Dire Wraith | |
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/1/1a/Dire_Wraith.jpg/290px-Dire_Wraith.jpg | |
Publication information | |
---|---|
Publisher | Marvel Comics IDW Publishing |
First appearance | Rom #1 (December 1979) |
Created by | Bill Mantlo (writer) Al Milgrom (artist) |
In-story information | |
Place of origin | Skrullos Wraithworld Dark Nebula |
Abilities |
Super strength, shapeshifting, magic |
The Dire Wraiths are a fictional extraterrestrial species appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics and IDW Publishing. The Dire Wraiths are the main opponents of Rom the Spaceknight.
Publication history
The Dire Wraiths first appeared in Rom #1 (1979) and were created by Bill Mantlo and Al Milgrom.
Fictional species biography
Marvel Universe
The Dire Wraiths are an evolutionary offshoot of the Skrulls from the Andromeda Galaxy. Like the Skrulls, the Wraiths are shapeshifters, able to take the forms of other creatures. The Wraiths were originally depicted as amorphous, cloudy, vaguely humanoid-shaped beings. However, it was eventually revealed that was a transitional form used for shapeshifting and that their true form is entirely different. The Dire Wraiths are Skrullian Deviants engineered by the starfaring Celestials. The Wraiths have both reptilian and mammal-like traits. The females lay eggs and lactate.
In-universe, most characters consider Wraiths to be sexually dimorphic, but it is stated within the comics that all Wraiths actually have the same form, but the males are so ashamed of their true form that they use their shapeshifting abilities to constantly appear in their transitory forms. The basic transitory form is stocky and troll-like in appearance, with red or brown skin, but otherwise roughly human-like in size and shape. The true form has an obese, reddish body with large, pupil-less eyes, small beaks, 'hands' that resemble small pincers and tentacles; clawed feet, and thick tails. They also have long, drill-like tongues, drawn to be similar to that of the cone shell mollusk, that they use to suck out the brains of their victims, allowing them to gain their memories. All Wraiths can copy the appearance of other beings without consuming their brains or killing them.
Wraiths turned into dust when killed (or banished to Limbo).
In-universe origins
At some point in their history, female Dire Wraiths began to study evil magic. This caused a rift with their parent race, the Skrulls, and they were driven out of the Andromeda Galaxy. They settled on the planet Wraithworld.
The Dark Nebula
Two hundred years before the events of the main comic strip, the Dire Wraiths launched an offensive on Galador and the galaxy in which it was located. However, upon arriving at Galador they found out that hundreds of young Galadorians had been transformed into cyborg warriors called Spaceknights, who repelled the attack. The Dire Wraiths returned to Wraithworld, only to have Rom, the greatest of the Spaceknights, follow them there, intent on wiping them from the universe. Realizing that other Spaceknights would soon follow, the Wraiths decided to abandon Wraithworld, and scattered across the universe.
Wraiths on Earth
Several decades prior to Rom's arrival on Earth, a large group of Wraiths landed near a small town in West Virginia. The Wraiths infiltrated the town in human form, and later, began to infiltrate governments and other important organizations across the world. Because Dire Wraith magic was fueled by the black sun of Wraithworld in the Dark Nebula, their ability to perform magic on Earth was severely crippled. Consequently, the male-dominated technology faction of the Wraiths was in control.
Later, Rom landed near Clairton, having detected a Wraith infestation, and with the help of some of the locals, eventually succeeded in banishing all the Wraiths there. Then he proceeded to travel around the world, looking for the rest, eventually leaving the protection of Clairton to the human superhero, the Torpedo.
Eventually, the female-dominated faction of magically-oriented Wraiths, blaming the technology faction for failing to defeat Rom, launched a coup and then proceeded to attack the Earth openly. Their first act was to kill the entire population of Clairton while Rom was away. Later, they then openly attacked S.H.I.E.L.D. at their headquarters, the Helicarrier. This proved a major blunder in that the personnel were able to repel the attack and all doubt by the authorities as to the existence and threat of the alien species was removed.
Soon afterwards, the Wraiths launched a plan to help them conquer Earth once and for all; they cast a spell on Earth's sun, allowing them to use its energies to draw Wraithworld into Earth's solar system. This greatly increased their magical powers. Emboldened, the Wraiths made a mass attack on New York City, where they clashed with dozens of the city's superheroes. However, thanks to Rom, who used a special satellite to boost the power of his Neutralizer, Wraithworld in its entirety was banished into Limbo, causing all Wraiths in this galaxy to lose their powers, including, apparently, their shapeshifting abilities. Subsequently, Rom banishes all the defeated Wraiths into Limbo.
The Wraith Queen, Volx, later made appearances in issues of New Warriors (vol. 1) and Nova (vol. 2). It was later confirmed that this is the same Wraith queen introduced in Rom (vol. 1) #48.
Return of the Wraiths
Although reduced in numbers, were said in-universe to be many Wraith's in the marvel universe.
A salvaged Dire Wraith ship is used as a Moscow headquarters for the Russian superheroes of the Winter Guard. Fantasma was revealed to have been a Dire Wraith Queen in Darkstar & the Winter Guard #2'.
In the 2011 Annihilators miniseries, a team of Skrulls try to bring back Wraithworld and its population, intending to empower them and use them as a weapon to reform the Skrull Empire. The Wraith's Queen Volx and the Galadorians both are manipulated into setting this up, and the Annihilators find that Wraithworld has to be brought back to reality to balance out the unleashed Dark Sun. The Silver Surfer discovers that Volx has actually been driven insane by an empathic link to Wraithworld in Limbo—and when the Annihilators arrive there, the team is horrified to find out that after generations in Limbo, the surviving Dire Wraiths are a disease-ridden, half-starved people in constant anguish and most of them are suicidal.
The Dire Wraiths later appear as a member of the Universal Inhumans alongside the Badoon, Centaurians, and the Kymellians.
Hasbro Comic Book Universe
Hailing from a dark nebula, the Dire Wraiths wield powerful dark magic, are able to assume any form they wish and are able to gain new abilities by using the blood of other life forms. Their race have different castes with different abilities and forms which include:
- The Wraith Sorcerers: the highest class of Wraiths, possessing the most powerful magics,
- The Wraith Hawks: an elite caste with the ability to fly,
- The Wraith Stalkers: the trackers of the Wraiths,
- The Wraith Mutates: Wraiths that form from their infected victims.
It is later revealed that the Dire Wraiths were actually created by the Talisman, an ancient doomsday weapon that transformed the planet Antilla into the being known as Unicron. The device was activated to end the conflict between the invading Cybertronians, masterminded by Onyx Prime (Shockwave), and the native Antillas and stripped the world of all life. The effects of the Talisman then corrupted and changed the magic of the planet Prysmos, home to the Visionaries and in turn created the Dire Wraiths.
Known Dire Wraiths
Marvel
- Avoe – Current Queen of the Dire Wraiths and member of the Universal Inhumans.
- Doctor Dredd – Rare male Dire Wraith warlock.
- Fantasma – A Dire Wraith Queen and a former member of the Winter Guard.
- Hooud – A size-shifting Dire Wraith who is a member of the Universal Inhumans' Light Brigade. He operates under the alias of Creeping Death.
- Hybrid / Jimmy Marks – First hybrid offspring of a human and Dire Wraith.
- Kattan-Tu – Dire Wraith orphan who was raised by the Sarkans, a childless human couple, that named him Jimmy .
- Mara – Dire Wraith High Priestess associated with the Wraithworld Demon, Dweller On The Threshold.
- Volx – A Queen of the Dire Wraiths.
- Voorr – A Dire Wraith who is a member of the Universal Inhumans' Light Brigade. He operates under the alias of Sun. Voorr can fly and project force fields.
IDW/Hasbro
- D'rge
- Axiom / Aaron Grundy
- The Absence
- The Presence
Powers and abilities
The Dire Wraiths have super-strength and the ability to shapeshift. Some Wraiths (mostly female) also practice sorcery.