Jack Russell
While reports of lycanthropy (shapeshifting into a werewolf) in the Russoff line stretch back many centuries,[18] the first confirmed manifestation was Grigori Russoff in 1795. Dracula slew Grigori's wife Louisa after he refused to acknowledge Dracula's primacy upon his return to Transylvania. Grigori then ambushed and destroyed Dracula, but was mutated into a werewolf by Lydia, a werewolf formerly imprisoned by the vampire lord.[19][20] Grigori took a second wife and accounts vary as to why lycanthropy did not pass to his descendants. Sometime prior to May 1930 Grigori's descendant Gregor obtained the legendary Darkhold scrolls, binding them back into book form. Reading lycanthropy's origins in the Darkhold under a full moon triggered the dormant curse, mutating Gregor. He further transcribed much of the Darkhold into Grigori's diary, essentially creating a Darkhold copy which he used as his own diary. Gregor sold part of his estate — including Wundagore Mountain — to Jonathon Drew, who shared it with partner Herbert Wyndham (the future High Evolutionary). The Russoff werewolf slew Jonathon's wife Merriem while Wyndham designed a suit of silver-coated armor to protect himself, enabling Russoff's capture. Russoff stayed with the Evolutionary who kept the werewolf safely contained for decades. Russoff eventually used the Darkhold to summon Chthon to cure him. The Elder God nearly broke through the earthly plane; Magnus the Sorcerer forced Russoff to banish Chthon, who lashed out and slew Gregor. The Gregor Russoff who stayed with the High Evolutionary seems to have been the grandfather (or great-grandfather) of Jack Russell. Having the same name and presumably using the same diary, contributed to earlier confusion.
Decades later another Gregor Russoff married Laura, the former girlfriend of his younger brother Philip. Jacob was born in Mediaș, Transylvania soon after, and Laura was pregnant with Lissa within two years of marriage. When lightning struck Russoff's Transylvanian castle during a full moon, the werewolf Gregor escaped confinement and began attacking villagers and ended up killed by silver bullets. Gregor's mother Maria was stoned and driven from the village, living with gypsies and learning magic. After Gregor's death, Laura found his brother Philip again (who had moved to Los Angeles and anglicized his name to Russell) and they married after a year.
Approximately 15 years later, the criminal organization known as the Committee learned of Gregor's curse and blackmailed Philip, threatening to reveal the secret. To protect Laura's name, Philip intended to pay them but had second thoughts and canceled, causing the Committee to send Max Grant after Laura.[21] Critically injured in a car crash on her son Jack's 18th birthday, Laura barely had time to tell him about his true father and the werewolf curse.[22] She made Jack promise not to harm Philip, before dying. Having inherited lycanthropy the night before, Jack slew Max Grant, yet blamed Philip for his mother's death for some time. Laura left Castle Russoff in Jack's name, but Philip sold the castle to Miles Blackgar who had it moved to an island off the California coast. Jack battled a motorcycle gang, infecting its members with lycanthropy.[23][24]
Jack spent the next few years as a traveler, shapeshifting into a savage werewolf on the three nights of the full moon. He learned of the Darkhold from Nathan and Agatha Timly who briefly kidnapped the Werewolf only to meet grisly ends. Befriending writer Buck Cowan, Jack snuck into Blackgar's castle and stole the Darkhold. There he encountered Miles Blackgar and his daughter Marlene, whose petrifying power slew both Blackgars. After fighting off the deformed Cephalos' plot to drain his power to stabilize Cephalos' form, Jack had Father Ramon Joaquez translate the Darkhold. The priest died after being possessed by the Darkhold 's former custodian, the 12th-century mad monk Aelfric, and the Darkhold vanished.
Jack encountered Joshua Kane and his brother Luther, who hunted the Werewolf and offered to prevent Lissa from mutating into a werewolf in exchange for Jack kidnapping billionaire-turned-recluse Judson Hemp. Jack met mentalist Swami Rihva who sought the Werewolf's blood to reveal the treasure map of the ancient sorcerer Kaman-Ru on his "Bloodstone", the possessing demon Krogg, and Spider-Man and Moondark the Magician.[25][26]
Jack then fought the sonic-weapons of Sarnak, his first brush with the criminal organization known as the Committee, who wished to enslave the Werewolf.[27]
After fighting the sociopathic Hangman (Harlan Krueger), Jack was entranced by Topaz, the familiar of the sorcerer Taboo, who sought the Darkhold. Taboo had used the tome decades before to grant his son Algon a golden touch, but had lost the book in mid-spell, trapping Algon in a mindless state. Lacking the Darkhold, Taboo transferred Philip Russell's mind into Algon but both Algon and Taboo died, restoring Philip, who explained Laura's death and reconciled with both Jack and Lissa. Traveling to Transylvania alongside Topaz, Jack discovered the Russoff diary/Darkhold copy, the Werewolf battled Dracula[28] and the book was lost in the Alps.[29] Jack and Topaz encountered the kyphotic Half-Mad before returning to the U.S. where Jack fought the Committee's Behemoth robot and then Ma Mayhem, assisted by werewolf Raymond Coker. Jack joined the newly mutated Tigra against Hydra,[30] battled vampires Louis Belski and Liza Pyne, opposed Ma Mayhem and her ally Baron Thunder, and joined Coker against Lou Hackett (a corrupt policeman who could also shapeshift into a werewolf by using a magic ring). The Werewolf joined the Frankenstein Monster against the Satanic Brotherhood of Baal who had abducted Lissa,[31] then fought the disfigured Atlas and the Jekyll/Hyde-like DePrayve.
Jack briefly returned to Transylvania following Topaz's psychic summons and encountered Maria Russoff, who used Gypsy magic to raise zombies against the villagers who had driven her off. Maria sacrificed herself to save Jack from her zombies upon learning that he was her grandson.[32]
In Blackgar's castle, the Werewolf, Topaz and the repentant spirit fragment of Taboo battled the necromancer Doctor Glitternight, who mutated Lissa Russell into a were-demoness. The process of curing Lissa also purged her of the threat of lycanthropy, though she would still pass it on to her children. After battling Morbius, the Living Vampire[33] and slaying the demon worshipped by Brad Wrangle, the Werewolf was briefly transported to the divided dimension Biphasia by Satanist Joaquin Zaire where he aided Paingloss against the sorcerer Sardanus.[34] During a subsequent ski trip, the Werewolf nearly slew Buck Cowan after which he was captured by the Committee-paid mercenary known as the Moon Knight, who set him free when he realized Jack's humanity and the Committee's intentions.[35][36][37] The Werewolf then joined the Ghost Rider, the Man-Thing, and Morbius in unwittingly slaying the benevolent alien Starseed, who had intended to cure them all.
The Werewolf joined with Iron Man against the Maggia's Masked Marauder and his Tri-Animan[40][41] and he teamed with Spider-Woman against the mercenary the Enforcer.[42] The mad scientist Karl Malus captured and performed scientific experiments on Russell to control him and use him against Spider-Woman; Russell escaped and apprehended Malus with the aid of Spider-Woman.[43] Russell joined Spider-Man against the Tatterdemalion, a former agent of Sarnak.[44] After being temporarily captured alongside a number of costumed adventurers by the Locksmith and Tick-Tock, Russell began mutating into a more savage and lupine form, a late effect from Malus' treatment. He fled Satanists Morning Star (Schuyler Belial) and his Left Hand Path, who wished to use his blood to mutate into werewolves, then sought aid from the now-human Michael Morbius in controlling his savage self, leading to a battle with the
Russell assisted Doctor Strange against the alien Possessors, the Night Shift against an L.A. street gang and the Ghost Rider against a new group of Braineaters; Jack battles with Sabretooth but before Jack can kill Sabretooth, three locals show up with rifles and save Sabretooth by shooting at Jack.[54] and fought an unidentified Wendigo in Canada. Russell was captured by criminal scientist Nightshade who used his blood to create the Night Patrol, a group of werewolves in Starkesboro, Massachusetts. Captain America - also mutated into a werewolf - freed Russell and led the werewolves to defeat Nightshade's master, Dredmund the Druid, who had used the Godstone (the former gem of the Man-Wolf) to briefly mutate into the powerful Starwolf. The Night Patrol was cured, after which Russell was drawn into a conflict involving the Midnight Sons and was slain by Switchblade (the insane Darkhold-powered Blade), but Jack was revived once Louise Hastings broke Switchblade's spell. Russell befriended the again pseudo-vampiric (and now demon-possessed) Morbius, had a vision of advertisements on the moon causing mass insanity and fought the Lilin Goblins, Mr. Hyde and the sadist Morphine. Jack had an affair with Morbius' possessed former girlfriend Martine Bancroft.[55]
Jack again began losing control of the Werewolf, locking himself in a cage while under the full moons, and even glimpsing visions of Hell as he transformed. From the Cult of the Third Moon's dying leader, Walter Clark, Russell learned that only the legendary Wolfblade could control his lupine self. With the aid of Smedley, a mysterious benefactor, Russell recovered all three parts of the Wolfblade, battled the original Wolf Demon in a branch of Hell, completed the puzzle by reaccepting both selves, and seemingly regained control. However, after Jack visited friends Freddie and the disfigured Lump, Smedley sent him to investigate a series of killings in which the evidence pointed to Jack as the killer. As Russell began to mutate further, Smedley said Jack just had not been careful enough in his wish to be freed from the Wolf Demon and that he must embrace the disease, or it would destroy him. Uncertain how to accomplish this, Jack found a confidant in the Lump, who cared for the Werewolf as he hid out in the sewers. While Jack's new girlfriend, Roxanna, remained blissfully unaware of his dual existence, the Werewolf was tracked down by a pair of detectives, escaping only after they were slain by the Cult of the Third Moon. Though Jack's subsequent fate is unknown, he was later seen sensing the arrival of the mystic assassin Hellphyr.[56] In the Legion of Monsters: Werewolf by Night one-shot, Jack Russell came to Salvage, Alabama to save a family of law-abiding werewolves from a group of townsfolk led by Cal Escher. Young Rhonda was the only one left in the family after her mother and her sister Suzie chose death by gun or knife. The girl was drowning her sorrows in Sullivan's bar next to the cemetery when the gang attacked her, revealing her werewolf nature by means of a tarot card ("The Moon") and then trying to kill her. Russell interfered, mutating into the Werewolf while Rhonda decided to do the same. After killing the violent gang, Russell and Rhonda left the town, determined to control their afflictions and live their lives without fear.[57] The Moon Knight rescues Jack from a criminal enterprise wherein samples of his blood are used to temporarily mutate homeless people into pseudo-werewolves, who are then provoked into fighting each other as a spectator sport.
The Werewolf appears as part of the new Midnight Sons team to hunt down zombies who escaped A.R.M.O.R. headquarters and prevent the contagion from spreading. Prior to the team's mission, he records a video will and testament telling his sister that he is happy in life. He was given a vaccine developed by Morbius. In their search for the missing zombie Deadpool, the team battles and kills zombie Men-Fish and their leader, the Piranha. After battling the Hood's Night Shift and watching ally the Man-Thing seemingly die in a battle against Deadpool, Russell's vaccine fails him and he becomes a zombie. He then confronts Jennifer Kale. He battles Morbius, who realizes that Jack's werewolf form is not subject to the virus, and Kale summons a moonlight spell to mutate him into the Werewolf.[59] Jack is later restored to normal by Morbius, who developed a cure for the zombie virus using Spider-Man's blood and samples of the zombie virus from different realities.[60] After the death of Frank Castle,[61] Morbius pieces the Punisher together again and enlists his help in saving monsters from extinction. Jack Russell, the Man-Thing and the Living Mummy are part of the Legion of Monsters, who fight those who would wipe out all monsters. The Punisher aids this group in protecting an underground city that has many innocent, sentient monsters.
