“ | My father, a European scholar and aristocrat -- and more, a warlock and werewolf -- who, now dead, had left me another inheritance as well -- the curse of a werewolf born! | „ |
~ Werewolf by Night. |
“ | You're not about to be arrested. Not going to be so lucky. No clever lawyer going to get you off this time. No lenient judge going to just slap your wrist. I know how it works; been there as a kid. The words came out for the first time and I felt the weight lessen. The fear that filled his eyes made the burden even lighter. Sure, this jerk wasn't the sicko that dragged me into that abandoned building years ago. Different stripe, same breed. Close enough for the Beast. | „ |
~ Werewolf by Night. |
Werewolf by Night (real name Jacob Russoff, legally changed to Jack Rusell), also known as Werewolf, is a fictional character and superhero from Marvel comics, appearing as the main protagonist of his titular comics.
He is a Romanian descendant of a family cursed placed on the Russoff's due to their ancestor's encounter with Count Dracula's werewolf, and Russell would transform into a beast upon his eighteenth birthday. Though a reluctant hero, Russell has helped numerous heroes in battling villains and later became a member of the Legion of Monsters and the Midnight Sons. While fighting for the common good, Jack is also trying to remove his family's curse so he can had live a normal life.
He was created by Roy Thomas, Jeanie Thomas, Gerry Conway and Mike Ploog, and first appeared in Marvel Spotlight #2 in February of 1972.
Biography[]
Early Life[]
Jacob Russoff was born in Medias, Transylvania, Romania to Baron Gregory Russoff and Laura Russoff, and is the older brother to Lisa Russoff. The Russoff family were cursed with lycanthropy after their ancestor Grigory was bitten by a werewolf under the servitude of Count Dracula, and Gregory would activate the curse after reading from a copy of the Darkhold. Jacob and Lisa were taken to the United States by their mother on orders by Gregory, whom wanted to protect his family before he could harm them. Gregory would transform into a werewolf upon a full moon, and he was later killed by an angry mob. Lisa would go on to marry a man named Phillip Russell, who was later revealed to be Gregory's brother. Once Lisa married Phillip, Jacob's name would be legally changed to "Jack Russell" and he was raised in Los Angeles, California alongside his sister.
Becoming a Werewolf[]
Once Jack turned eighteen, the curse went onto him and transformed into a werewolf, and later learned of Phillip's connection to Gregory after the death of his mother. While trying to find a cure for his lycanthropy, Jack would oftne lock himself when a full moon was close by, but he would often escape after transforming. During this time, Russell was partially lifed from his family's curse by "THe Three Who Are All", which allowed him to control his transformations and keep his mind when in his werewolf form.
Though able to voluntarily turn at any point, Russell still had to lock himself when a full moon appeared. Still wanting to cure his condition, Jack met with Doctor Karl Malus to find a cure, but the doctor instead started to experiment on him. He was later rescued by Spider-Woman, but Malus' experiments caused him to lose control over his transformations.
Around this time, Russell was evading a cult led by Schuyler Belial, who wanted to use Jack's blood in a sacrifice to become a werewolf himself. Jack would encounter Moon Knight and battled the vigilante, but the two would become allies and fought against Belial and his cult. Russell then decided to become a hero after gaining control over his transformations, working with Spider-Man to fight the criminal Tatterdemalion, and Iron Man to stop Morgan le Fay to rescue his sister. Later on, he joined the Midnight Sons under the leadership of Morbius the Living Vampire. After leaving the group, Russell helped Wolfsbane protect her son Tier, as the child was being tracked by angels and demons.
When the Legion of Monsters were re-formed by Morbius and Man-Thing, Russell decided to join the group alongside N'Kantu the Living Mummy and Manphibian. Their first assignment was to protect monsters fro mthe Hunter of Monster Special Force under the command of Robert Hellsgaard, and later assisted the Punisher (revived as "Franken-Castle") protect the Monster Metropolis. The team would go on to help monsters that were infected with a virus that turned them mindless, and assisted the Red-Hulk when he had to deal with Dark Samson.
Portrayals[]
Television[]
- In The Super Hero Squad Show, he was voiced by Rob Paulson.
- In Ultimate Spider-Man, he was voiced by Ross Lynch, who also played Austin Moon in Austin & Ally.
- In Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H., he was voiced by Nolan North, who also voiced Nathan Drake in the Uncharted series, Desmond Miles in the Assassin's Creed series, Sparrow in Fable II, Superman in Young Justice, and Edward Richtofen in Call of Duty Zombies.
- In the Marvel Cinematic Universe titular tv special, he is portrayed by Gael García Bernal.
Gallery[]
Earth-616[]
Other Media[]
Trivia[]
- His legal name "Jack Russell" is a reference to the dog breed Jack Russell terrier.
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