Monday, August 16, 2010

Kestrel

Real Name
John Wraith

Occupation

Former Spy, Government Operative, Mercenary, Soldier

Citizenship
Unknown

Place of Birth
Unknown

Known Relatives
Unknown

Group Affiliation
Weapon X
Program, Team X, C.I.A.

Education
Unknown

Height
6'

Weight
195 lbs.

Eyes
Brown

Hair
Black

Powers
Wraith could phase-jump: a psionic ability which allowed him to teleport at will from any point in space to another, with what would appear to be an exceptionally high range. He could move about space at will, appearing and disappearing in a fashion that left no flashy burst of light or sound. He also received an anti-aging factor from the Weapon X Program that made him age slower than normal.

Abilities
None

Other Info
John Wraith was a part of Team X along with Wolverine, Sabretooth, Maverick, Mastodon, and Silver Fox . Wraith (aka Kestrel) was a powerful teleporter, capable of getting the team out of sticky situations after their job was finished. He had a passion for explosives, arming himself with shaped charges (explosives that were built to direct the force of their blast in specific directions based on how they are deployed). 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 left John somewhat paranoid. His house was a veritable death trap, as was the yard around it - John trusted no one. (To learn about the above characters/team/program, click on their highlighted names. Note: Beware of Silver Fox's tight-fitting outfit on her bio page.)

Kestrel made a habit of keeping his skill a secret from his teammates, 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. Wraith was backup on that mission when Wolverine, Maverick, and Sabretooth ran in Germany to collect a carbonadium synthesizer. Then when the trio burst out of the target compound with Omega 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. (To learn about Omega Red, click on his highlighted name above.)

Wraith was about as violent as others from the Weapon X program, but a lot more merciful. He didn't enjoy killing innocent people while on a mission, which put him at odds with people like Sabretooth.

Years later, Kestrel 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. (One of their team memebers, Mastodon, had suddenly aged quite rapidly and been reduced into a pile of ooze.) With their help, Wraith discovered a list of termination candidates from the Weapon X project. They recognized themselves on the list, plus a man named Aldo Ferro. After they tracked down Ferro, they discovered Maverick guarding him. However, Maverick soon joined sides with his old teammates when Ferro (aka Psi-Borg) revealed that he was the one who used his psi-powers to speed the false memory implantation of the Weapon X subjects. After this fiasco, Kestrel hung out with Wolverine for a month or two, but then vanished. (To learn about Psi-Borg, click on the highlighted name above.)

Wraith was later re-recruited into Weapon X by the "Director." Kestrel's mission was to recruit Maverick back as well. However, when Kestrel found Maverick, a fight broke out between the two. Wraith ended up being shot and then gutted by his partner Sabretooth, for his failure. (To learn about the "Director," click on his name above.)

To learn a tiny bit more about Kestrel/Wraith, click on the following link, http://marvel.com/universe/Wraith,_John.

4 comments:

  1. How are Wraith's powers different from Nightcrawler?

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  2. They did a good job making this movie character in line with Marvel. Which seems to be a rarity. Does it say anything about what he can teleport with him? Guns, other people?

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  3. Good question, Karissa. As far as I can tell, the difference between Nightcralwer and Kestrel's teleportation powers is that Kestrel can appear and disappear in a way that doesn't leave a flashy burst of light or sound. But, when Nightcrawler teleports, the sound "BAMF" can be heard and smoke is left behind. I hope that helps. Love ya! :-)

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  4. Good question, Steve. I actually wasn't able to find anything that gave me a specific answer, but here is what a biography said: Kestrel was "capable of getting the team out of sticky situations after their job was finished." So, by that statement, I'm assuming that he was able to teleport other people with him (this would also include guns/explosives). However, that is just my guess because I couldn't find a specific answer. Hopefully that helps. :-)

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