Wraith (Brian DeWolff) is a fictional 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 ...

Publication history

Wraith first appeared in ''

Marvel Team-Up ''Marvel Team-Up'' is an American comic book series published by Marvel Comics. The series featured two or more Marvel characters in one story. The series was originally published from March 1972 through February 1985, and featured Spider-Man as ...

'' #48 (August 1976), and was created by

Bill Mantlo William Timothy Mantlo (born November 9, 1951) is an American comic book writer, primarily at Marvel Comics. He is best known for his work on two licensed toy properties whose adventures occurred in the Marvel Universe: '' Micronauts'' and '' R ...

and

Sal Buscema Sal Buscema ( ; born Silvio Buscema, , on January 26, 1936) is an American comics artist, primarily for Marvel Comics, where he had a ten-year run as artist of ''The Incredible Hulk (comic book), The Incredible Hulk'' and an eight-year run as art ...

Fictional character biography

Brian DeWolff is a former patrolman for the

New York Police Department The City of New York Police Department, also referred to as New York City Police Department (NYPD), is the primary law enforcement agency within New York City. Established on May 23, 1845, the NYPD is the largest, and one of the oldest, munic ...

(NYPD) who was shot by criminals and rendered catatonic. His father Philip uses experimental technology to heal him, creating a mental link between the two and giving Brian psychic powers. Under Phillip's control, Brian becomes the vigilante Wraith, killing both criminals and civilians. He battles his sister

Jean DeWolff Jean DeWolff is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Bill Mantlo and artist Sal Buscema, the character first appeared in ''Marvel Team-Up'' #48 (August 1976). Captain Jean DeWolff is a police ...

Spider-Man Spider-Man is a superhero in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appearance, first appeared in the anthology comic book ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in ...

Iron Man Iron Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Co-created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby, the character first appearan ...

, and

Doctor Strange Dr. Stephen Vincent Strange is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Steve Ditko, the character first appeared in ''Strange Tales'' #110 (cover-dated July 1963). Doctor Strange serves as ...

until being defeated by Spider-Man and Iron Man. After Philip's crimes are exposed, Brian regains free will and is found innocent while Philip is imprisoned. Subsequently, Wraith becomes a superhero and ally to Spider-Man. After the

Sin-Eater A sin-eater is a person who consumes a ritual meal in order to spiritually take on the sins of a deceased person. The food was believed to absorb the sins of a recently dead person, thus absolving the soul of the person. Cultural anthropolo ...

kills Jean DeWolff, Wraith is driven mad with grief and seeks vengeance on the NYPD, only to be killed by the

Scourge of the Underworld The Scourge of the Underworld is the name of a series of fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Writer/editor Mark Gruenwald originally created the Scourge in 1985 as a plot device intended to thin the ...

. Wraith has largely remained dead since. He was temporarily resurrected by the

Hood Hood may refer to: Covering Apparel * Hood (headgear), type of head covering ** Article of academic dress ** Bondage hood, sex toy * Hoodie, hooded sweatshirt Anatomy * Clitoral hood, a hood of skin surrounding the clitoris * Hood, a flap of ...

alongside other victims of the Scourge in a 2009 ''

Punisher The Punisher (Francis "Frank" Castle, born Castiglione) is an antihero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Gerry Conway and artists John Romita Sr. and Ross Andru. The Punisher ma ...

'' story arc, but was later killed by the Punisher.''

'' (vol. 8) #5 - 7 (July - September 2009)

Powers and abilities

Wraith possesses a variety of psionic powers as an effect of energy from advanced technology procured by Phillip DeWolff. The Wraith had the psionic ability to control the mind of one other person at a time. He had the ability to cast

illusion An illusion is a distortion of the senses, which can reveal how the mind normally organizes and interprets sensory stimulation. Although illusions distort the human perception of reality, they are generally shared by most people. Illusions may ...

s indiscernible from reality in the minds of one or more people simultaneously, thereby making reality appear to change or making himself seem invisible. He also had the psionic ability to induce mental pain in others equivalent to the physical pain which would be caused by what they were perceiving without causing physical injury, the telepathic ability to read minds, and the psionic ability to affect Spider-Man's mind in such a way as to shield himself from detection by the latter's "spider-sense". He also carried a smoke pistol of unknown origin. Brian has received police training in armed and unarmed combat.

References

External links

* Wraith (Brian DeWolff) at Marvel Wiki {{Spider-Man characters Characters created by Bill Mantlo Characters created by Sal Buscema Comics characters introduced in 1976 Fictional characters with body or mind control abilities Fictional empaths Fictional New York City Police Department officers Fictional police officers Marvel Comics male supervillains Marvel Comics mutates Marvel Comics police officers Marvel Comics telepaths Spider-Man characters