Moon Knight Vol 5 20

"The Committee wants you alive -- ! And if you can't get that through your hairy head -- I'm gonna have to pound it in!"

- Moon Knight

"In the Company of Wolves" is the title to the first story featured in issue number twenty of the Moon Knight, Volume 5 ongoing comic book series published by Marvel Comics. The story was written by Mike Benson with artwork and inks by Mike Deodato, Jr.. It was colored by Rain Beredo with lettering by Joe Caramagna. The story was edited by Daniel Ketchum and Axel Alonso. This issue shipped with a September, 2008 cover date and carries a cover price of $3.99 per copy (US).

"In the Company of Wolves"
Betrand Crawley finds Marc Spector passed out in a warehouse. He has been asleep and in-hiding for two days. After refreshing himself, Marc hits the streets once again as Moon Knight. He apprehends one street punk, but as he does so, a shot fires down from above, killing his captive before he could yield any information.

Meanwhile, Detective Flint begins investigating a bizarre string of mutilations. After collecting evidence, he brings the bodies to the morgue where the county coroner deduces that the wounds were caused by over-sized dog bites. Frustrated, Flint arranges for a rooftop meeting with Moon Knight. He gives him the evidence in the hopes that Moon Knight will pursue the strange murder cases on his own.

Meanwhile, a mysterious man has renowned werewolf Jack Russell held prisoner in a dungeon. He extracts from him the enzyme that prompts his transformations and injects it into unwilling recipients, temporarily giving them the ability to become werewolves themselves. The man pits these werewolves against one another in a series of grisly underground arena duels at a trendy night club named Lu'Pine.

Marc tracks the murders to the Lu'Pine club. He infiltrates the club in his civilian identity and brings his former paramour Marlene Alraune with him. He disappears to change into Moon Knight and soon finds the hidden factory where these innocent men are being injected with the werewolf serum. The owner of the club discovers Moon Knight's presence and releases all of the werewolves from their cells at once. The creatures attack Moon Knight en masse, but Moon Knight holds his own until the coming dawn when his opponents (including Jack Russell) all return to human form. He escapes with Marlene and flies off in the Moon-Chopper.

Appearances

 * Moon Knight, Marc Spector


 * Bertrand Crawley


 * Werewolf, Jack Russell


 * Detective Flint
 * Frenchie, Jean-Paul Duchamp
 * Gena Landers
 * Marlene Alraune
 * Ray Landers
 * Rick Landers
 * Brandt


 * None


 * Humans
 * Werewolves


 * New York
 * New York City
 * Manhattan
 * George Washington Bridge
 * Brooklyn
 * Gena's Diner


 * Moon Knight's crescent darts


 * Mooncopter

"The Stalker Called Moon Knight"
Second Night

In the middle of a seedy alley, the Werewolf battles a mysterious costumed figure known as Moon Knight. Armed with silver weapons, the Moon Knight attacks the werewolf as a crowd begins to draw. He slings three crescent-shaped throwing darts into the werewolf's chest, and punches him with a solid silver cestus. The werewolf howls in pain, and a portion of his mind reflects upon recent events.

First Night

On the evening prior, Jack transformed into the werewolf during a skiing trip in Northern California where he brutally mauled his friend Buck Cowan. He retreated into the snowy forests and found shelter beneath some fallen timbers. Buck's body was recovered and taken to Westwood Hospital where surgeons labored to save his life.

When Jack awakened, he had no idea where he was, nor what he had done to Buck. He hitchhiked back home where his stepfather told him of Buck's condition. Jack sped to the hospital where he met with Lissa and Topaz. They told him that Buck was in critical condition and had slipped into a coma.

When Jack returned home, he found the Moon Knight standing in his living room. The Moon Knight knew that Jack was a werewolf and revealed that the Committee paid him $10,000 to bring him in alive. Phillip Russell grabbed Moon Knight and restrained him long enough for Jack to get out of the house.

Third Night

Back in the present, Moon Knight continues to batter the werewolf with several well-placed Savate kicks from his silver-lined boots. While the Moon Knight continues fighting the werewolf, his partner, Frenchie, goes to Westwood Hospital and abducts Lissa and Topaz. Moon Knight finally renders the werewolf unconscious and begins dragging him towards his helicopter.

Meanwhile, Victor Northrup takes an airplane to Haiti on the trail of former werewolf Raymond Coker. Coker is in the midst of conversation with an aging Voodooine named Jeesala of the Thousand Years. Jeesala tells Coker that he is still cursed by the mark of the Man-Beast.

Appearances

 * Werewolf by Night, Jack Russell


 * Lissa Russell
 * Raymond Coker
 * Topaz
 * Victor Northrup


 * Moon Knight, Mark Spector
 * Frenchie, Jean-Paul Duchamp


 * Buck Cowan
 * Philip Russell
 * Buttons Marston
 * Elaine Marston
 * Eddie
 * Jeesala of the Thousand Years


 * The Committee
 * Los Angeles Police Department


 * Humans
 * Werewolves


 * California
 * Los Angeles
 * Westwood


 * Moon Knight's cestus
 * Moon Knight's crescent darts


 * Mooncopter


 * Claws
 * Lycanthropy
 * Primal instinct
 * Transformation

"Wolf-Beast vs. Moon Knight"
With the stunned werewolf slung across his shoulder, Moon Knight ascends the rope ladder leading to his Moon-Chopper. The police fire off a few shots in the hopes of bringing them down, but the chopper flies out of range.

In Haiti, Raymond Coker goes to the swampland hut of Jeesala of the Thousand Years. He tells her of his experience as a werewolf and also tells her of an incident concerning the sudden deaths of his aunt and uncle. He recounts testimony provided by his cousin Banita, which claims that her parents were strangled and dragged off by a man named Papa Jaranda. Papa Jaranda is Coker's great-grandfather and he died over thirty-two years ago. Jeesala tells him that the zuvembies have returned to Haiti. She refers him to a man named Jericho Drumm.

Back in the United States, the werewolf awakens mere inches away from the cabin of the helicopter. He begins lashing out at Moon Knight and the two topple from the rope ladder and plummet into the ocean. Moon Knight drags the stunned werewolf onto the nearby docks and they continue battling one another. As dawn rises, the werewolf turns back into Jack Russell. Moon Knight puts him down for the count with a well-placed boot to the jaw. He meets back up with Frenchie and together they bring Jack, as well as Lissa and Topaz to the Committee.

Meanwhile at Westwood Hospital, Elaine Marston and her daughter Buttons visits the room of coma patient Buck Cowan. The doctors explain that his injuries are quite severe and that he may even suffer from paralysis - providing of course that he even awakens from his coma.

At the Committee headquarters, the leader of the organization pays Moon Knight his ten-thousand dollar stipend. Jack Russell is concealed in a cage, while Lissa and Topaz are bound to a nearby wall. The Committee member reveals that he plans on using Jack as a secret weapon to eliminate rivals. Jack yells at Moon Knight and tells him that he hasn't just captured a monster, but an actual human being. Rhetorically, he asks him "Are you shocked to hear that I'm an honest-to-God person -- ?" Something in Jack's words sparks Moon Knight's conscience and he regrets having captured him. As the moon rises on the third night, Jack transforms once again into the werewolf. Moon Knight refuses to allow the Committee to use him as their personal secret weapon, so he frees Jack and together they tear into the Committee members. Most of them flee in terror, but the werewolf manages to rake their leader across the face with his claws. Moon Knight uses his crescent darts to free Lissa and Topaz then runs off. When the room is clear of bodies, the werewolf likewise leaves and races off into the night.

Appearances

 * Jack Russell


 * Buck Cowan
 * Lissa Russell
 * Raymond Coker
 * Topaz
 * Victor Northrup


 * Frenchie, Jean-Paul Duchamp
 * Moon Knight, Marc Spector


 * Banita
 * Buttons Marston
 * Eddie
 * Elaine Marston
 * Jericho Drumm
 * Jeesala of the Thousand Years
 * Maura
 * Papa Jaranda
 * Stroat


 * The Committee


 * Humans
 * Werewolves
 * Witches
 * Zuvembies


 * Pacific shore
 * California
 * Los Angeles
 * Westwood


 * Haiti


 * Moon Knight's cestus
 * Moon Knight's crescent darts


 * Mooncopter


 * Claws
 * Lycanthropy
 * Primal instinct
 * Transformation

Notes & Trivia

 * This is a special 80-page giant edition.


 * This issue also shipped with a variant sketch cover.


 * "The Stalker Called Moon Knight" was originally printed in Werewolf by Night #32, which is the first appearance of Moon Knight.


 * "Wolf-Beast vs. Moon Knight" was originally printed in Werewolf by Night #33.