Favorite Characters: Jack Russell (Werewolf by Night)

*Spoilers.*

I don’t care that he’s only been in less an hour of the MCU so far. Jack is fantastic, and I want more of him on my screen. Shoutout to this TV special, and this character, for coming out of nowhere to be one of the best projects of Phase 4.

Right from his arrival at Bloodstone Manor, it’s clear that Jack isn’t like the other hunters gathered there. While another hunter immediately comes in swinging his stats around and being gleefully bloodthirsty about the prospect of the evening, Jack is polite but quiet, not quite standoffish but definitely not fitting the vibe. He’s quite unassuming, and when the hunter asks if any of the monster heads mounted on the wall are his handiwork, he demurs, only praising the taxidermy work for how good one of the stuffed monsters looks.

Once the monster hunt gets underway, everyone else is out to win at all costs—they all want to be the one to kill the monster, and they’ll gladly kill one another to make that happen. Meanwhile, Jack actively avoids fighting, suggesting when he runs into Elsa that they just pretend they haven’t seen each other. Later, when they’re holed up in the family mausoleum together, he convinces her to let down her guard enough for him to bandage her injured leg.

Jack isn’t there to kill monster hunters, but in fact, he’s not there to kill a monster, either. Instead, Man-Thing/Ted is his friend, and he’s infiltrated the group in order to help him escape. He nearly pulls it off cleanly, until coming into contact with the Bloodstone reveals Jack’s other little secret: he’s a monster, too. A werewolf, to be precise.

Between Jack’s friendship with Ted, his dynamic with Elsa, and his reaction when the hunters capture him with the intention of forcing a transformation so they can kill him, there’s just so much to love about this character. He’s sweet but not suave, confident but not cocky, and above all, he’s a very gentle person. He cares deeply about his friend, risking his own life to try and protect him, and when his secret is out and he realizes what the hunters plan to do, his main objective is not hurting anyone. As Verussa approaches him with the Bloodstone, which will make him change into his werewolf form, he begs her, “Just kill me as I am. Otherwise, there will be no mercy, I promise.” He pleads with his would-be killers, but on behalf of their lives, not his. He asks that he not be made to destroy them and makes it clear that he would willingly die as an alternative.

There’s a moment where Jack’s predicament becomes very real for him, and he goes into overdrive, warning Elsa to maintain eye contact after his transformation and frantically sniffing her. “I need to remember you,” he explains when she asks what on earth he’s doing. “Does it work?” she asks. Softly, he replies, “Once.” That one word makes me want a Werewolf by Night movie/show/Midnight Sons/whatever Marvel wants to give me.

Also? Naming a werewolf character “Jack Russell” is just peak comic book. A+ move right there!