Have You Ever Danced With The Devil by the Pale Moonlight?
Lunella: “I’m Inhuman… or I will be. I’ve got the gene, you know. Not that you would know. I found out myself. And you’re a dinosaur. But I’ve got to stop it from happening. The change is what scares me. More than anything else. More than you.”
Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur #1
A young girl skates down a road. She’s heard that a gang is attacking people. Her backup is still on his way, but she can hold them off. She spots the gang and hurls a smoke bomb at them. The girl weaves in and out of the smoke, scoring blows on the disoriented crooks. She knocks out a goon with a spring-loaded boxing glove, but the recoil knocks her down.
The goons are pissed and run at her with weapons in hand. A roar splits the air. The girl can feel the ground shake. She somersaults into the air as a titanic figure lands next to her and lowers its head for her landing. Her feral grin is mimicked by the blood-red dinosaur she now rides. The gang flees in terror as Moon Girl tells Devil Dinosaur to charge.
Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur are one of Marvel’s strangest duos. She’s an Inhuman who may be the smartest person on Earth. He’s a time-displaced dinosaur who has gone claw-to-claw with Marvel’s version of Godzilla. They fight crime. So who are they? How is a dinosaur around in the modern day? How does Moon Girl control him? Let’s find out.
Scene Select
New Moon: Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur’s Backstory
Moon Boy: [mortally wounded] “Old friend… is this our last adventure? Through all the perils we have faced together, I never wanted to leave you… but hunt! The Killer-Folk desire the Nightstone, so it must be evil. Let no one have it… and… and… and avenge Moon Boy!”
Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur #1
Moon Girl debuted in Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur #1 in 2015. She was created by Brandon Montclare, Amy Reeder, Natacha Bustos and inspired by Inspector Gadget. Devil Dinosaur debuted in Devil Dinosaur #1 in 1978 and was created by Jack Kirby.
A Neanderthal called Moon Boy found a wounded “killer beast” in prehistoric times. A tribe of savages had killed the dinosaur’s siblings and tortured him with fire, turning his scales red. Moon Boy nursed the creature back to health and named it Devil for its appearance.
Devil grew into a powerful dinosaur who allowed Moon Boy to ride him. The duo defended Moon Boy’s tribe from many threats, most notably the Killer-Folk tribe that had tortured Devil. Moon Boy was killed when he tried to steal an artifact called the Nightstone, which the Killer-Folk used to open a portal to the future. His last act was to order Devil to track it down and stop them.
The Killer-Folk lost the Nightstone, which wound up in the hands of preteen genius Lunella Lafayette. She quickly discovered that it was an alien device and hoped it could stop her from becoming an Inhuman. The Nightstone led Devil Dinosaur to Lunella, and he brought her with as he hunted the Killer-Folk.
Waxing Moon: Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur’s History
Moon Girl: [emerges from an Inhuman Cocoon] “What happened to Terrigenesis?! No orange skin. No claws. no scales. No tail. No heat vision. No transformation. No change.”
Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur #7
After causing lots of collateral damage that Luna tried minimizing, Devil Dinosaur was captured by S.H.I.E.L.D. Lunella felt guilty about his capture and built several gadgets to infiltrate his prison. She adopted the identity Moon Girl and broke out Devil Dinosaur, working with him to defeat the Killer-Folk.
Not long after their victory, Moon Girl was exposed to Terrigen Mist and became Inhuman. She gained the ability to swap her mind with Devil, a feeling she hated because of his predatory nature. She created an inhibitor to keep her ability from activating, but it isn’t foolproof.
Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur have been involved in several event comics and helped younger heroes like Ms. Marvel, the Power Pack, and Kid Kaiju. She recently struggled with a bully called Princess, who is Kingpin’s daughter. Despite her actions and Kingpin’s manipulations, Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur held out long enough for Kingpin to decide the feud was beneath him and transferred Princess to another school.
Full Moon: Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur’s Powers and Personality
Moon Girl: “Lots of tricks up these sleeves, ladies and gentlemen, but the show’s over. Devil Dinosaur, make us an exit.”
Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur #5
Moon Girl is a genius who builds her own gear. She has a secret laboratory below her school and armor made from boxing equipment. Her backpack contains a miniature helicopter propeller, her shoes turn into rollerskates at the press of a button, and she uses a spring-loaded boxing glove to knock out enemies.
She may not like her Inhuman ancestry, but Moon Girl’s powers are helpful. Swapping her mind into Devil lets her use all his strength and speed bolstered by her own genius. Devil running amok in her body and making her seem weirder than usual is a downside that she can’t always control. Moon Girl also has super strength that increases when the moon is full, but not as much compared to other heroes.
Devil Dinosaur is an unnaturally intelligent T. Rex-like dinosaur with all the strength and destructive capabilities that suggests. He seems to be able to alter his size, but that could be due to inconsistent art.
Lunella is bullied by other students for being a genius who is often lost in thought, hence the nickname Moon Girl. Devil’s feral actions in her body do little to help her reputation at school. Moon Girl hates being talked down to and is terrified of being ostracized for being an Inhuman.
The Actors Who Play Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur
Moon Girl
Diamond White – Marvel’s Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur
Devil Dinosaur
Dee Bradley Baker – The Super Hero Squad Show
Steve Blum – Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H.
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Image: Marvel’s Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur courtesy Disney. Copyright 2020 Marvel & Subs. All rights reserved.
Jared Bounacos has written for Movie Rewind since 2016.
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