Warning: contains spoilers for Werewolf by Night: Blood Hunt #1!

The Werewolf by Night has a heart-breaking new status quo in the Marvel Universe. A key part of Marvel’s magical/supernatural line, the Werewolf by Night has struggled to contain the beast within. Now, Jake Gomez, the new Werewolf, has suffered a devastating set-back in Werewolf by Night: Blood Hunt #1, one that it may take him a lifetime to recover from.

Werewolf by Night: Blood Hunt #1 is written by Jason Loo and drawn by Adam Gorham. Jake Gomez is slowly making progress controlling the Werewolf inside him. He isolates himself in an abandoned amusement park during his monthly transformations. While in Werewolf form, Jake uses music to help control his thoughts. Jake is doing well, but the vampires, who are currently trying to take over Earth, end all of that. During a fight with the resurrected Roulette, Jake kills not only vampires but innocent people as well.

Jake is shaken by what happened–and swears to regain control.

Werewolves Have Been a Part of the Marvel Universe For 50 Years

Fans Connected With Jack Russell and Jake Gomez's Attempts to Control the Animal Within

Werewolves, banned for years under the Comics Code Authority, returned to comics in the early 1970s, thanks in part to books like Werewolf by Night. Through its central protagonist, Jack Russell, the book fleshed out Marvel’s werewolf lore. In 2020, Marvel introduced Jake Gomez, another Werewolf. Younger than Russell, Jake too was the victim of a familial werewolf curse. Unlike Russell, Jake has made significant inroads into controlling his Werewolf form.

And this struggle, to contain the Werewolf, propelled the original Werewolf by Night book across a multi-year run. Jack Russell sought not to control the Werewolf, but rid himself of it completely. However, as the years have progressed, Russell has slowly come to accept it, and as seen in a recent Moon Knight annual, became the Werewolf King. It took Russell years to come to terms with being a Werewolf. Jake Gomez has managed to accomplish in a much shorter time what took his predecessor decades. Jake Gomez has the potential to be a great hero.

Jake Gomez's Journey Is Just Beginning

Will Jake Be Able to Control the Werewolf?

Yet the events of Werewolf by Night: Blood Hunt #1 end all of that, at least for the time being. Jake, in a moment of hubris, thought he had the Werewolf under some semblance of control, but his best laid plans were for naught. The Werewolf is its own creature, one driven by bloodlust. Jake’s naïveté cost the lives of innocent people, not just vampires. Crushed by watching all his hard work violently undone, the Werewolf by Night has turned his back on humanity, until he can control the monster within.

Werewolf by Night: Blood Hunt #1 is on sale now from Marvel Comics!