. Grant joined her moments later after falling down rather roughly. As she mentioned her father, Grant told her that if he was alive he would be beaming at her. El-Faouly smiled and knew that Grant was flirting with her.
El-Faouly and Steven Grant discover the exact location
As they walked deeper into the tomb, Grant realized that it was in the shape of an eye. He drew it, and it came out as the Eye of Horus. He theorized that since markings appeared Macedonian that the tomb they were looking for belonged to Alexander the Great. Knowing this, they deduced that the ushabti would be in the mouth.
El-Faouly discovers a sacrificial ritual room
Following this, Grant noticed that the exit out of the room they were in had blood and bones on its path. Not wanting to go that way, they looked for another way out. As they did, Grant found an upper level of the room. El-Faouly helped him up and remained at the ground level. As he explored above, he got side tracked and she reminded him of looking for an exit.
However, noises from within the tomb caused them to be startled. When footsteps came close, Grant told El-Faouly to hide. She hid on the floor on the other side of the table in the center. A Heka Priest entered and threw Billy Fitzgerald onto the table in order to sacrifice him. Frightened, El-Faouly covered her mouth to keep quiet as she heard the Heka Priest use tools to cut out Fitzgerald's heart. When she was discovered by the Priest, it jumped onto the table and saw Grant as well. When it tried to pursue Grant, she threw an object at it, forcing herself to run out by way of the path they wanted to avoid.
El-Faouly tries to escape
El-Faouly found herself on a ledge and managed to keep herself from falling. She then used a flare and threw it down below into the darkness. She then carefully walked on the narrow ledge to make it to the other side. As she walked, parts of the ledge behind her fell, startling her.
At another opening in the pathway, she carefully went over and used the walls for support. However, a Heka Priest's hand appeared behind her, scaring her and causing her to fall onto the pathway ground. She came up to another opening, but was suddenly grabbed by the Priest and taken backwards in a horror like manner.
The Priest threw her down onto the ground of another pathway, and she saw that it's hand was in hers. After seeing that she had ripped it off, she tossed it aside in confusion before the Priest began strangling her.
El-Faouly managed to grab a flare stick out of her pocket and stuck it in the Priest's head. As she watched it get destroyed on the spot, she moved to push it over the side of the ledge and accidentally fell as well. However, she had grabbed onto ridges and pulled herself back up, before laying on the ground to catch her breath.
Moments later, Arthur Harrow appeared on the other side of her, and El-Faouly stood to see what he wanted. He congratulated her on defeating the Heka Priest, before she interrupted and asked what he wanted. He told her that Spector was keeping a secret from her, in which she told him she already knew. He told her of another, and she grew impatient. He then told her that Spector had been part of the mission that resulted in her father's death and that he had known about it. El-Faouly was left emotional upon hearing this and ran off to find Spector.
She made her way to the location and found herself inside the tomb. Filled with emotion, she confronted Grant, and demanded that Spector be summoned. Once he was, she interrogated him on having been there at her father's death.
She demanded to know why he had not told her and why he was there. He explained that he had tried to save her father, but his partner had shot him as well, and that Khonshu had saved him. Before they could continue, Harrow and his followers arrived. El-Faouly told Spector to come and run away with her, but he told her to go.
While remaining hidden in a narrow walkway, El-Faouly listened to Spector and Harrow's confrontation. To her horror, she heard gun shots and realized that Spector had been shot. She covered her mouth as she tried not to make a noise despite being emotionally upset.[1]
"If Marc is truly gone, I am in need of an Avatar. Would you, Layla El-Faouly, protect the travelers of the night..." "Are you joking? You turned Marc's life into a waking nightmare. Why would I ever sign up for that?"
El-Faouly waited until Arthur Harrow and his followers had left, before running over to see Spector. She wept as she felt for his pulse, but found none and rested her head on his chest in grief. She then noticed that the Scarab of Ammit was left behind, so she used it to find out the location of where Harrow was going. Determined to exact revenge on him, she exited the tomb and caught up to them.
El-Faouly disguised as one of the followers
She disguised herself as one of his followers and hitched a ride in their last vehicle. When Harrow's followers were stopped by the Egyptian Patrol Agency, she revealed a hidden knife, meaning to kill Harrow. Taweret, possessing the body of a dead officer, sent a message to El-Faouly, telling her that Harrow was too powerful to stop alone and to find and release Khonshu so he can revive Spector.
After Harrow broke into the Great Pyramid of Giza and entered the Chamber of Gods, El-Faouly scattered from the group in search of Khonshu's ushabti. When released, Khonshu remarked that he could no longer sense Spector, asking El-Faouly to be his Avatar. She declined, stating they would work together, but with her not being enslaved.[7]
Becoming Scarlet Scarab[]
Layla turns into Scarlet Scarab
"I would be delighted to accept you as my Avatar." "Okay, okay. Temporary Avatar." "Yes, of course!"
El-Faouly stayed hidden as Arthur Harrow released Ammit and as Khonshu fought her. When the fight had ended and Harrow had left, she recovered the heavily wounded Selim. He asked her if she was the one who released Khonshu and told her that there was a spell to stop Ammit, but they needed more Avatars. El-Faouly then called out to Taweret for help. Taweret possessed Selim's body and greeted El-Faouly enthusiastically. She offered to make El-Faouly her Avatar, in which El-Faouly accepted, which made her learn her father reached into the Field of Reeds through an excited Taweret, becoming Scarlet Scarab as the chamber collapsed around her.[7]
El-Faouly, now embracing her role as Scarlet Scarab, used her newfound powers to fly to Cairo. There she met up with Marc Spector and aided him in the fight against Arthur Harrow and his followers. She knocked Harrow away and reunited with Spector, amazed at how he was alive. As Steven Grant commented on what she was wearing, they were forced back into fight and also showing off their new powers.
During the fight, El-Faouly managed to pin Harrow against a wall and try to break his cane. However, he blasted her and Spector away. When they tried again, he used his cane to blast a van nearby with people inside. El-Faouly rushed over to save them, before getting her wing pinned. She then watched as Spector was nearly defeated by Harrow, before coming too and defeating Harrow and his followers swiftly. When Spector approached her, she was shocked by his actions, although he told her he had no knowledge of what happened.
El-Faouly and Spector then took Harrow's unconscious body back to the Great Pyramid of Giza and performed a ritual, trapping Ammit in Harrow's body. They were joined by Khonshu, who ordered Spector to kill Harrow and Ammit. However, El-Faouly convinced Spector he didn't have to listen to Khonshu and that he could make his own decision.[7]
Personality[]
"I'm sorry, I can't. I can't do it." "It's all right. Okay. We'll just find another way."
Divine Empowerment: As the Avatar of Taweret, Scarlet Scarab is able to achieve many superhuman feats.
Transformation: As the Avatar of Taweret, El-Faouly is able to summon the suit of Scarlet Scarab, the ceremonial armor of her idol.
Superhuman Strength:
Scarlet Scarab stopping a moving van
She possesses superhuman strength as she is the Avatar of Taweret, which enabled her to contend against the likes of Arthur Harrow, the avatar of Ammit. Due to her superhuman strength, Scarlet Scarab was able to block a moving van from hitting a group of women with ease.
Superhuman Durability: Scarlet Scarab in her suit possesses superhuman durability, which enabled her to handle multiple attacks from the Staff of Ammit without getting injured. However, sharp objects such as Moon Knight's crescent blade can stop and even potentially injure her.
Superhuman Speed: Scarlet Scarab was able to outrun multiple followers of Ammit who were trying to get to him, and she was also fast enough to stop a truck from hitting a group of women in Cairo.
Superhuman Agility: To be added
Superhuman Stamina: Scarlet Scarab possesses superhuman stamina, which enabled her to contend against several of Ammit's followers at once alongside contending against the powerful Arthur Harrow, without putting in much effort.
Superhuman Reflexes: Scarlet Scarab possesses superhuman reflexes, which enabled her to stop a truck from hitting a group of women in Cairo with little to no time in the perfect manner that stopped the momentum from harming others and herself.
Regenerative Healing Factor: Scarlet Scarab possesses a powerful healing factor which enables her to recover from any injuries such as getting hit by bullets in a matter of seconds if she gets shot through her suit.
Flight: Scarlet Scarab can fly through the wings built within her suit at incredible speeds.
Weapon Summoning: Scarlet Scarab is able to summon weapons whenever she is wearing her ceremonial armor, such as swords.
With the help of Taweret and other avatars of the Ennead such as Moon Knight, Scarlet Scarab was able to imprison Ammit within the body of Arthur Harrow.
Deity Imprisonment: As the Avatar of Taweret, she and Moon Knight were able to imprison Ammit inside the body of Arthur Harrow.
Master Thief: After years of experience through stealing stolen relics and antiques to return them to their original locations, El-Faouly has become a masterful thief who can steal objects without others noticing.
"Well, someone knows their unilaterals. You. That's amazing."
Multilingualism: El-Faouly is fluent in her native Arabic, as well as English and French. She is also able to understand Ancient Egyptian unilaterals.
Equipment[]
Uniforms[]
Scarlet Scarab's Suit: A ceremonial suit of armor granted by Taweret to Layla El-Faouly. The suit has a pair of metal wings to allow flight in a limited fashion and a pair of short swords that extend from the arms. The wings can also be used as a shield to protect Layla from an energy attack.
Vespa Scooter: El-Faouly drove a Vespa scooter through London after finding Steven Grant. She drove Grant to his apartment and later went on the scooter to find him at a village run by Arthur Harrow.
In the comics, Marlene Alraune is Marc Spector's wife.
In the comics, Scarlet Scarab is an alter-ego of Abdul Faoul, a protector of Egypt, who later passed the title to his son Mehemet.
Layla El-Faouly would eventually make her official comic debut in Moon Knight Vol. 9 #25 (September 2023), before reappearing in her Scarlet Scarab incarnation in Moon Knight: City of the Dead.
Behind the Scenes[]
Layla El-Faouly was created for the Marvel Cinematic Universe as its replacement for Marlene Alraune due to the writers' desire for the character to be Egyptian with a connection to her homeland.[10] She was originally named Zayna Faoul.[11]
Had the character not debuted in Hawkeye, Echo would have served as the main love interest instead of El-Faouly.[12]
Moon Knight | Episode 1.01: The Goldfish Problem (voice)
.png){kind=link}
.png){kind=link}
.png){kind=link}
.png){kind=link}
.png){kind=link}
.png){kind=link}
.png){kind=link}
.png){kind=link}
.png){kind=link}
.png){kind=link}
.png){kind=link}
.png){kind=link}
