KENNETH LONG

Real Name: Kenneth Long

Identity/Class: Human sub-species (werewolf; 1950s)

Occupation: Heir, dog killer

Group Membership: None

Affiliations: Loy Wayne

Enemies: Dogs, a werewolf

Known Relatives: Unidentified mother and father

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Unrevealed

First Appearance: Menace#9/3 (January, 1954);
    reprinted in Vampire Tales#1/2 (August, 1973);
    prima apparizione in Italia: Il Corriere della Paura#7/4 (dicembre 1974)

Powers/Abilities: Long underwent a transformation into a wolf, against his will. In his lupine form he could think rationally and even write, but his voice became whines and howls. He probably was able to transmit his curse to other human beings through his bite.

History: (Menace#9/3) - Since his childhood Kenneth Long hated dogs and liked torturing them. He set up nasty traps and stomped on the poor animals. When he became old enough he also started to hunt and kill them.

    When Long was 16 he was assaulted during a hunt by a wolf. The wolf was so quick that Long was not able to use his rifle. It bit Long in his left arm and then fled. Long, scared and astonished, did not feel any pain, even though he could see the mark left by the wolf's teeth. A few moments later his arm started to transform into a dog paw, with hair and claws.
    The young Kenneth was then visited and examined by many doctors, but nobody could find a cure to his disease. Moreover the "curse" started to spreading throughout his body. Long agreed to have his arm amputated to stop the disease and it seemingly worked.

    Years passed and Long lost his parents. Though his family was wealthy, his only great pleasure was still killing dogs. He bought a house in the middle of the country in order to hunt dogs. Rifles, traps, poisons, everything was good enough for him to kill the poor animals. But the fear of the curse never left Long.

    Eventually Long became old and without his second arm he was not so good at hunting dogs, so he hired the hunter Loy Wayne, to do the job for him. That same night the curse resurfaced. Long transformed into a wolf, with a missing paw. He could not leave his room, because Wayne was outside and ready to kill him. Even in his lupine form, Kenneth Long was able to write a note and passed it under the door to Wayne. In the note he ordered Wayne not to kill dogs anymore. But Wayne thougth that it was only a means to test his loyalty he entered Long's office and found the wolf. Without hesitating Wayne shot the wolf, killing it. After its death, the wolf transformed back into Kenneth Long.

Comments: Created by Stan Lee (writer) and Bill Everett (pencils and inks).

The story was originally printed under the title "The Fangs of the Wolf" in Menace#9.

The scans in this profile were taken from an Italian reprint of the story.

Profile by Spidermay.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Kenneth Long has no known connections to

• Long John McGurk, AKA Cap'n Long John, dimension of floating cities, pirate, captain of T'ai Javinee, @ Nightcrawler I#1
• Thomas J. Robert, AKA Tom Long, ally of Doc Savage, @ Doc Savage I#1
• or any other "Long" character.

Loy Wayne has no known connections to

• Bruce Wayne of Earth-Amalgam, director of shield, @ Bruce Wayne: Agent of SHIELD#1
• Jack Wayne, splinter personality of Legion, controlled telekinetic powers, @ New Mutants I#27
• Janet Wayne, film star, killed by Fatty, made to look like suicide, @ Mystic Comics #4/6d
• Ted Wayne, stole the work of Ellis Brent, tormented and eventually slain by the Clutching Hands, @ Journey into Mystery I#1/3
• or any other character with a similar name.

unidentified werewolf

A werewolf in the form of a wolf. His powers remain unknown. He could transmit his curse through a bite.

--Menace#9/3

Loy Wayne

Loy Wayne was a normal human and an excellent shot.

    Employed by Kenneth Long to kill any dog on his property, Wayne made sure to do his job very well.
Unfortunately for Long Wayne was a loyal worker and when he received the written order to forget the dogs and keep the money, Wayne believed his boss wanted to test him and entered Long's office where he found a wolf. Not noticing the missing paw Wayne shot shot 4 times at the wolf, killing it. After the last shot he looked again at the animal and doubts crossed his mind. After a few moments, the wolf transformed into Kenneth Long.

--Menace#9/3

images: (without ads)
Menace#9/3, p4, pan5 (Long as a wolf)
Menace#9/3, p3, pan3 (Long , head shot)
Menace#9/3, p2, pan5 (The werewolf is biting Long)
Menace#9/3, p2, pan5 (Wayne killing Long-wolf)

Appearances:
Menace#9 (January, 1954) - Bill Everett (artist)
Vampire Tales#1 (1973) - reprint

Last updated: 07/24/10

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

Non-Marvel Copyright info
All other characters mentioned or pictured are ™  and © 1941-2099 Marvel Characters, Inc. All Rights Reserved. If you like this stuff, you should check out the real thing!
Please visit The Marvel Official Site at: http://www.marvel.com

Back to Characters