Kestrel (John Wraith) is a character appearing in

American comic book An American comic book is a thin periodical literature originating in the United States, commonly between 24 and 64 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publ ...

s published by

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...

will.i.am William James Adams Jr. (born March 15, 1975), known professionally as will.i.am (pronounced "will I am"), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer and actor. He is the frontman of the musical group Black Eyed Peas, which he ...

portrays Kestrel in the 2009 film '' X-Men Origins: Wolverine''.

Publication history

Kestrel first appeared in ''

Wolverine The wolverine ( , ; ''Gulo gulo''), also called the carcajou or quickhatch (from East Cree, ''kwiihkwahaacheew''), is the largest land-dwelling species, member of the family Mustelidae. It is a muscular carnivore and a solitary animal. The w ...

'' #48 (November 1991) and was created by writer

Larry Hama Larry Hama (; born June 7, 1949) is an People of the United States, American comic-book writer, artist, actor, and musician who has worked in the fields of entertainment and publishing since the 1960s. During the 1970s, he was seen in minor roles ...

and artist

Marc Silvestri Marc Silvestri (born March 29, 1958) is an American comic book artist, creator and publisher. He is CEO of Top Cow Productions and Image Comics. Early life Marc Silvestri was born on March 29, 1958, in Palm Beach, Florida.Rosenberg, Aaron (M ...

Fictional character biography

John Wraith is a member of Team X and test subject of the

Weapon X Weapon X is a fictional government genetic research facility project appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. They were conducted by Department K, which turned willing and unwilling beings into living weapons to carry out c ...

Program, along with

, Sabretooth,

Maverick Maverick or Maveric may refer to: History * Maverick (animal), an unbranded range animal, derived from U.S. cattleman Samuel Maverick Aviation * AEA Maverick, an Australian single-seat sportsplane design * General Aviation Design Bureau T-32 M ...

Mastodon A mastodon, from Ancient Greek μαστός (''mastós''), meaning "breast", and ὀδούς (''odoús'') "tooth", is a member of the genus ''Mammut'' (German for 'mammoth'), which was endemic to North America and lived from the late Miocene to ...

and Silver Fox.

(vol. 2) #60–66 (September 1992 - February 1993) Wraith later leaves Weapon X, but eventually rejoins the group and is instructed to recruit Maverick into it. He is mortally wounded by Sabretooth, but survives and becomes a preacher before being killed by

Hellverine Haechi Haechi (Mark Sim) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Christopher Yost and Marcus To, he first appeared in ''New Warriors'' (vol. 5) #2 (March 2014). Sim is among the late ...

. Kestrel returns in the ''X-Manhunt'' event (2025), where he assists

Charles Xavier Professor X (Prof. Charles Francis Xavier) is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist/co-writer Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in Uncanny X-Men, ''The X-Men'' #1 ( ...

in evading the authorities.

Powers and abilities

Kestrel possesses the mutant ability to teleport over long distances. Additionally, he was given a life-extending serum as part of his initiation into Weapon X.

Other versions

An alternate universe variant of John Wraith from

Earth-1610 Ultimate Marvel, later known as Ultimate Comics, was an imprint of comic books published by Marvel Comics, featuring reimagined and modernized versions of the company's superhero characters from the Ultimate Marvel Universe, later known as the ...

appears in ''

Ultimate X-Men ''Ultimate X-Men'' is a superhero comic book series, which was published by Marvel Comics, from 2001 to 2009. The series is a modernized re-imagining of Marvel's long-running X-Men comic book franchise as part of the Ultimate Marvel imprint. The ...

''. This version is the leader of a mutant

concentration camp A concentration camp is a prison or other facility used for the internment of political prisoners or politically targeted demographics, such as members of national or ethnic minority groups, on the grounds of national security, or for exploitati ...

and the head of the

program. Wraith later gains superpowers from the Banshee drug and becomes the Vindicator before being killed by William Stryker Jr.

In other media

* Colonel Moss, a character based on John Wraith's Ultimate Marvel incarnation, appears in '' Wolverine and the X-Men'', voiced by

Michael Ironside Frederick Reginald Ironside (born February 12, 1950), known professionally as Michael Ironside, is a Canadian actor. A prominent character actor with over 270 film and television credits, he is known for playing villains and antiheroes, but has ...

. This version is the head of the

Mutant Response Division The comic book stories published by Marvel Comics since the 1940s have featured several noteworthy concepts besides its fictional characters, such as unique places and artifacts. There follows a list of those features. Places Certain places fe ...

. In a

Sentinel Sentinel may refer to: Places Mountains * Mount Sentinel, a mountain next to the University of Montana in Missoula, Montana * Sentinel Buttress, a volcanic crag on James Ross Island, Antarctica * Sentinel Dome, a naturally occurring granit ...

-dominated future, Moss allies with

Master Mold Master Mold is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics most commonly appearing as an enemy of the X-Men and the leader of the Sentinel mutant-hunting robots. Publication history Master Mold first appeared in ...

and becomes a

Prime Sentinel Prime Sentinels are an advanced type of fictional Sentinel appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. They are depicted as a humans-turned-cyborgs that uses nanotechnology from the "Days of Future Past" alternate future. Like t ...

in charge of mutant concentration camps. * John Wraith appears in '' X-Men Origins: Wolverine'', portrayed by

Will.i.am William James Adams Jr. (born March 15, 1975), known professionally as will.i.am (pronounced "will I am"), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer and actor. He is the frontman of the musical group Black Eyed Peas, which he ...

. This version is a member of

William Stryker Reverend William Stryker is a fictional character in Marvel Comics, known for his recurring role as an adversary of the X-Men. A former sergeant and a devout Christian minister, Stryker harbors an intense hatred for mutants, often leading campai ...

's Team X during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

and the only member of the group who

Logan Logan may refer to: Places * Mount Logan (disambiguation) Australia * Logan (Queensland electoral district), an electoral district in the Queensland Legislative Assembly * Logan, Victoria, small locality near St. Arnaud * Logan City, local gove ...

trusts. Initially loyal to the group, Wraith and Logan eventually quit over moral issues, with the former going on to become a

boxing Boxing is a combat sport and martial art. Taking place in a boxing ring, it involves two people – usually wearing protective equipment, such as boxing glove, protective gloves, hand wraps, and mouthguards – throwing Punch (combat), punch ...

manager and helping to get teammate Fred Dukes back into shape. Years later, Wraith accompanies Logan in seeking out Stryker, only to be confronted by

Victor Creed Sabretooth is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Chris Claremont and John Byrne (comics), John Byrne, he first appeared in ''Iron Fist (character), Iron Fist'' #14 (August 1977) and was initially d ...

, who kills him for use in Stryker's experiments. * John Wraith appears in the '' X-Men Origins: Wolverine'' tie-in game, voiced by Will.i.am.

References

{{S.H.I.E.L.D. African-American characters in comics African-American characters in films Comics characters introduced in 1991 Characters created by Larry Hama Characters created by Marc Silvestri Fictional American spies Fictional characters with memory disorders Fictional colonels Fictional priests and priestesses Fictional soldiers Marvel Comics characters who can teleport Marvel Comics male supervillains Marvel Comics mutants S.H.I.E.L.D. agents X-Men supporting characters