- "Neurotic and superstitious, Jack was tragically cursed with vicious, unabatable bad luck. As a side effect, this curse also granted him immortality, condemning the boy to an eternity of random acts of bodily harm. Most others avoid him for fear of getting hurt themselves, but Jack has much kindness to offer to those brave enough to befriend him."
- ―Zoophobia characters page
Jackson Wells, or more commonly called just Jack, is a anthropomorphic jackal who is a main character in Zoophobia and as the central protagonist in the short Bad Luck Jack. He lives in Safe Haven, and attends Zoo Phoenix Academy as a member of The Main Five.
Appearance[]
Jack is a brown pup with patches of fur missing around his head. In Bad Luck Jack, he wears a wrist protector on his left arm with a four leaf clover drawn on it.
Personality[]
Jack is soft spoken and very friendly to most people. His curse has made him extremely paranoid of his surroundings and anxious about being in presence of others, fearing he will indirectly hurt them; however, this empathetic behavior of trying to spare others from sharing the consequences of his curse ultimately leave him feeling lonely and in need of companionship.
Because of his immortality, he has become disinterested in injuries he suffers - he is fazed by neither cuts nor even dismemberment.
Jack's relationship with his family is complicated and most of his reactions seen are directed towards his cousin Damian who he goes to school with. In his therapy session, he tells Cameron that he feels he can't talk to his family due to them reminding him of his curse. He also would regularly sneak out of the palace during his visits to hell which is where he met Jillian. He met with her on many occasions, eventually encouraging her to join the royal guard of the palace which she managed to get into. Despite his thoughts that this would lead to them seeing each other more he wound up seeing her less due to her duties and he noticed her getting close to a fellow guard. Just like with Zill and Kayla though, he didn't feel angry or jealous and was happy they found someone special though he admits he does feel a bit more lonely because of it.
As Jack told Cameron, he didn't like the fact that people turned away from him for fear of being hurt by the curse. Jack despised even more those who thought his suffering was actually an attempt to draw attention to himself. Jack especially hated Rusty for the constant bullying that accompanied him from childhood to adolescence. In the ending of Bad Luck Jack, Jack finally gets his revenge on Rusty by teasing him that he didn't have any friends.
Abilities[]
Unique Abilities[]
- Immortality: When Jack was born his mother begged his aunt Narissa to ensure her son wouldn't die so she wouldn't lose him like his father. Jack's immortality allows him to survive many things including broken bones, dismemberment and partial digestion (this last one is only implied). However, this doesn't mean he's immune to the pain nor feeling of his injuries, still being subjected to each bit of whatever he is being put through.
- Supernatural Bad Luck: As a price for immortality Jack is cursed with bad luck. This ranges from something annoying like a book falling on his head, to being hit by a vehicle, crushed by stage equipment or being attacked by a beast.
Relationships[]
Zill[]
Jack is very close to Zill, having known him since they were much younger. Out of the members of the Main Five, Zill is the one Jack spends the most time with and they work together in most of their academy lessons. Zill is the one Jack is most comfortable with when it comes to talking about his worries and is exceptionally grateful to Zill for helping him whether it's class projects, assistance after being injured or defending him from bullies. Should Zill ever get injured Jack would also assist him while being exceptionally apologetic in fear that his curse brings harm to his friends. However, Zill doesn't mind the curse and is happy to help Jack no matter how big the problem. Should Zill ever be depressed, Jack will do his best to cheer Zill up.
Spam[]
Jack is also close with Spam as they have a shared passion in music. Because of Spam's caring and friendly attitude towards him, Jack is more than happy to hang around with Spam both in and out of the Academy grounds. Like with the other members of the Main Five, Jack is grateful to Spam for his part in rescuing him from danger and in return highly praises Spam for his talent of writing and singing songs which Jack believes get better every day. Jack is also one of the few people who doesn't mind getting licked by Spam and when the group walk together Jack will sometimes allow Spam to ride on top of his head.
Kayla[]
Along with her boyfriend Zill, Jack is close to Kayla who like Zill is protective over Jack (if not more aggressive) as she is willing to use a switch blade to attack those who would harm Jack. While Jack does ponder if there is any point to his friends helping him since despite feeling pain he is still immortal, Kayla reassures Jack that she along with the rest of the Main Five care deeply for Jack. As a result, Jack is exceptionally grateful to Kayla for rescuing him.
Vanexa[]
While Jack doesn't interact with Vanexa as much as he does with the rest of the Main Five, he is still grateful for her friendship and willingness to help him. Vanexa finds Jack to be the most tolerable out of the group.
Damian[]
Although they are cousins, Jack isn't particularly close to Damian and along with the rest of the Main Five he finds Damian annoying especially when he ruins the end to one of their performances by setting the piano on fire, like he did in the short, Bad Luck Jack. As he told Cameron, since Damian is a member of his family, Jack harbors resentment towards his cousin (as well as the rest of his family), seeing him as one of the causes of his unhappiness due to the fact that he remembers his curse.
Rusty[]
Jack dislikes Rusty who frequently bullies Jack because of his bad luck curse. When he's depressed Jack takes Rusty's cruel words to heart. That is unless he's in a good mood, in which case Jack mocks Rusty for having no friends.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
The Original Five.
- Along with Zill, Kayla, Spam, and Vanexa, he is one of Vivienne's "Original Five" characters she created upon the early origins of Zoophobia's creation.
- In one of the earlier versions of the story, he was straight, not bisexual.
- In the very early days of Zoophobia, his head is always decapitated, mostly by Vanexa.
- Jack's singing voice was provided by Broadway actor Don Daryl Rivera, who previously voiced the character Travis on Hazbin Hotel, and both Wally Wackford and Cletus in Helluva Boss.
- According to Jack's reference sheet, he is 5'6" tall. Despite being quite short for his age, he towers over most students at the academy.
- Despite the fact that Jack is Lucifer's nephew, he most likely cannot lay claim to the throne of Hell, as the title would be passed to Damian and his potential offspring.
- When drunk Jack becomes extremely quiet and melancholic, even more so than he usually is.