MANILA, PHILIPPINES — With the upcoming Disney+ release of Werewolf by Night, Marvel has added yet another member to its live-action versions of its “horror heroes,” a line-up that includes Ghost Rider, Morbius, and Man-Thing. And with the Marvel Zombies animated series in 2023, Marvel has a knack for not only making monsters into superheroes but also vice versa. So grab your garlic and silver bullet as we list down Marvel’s super monsters!
Capwolf
Captain America did indeed become a werewolf! Investigating a plot by Dredmund Druid (what a name!) to use werewolves for world domination Cap is injected with werewolf serum. Thanks to Cap’s super soldier physiology, he remains in control of his mind, but not his voice, and must master the human tongue in wolf form. Thankfully, Capwolf only stuck around for seven issues (still, that’s half a year!).
Franken-Castle
In one of his bloodiest battles ever, the Punisher aka Frank Castle is utterly slaughtered by Dark Wolverine. Morbius and the Legion of Monsters put Frank back together ala Frankenstein’s Monster (don’t you love the play on the name?). Franken-Castle went on many off-beat misadventures for about a year before returning to Punisher’s regular crime stories.
Man-Spider
Taking a page from the Fifties horror flick, The Fly, Spider-Man has devolved (or did he evolve?) into a large anthropomorphic spider not once! Not twice! Not thrice! But four times! Whether it’s a devolving ray, super-pollen, an insect queen that can control arachnids, or a genetic drug, writers love to turn Spidey into a big old spider.
Cosmic Ghost Rider
The Punisher is killed along with the rest of the population by Thanos. In Hell, Frank makes a deal with Mephisto to become Ghost Rider only to be stranded on Earth. Galactus arrives and agrees to give him cosmic powers so they can hunt Thanos. They find Thanos who is so powerful, he beheads Galactus and an insane CGR decides to become his servant. All these deals usually turned out poorly for Frank…
Bloodstorm
A common trope in the ’80s stories was to turn the main female character into a vampire and the X-Men’s Storm fell victim to it. Dracula hypnotizes Storm and is in the process of turning into a vampire (it’s funny that the process takes forever) but it’s foiled by the X-Men. In an alternate reality, the process is uninterrupted, and she becomes Bloodstorm (cheesy name, killer outfit).
