Captain America teams up with Doctor Druid to investigate the disappearance of John Jameson, formerly the superhero Man-Wolf. Their investigation takes them to a town overrun by werewolves controlled by Dredmund the Druid, where Captain America skirmishes with the werewolf-hunting Moonhunter and a brainwashed Wolverine. Captain America is then captured by the supervillain Nightshade, who transforms him into a werewolf.
"Capwolf" finds that he has been captured alongside superheroes with werewolf-like powers, such as Jameson, Wolfsbane, and Werewolf By Night, and leads them to defeat Nightshade. They then face Dredmund, and destroy the magical stone that gives him his powers. Captain America is then suddenly attacked by a doppelganger of himself,[a] whom he defeats after he is given an antidote mid-battle that cures him of his lycanthropy.
The storyline features multiple cameos by Marvel characters, such as Wolverine and Cable; it was a common publishing strategy to include characters from more popular books, such as X-Force and X-Men, in titles like Captain America that had lower sales.[4] The conclusion to "Man and Wolf", which sees Captain America fight his doppelganger, ties the story into the 1992 crossover series The Infinity War.[1]
Reception and legacy
Chris Sims of Comics Alliance described "Man and Wolf" as the "most famous oddity of Gruenwald's tenure" on Captain America and noted its reputation as "one of the most bizarre moments of the core Marvel Universe", but commended it as a "highly enjoyable, insanely over-the-top story".[5]
Capwolf has appeared in various spin-off and licensed media, including as a skin in the 2020 video game Marvel's Avengers[6] and as a Funko Pop.[7]Capwolf & The Howling Commandos, a limited series written by Stephanie Phillips and drawn by Carlos Magno, was published by Marvel in 2023.[8] A 2022 storyline in Captain America: Symbol of Truth in which Joaquin Torres (Falcon) is transformed into a life-sized bird was noted by critics as reminiscent of "Man and Wolf".[9]
