Marvel is about to take a dark turn in Werewolf by Night, the new horror special.
We first heard about the project back last year. Then the horror-inspired comic book movie debuted an impressive trailer at Disney's D23 Expo. And now the one-hour special is hitting Disney+ on October 7.
Starring Gael Garcia Bernal, Werewolf by Night is a black and white horror flick that’s going to get retro horror fans’ pulses racing. A spooky house, an old-school title card, and shadowy lighting call to mind Universal’s classic movie monsters. Werewolf by Night goes for the jugular with its 1930s- and '40s-inspired horror stylings.
During the D23 panel, Marvel boss Kevin Feige called the project “fun scary” and compared it to the classic '80s horror flick Poltergeist. Frequent MCU composer Michael Giacchino, who is directing Werewolf, also said it “has the right level of scares.”
A retro horror movie with a Marvel twist, Werewolf by Night looks as though it will take the Marvel Cinematic Universe in an entirely unexpected direction… and it’s just in time for Halloween, too. But who exactly is Jack Russell? How did he become Werewolf by Night? And more importantly, how will this new, horror-inspired Marvel movie fit into the rest of the MCU?
Who Is the Werewolf by Night?
Marvel’s answer to the classic monster movie, Werewolf by Night is… well… a werewolf. We’ve all seen the movies – An American Werewolf in London, Dog Soldiers, even the 1940s classic The Wolf Man. Werewolf by Night takes inspiration from all these and more.
Werewolf by Night tells the story of Jack Russell – a man whose ancestors became lycanthropes after a chance encounter with Dracula… and a werewolf he had imprisoned at his Transylvanian castle. It’s a classic tale of a man being bitten by a werewolf, which passes on the curse. (And yes, by the way, Dracula exists in the Marvel Comics.)
Jack Russell, however, is simply born with the curse already.
Although there are two different versions of the Werewolf by Night following a reboot in 2020, it’s the original Jack Russell version that reportedly features in the upcoming Halloween special. A good choice considering the film’s obvious roots in early horror movie tropes.
Jack’s lycanthropy makes him a dangerous man – often portrayed as unable to control his savage werewolf alter ego after becoming a werewolf for three days at the appearance of every full moon. It’s exactly what you might expect of a werewolf story, even if it is with a Marvel twist. And though the character eventually tussled with Spider-Man, various Avengers, and even became a member of the Midnight Sons, he’s still very firmly not a superhero. Instead, he’s a comic book take on the old tragic tale. And he’s been around for quite some time.
Though the character eventually tussled with Spider-Man, various Avengers, and even became a member of the Midnight Sons, he’s still very firmlynota superhero.
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Werewolf by Night’s Comic Book Origins
The original Jack Russell version of Werewolf by Night first appeared in Marvel’s comic book anthology Marvel Spotlight #2 in 1972. A coming-of-age tale with a horrific twist, Jack realizes his powers after transforming into a werewolf on his 18th birthday.
He may be from Los Angeles, but it turns out that Jack has a Transylvanian origin…
After a car accident, Jack’s mother Laura confesses everything on her death bed. Twenty years ago, she met and fell in love with Baron Russoff during her travels as a student in Transylvania. However, the Baron was soon revealed to be a werewolf… and after fathering two children with Laura, he was killed by local villagers – shot with silver bullets.
Of course, Jack inherited his father’s lycanthropy, which remained dormant until his 18th birthday. Now, the young man is forced to transform into the savage beast every night for three days upon each full moon.
Ultimately, Jack works for months trying to find a cure for his lycanthropy to save his sister, Lissa, from the same fate. After failing, he ends up spending time as a traveler, learning more about his past as he struggles with his transformations.
Over the years, Werewolf by Night’s origins have become even more entangled with those of other heroes – it turns out that his ancestors were responsible for finding the pages of the Darkhold, and turning them into the indestructible book of dark magic we know today.
Werewolf by Night Powers and Abilities
Before his 18th birthday, Jack was just a normal kid… but once his Lycan powers were activated, he obtained a superhuman sense of smell, even in his human form.
However, it’s as a werewolf where Jack really shines.
His transformation turns Jack into a hulking seven-foot beast, with superhuman strength, speed, stamina, agility, and senses. He’s extremely durable (except for the old silver bullets) and even has an accelerated healing factor, able to shrug off wounds that would kill a human being and rapidly heal back to full health. Like most werewolves, he has razor-sharp teeth and claws that can rend flesh and bone as well as some metals.
Unfortunately, Jack often loses his human intellect during his transformation and becomes a savage beast. However, over the years, Jack has mastered his transformation using magical items and sheer perseverance to gain control over his werewolf alter ego.
At various points throughout the comics, Jack has obtained the ability to transform into a werewolf at will – handy when going up against super-powered foes.
Throughout the years, Jack has also become a master of the occult. His knowledge of other monsters and ancient practices has grown as Jack researched his own family history as well as through his attempts to find a cure.
His one weakness is silver – much like other werewolves, he’s vulnerable to silver bullets and can even be killed by a shot through the heart. A glancing blow from a silver weapon will take Jack far longer to heal than one from an ordinary weapon.
Werewolf by Night, The Avengers, Man-Thing, and the Marvel Universe
Obviously, Jack has seen his fair share of superhero team-ups – it wouldn’t be Marvel otherwise.
He’s encountered plenty of heroes, including Iron Man and Spider-Woman among others. But his first prominent team-up came just a year after the character debuted, in the comic book Marvel Team-Up Vol. 1 #12 in 1973.
Here, Werewolf by Night meets none other than Spider-Man himself to take on the sorcerer Moondark, who had hypnotized Jack and teleported him to the Golden Gate Bridge to fight Spidey. The two make quick work of the magician, but this super-powered team-up opened the door for even more crossovers down the line.
Of course, we’ve seen Werewolf by Night team up with other Marvel monsters such as Frankenstein’s Monster (yes, he also exists in the Marvel U), Ghost Rider, Man-Thing, and even Morbius the Living Vampire.
In fact, the Man-Thing can be glimpsed in the trailer for Werewolf by Night, which is sure to delight Marvel horror fans who can't wait to see more of these monsters get the live-action treatment.
Notably, he joined Dr. Michael Morbius in his version of the supernatural team the Midnight Sons, alongside Hailstorm, Jennifer Kale, and Man-Thing during the Marvel Zombies series.
Then, he teamed up with Man-Thing, the Manphibian, and N’kantu the Living Mummy as part of the Legion of Monsters – a group that rallied together to fight those who would otherwise wipe out all the monsters of the Marvel Universe.
Werewolf by Night also joined the Night Shift – a team of supervillains who first appeared in Captain America #330 in 1987. He eventually turned on them after resisting its leader’s mind-control powers, but not before tussles with Captain America, Moon Knight, and The Avengers.
Werewolf by Night Continues the MCU’s Descent Into Horror
It all began with Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Directed by Evil Dead filmmaker Sam Raimi, it leaned hard into horror tropes throughout.
We saw a Zombified Doctor Strange, the eldritch-like horror of Gargantos, and even the Scarlet Witch herself hitting us with a jump scare that The Ring would be proud of. And it’s Wanda Maximoff who seemingly ties into the Werewolf by Night’s origin…
Jack Russell’s ancestors restored the Darkhold – the ancient text which turns Wanda into the Scarlet Witch, allowing her to tap into the dark magic it holds within. Whether or not this aspect is explored on screen, comic book fans will no doubt spot the reference.
Then there’s that emergence of Man-Thing in a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it appearance in the first trailer for Werewolf by Night. Man-Thing is a classic tragic horror creature – a young biochemist who is forced to inject himself with an experimental serum that transforms him into the slow-moving, swamp-dwelling, plant-like creature, Man-Thing.
Along with the upcoming introduction of Blade, it looks as though Marvel is finally embracing its darker, horror-inspired characters, opening up a world of dark magic and gothic leanings to create a corner of the MCU we’ve never seen before.
It’s ironic that DC has struggled to bring its Justice League Dark to the big screen for so long, especially now that Marvel seems to have embraced the inherent campiness of its retro monsters. Werewolf by Night is a clear step into new territory as Giacchino carves out a 1930s black and white horror movie within the Marvel universe.
And as the film’s monster hunters congregate to take down the monster among them, you have to wonder whether Werewolf by Night or Man-Thing will find their way into the rest of the MCU. That remains to be seen. But with Mahershala Ali stepping up as Blade, it could be the start of a darker, more horrific period for the MCU.
Ryan Leston is an entertainment journalist and film critic for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.
