Wraith (Zak-Del)


Wraith is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Javier Grillo-Marxuach and Kyle Hotz, Wraith first appears in the prologue of Annihilation: Conquest as a vision, with his first physical appearance being in Annihilation Conquest: Wraith #1.

Publication history

Wraith first appeared in Annihilation: Conquest: Wraith #1 and was created by Javier Grillo-Marxuach and Kyle Hotz. Wraith returned in Donny Cates and Geoff Shaw's 2019 relaunch of Guardians of the Galaxy.

Fictional character biography

Zak-Del is the son of Kree scientist Sim-Del, who created a power source sufficient to "light an entire galaxy". The Kree banish Sim-Del, but he continues his work, using the power source to turn a barren planetoid into a paradise. After Sim-Del is killed by Kree forces, Zak-Del is sent off on an escape ship. Zak-Del is later found and adopted by the Nameless, an offshoot of the Kree whose bodies were invaded by parasitic Exolons. Zak-Del is infected with the Exolon and swears revenge on the man who killed his parents. He defeats the leader of the Nameless, then steals their ship and polymorphic weapon.

Annihilation: Conquest

Zak-Del incapacitates a Phalanx battle-cruiser, drawing the attention of both the Phalanx and a resistance against them. He is tracked by the Phalanx to the resistance's base and brought before Ronan the Accuser. Ronan subjects Zak-Del to various forms of torture, but he manages to resist, even surviving Ronan attempting to impale him with a spike. Ronan states that due to his seeming immunity to pain, he is not Kree, but something else, like a wraith. This amuses Zak-Del, who takes Wraith as an alias. Having failed to harm Wraith, Ronan instead infects him with Phalanx technology.
A vision of Sim-Del in Wraith's mind convinces him to continue fighting, leading him to ally with Super-Skrull and Praxagora. The trio escape and meet up with the Resistance, saving them from a Phalanx warship. Although he has little interest in the war with the Phalanx, Wraith agrees to work with the Resistance in return for their help in tracking down the people who murdered his family. Wraith, Super-Skrull, and Praxagora infiltrate the Phalanx fleet and find that they have infected the Supreme Intelligence. Wraith again sees his father's spirit, speaking through the Supreme Intelligence. He instructs him not to stop the Phalanx's weapon, but to let it activate, and then to release the Exolon and absorb the Supreme Intelligence's soul, freeing Ronan from the Phalanx's control. Wraith remains with the resistance, not revealing what he has truly done, to later use the Supreme Intelligence's soul to become a beacon of hope for the people.
Wraith and allies travels to the planet Kree-Lar, a ceded territory of the Kree that is home to Annihilus' former servant Ravenous, at Ronan's behest. Wraith makes his wariness and distrust of this mission clear to Ronan before their ship is attacked and they are sent crashing into the planet. The group land on the surface and find the Phalanx battling Ravenous. Wraith uses his Exolon parasites to paralyze the Phalanx and stop the fighting. Recognizing Wraith as key to dealing with the Phalanx, Ravenous agrees to allow the group to meet with him.
Wraith demonstrates his powers to Ravenous before subduing him, allowing Ronan to access a secret chamber underneath Ravenous's throne. Ronan leads Wraith to the 15,000 Kree Sentries that lay dormant in the chamber, which Wraith and Praxagora have reprogrammed to be immune to the Phalanx's abilities. As Ronan launches the Sentries to Hala to destroy the Phalanx and Phalanx-infected Kree, Wraith stands quietly aside and orders Ravenous to get them a ship to travel to Hala.
Praxagora is possessed by Ultron, who is revealed to have been leading the Phalanx, and stuns Wraith so he can transfer his essence into the Sentries and adds them to his army. Ultron kills Praxagora and destroys the ship, but Wraith and the others are saved by the Super-Skrull and taken to Hala's surface. Upon seeing Adam Warlock and Phyla-Vell battling Ultron, Wraith aids them by using the Exolon to trap Ultron in his current body, allowing Phyla-Vell to finish him off. After the battle, Wraith uses his Exolon to purge the Phalanx from the Kree before continuing on his quest to find his family's killer.

Guardians of the Galaxy

After Gamora kills Thanos, Wraith attends Thanos's funeral and witnesses Starfox showing all the guests a recording of Thanos stating that he uploaded his consciousness into another body before his death. While Wraith watches everyone angrily debate whether Thanos was telling the truth, they are attacked by the Black Order. The Black Order steals Thanos's body and rips open a hole in space, sending Wraith and everyone else into the rip.
Wraith and the others are saved by Gladiator and the Shi'ar and are told that Thanos may have transferred his consciousness into Gamora's body. Wraith brings up the issue of the Black Order, but Starfox assures him that they are searching for them and Nebula states that the team should track down Nova to find Gamora's location. Wraith reveals that he intends to find Knull, a primordial deity who created the Klyntar and the Exolon, to be freed from the Exolon's influence.
Nova leads the group to Gamora, who is aboard Star-Lord's ship. Amidst the battle, Starfox and his team easily overwhelm the Guardians of the Galaxy and capture Gamora. After delivering Gamora to Starfox, Wraith demands that Starfox uphold his part of their bargain. Starfox hands Wraith a flashdrive of all the information that he collected on Knull, which he admits is limited. When the Black Order and Hela appear, Wraith does not intervene, having gotten what he wanted.
Eventually, Wraith tracks down Knull on Klyntar, discovers that the Exolon were discarded offshoots created by Knull, and has the Exolon removed from his body. Wraith is mortally wounded by Knull, but discovers that Knull has an opposite, a god of light. He travels to Earth to tell Eddie Brock this information before dying.

Powers and abilities

Wraith is an experienced fighter and wields a polymorphic weapon which can take on a variety of forms, including a gun, a whip, a blade, and binoculars. As a Kree, Wraith possesses greater natural attributes than a human and is resistant to poisons, toxins, and disease. Due to the Exolon parasites that infect and maintain his body, he possesses enhanced speed, strength and agility greater than a normal Kree, as well as a healing factor and increased tolerance to pain. By summoning swarms of Exolon, he can strike fear into his opponents and absorb their souls.

In other media

Television

Wraith appears in Guardians of the Galaxy, voiced by Jeff Bennett. This version's father was killed after he chose to have himself and a weapon he had created be destroyed by a black hole rather than be used by Ronan the Accuser. Ever since, Zak-Del blamed Gamora for what happened, as she had brought his father to Ronan, and swore revenge.

Video games