Marvel’s Werewolf by Night: The Family Curse of Jack Russell
Marvel’s Werewolf by Night special has all the stylings of a classic monster movie. But who is Jack Russell, Marvel’s howling hero?
The award-winning special that debuted last fall is getting a re-release next month–in full technicolor. The story focuses on a mysterious monster hunter with ulterior motives–and he’s hiding a secret. So who is this hidden monster? His story comes with a family curse, an encounter with Dracula, a brush with the Darkhold, and more!
Werewolf by Night
First Appearance: Marvel Spotlight #2 (February 1972)
Created By: Roy Thomas, Gerry Conway, Mike Ploog, and Jeanie Thomas
Werewolf by Night technically made his first appearance in Marvel Tales in 1953. It was a five-page short horror story written and illustrated by Joe Sinnott. When the Comics Code Authority became a thing in 1954, horror comics went by the wayside. They wouldn’t make a true comeback till the early 1970s. The resurgence brought monsters and monster hunters to Marvel’s pages.
Who is Jack Russell?
Jack Russell comes from a long line of lycanthropes–the earliest confirmation was during the late 1700s. Grigori Russoff, Jack’s ancestor, was turned by a werewolf being held in Dracula’s dungeons. The gene seemingly stopped there but was revived by one of his descendant’s use of the Darkhold. After reading about lycanthropy’s origins in the evil book under a full moon, Gregor Russoff triggered his ancestor’s curse and turned into a werewolf. Thus the discovery that the family curse lays dormant and must be triggered.
In the mid-1950s Transylvanian nobleman Gregory Russoff got his hands on a copy of the Darkhold and activated the curse. In order to keep his wife and children safe, he sent them to the States–they settled in Los Angeles. Gregory was eventually killed by a mob while in wolf form, leaving his wife Laura a widow. She remarried Philip Russell, and her children took his last name. Gregory’s son Jacob Russoff became Jack Russell.
The night before his 18th birthday was the first night of the full moon. Jack, who had inherited the curse, succumbed to it and became a werewolf. Since his transformation, he’s hunted his father’s copy of the Darkhold in order to use it to lift the curse. He’s fought other monsters and aliens and been captured by cultists and mad scientists.
Jack’s Powers and Abilities
Being a werewolf has its advantages. Jack has superhuman strength, stamina, speed, and agility along with teeth and claws. All of that makes him a formidable hand-to-hand fighter. He has the ability to regenerate and heal quickly–an ability so advanced that he lived after being shot in the head by Deadpool for sleeping with Wade’s wife.
The Legion of Monsters
Jack, being a werewolf, ends up not just fighting other monsters but hanging out with them. In 1973 he hooked up with Man-Thing, Morbius, and Ghost Rider to fight an alien after an earthquake. Stan Lee called them the “Legion of Monsters.”
Their shared trauma after losing their humanity ended up binding them together. The bunch popped up on occasion throughout the 1970s and 1980s–Manphibian, N’Kantu the Living Mummy, and Satana have been added as members. Oh, and the revived corpse of the Punisher, known as Franken Castle. They’re monsters, ok? They do what they want.
He’s also shown up in Midnight Sons alongside some other Legion of Monsters alumni.
Werewolf by Night in the MCU
Marvel’s first holiday special brings Jack into the cinematic universe. The take on the classic comic is shot in black and white and is clearly inspired by the Universal monster movies. A group of monster hunters comes together to decide who will inherit the powerful Bloodstone after its former owner has passed. In order to lay claim to it, they must defeat a captured monster. What only one of them knows is that he is a monster himself and he’s not there for the stone.
The black-and-white version of Werewolf by Night is available on Disney+ and Hulu.
The colorized version debuts on Disney+ on October 20, 2023. Only one preview image has been made available. Director Michael Giacchino said on Twitter they’re going for a look of horror movies during the late 1950s. The films featured saturated reds, greens, and flamboyant patterns.
“We spent a lot of time working on this color version. We wanted to pay homage to the incredible vibrant color in horror films like the ones Hammer made. A whole new look for Werewolf by Night.”
Advertisement
I’m not a big fan of post-colorization, but the fact that they’re taking inspiration from another era of classic horror instead of fully modernizing it is promising. Do we need it? Not really. Does it look like fans will get a new, interesting experience? I think so. I’m curious to see what it looks like beyond a single still. How about you?
