Laura Russell

 is a fictional character featured in the Werewolf by Night family of titles published by Marvel Comics. She was introduced in the second issue of Marvels' try-out series Marvel Spotlight which, along with issues #3 and #4, served as a precursor to the regular Werewolf by Night ongoing series.

Biography
Some thirty years ago, young Laura journeyed to the Transylvanian city of Medias on holiday. There she met and fell in love with a Baron named Gregory Russoff. The two were wed and sired their first child, Jacob. Within a year, Laura gave birth to a daughter named Lissa.

When Jacob was only two years old, Laura noticed that her husband had taken on some strange habits. For three nights out of every month, Russoff would seal himself inside of a tower room in his castle with instructions to never be disturbed. He told his young wife that he was studying. One evening however, a lightning storm swept through the Baltic nation and a stray bolt blasted a hole in the side of the tower. That same night, witnesses claimed to have seen a werewolf prowling the countryside. Several of the town elders visited Russoff Castle to inquire with the Baron, but when Laura inspected the tower room, he was nowhere to be found. Still later, a group of hunters, armed with silver bullets cornered the werewolf and shot him. It was then that they discovered that the werewolf was actually the Baron.

Following the death of Gregory Russoff, Laura took her children and returned to the United States. The widow of a Baron, Laura had inherited all of her late husband's vast wealth, but she also knew that her children had inherited something more – the curse of the werewolf.

Years passed, and Laura settled down in Los Angeles, California. She met a man named Philip Russell and the two fell in love. Philip however, loved Laura's inheritance even more. Laura and Philip married, and she Americanized her son's name to Jack. Philip was a stern man, who managed to keep a dominating hold over Laura.

On the night of Jack's eighteenth birthday, Philip Russell arranged for his chauffer, Maxwell Grant, to sabotage the brakes on Laura's Rolls Royce. That same evening, Jack transformed into a werewolf for the very first time. Laura knew that the curse had finally taken root in her son, and she raced out of the house to find him. As Philip intended, the brakes on the car failed, and Laura's vehicle crashed, injuring her greatly. Emergency crews rushed her to the hospital where she remained in critical condition.

The following day, Philip Russell told Jack what had happened. He went to the hospital to visit his dying mother, whereupon he learned of his family heritage. Jack suspected that Philip was involved in the accident, but Laura made him swear that he would not seek revenge against him. After hearing her son’s vow, Laura passed away in her hospital bed.

Notes & Trivia

 * The character of was created by writers Roy Thomas, his then-wife Jean Thomas, Gerry Conway and artist Mike Ploog.

Appearances

 * Marvel Spotlight 2
 * Werewolf by Night 2