Werewolf by Night

Werewolf By Night, usually just referred to as the Werewolf, is a fictional character owned by Marvel Comics and appeared for the first time in 1972. The birthname of the Werewolf is Jacob Russoff, and he was born in the country of Romania to Gregor and Laura Russoff. Jacob's father would eventually be exposed as a werewolf and would be struck down and killed by an angry mob while Jacob was less than two years old. After his father's death, Jacob's mother took him and his sister, Lissa, to the United States, where the family adopted the last name of Russell, Jacob's first name was changed to Jack.

Unfortunately for Jack, he would go on to inherit his father's curse of lycathropy by the time he was 18. Under the light of a full moon, Jacob would uncontrolably transform into a feral form that was reminiscent of the "Wolf-Man" appearance of the classic movies of the 1940's. Jack was little more than a ferocious, bloodthirsty animal that would prowl the area searching for victims. Jack would retain this form for many years and encounter a broad variety of opponents and allies over the years including Spider-Man, Ghost Rider, Dracula, and Frankenstein's Monster. Most of Jack's adventures revolved around him searching for a way to control his lycathropy or to cure it completely. Over the course of the Werewolf's comic appearances, he would undergo a variety of changes including the ability to control his transformations and retain his intelligence while in his Werewolf form. Jack would also merge with his werewolf form that would result in further transformation. The appearance of Jack as this "merged" Werewolf also changed dramatically, evolving to look less like an extremely hairy human with sharp canines and claws to a humanoid wolf. This new Werewolf was truly a wolf in humanoid form, complete with a skull and bone structure sililar to that of a true wolf including an elongated snout filled with razor sharp teeth. Incidentally, this form was much more powerful than Jack's "Wolf-Man" form.

Werewolf By Night was very active during the 1970's and the 1980's, while being subjectated to a supporting character making guest appearances in the comics of more well known characters during the very early 90's before disappearing altogether by the middle of the decade. The Werewolf was never truly a mainstream character, often appealing to a large cult following of horror comics that peaked during the 1970's. The subject of the Werewolf By Night title, or in most of the titles he appeared in during the 70's especially, often dealt with the Occult and were considerably more violent and graphic than the stories of mainstream characters, such as Spider-Man.

Superhuman Abilities

Jack Russell can transform into a werewolf, a large and extremely powerful form that is, apparently, a type of hybrid between a human being and a wolf. Initially, Jack only transformed into a werewolf under the light of a full moon. During this stage of his lycathropy, Jack was extremely savage and violent, possessing only the slightest hint of his human emotions, desires, and thoughts. Eventually, through a series of adventures often involving exposure to various Occult influences, Jack merged with his beastial form. Jack is now able to control his transformations at will, and retain his full intelligence while in his werewolf state. However, during a full moon, Jack's desires to give in to the savage persona of a werewolf increases.

As a werewolf, Jack possesses a number of superhuman abilities. Jack possesses superhuman strength that has fluccuated quite a bit over the years. While in his "Wolf-Man" form, Jack seemed to be capable of lifting only 1 ton. Jack's merged wolf form is considerably larger and more powerful than his original shape, possessing physical strength on par with Spider-Man, who can lift about 10 tons.

The Werewolf's enhanced musculature provides him with a much greater physical stamina than an ordinary human, as well as speed, agility, and reflexes about twice that of even an Olympic level athlete.

He possesses powerful jaws and razor sharp claws that allow him to penetrate most conventional materials, including flesh and bone with ease.

The Werewolf possesses a high degree of mystical invulnerability to conventional injury. He can be shot, stabbed, electrocuted, set on fire, etc. and he will recover with tremendous speed and efficiency. The Werewolf can be rendered unconcious for a long time by serious injury, but he won't die. Silver is the only known substance capable of killing a werewolf. Weapons composed of silver, such as bullets or blades, can kill a werewolf in a span of only a few minutes if the damage is lethal. If the Werewolf survives the injuries, he will completely recover. However, the recovery time will be considerably longer than if he were wounded with a weapon composed of other materials.