Stephenie Meyer’s iconic Twilight series centers on Bella Swan’s supernatural love story with Edward Cullen, but for some fans of Meyer’s books and the incredibly successful film saga they inspired, it’s all about Jacob Black. While Edward was known for being very brooding, possessive and overprotective of Bella from the moment they met, Jacob became Bella’s friend before he tried to pursue her romantically and was one of the brightest lights in her often dark and chaotic life.
HE WAS MEANT TO BE A MINOR CHARACTER
In Twilight, Bella turned to her friend Jacob Black in hopes of getting some information about Edward Cullen. This was initially supposed to be Jacob’s sole purpose in the series, but on Meyer’s official website, the author revealed that since she and her editor liked Jacob so much, they decided to give him a larger role in the sequels.
HE HAS TWO OLDER SISTERS
The Twilight series gave readers and viewers a chance to get to know each member of Edward Cullen’s vampire coven, but fans, unfortunately, didn’t get nearly as many opportunities to learn about Jacob Black’s family.
HIS MOTHER PASSED AWAY WHEN HE WAS 9 YEARS OLD
In New Moon, Bella learns that Jacob loves fixing and riding motorcycles. Bella was desperate for an adrenaline rush that could help her see cautionary visions of Edward, and Jacob was more than willing to take her out for a dangerous bike ride. His lack of fear on the road is surprising, because his mother actually passed away in a car accident.
RACHEL AND REBECCA HELPED RAISE HIM
When Sarah Black passed away, Rachel and Rebecca stepped up to act as replacement maternal figures for their younger brother Jacob. Billy was often away from their home working on his fishing boat, so the twin sisters did their best to help raise and look after Jacob despite their desire to leave the reservation and their painful memories of their mother behind.
HE TOOK CARE OF BILLY AFTER HIS SISTERS MOVED AWAY
Rachel and Rebecca both jumped on the first opportunity they were granted to finally leave La Push and move on with their lives. Rachel got a scholarship to Washington State University and went away to school, while Rebecca quickly got married and moved to Hawaii. This left Jacob to look after their father all on his own.
HE’S WELL-VERSED IN QUILEUTE HISTORY
Billy Black inherited his grandfather Ephraim’s place on the tribal council, and that important position forced him to learn everything there is to know about the origin of the Quileutes. A majority of his tribe believed these origin stories to be mere legends, but Billy took them very seriously and made sure to bestow all of that Quileute knowledge in his son.
HE DIDN’T BELIEVE IN HIS TRIBE’S LEGENDS
One of Billy’s earliest childhood memories was of seeing his grandfather phase into a massive wolf, so he grew up knowing that his tribe’s stories of vampires and shape-shifters were all true. He initially hoped that a vampire would come near La Push again and force his own transformation so he could develop superhuman powers, but when that never happened, he became thankful that he was able to live a normal life and feared that the return of the Cullen family would spark Jacob’s transformation and deny him of that same opportunity.
HE AND BELLA WERE CHILDHOOD FRIENDS
Billy had several close friends in La Push, but he because incredibly close with Charlie Swan because they both loved fishing, lost their wives (though Charlie’s merely divorced him while Billy’s had passed away), and had daughters who were often mysteries to them. Since the unlikely companions spent so much time together, Bella saw Jacob, Rachel and Rebecca on several occasions during her childhood visits to Forks before she moved there in Twilight.
BELLA STARTED FLIRTING WITH HIM FIRST
Some Twilight fans have accused Jacob as coming onto Bella too strong, but true Jacob lovers know that he actually didn’t make the first move. Bella was the one who started their flirtation and led Jacob to believe that he stood a chance with her.
HE CONSIDERED LIVING LIFE AS A WOLF
In the epilogue of Eclipse, which was written from Jacob’s point of view, readers get the chance to see just how distraught Jacob was about Bella’s rapidly-approaching wedding to Edward and looming transformation into a vampire. In his eyes, Bella becoming a vampire was just as bad as she actually passing away, so he phased into a wolf and ran away to escape his emotions.
