Taweret, along with the rest of the Ennead, was worshiped as a goddess by ancient Egyptians. However, as years went on, she went into hiding when Humans stopped believing in the Ennead.[2] When Abdallah El-Faouly died, Taweret led him through the Duat until he reached the Field of Reeds.[1]
Responsibilities[]
Meeting Marc Spector and Steven Grant[]
"It's been a minute since we've had a soul pass through here. Bit distracted... Excuse me. A-ha! Okay, here we go. Welcome, gentle traveler... Travelers... to the realm of the Duat."
Once being notified of new people entering the afterlife, Taweret went to meet them and found herself inside the Putnam Psychiatric Hospital, which she found to be an odd place as a memory. She then met Marc Spector and Steven Grant and happily greeted them, but they screamed from fear.[3]
Taweret also screamed and tried to calm them down before asking if they were twins. They told her it was complicated. Nervous, Taweret took out a script, saying she had not done this in a while. She then read out what happened and how they imagined the psych ward, which was a first for her.[4]
Taweret brought Marc Spector and Steven Grant onto a boat which would take them to the Field of Reeds. She then cautiously reached inside the men and took out their hearts, explaining that the Scales of Justice needed to balance before going to the Aaru. She put the hearts onto the scale, but it did not even out nor tip. It was stuck shaking. Taweret concluded that there must be something hidden from them and they needed to go back in their memories and figure it out.
Marc Spector explains why they have to go back to Taweret
As the two of the men walked through their memories, souls started plummeting to the Duat without Taweret being able to do anything as Ammit made her way to Earth. When the men returned, they explained that they had to go back to stop Ammit and Arthur Harrow. Taweret agreed, but did not know how to do it since they were dead. Grant concluded that Khonshu would need to be freed. They asked Taweret to command Layla El-Faouly to free Khonshu.
Taweret decided to help and steered the boat to the Gates of Osiris, which would lead back to Earth. She then told them to finish their journey and balance their hearts. When Spector and Grant returned, it was too late, the hearts did not balance. Taweret apologized, leaving the men to be taken by the Duat. Taweret watched as the two men fought the sand creatures, ending with Grant going overboard. With Grant dead, Spector was able to enter the Field of Reeds since his heart balanced.[4]
Taweret congratulated Marc Spector on his journey. Although Spector was grateful, he did not want to leave Steven Grant. Despite Taweret's warnings, Spector walked back into the Duat and found Grant. They both then froze into the sand.
Taweret was able to take control of a corpse and talked to Layla El-Faouly. She told El-Faouly to free Khonshu, but El-Faouly refused, saying she was going to defeat Arthur Harrow herself. Taweret returned to the Duat, finding that El-Faouly did in fact free Khonshu. She then steered her boat to where Spector and Grant entering Earth again. She plowed into the incoming sand wave, allowing the men to return to their healed bodies.
Taweret possessed Selim, who was next to El-Faouly. She then possessed El-Faouly to talk to her, wanting her to be her avatar. Although El-Faouly was hesitant, she agreed. Taweret then used El-Faouly's body, bragging about a suit she designed. Suddenly, the place collapsed on top of them. Taweret gave El-Faouly strength as well as a suit fit like a scarab. The Scarlet Scarab and Moon Knight were able to defeat Ammit and Harrow.[1]
Personality[]
"Just a second ago, I thought I'd been shot to death." "Oh, gosh! This will really bake your noodle, but I think you were just taking a little time-out. I'm afraid you're actually quite dead."
Taweret is a very friendly and eager Goddess. She is usually polite to those she encounters and displays a sunny and optimistic disposition to those who pass on. Despite having existed for, presumably, thousands of years, she can be quite absent-minded and slightly ill-prepared at her job. This is especially evident when she manages to successfully pull Marc and Steven's hearts harmlessly from their chests and compliments herself on the fact that she did not "blow [their] chest wide open". Taweret was also visibly saddened when their scales failed to align; mournfully telling them that she was rooting for them. Like Khonshu, Taweret is shown to care for humanity, choosing to defy Osiris to give Marc and Steven a chance to save the world.
Taweret's absent-mindedness not only manifests in performing her own duties but in even more serious moments. Both times she discussed making Layla her avatar, Taweret was distracted talking about her conversations with Layla's loved ones (her ex-husband Marc and her father). Taweret was unbothered by the danger Layla was in as the tomb collapsed around her, though this may have been because Taweret could presumably heal any damage Layla sustained.
Unlike most of the Ennead, Taweret is not particularly proud nor vindictive. She didn't seem bothered by Layla's initial refusal to be her avatar and was later ecstatic when Layla was forced to change her mind to save herself. Taweret easily accepted Layla's insistence of only being a temporary avatar, simply excited at the prospect of having "fun" with her avatar and giving Layla a "fabulous costume."
Immortality: Like all Enneads, Taweret is an immortal god, who can live for centuries without aging or losing power. She can only die through having a majority of her bodily molecules dispersed.
Soul Manipulation:
Taweret extracting hearts
As the Goddess with the duty to take care of the afterlife, Taweret has the power to manipulate souls in the Duat. This was prevalently seen when she used her powers to take out the heart of Marc Spector and Steven Grant while they were on the descent of their afterlife.
Remote Possession: Taweret is able to take direct control of her avatar's body when needed. She did this several times during her conversation with Layla while they were discussing Layla's being Taweret's avatar. Taweret is also able to manifest in dead bodies to converse with others.
Power Bestowal: Like all Enneads, Taweret is able to choose a human to act as her avatar, endowing Layla with a portion of her godly powers to act as Taweret's hands in the mortal world.
In Egyptian mythology, Taweret protected mothers and mothers-to-be as she was also the Goddess of childbirth and fertility. While she is accurately portrayed as a hippopotamus, most artistic depictions additionally feature her with lion paws, a crocodile tail and, fittingly, a large pregnant belly. In Moon Knight, she guides people into the afterlife. However, this is typically the job of Anubis.
Taweret is the only Egyptian God introduced in the Marvel Cinematic Universe who, at the time, had not been adapted from the comics. She would eventually appear in the Marvel Comics canon, via a cameo, in Moon Knight: City of the Dead #2.
Behind the scenes[]
Moon Knight head writer Jeremy Slater was obsessed with wanting to include the character after seeing a picture of her in a series of Egyptology-based images and references used during the writer's room.[6]
Antonia Salib not only voiced Taweret, she also physically portrayed her. However, unlike typical motion-capture characters who wear a grey suit, Salib wore the actual costume of the character with platform shoes and a pole on her back to indicate her height.[7]
Moon Knight | Episode 1.01: The Goldfish Problem (mentioned)
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