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MIKE BENSON ON WEREWOLF BY NIGHT'S RETURN
The 'Moon Knight' scribe talks about bringing back the classic Marvel character
By Wade Million
Posted 7/23/2008
With fangs and claws ready and rarin' to go, writer Mike Benson brings back Jack Russell as "Werewolf by Night" in Moon Knight #20. After a hiatus in comicdom dating back to the late 90's (not including a one-shot in early 2007), this old adversary gives Moon Knight all he can handle and then some. Wizard was able to talk with Benson about why he decided to bring Jack Russell back into the fray and if he has any future plans to make him a recurring character.
So, Werewolf by Night made his big reappearance.
BENSON: Yeah, it's been a long time since he's been seen. The Werewolf by Night that I was familiar with was originally duking it out with Moon Knight in Werewolf by Night #32. That's the Jack Russell I was really familiar with.
Why did you decide to bring him back?
BENSON: It was mostly when Mike [Deodato] came on to draw. Charlie Huston and I really wanted to give him something where he could show his chops. I'm such a fan of Thunderbolts and everything he did for Warren Ellis. We just felt like he would be the perfect guy to bring back this character. Mike is such a talented artist and I saw some pictures he did of werewolves. He just drew these incredible creatures that were so menacing and big. Not at all what I remembered Jack Russell to be back in Werewolf by Night #32. [Laughs]
Remember the first time you saw "American Werewolf in London?" You're like, "Wow! That's great...definitely nothing like the wolfman of old." A big part of it was Mike and the fact that Charlie and I were big fans of his. It just seemed like a good fit.
So how did you come up with the story?
BENSON: I knew I wanted to have a little continuity from the last issue into the next arc. Really, what I do is come up with 10 to 15 ideas and think about what kind of stuff we haven't seen yet. What is something that would be really fresh?
To be honest, the whole Michael Vick thing had just happened. [Laughs] Yeah, where he was betting on dog fighting. So I was just kind of thinking, "Hey, I get that." I could see these guys fighting werewolves and betting on them. It was just this really cool, dark idea that could be visual and fun to write.
I pitched it by Charlie and he loved it. From there it was just mapping it out. I really wanted to bring him back before the whole Michael Vick thing happened, but that just gave me an idea for the story. Because this was also a flashback into the '90s, I was able to work in all of Moon Knight's sort of alternate personalities.
So will we be seeing a bit more of Jack Russell in the future?
BENSON: I would love to bring him back. But, I can't just stick a character like that in the story, especially when I'm doing big arcs. It would be out of left field unless it really has to do with the plot of the story. Thematically, I chose this story because it also worked with where Moon Knight was emotionally. He was out hiding and being hunted, which was sort of how Jack felt. I was able to use that as a theme.
At the end, Moon Knight kind of just lets Jack Russell walk away after he transforms back into his human form. Why didn't he just finish it then and there?
BENSON: Jack Russell is not an evil character. He's a guy that becomes a werewolf. Here, especially in this issue, he was being victimized. They were taking his blood and using it to create other werewolves. Moon Knight had some empathy and he felt sorry for the guy. It just seemed like, in a way, they were both going through the same thing. That's pretty much why.
Now that you've brought the character back into the Marvel Universe, do you think he will make appearances elsewhere?
BENSON: I don't really know. I'm a big fan of the character, so I'd love to see someone else do it. There's no plans that I know of, but that doesn't mean it might not be happening. Remember, this story took place in 1994. So we haven't really seen Jack in a number of years [in current continuity]. So maybe I could bring him back again.
What is it that you love about Jack Russell's character?
BENSON: In this version, I like the fact that he was a victim. I like the fact that he was this werewolf who's being exploited and being preyed upon. His blood was used so other guys could make a profit off it...like fighting homeless people. [Laughs] I just thought it gave a little sympathy for the character. Werewolf by Night #32 was one of the first comics I ever read, so I was a fan from the beginning. I kind of reinvented Jack Russell stylistically for this book. Also, because this was a self contained story I didn't really need to add too much back story other than they had past encounters with each other.
So you just finished a huge arc that could have some serious implications for Moon Knight in the future, where is the story heading now?
BENSON: The next arc is called "The Death of Marc Spector" and he now has the Thunderbolts chasing him. Tony Stark and S.H.I.E.L.D, for whatever reason, were not able to get their hands on Moon Knight. Now, Norman Osborn has been called in to take him down. So Stark is looking at this extreme overkill.
As we learned, Moon Knight killed Black Spectre as a way of protecting New York from his evil scheme of releasing the deadly nanites into the crowd of people below and injecting himself with another nanite so he could control them. Tony Stark knows why Moon Knight had to kill Black Spectre. He also knows that the nanites were stolen Stark Industry weapons, so it doesn't make him look great that these guys got their hands on this stuff. But, Moon Knight did this for the greater good.
So now, the Thunderbolts are chasing Moon Knight and Stark thinks it's overkill and wants to get there before they do because these guys are just going to release hell on him. They're all super powered beings. Moon Knight is a guy that has trouble just beating two regular guys in an ally. So this next arc is really about seeing how this whole thing plays out and how Moon Knight deals with the situation.
So now that he has broken the statue of Khonshu, are we going to start seeing a different Moon Knight?
BENSON: Well, Khonshu was this god and Moon Knight was his avatar—I won't get into the whole history—he was being tormented by this god who was constantly pressing him to kill people. Moon Knight is not in a position where he wants to do this, so there's this constant tug of war. The two of them were always bickering almost like an old married couple. I look at this right now as the arc where they are going to be separated. They need some time apart.
Will Khonshu come back at a later point? Maybe or maybe not. It depends on where Marc ends up mentally at the end of this next arc. I mean, I'm not a hundred percent sure that Khonshu was the cause of his mental illness and split personalities. So, we'll see where that goes.
