Schrodinger's CapWolf: Werewolves and Wolverine

 Captain America #403
“Man and Wolf, Part 2 of 6: City of Wolves”
Writer: Mark Gruenwald
Penciller: Rik Levins
Inker: Danny Bulanadi
Letterer: Joe Rosen
Colorist: Gina Going
Editor: Ralph Macchio
Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

Part two finishes up right where we left off, with the mysterious Moonhunter dangling his werewolf catch above a surprised Captain America and wounded Doctor Druid.

(The recap also notes Cap and Druid were investigating werewolf “murders,” something I missed in the previous issue. My bad.)

Cap pursues Moonhunter, but loses his Skycycle and succumbs to gravity while Moonhunter escapes with his tranquilized werewolf cargo.

Moonhunter arrives at a town called Starkeboro, where Wolverine lurks beneath the welcome sign. A couple of werewolves emerge from the shadows to greet Moonhunter, who... tosses them the keys to his hover-bike and tells them to fill 'er up. He suspects the werewolf lady he captured isn't part of the pack the high-tech base he enters is “crankin' out” and shares his concern with a female scientist whose face is obscured by equipment.

Cap finds Druid mostly recovered from the attack and napping in the middle of a woodland murder scene to regain his strength. They set off to track the psychic aura of the werewolf, with Cap declining to radio for additional Avengers assistance because this is a “private mission,” so I guess it would violate some bylaws or something? Ever the Boy Scout.

The secret scientist is revealed to be the villain Nightshade (who you might recognize from other comics or being teased at the end of “Luke Cage” season two). She meets up with the apparent mastermind of this werewolf farm, another face-in-the-shadows type named Dredmund, doing something unholy at a nearby church. She informs him the new arrival is named Ferocia and has ties to Iron Fist's old stomping grounds of K'un-L'un. He informs her the Moongem belonging to John Jameson (they called it a Moonstone last issue) may be drawing Ferocia and other lupine types to the area, confirming Cap isn't on a wild wolf chase.

Wolverine is jumped by a host of werewolves, referred to as the Night Patrol, and subdued by four shotgun blasts from Moonhunter.

Cap and Druid arrive shortly. If the doc hadn't sensed mystic emanations telling him something was up, the crowd of werewolves surrounding them probably would have tipped him off.

Part two expands the mystery and cast of characters and continues to be an enjoyable read. I'm not sure if the Nightshade and Ferocia reveals would have meant more to readers at the time (they were part of a crew called the Femizons that Fandom tells me tangled with Cap about a dozen issues prior). I'm still wondering who Dredmund is (another Cap foe?), and trying to figure out how I feel about the name.

Maybe it's sheer luck, but Moonhunter took down two of Marvel's top combatants in a single issue, more impressive than anything Boba Fett ever did in the original “Star Wars” trilogy. Just sayin'.

Part 3