Who Is Werewolf By Night? Marvel's Halloween Special Character Explained

Here’s everything you need to know about Werewolf by Night, Marvel’s Halloween Special for 2022. Marvel’s connected universe has been dominating the big screen for years, and now with its Phase 4, it’s branching out to streaming with TV shows that are connected to the movies, and among its many upcoming projects is a Halloween Special. Werewolf by Night promises a very distinct genre departure for Marvel, however.

Following in the steps of James Gunn’s The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, Marvel is taking over another holiday with a Halloween Special. Werewolf by Night was announced in August 2021 and will be released on Disney+ like the rest of the MCU’s TV shows. Gael García Bernal is set to play the lead role, and the special will be available for streaming on October 7, 2022.

With Werewolf by Night, Marvel will bring together a group of characters not yet seen in the MCU. The special focuses on a group of monster hunters that meet to compete for a mysterious relic, while also fighting an equally mysterious beast. Naturally, it seems to be based somewhat on the comic book character Werewolf by Night, and possibly the Midnight Sons as well. But who is this character, what does he do, and how does he connect to the Midnight Sons?

Werewolf By Night's Origins In Marvel Comics Explained

Werewolf by Night roaring and launching at someone in Marvel Comics

As happens with many other characters in the universe of Marvel Comics, Werewolf by Night is a title that has been used by different characters, in this case, Jack Russell and Jake Gomez. Jack Russell made his debut in Marvel Spotlight #2 in 1972. Jack’s family has a history of lycanthropy, going all the way back to 1795 with Grigori Russoff, who got the curse through Lydia, a werewolf imprisoned by Dracula. The curse was passed on, with Jack Russell, founding out about it shortly before his 18th birthday. Following the death of his mother after a car crash – as she was targeted by a criminal organization known as the Committee, who sent Max Grant to kill her – Jack began to use his condition and slayed Grant. After his stepfather (and uncle) sold the family’s castle, he moved to an island off the California coast, where he battled a motorcycle gang and infected its members.

After that, Jack Russell encountered a variety of Marvel characters, such as Frankenstein's Monster, Moon Knight (who captured him as tasked by the Committee but eventually set him free), Ghost Rider, Morbius, and even Iron Man, who he joined to go against Maggia’s Masked Marauder and his Tri-Animan. Then there’s Jake Gomez, who made his first appearance in Werewolf by Night #1 in 2020. Jake Gomez is a young boy of Hopi descent who first transformed into a werewolf when he was 13 as a result of a family curse. With the help of his grandmother and sister, Jake got to control his emotions while transformed, and even though he was warned about the government going after superheroes, he still did the right thing when he found out that the company he worked at had been kidnapping people from the reservation.

Werewolf By Night's Powers & Abilities In Marvel Comics Explained

Jake Gomez in werewolf form in Werewolf By Night #2.

Werewolf by Night, Marvel's resident lycanthrope, has the same characteristics as classic werewolves, but with time, some changes have been made. Jack Russell transforms into a large hybrid of human and wolf on the night of the full moon and the two nights surrounding it, and while in his werewolf shape, he loses his human intellect. However, over time, Jack is now capable of mutating voluntarily without a full moon and has more control of himself during these transformations. As a werewolf, Jack gains superhuman strength (and is stronger when transforming during a full moon), stamina, reflexes, speed, acute senses (he can see part of the infrared spectrum, smell other creatures from a distance and follow scents, and can hear the sound of a heartbeat in a cave), durability, regenerative healing factor like Moon Knight's, and his claws and teeth are extremely sharp and tough. All these powers also apply to the other man known as Werewolf by Night, Jake Gomez, when he transforms.

Werewolf by Night is also an incredible hand-to-hand combatant even though he has no formal training, and has some expertise in dealing with the occult and supernatural forces through his experiences. The Werewolf also has his weaknesses, and they are the same as those of classic werewolves: objects and weapons made of silver. However, if he’s just injured by a silver weapon, he will take longer to heal from it, but if he receives what would be a fatal injury to a human with a silver-made weapon, he would die.

How Werewolf By Night Could Lead To The Midnight Sons

The Midnight Sons are a team of supernatural superheroes who made their first appearance in Ghost Rider #28 in 1992. Ghost Rider received a vision where Lilith, Mother of All Demons, was resurrected and thus posed a great threat as she planned to use the Lilin, her demonic children, to take over Earth. Ghost Riders Danny Ketch and Johnny Blaze then formed the team in order to battle her and her army, and so the Midnight Sons consisted of the Nightstalkers (Blade, Frank Drake, and Hannibal King), Morbius, Vengeance, and the Darkhold Redeemers (Sam Buchanan, Victoria Montesi, Louise Hastings, Modred the Mystic, and Jinx), all of them secretly brought together by Doctor Strange, who later joined them. At one point, Werewolf by Night joined the Midnight Sons, and he helped fellow members Morbius, Hellstrom, Jennifer Kale, and Man-Thing contain the zombie virus outbreak in the Marvel Zombies storyline.

Marvel viewers are already familiar with several potential members of the Midnight Sons: Doctor Strange, Morbius, Moon Knight, and Blade, who made a near-debut in Eternals. Since none of these characters have interacted yet, however, Werewolf by Night could be the one who makes way for the formation of the Midnight Sons officially. The MCU could thus see a very dark and peculiar team of heroes down the road.

Werewolf By Night's Potential Future In The MCU

With Werewolf by Night arriving through a Halloween Special and not exactly a proper TV series, there's understandable confusion over what the Werewolf’s future in the MCU could be. Being a “Halloween Special” makes it sound like a one-time-only adventure type of story, but it’s highly unlikely Marvel would go this far to introduce a character that has no future in this universe, more so one played by a popular actor like Gael García Bernal, and with so many other Midnight Sons team members already set up. Werewolf by Night could make an appearance in Blade to set up the Midnight Sons, and with Marvel developing a variety of TV shows, he could come back with more adventures that further establish the arrival of the Midnight Sons. Although unknown for now, the future of Werewolf by Night looks promising, and it could be a big step toward a completely different but exciting direction for the MCU.

The Werewolf by Night Trailer Is A Fresh Look For The MCU

A woman laughing maniacally in Werewolf by Night

Not only does the introduction of Werewolf by Night allow for Marvel's scarier, more gothic comic history to start creeping onto the screen, but the Halloween Special will also mark a significant aesthetic departure for the MCU. The trailer reveals that Werewolf by Night, vampires, Man-Thing, and spooky vibes galore, will emulate the classic horror conventions of the 1930s and 40s. With old-school title cards, shadowy lighting in black and white, and over-the-top jump scares and creature designs, it's hard to tell that Werewolf by Night is a product of the 21st century. This is clearly intentional on Marvel's part as a way to capitalize on Halloween nostalgia and the inherent campiness of its monster characters, and while it's a far cry from the sleek, modern big-budget movies MCU audiences are used to, it seems to fit the character and the story perfectly. Harriet Sansom Harris as Verusa, Laura Donnelly as Elsa Bloodstone, and Gael García Bernal as the title hero of Werewolf by Night will all make their small screen debut on October 7, 2022.