Origin & History
John Wraith was part of Team X along with Wolverine, Sabretooth, Maverick, Mastodon, and Silver Fox. Wraith was a powerful teleporter, capable of getting the team out of sticky situations after their job was finished. He had a penchant for explosives, arming himself with shaped charges. Like the other members of Team X, he was given an artificial age suppressant so he was likely much older than he looked. His time as a secret agent and a member of the Weapon X program has left John somewhat paranoid. His house is a veritable death trap, as is the yard around it – John trusts no one. This is well illustrated by his memorable introductory scene: as an apparently harmless gentleman sitting on a New York subway, he is accosted by several members of a teen gang, who threaten him. He throws something which bounces off of the chest of the gang leader. When the leader asks “What was that?” Wraith replies, deadpan, “That was a copper-jacketed .45 ACP hot-load with a depleted uranium core swimming in mercury. It leaves an exit wound the size of a deep-dish chicken pot pie, and the next one will be considerably faster.” He was thereafter undisturbed.
He made a habit of keeping his skill a secret from his compatriots as well as his foes, using it only sparingly and if no one was looking directly at him — unless it was absolutely vital. The only time when his fellow Team-X members found out about his powers was when they went up against Omega Red. John was backup on that mission that Wolverine, Maverick, and Sabretooth ran in Germany to collect a carbonadium synthesizer, and when that trio burst out of the target compound with Red in pursuit, John stalled him with his gun until the others got away. Unfazed, Omega went to wrap John up and tear him to pieces, but John teleported to safety at the last second, with only Wolverine and Omega Red seeing this. There is also a certain animosity between him and Sabretooth. He’s about as violent as his fellows from the Weapon X program, but a lot more merciful and doesn’t enjoy killing innocents while on a mission, which puts him at odds with people like Sabretooth. Sabretooth, once languished for quite a time in John’s basement with several shaped charges strapped to his chest. Unless he had a really good reason to, Sabretooth wouldn’t lift a finger to help John.
Years later, John had tracked Wolverine and the rest of his old teammates down because it seemed that there was a problem with the age suppression factors given to them by Weapon X, as one of their number, Mastodon, had suddenly aged quite rapidly and been reduced into a pile of ooze. With their help, John discovered a list of termination candidates from the Weapon X project. They recognize themselves on the list plus a man named Aldo Ferro, who they know is a big time mafia chief, Il Topo Siciliano. They track Ferro to his secluded island where they discover Maverick guarding him. Maverick soon changes sides when Ferro, a.k.a. Psi-Borg, reveals that he was the one who used his psi-powers to speed the false memory implantation of the Weapon X subjects. After this fiasco, John hung out with Wolverine for a month or two, but then vanished.
Wraith was later re-recruited into Weapon X by the ” Director” and his mission was to recruit Maverick as well. However, Maverick fought back and Wraith was shot and then gutted by his partner Sabretooth, for his failure.
Major Story Arcs
Wolverine Goes To Hell
When the Wolverine goes to Hell arc starts, Wraith as found God and became a Pastor of a small church. Its there that Wolverine has been a regular and the two former Weapon Xers have had deep and meaningful discussions about Wolverine’s soul. It is also there that the possessed Wolverine made his appearance known.
While holding his Sunday morning service one of his members came in screaming of a demon who sliced threw his house and killed his wife. Wraith knowing this must be Wolverine goes to face his friend with guns blazing. Before he can get close Wolverine knock him out cold. He comes to just in time to watch his church burn, with everyone trapped inside. When he tries to save them Wolverine runs him threw with his claws and leaves him for dead.
Alternate Universe
Earth-1610 – Ultimate universe
On Earth-1610, John Wraith has taken the mantle of Vindicator as leader of Alpha Flight. After the Ultimatum attack in New York, he and Rogue are planning an attack against Magneto.
X-Men Origins: Wolverine
Will.I.Am from Black Eyed Peas starred as John Wraith in this Marvel movie which features the early adventures and origins of Wolverine. In the movie, Wraith (aka Kestral) joins William Stryker’s team of mutant soldiers, at first under the impression that their prey was human. It’s because of the fact that Stryker’s side plans were figured out, that many of the members quit, which also included Wraith. Six years after most of the team has left, Wraith, who’s living his life in Vegas and running a boxing arena, is asked by Wolverine to help find the island where Stryker, Sabretooth, and their lackeys are all facilitated. Wraith joins Wolverine, and together they hunt Gambit down to obtain the exact location, but John is killed by Sabretooth in the midst of the Wolverine/Gambit confrontation. Shortly after, he is killed by and has his own DNA stolen by Sabretooth, and was later used to give teleportation powers to Wade Wilson, who eventually is turned into Weapon XI.
Wolverine and the X-Men
The character of Colonel Moss in the cartoon series is based on the Ultimate version of John Wraith, a white man, bald with a mustache and a claw mark. He is a lead field agent for the Mutant Response Division.