Relationship Spotlight: Jack & Ted (Werewolf by Night)

*Spoilers.*

Yep, we’re back for more Werewolf by Night! For such a short piece of media, I’ve managed to find all manner of stuff to talk about with this special. I feel like I’d need a bit more info if I was going to attempt to write a Favorite Characters/Character Highlight post on Man-Thing/Ted, but I have more than enough to talk about his delightful relationship with Jack.

Jack Russell does not want to take part in a winner-take-all monster hunt in the dead of night in a creepy mansion where monster heads are stuffed and mounted on the walls, in part because he knows he could be one of those heads someday. But when Ted is captured by Verussa’s people and used as the competition’s Most Dangerous Game, Jack knows he can’t leave his friend to fend for himself. So he secures an invitation to the belly of the beast, armed with an impressive monster-killing track record, an air of mystery, and some small explosives he doesn’t entirely know how to use.

Of course, he’s in no danger from the monster, and Ted is both relieved and happy to see Jack come for him. But both of them are in danger from the other hunters—even before Jack’s hidden agenda, and his own werewolf nature, are discovered, most of the other hunters wouldn’t hesitate to take him out just to thin the competition. So he’s sticking his neck out in a major way.

But quite simply, that’s what friends do. While both Ted and Jack are capable of being extremely lethal, they’re actually very gentle in nature, preferring cooperation and care to violence and vengeance. Jack’s ready to do what he needs to do to rescue Ted, but he tries to do it with as little collateral damage as possible.

Though Jack is more than willing to help Ted, he does come in with a bit of exasperation. He intimates that Ted is always getting himself into trouble and needing Jack to bail him out. In their dynamic, I’m reminded a little of Rocket and Groot in the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie, and not just because Ted and Groot are both plant-based lifeforms of few words. It’s that sense of the clever little guy looking out for the well-meaning, gentle big guy who can blunder into things, an inseparable odd couple who fit together against all odds. But while Rocket starts out much more critical of Groot, casually insulting his intelligence and getting aggravated when Groot doesn’t understand his instructions, Jack is immediately kinder with Ted. He doesn’t come across as the bossy friend, more like the long-suffering brother’s keeper, and his frustration is mostly an expression of tough love.

And I’d say, ultimately, Jack and Ted are on more equal footing. For all of Jack’s scolding about Ted getting himself into dangerous situations, Ted is the one who looks after Jack when he turns, setting up camp for them and making coffee while he waits for Jack to wake as a human again. Their care for each other is really endearing and makes Werewolf by Night so much more than a straight homage to classic monster movies.