Who is Taweret: Marvel's Hippopotamus Goddess Explained

At the end of this week’s mind-melting episode of Moon Knight, fans were introduced to a mysterious anthropomorphic hippopotamus character. While no name was given and there is no comic book counterpart to reference, the character matches the description of the Egyptian goddess Taweret.

Now, who is Taweret exactly? According to the Egyptians, she was a protective goddess who represented childbirth and fertility. How on Earth does that have anything to do with a man moonlighting as a superhero with Dissociative Identity Disorder? Sadly, we’ll just have to wait until next week to find out. However, what she represents might matter less than her purpose on the actual show.

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As Antonia Salib, the actress voicing the character revealed a few weeks ago in an interview with Comicbook.com, the character goes on an “emotional journey” with Steven and Marc. “It felt like such a collaborative process,” she added.

The reason this quote stands out is because by the end of episode four, she seems to be the only person who can break Mark and Steven out of their metaphorical asylum. One could argue that perhaps she’s another God who has been banished by the Ennead. For those who may not remember, in episode one Steven briefly corrects his boss to tell her that the legendary council consisted of nine Gods and not seven. But when we finally meet the council in episode three, there were nowhere near that many Gods in attendance.

Episode four’s cold open reveals that way more Gods have been banished aside from Khonshu, but no one knows where these Gods go when they’re banished. And if Taweret has been banished, and still found Marc and Steven, then that leaves the question why couldn’t Khonshu find them too?

One alternate theory is that perhaps Taweret controls more than childbirth and fertility. Both of those concepts technically involve creation of life. What if Taweret could not only help create it, but restore it? Remember, prior to the episode’s asylum sequence, Marc and Steven are presumed dead.

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Whatever Taweret’s purpose in the series, it’s clear that Marvel has big plans for her. Salib also affirmed that in her interview saying she “was given license to create [her] character.”

With only two episodes left before the finale, it should be interesting to see how integral she’ll be, how it’ll all end, and if there will be any other connections to the modern MCU established.

Episode four of Moon Knight is streaming on Disney+ now.

SOURCE: Comicbook.com