As the Marvel Cinematic Universe continues to get bigger and bigger, fans find themselves meeting increasingly obscure or overlooked characters within the company’s extensive back catalog. Even hardcore followers can be forgiven for not knowing every last hero or villain, and the subject of this month’s intriguing Disney + TV special is surely one most won’t recognize. Enter Werewolf by Night.

Portrayed in the special by highly talented Mexican actor Gael García Bernal (of Y tu mamá también, Babel, and Coco fame), Werewolf by Night is the name for two separate heroes with identical powers. Jack Russell, the subject of this special and the overwhelming favorite between the two, is a young man afflicted by a family curse that (you guessed it) turns him into a werewolf during nights with a full moon. Simple enough, right?

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Well, as is often the case in the MCU these days, the original character’s relatively easy-to-follow backstory belies a rich and occasionally confusing history in the comics and other media. For instance, this isn’t even the first time Marvel has attempted to adapt the story. Efforts reported by Variety in 2001 didn’t get too far off the ground for reasons that, to this day, remain mostly unknown. Regardless, for those who are already acquainted, Werewolf by Night is a welcome and exciting addition to Phase 4; for those who don’t know Jack Russell, it’s time for an introduction.

Full Moon Fever: A Werewolf Origin Story

     Marvel Studios

As detailed on the character’s page on the official Marvel website, Jack Russell/Werewolf by Night first appears in 1972’s Marvel Spotlight, Vol.2, in a story titled “Night of Full Moon – Night of Fear!” A mugger is brutally killed in an LA alleyway by a werewolf; a policeman grazes the monster with a shot before it escapes. The next morning, Russell wakes up from a bad dream on the morning of his 18th birthday, a cut on his left shoulder.

As is revealed in later stories, the events that forced Russell into a life of lycanthropy took place generations before he was born. An ancestor of his named Grigori brought the curse into the bloodline when he was bitten by a werewolf while trying to avenge his wife, Louisa, who had been murdered by Dracula. Fast-forward to the 20th century, Russell’s Romanian baron father, Gregory Russoff, inadvertently awakens the curse by reading a passage from the Darkhold. He’s killed with silver bullets after losing control while in the werewolf form. His widow, Laura, flees to America with her two children, settling down with former boyfriend (and Gregory’s brother) Philip.

Russell, coming to terms with his cursed body, wakes up on a Malibu beach after a spell as a werewolf. Learning his mother is on her deathbed after a car accident, he visits her in the hospital, discovers the truth, and is made to promise not to harm the stepfather he’s grown to resent. The full moon rises, and instinct takes him to a warehouse where Philip and the family driver, Max Grant, are arguing over a payment of $10,000. Philip had refused to be blackmailed over his brother’s curse.

He canceled the payment, leading to Grant (a member of a criminal organization known as The Committee) cutting the brakes in Laura’s car in retaliation. An enraged and generally out-of-control Jack slaughters Grant and, though his mental and physical state prevents him from understanding Philip’s innocence in the matter, leaves his stepfather unhurt, remembering his vow to his mother. He then runs off into the night, howling at the moon.

Powers, Friends, and Foes

     Marvel Comics

A werewolf’s powers might seem a bit obvious, but Russell doesn’t fit all the stereotypes – just most. For starters, he actually becomes smaller when he’s transformed. The official Marvel page gives his human size at an imposing 6'8, 300 lbs. He’s a much less heroic 5'10, 200 in werewolf form.

Endowed with enhanced physical abilities (strength, speed, agility, etc.), enhanced senses (especially sight), and extremely sharp claws, Werewolf By Night’s most notable attribute is his extraordinary ability to recover. He has a severe weakness for magical attacks, as a weapon made of silver is pretty much the only way to kill him. Interestingly, it’s suggested that whether someone he attacks becomes a werewolf is at his discretion. Like the Hulk, he is capable of occasionally retaining his human intellect while transformed.

A lone wolf (forgive the pun), Russell lacks both frequent allies and enemies, giving him a rich cast of characters to interact with. His most prominent enemies are Dracula and Victor Creed’s Sabretooth, of the X-Men franchise. He also notably faces off with Moon Knight (who debuted in a Werewolf by Night comic!), though the two are not true adversaries. The lycanthrope is also quite the lady’s man, with multiple love interests, including monster hunter Elsa Bloodstone, who is also set to feature in the special.

Jack Russell in Phase 4

Slightly campy and very clearly inspired by horror movies of yesteryear, it’s safe to say it’s a big departure from much of what Marvel has made lately, at least visually. The plot sees Russell caught up in a battle royale of monster hunters competing for a mystic artifact. The problem, of course, is that he is, by definition, a monster. Laura Donnelly plays Bloodstone, a character who has had romantic ties with Werewolf by Night, and suggests the eventual MCU debut of the Midnight Sons. Harriet Sansom Harris plays Verusa, the leader of the hunters.

The hour-long special released on October 7th on Disney+. Here’s hoping the character’s first appearance as part of the MCU is not his only one!