Origin
Lissa Russell is the sister of Werewolf by Night (Jack Russell) and the mother of Vampire by Night (Nina Price).
Creation
Lissa Russell was created by Gerry Conway and Mike Ploog and first appeared in Marvel Spotlight #2 (February, 1972).
Major Story Arcs
The Curse
Like her brother, Lissa inherited the curse of lycanthropy from her ancestors. The curse manifested on her eighteenth birthday. However Doctor Glitternight, a sorcerer claiming to be a degenerated god, exposed her to his “dark light” energies and turned her into a were-demon, a distorted demonic version of a werewolf.
In her “were-demon” form she had the normal werewolf traits combined with a 3-feet-long scaly, reptilian tail. talons in her feet, a long reptilian tongue, a furless bony plate on her skull and some fins on her neck. She otherwise had the same physical abilities abilities as her brother though her form appeared slightly less powerful. This may have depended on her original human form also being less powerful than that of Jack. She could use her tail as a whip and her eyes could project streams of flame. Taboo and Topaz used their powers to lock Lissa in human form, preventing her for ever changing into a were-demon or werewolf again. The curse later passed to her daughter.
Lissa has demonstrated immunity to the Grey Death, a mystical plague summoned by Aelfric. This was attributed to her lycanthropic heritage. Uncertain if her immunity extends to other diseases. As a “child of the Darkhold”, Lissa attracted the attention of Morgan Le Fey who possessed her body for a while. Lissa had at the time access to all the magical powers of Morgan. Morgan hinted at the potential mystical ability of Lissa herself but this was not explored in later storylines.