If They're Always Fighting Crime, When Would They Watch Educational TV?

Last week in Heroes for Hire, Moon Knight fought a dinosaur. He said it was a velociraptor, but it was larger than him, and raptors were closer to turkey-sized. Though gamma rays so abundantly used, there are probably giant turkeys roaming Marvel Earth. I thought it was a Deinonychus (the green outline), since they have a similar body-type to Velociraptors (the yellow), just bigger. Looking at that picture, Utahraptor might be the smarter bet. Should have remembered being 11-feet long wouldn't necessarily mean being really tall. Not the point.

Point is, it makes sense to me that Moon Knight wouldn't know the difference. He has a lot of personalities, but Marc Spector was a mercenary, Steven Grant an art dealer, and Jack Lockley a cab driver. Which one of those is likely to be well-versed in dinosaurs? As superhero comic readers, we're used to the heroes just happening to know vital bits of information that help them stop criminals*. If the villain manipulates gravity, they know how to circumvent that. If the villain favors plants, the hero knows some vulnerability about those plants that will help turn the tide. People do seem to have a capacity to pick up and retain information that isn't relevant to them. There are plenty of things I remember that I don't know where or why I learned them, but there they are. Superheroes seem to take it to another level, though.

Maybe that's meant to represent something about them. They don't simply rely on their fists or powers, they have quick wits, too. Possibly something about how useful the brain can be in the service of good. Something left over from the Golden Age, when Superman used to deal with corrupt politicians and slumlords and such? Sure, his powers helped, but it was going to take more than punching and flying to solve the problems those threats presented. Being smart, having a wide array of information and knowing how to use it could play an important role.

It does make a certain sense to me that not all heroes would have the same knowledge. The characters have different upbringing, different interests. I'd expect Carol Danvers knows a bit about aeronautics, at least the practical applications (ditto for Hal Jordan). I wouldn't expect Spider-Man knows much about modern art (though I bet he was a dinosaur nerd as a young man, so he'd know that wasn't a Velociraptor Moonie fought). He probably knows more about fashion then we'd think, after living with MJ for years. He may not know how to apply its principles to himself (whatever those principles are, if any exist), but he knows about it. Not every character will be Mr. Terrific or Hank Pym and be an expert in everything.

* Like Paladin knowing the best way to kill a Velociraptor, for example.