Dire Wraith

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The ancient enemies of the Solstar Order, the Dire Wraiths are a race of parasitic alien shapeshifters bent on conquest. Capable of taking over the bodies of other life-forms and transforming them into more of their kind, the Dire Wraiths wield dark magics powered by the lifeblood of other creatures, and can take any form they wish.

Having been scattered across the galaxy after the destruction of their homeworld, they are pursued in their invasions by the Solstar Order's Space Knights, and above all else they fear the greatest of their number, Rom. But having arrived on Earth, the planet is unique among those the Dire Wraiths have come to, and its qualities may provide them with new weapons in their war with the Space Knights...

Fiction

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Scattered enemies

Some ten million years ago, the people who would become the Dire Wraiths were known as the Antillans, the natives of the planet Antilla. When the planet was invaded by the Cybertronians, the Antillans proved unable to match the invaders. To that end, an Antillan scientist created a doomsday device that would sterilize all life on the blighted planet while turning it into an ultimate weapon. When the machine was activated, its energies cascaded across space/time, absorbing and corrupting the natural magic of Prysmos with those energies mutating what Antillans had survived the initial blast into the first Dire Wraiths. Stranger Eons Our Finest Historia

The Wraiths eventually made their way off the dead Antilla and colonized a new world from which they launched their campaign of galactic conquest. Earthfall: Prelude Cold Fire When invading planets, Dire Wraiths would typically make their presence known despite disguising their appearances, constructing Wraith Hives during the invasion. Earthfall: Part One Beyond their sector of space however, the Dire Wraiths were largely unknown, being considered myths or simply unheard of. Shining Armor #2 Shining Armor #4

Over 200 years ago, the Dire Wraiths began invading fringe planets of the Solstar Order. In the early 1800s they invaded the Order's capital planet Elonia with the intent of stealing an alien ore from beneath its surface. They sent organic meteorites to the planet and managed to convert a small amount of the local populace into Dire Wraiths. They headed to a mountain range to retrieve the ore only to be confronted by a trio of newly graduated members of the Solstar Order. The fight led them to the ore where it latched onto, and formed a set of armor around, the Elonian Rom K'atsema, whom the Dire Wraiths had killed the family of. Rom, and his fellow Order members Livia and Fy-Laa, used the armor to enhance the power of their Neutralizers and destroy the Wraiths. The Solstar Order would come to use the ore to found the Space Knights, an elite order to fight back against the Dire Wraiths. Cold Fire

Within the next few decades, the Solstar Order chased the Wraiths across their region of space and managed to destroy the Wraiths' homeworld, sending them scattering across space. Shining Armor #1 The events earned Rom a name among his enemies: "Wraithslayer". Earthfall: Part Two As the Wraiths would not hesitate to flee into the Galactic Council's space, the Order opened negotiations with the Council over passage into their territory; however, the Galactic Council representatives at their first meeting had been infected by the Dire Wraith Vekktral and his followers, who had formed an alliance with Starscream in pursuit of the Cybertronian Solstar Knight Stardrive and her fuel source. Shining Armor #1 After studying Stardrive, the Solstar Order had concluded that the metallic physiology of Cybertronians made them immune to Dire Wraith assimilation. When the Autobots broke into Orchid Crossing however, a Dire Wraith tried to assimilate with Sky Blast, the resulting interaction turned both the Wraith and the Autobot into an out-of-control Wraith/Cybertronian hybrid that slaughtered everyone and everything in its path. Shining Armor #2 On Xetaxxis, the hybrid's energy levels reached a critical point and it burnt itself out. At Starscream's order, Vekktral's men assimilated several Xetaxxians who played on Bumblebee's sympathies to lure him into a trap so as to try and assimilate him and Ultra Magnus. Shining Armor #3 Magnus dispatched somewhere in the vicinity of a hundred Wraiths before their sheer numbers overwhelmed him and he was assimilated by Vekktral. When Vekktral arrived at the ruins of Orchid Crossing, the Wraiths in hiding revealed their true nature and surrounded the Space Knights and Bumblebee before Vekktral turned on Starscream. Shining Armor #4 The Decepticons promptly killed the Wraiths accosting them before Starscream detonated the energon synthesizer wiping out 48% of Xetaxxis and all the Wraiths on the planet. In the aftermath, the Wraiths decided against possession of Cybertronians and doubled down on their commitment to magic. Starscream likewise reported the Wraiths' unfeasibility as allies to Megatron. Shining Armor #5 Unbeknownst to any of the Knights, Stardrive — having left the Space Knights in disgust — had been infected by Vekktral in his dying moments, though she retained her own personality. The Dead Come Home, Part 2

As a result of these events, Megatron avoided the Wraith-infested dark nebula. At some point after intruding on territory more frequented by Cybertronians, the Wraiths briefly invaded the planet Temptoria and stole aspects of Temptorian religion. The Decepticon Krok learnt of this conquest and reserached the Wraiths in more detail being disgusted by the species. Nothing Will Ever Be the Same Again! Despite this, some Cybertronians remained ignorant of the Wraiths. Nothing Will Ever Be the Same Again! The Dead Come Home, Part 2

At some point after the formation of the Space Knights, a cadre of Wraith Sorcerers attempted to terraform the planet Verdulun-5; however, the planet — actually a single gelatinous entity — absorbed the Wraiths, taking on both their powers and intelligence and accelerating Verdulun-5's evolution. Battle Scars, Part 2 However, it also became intent on spreading its own uni-mind to consume all living beings across existence. Battle Scars, Part 3 When Rom and Fy-Laa came across the planet, it took its chance to do so, absorbing Fy-Laa into the hive-mind and attempting to do the same to Rom in order to use their spaceflight capacity to spread to other worlds. Battle Scars, Part 2 Battle Scars, Part 3 Rom and Fy-Laa eventually managed to destroy Verdulun-5 only for a Wraith Sorcerer to later arrive and collect pieces of Fy-Laa's corpse. Battle Scars, Part 4

Earthfall

The Dire Wraiths came to Earth at some point during the 1800s. Earthfall: Part Three Though they had initially planned to conquer the planet and move on, they deemed the energy of Earth suitable for transformation into a new homeworld. Long Roads to Ruin, Part 4 Because of this, the Dire Wraith invasion of Earth was far more subtle and deep than a typical Wraith invasion, with no Wraith Hives being constructed, and humanity not becoming aware of the Wraiths' presence; in addition, the Wraiths learned to use their magic to corrupt Earth plant-life to do their bidding. Earthfall: Part One The Wraiths on Earth took orders from a powerful, spectral Wraith known as the Absence. Earthfall: Part Three Beneath the crust of the Earth, they planted the Presence and began harvesting various sources of energy to feed the god's growth. Long Roads to Ruin, Part 4

The Wraiths spent the next two centuries infiltrating the world's governments and militaries, preparing for their eventual encounter with the Space Knights. Earthfall: Prelude On the planet they found the potent Energon ore Ore-13, which enhanced their magical abilities and gave them the ability to hide from the Space Knights' Energy Analyzers; however, the ore was rare and the Wraiths were forced to scrounge for whatever small quantities of it they could find. Earthfall: Part Two The New Colossus

The mysterious Talisman came into contact with Dire Wraith DNA at some point, gaining Wraith-like tendrils surrounding the emblem on its front. Crisis Intervention

Though the majority of Dire Wraiths aligned themselves with the invasion plans, some came to reject their role, including the sleeper agent Ruan Sablik, who was born on Earth and would come to consider it his home; the medic Carl Greer, who would go on to join G.I. Joe and father a half-human daughter; and a Wraith who used the alias CONS4EVA on a Decepticon social media network. Reinforcements, Part 4 G.I. Joe vol. 5 #3 Nothing Will Ever Be the Same Again!

Respect and preserve your environment...or it will kill you.

In 2016, Rom arrived on Earth, leading the Wraith leadership to send a unit of Wraiths stationed within the United States Army to travel to northern California to verify his presence. Earthfall: Prelude The lone human survivor returned to Vandenberg Air Force Base, where he was debriefed on what had happened by members of the Earth Defense Command; unfortunately, those EDC members were Dire Wraiths themselves, who infected the soldier and transformed him into one of them. With confirmation that Rom was present on the planet, Dire Wraith leader Dave Dubosky initiated the "Rom protocols", while other Wraiths acted to turn the humans against him. The Wraiths had also completely infested the town of Cooper's Mill, which Rom traveled to shortly after arriving on Earth; despite their use of magic to turn the plantlife of the town against him (and use of smartphone recording to persuade the internet that the Space Knight was a dangerous murderer), Rom managed to kill the Wraiths attacking him, before escaping with the uninfected Darby Mason. Earthfall: Part One Though Rom and Darby regrouped at Darby's home, they were soon attacked by the town's Dire Wraith populace with corrupted plantlife and Wraith bio-circuitry; using his Neutralizer on its ultimate setting, Rom managed to burn out all the Wraiths in the town, leaving Darby's home intact. Earthfall: Part Two

"Stupid sexy D'rge!"

Police Officer Camilla Byers, a human who had been struck by a Wraith's tendril during their initial contact with Rom, was left with the Wraithmark on her face; though it acted as a sign of growing Wraith consciousness inside her, it also gave her the ability to see through the Wraiths' disguises, including those enhanced by Ore-13. Earthfall: Part One Earthfall: Part Two Her Dire Wraith-infected superiors sent Wraith Stalkers to try and kill her, but she was saved by Rom; however, both were soon captured by the Wraith Sorcerer D'rge, who had hidden himself from Rom's analyzer with the ore. Earthfall: Part Two D'rge wished to try and obtain the powers of Rom's armor by stripping it from his living flesh, but was distracted by Camilla, who he was able to look into the mind of; though he misled her into thinking that he would remove the Wraith infection, he actually planned to infect her completely. However, his distraction gave Rom the opportunity he needed to escape from the sorcerer's magics; D'rge fled, leaving his surviving follower behind to cover his escape. While Rom believed that he would be able to use his Neutralizer to remove Camilla's Wraith infection, she allowed him to hold off in order to use her connection to see past the Wraiths' disguises. Earthfall: Part Three

After the Dire Wraiths at Vandenberg Base tried to recruit Darby Mason to use against Rom, Darby, Rom and Camilla infiltrated the base by presenting the Space Knight as a captured prisoner. Earthfall: Part Three The EDC held Rom in a dimensional binding prism, keeping him out of phase with reality; however, he was released when Darby shot the prism with the EMP weapon she had been given by the Wraiths, allowing Rom to neutralize the magic holding him in. Rom killed the Wraiths present at the base, interrogating one of their warriors over their immunity to the analyzer, and was persuaded to put it out of its misery when Camilla confirmed that it had told him all it knew. Earthfall: Part Four

An alien alliance

Seeking to obtain greater quantities of Ore-13, the Dire Wraith leadership on Earth formed an alliance with Miles "Mayhem" Manheim, in exchange for aiding him in his operations against Optimus Prime and his annexation of Earth. The New Colossus As part of this scheme, a Dire Wraith tried to assimilate General Joe Colton, leader of the EDC and G.I. Joe, Concorde Hymn though Colton survived by cutting off the hand that was infected with Wraith biomatter. First Strike #0 As part of these operations, the Dire Wraiths obtained the advanced tech-suit technology of Deepwave Technologies; using Deepwave employee Aaron Grundy as a test subject, they combined the suit, Micromeld technology, Ore-13 and Dire Wraith biology to create the monstrous Axiom as a weapon to use against Rom and the Cybertronians. Field Test

Led by Wraith-Colton, the Dire Wraiths helped to push G.I. Joe into war with Optimus Prime and his Cybertronians. However, Rom intervened in their battle in Portland, Oregon, killing the Wraiths who had infiltrated G.I. Joe. Concorde Hymn When confronted by Optimus Prime over his apparent murders of the humans, Rom gave the Autobot a vague explanation of who the Dire Wraiths were. Baron Karza also monitored the Wraiths from his realm. The Divine Source of Liberty Once the Autobots made it clear they would kill Rom if he didn't provide a clearer explanation, he elaborated on the subject and the Wraiths' interest in Ore-13. O Ship of State

The Wraiths soon seized control of the EDC facility on Bikini Atoll, The Modern World with the intent to use the Decepticon Skywarp to create new weapons. G.I. Joe however managed to infiltrate and retake the facility, freeing Skywarp. D.T.A. At the same time, they infiltrated the White House to try to claim the Ore-13 that Joe Colton had been carrying. While they got it, Marissa Faireborn and Thundercracker managed to defeat them. Thundercracker & Buster Save the World

Mayhem later contacted the Wraith leader "Caleb Awan" to inform him of the large supply of Ore-13 beneath Autobot City. The Wraiths moved out to meet their Mobile Armored Strike Kommand allies in Monument Valley where many Wraiths performed a kamikaze attack on Victorion, overwhelming the combiner. When they entered the city, their path was bared by Rom who had allied himself with the Cybertronians and others to fight off the Wraiths. The Wraiths managed to use the Ore-13 beneath the city to enhance their power before they, rather unsurprisingly, betrayed Miles Mayhem. Refusing to be beaten by aliens, Mayhem summoned his other ally Baron Karza from Microspace (much to the amusement of Caleb, who questioned what the diminutive creature could do). The diminutive creature responded by enerchanging all the Wraiths into him, turning himself into an ungodly fusion of Cybertronian, Microspace, and Wraith power. The New Colossus The Karza-Wraith hybrid took the battle to Rom, M.A.S.K., G.I. Joe, the Transformers, and the Micronauts, ejecting a number of Wraiths from himself to fight Victorion, before the hybrid was forced back into the spacebridge; Valley Forge the majority of the Wraiths' leaders were destroyed at Autobot City, though Caleb Awan survived. Reinforcements, Part 1 Wrath of Karza #3

The Wraith known as "CONS4EVA", sick of war and wishing to fulfill a Temptorian religious ceremony known as "the Crossover", sought out the Decepticon Crankcase and the human MP3 to open a portal to a higher plane of existence... which was, unfortunately, too small to enter. CONS4EVA accepted a ride from the Decepticons to the nearest starhub before setting out on his own. Nothing Will Ever Be the Same Again!

After making a deal with Storm Shadow to provide the ninja's Red Shadows with Talisman-derived enhancements, Redcliffe Club Joe Colton — now going by the supervillain moniker "Baron Ironblood" — used the alien device to grant them Dire Wraith-like abilities. Enter The Shadow

A growing presence

Though the Autobot City alliance allowed Rom to leave to deal with the Wraith infestation, G.I. Joe soldiers Beach Head and Grunt did not trust the Space Knight, and went on an unauthorized mission against Rom and the Dire Wraiths alike. Reinforcements, Part 1 When the Talisman was accidentally activated in its storage facility, it turned the entire populace, human and pet alike, of Verenya, Schleteva into Wraiths. As these were not true Wraiths, Rom merely stunned them before handing them over to the Action Man Programme in hopes of finding a cure. Crisis Intervention Following the "Revolution incident", several Dire Wraiths embraced the lack of leadership and went on killing sprees; one pair of Wraiths in Santa Barbara, California did so, but were killed by the newly-arrived Space Knights Orphion and Livia. Reinforcements, Part 1

A group of Dire Wraiths formed an anarchist movement in Greece under the Cobra banner, which Lady Jaye and Gung-Ho were sent to deal with. G.I. Joe vol. 5 #3 G.I. Joe members Doc, Doc Sr. and Grand Slam worked together on finding a way to detect Dire Wraiths, but the device they constructed appeared to find repeated false positives on scanning the Docs; unknown to most, this was because Doc Sr. was a Wraith and his daughter was only half-human. G.I. Joe vol. 5 #1 When the devices attached to Skywarp in an attempt to restore his teleportation abilities exploded, Doc Sr. threw himself in front of Grand Slam to protect him from the shrapnel, but revealed his true form in the process and was rendered comatose. G.I. Joe vol. 5 #3 After the younger Doc's heritage was exposed, several members of G.I. Joe, including Skywarp and Salvo, came to distrust her. G.I. Joe vol. 5 #4 G.I. Joe vol. 5 #6 Following Cobra's reformation under their new Cobra Commander, the Dire Wraiths and their "Cobranarchist" followers joined them. G.I. Joe vol. 5 #9

On arriving on Earth, Orphion and Livia were horrified by the extent of the Wraith infestation, and wished to "wipe the planet clean". Reinforcements, Part 1 Reinforcements, Part 3 When Rom reunited with Camilla, he found that her Wraith infection had progressed faster than he had hoped. He offered her a choice between a painful and risky attempt at excising the infection or the mercy of a quick death, but the Wraith incubating within her took control of her body and fought back against Rom. Reinforcements, Part 1 As it fought Rom and his reinforcements Livia and Orphion, it ejected itself from Camilla to take the form of a Wraith Hawk. Rom managed to destroy the Hawk while Orphion expunged the Wraith from Camilla. Reinforcements, Part 2 Orphion and Rom debated on what to do regarding Earth. Orphion highlighted that the Wraiths had infected every continent and Earth should be destroyed but Rom pointed out that the Wraiths' strategy on Earth did not match any previous infiltration, and desired to learn more information rather than just mindlessly destroy Wraiths; but before they could come to an agreement, they were attacked by Grunt and Beach Head, who had heard them speaking of destroying the Earth. Reinforcements, Part 3

Elsewhere, a group of Dire Wraiths had formed a cult to feed off the psionic energy of humans. Led by Kagan Knight, who revealed his true form to a group of human volunteers, the Wraiths sucked out their souls in order to feed the "great one", though Knight was disappointed that so few souls could be obtained. Reinforcements, Part 3 Knight subsequently travelled to a Wraith-controlled offshore drilling platform, where he and his fellow sorcerers performed a ritual to nourish and replenish "her". At the same time, the platform was attacked by Orphion, who — as well as purging it of Dire Wraiths — intended to use the drill to deliver his Neutralizer's energy to the core of the Earth and destroy it, something that Rom refused to allow him to do. While the two Space Knights fought, Knight saw it as an opportunity, and had the sorcerers summon the Absence, giving up his life to allow his master to manifest. Reinforcements, Part 4 After the Space Knights had tired each other out in battle, the Absence struck, draining Livia and Orphion of energy; but Rom came to their rescue, firing his Neutralizer within the Absence's body and banishing him. Orphion attempted to use the drill to channel his Neutralizer's power into the core of the Earth, which tore apart the Wraith Sorcerers below apart even as they "rejoiced" at what was happening, pleasing the Absence; but Orphion eventually stopped what he was doing to use his power to save Livia's life, after Rom begged him to. The Absence saw this as a setback, but believed that "the promised day" was close, and that the Presence would inevietably awaken. Reinforcements, Part 5

Sleeper agent Ruan Sablik, a friend of Darby Mason, made contact with her and revealed that he was a Dire Wraith; though initially distrustful of Ruan, she believed him when he explained that he had been born on Earth and wanted to help Darby fight back against the rest of the Wraiths. Reinforcements, Part 4 Ruan planned to retrieve a dead Space Knight's arm and Energy Analyzer from a Dire Wraith-controlled Atlas Terminal Co. warehouse in Providence, Rhode Island; he and Darby broke into the warehouse, and while Darby killed the Wraith guards, Ruan pulled the arm — held out of phase with reality, for security — back into existence, sacrificing his life in the process. Long Roads to Ruin, Part 1

One Dire Wraith acted as a priest in a human church in Pismo Beach, California, but his alien status was noticed by humans, who alerted Rom and his allies when they came to the area. The Wraith expounded to the Space Knights at length on the power of of faith, and when the Knights attacked he shapeshifted into a monstrous battle-form, immune to Livia's Neutralizer; the three Knights defeated him by combining the power of their Neutralizers, but the Wraith laughed as he died, claiming that he was going to "the bosom of his god". Interlude In order to more effectively determine the Wraiths' goal, the Space Knights split up: Livia and Rom travelled to the Mediterranean Sea, where the energy patterns of the Wraiths were abnormal, while Orphion explored the United States' 37th parallel, which had a higher than average concentration of Wraiths. Livia discovered a group of Dire Wraiths aboard a cruise ship off the coast of Sicily; while she planned to simply execute the Wraiths, Rom allowed them to call for reinforcements in order to eliminate as many Wraiths as possible without collateral damage. However, Rom's plan went awry when their reinforcements turned out to be the sea monsters Scylla and Charybdis. Long Roads to Ruin, Part 1 The two proved too much for Rom and Livia to handle however owing to their ability to drain their armors of energy. Long Roads to Ruin, Part 2 After the Knights had a brief respite, they returned below the depths to confront the two powerful Wraiths now backed up by an army of aquatic Wraiths. Long Roads to Ruin, Part 3 The two quickly concluded however that the aquatic army were merely puppets under Scylla's thrall and focused solely on her. Backed into a corner, the Wraith general revealed the extent of the Wraiths' machinations on Earth and the eventual rise of the Presence before Rom and Livia slew her. Elsewhere in Utah, Orphion found Kagan Knight's new operation before he killed him and tracked down the released psychic energy to a crack in the desert floor which soon sealed itself much to the concern of D'rge as Orphion was dangerously close to uncovering the Wraiths' plans. Long Roads to Ruin, Part 4

Shawn Berger, a Dire Wraith, was responsible for creating several giant monsters around Mount St. Helens, causing M.A.S.K. to intervene. When the team was captured, Berger took the opportunity to extract plasmid from the body of Zartan, a shapeshifter who had infiltrated M.A.S.K. by posing as Brad Turner. Berger planned on using the plasmid to create an army of clone soldiers, but when M.A.S.K. escaped in Thunderhawk, the Wraith was knocked off and into the vat of plasmid as the cave beneath the volcano collapsed. M.A.S.K. #8

M.A.S.K. #9

Scientific alliances

When Baron Ironblood's Iron Ring attacked Cybertron, the Solstar Order detected the Dire Wraith derived biology within the Red Shadows and placed the metallic planet under quarantine much to the rage of its government. First Strike #2

Concurrently on Earth, D'rge developed a magical virus that would turn human beings into Wraiths and infected several insects with it so that they would spread the virus. He first sent them after the Micronauts who managed to survive the encounter and tracked him down only for his power to overwhelm them. Micronauts: First Strike The Micronauts reached out to Rom however and with his aid, they proved able to destroy the virus. When the Wraith Sorcerers were making new plans however, they were approached by Baron Karza who proposed an alliance to deal with their mutual foes. ROM: First Strike Karza's offer, to remove the Entropy Cloud from Microspace and have it accelerate time around the Presence, was accepted. Microspace Knight

As part of their deal, the Wraiths used their magic to alter Karza's enerchange abilities, Rom & The Micronauts #1 while also assimilating a group of Repto and other Microspace denizens to speed up their plans. Microspace Knight Entropy Karza also bargained that the Wraiths would turn over some of their grunts for scientific dissection. Entropy

As part of a ritual conducted by Cobra mysticist Crystal Ball, the Cobranarchist Dire Wraiths used their powers in conjunction with antediluvian artifacts stolen by Cobra agents, creating a portal to Cobra-La. After Cobra Commander had some of the Cobranarchists thrown through the portal and they re-emerged as mutant "Vipers", the Commander deemed the Wraiths unnecessary and had them fed to the Vipers. Scarlett's Strike Force #1

Goldbug had never heard of the Wraiths and was both amazed and unnerved to see Stardrive displaying her Wraith aspects. Prowl on the other hand considered Stardrive his best asset. The Dead Come Home, Part 2

Livia and Orphion dispatched a lava-based Wraith creature while Rom fought some Wraith Cows alongside Darby Mason and Camilla Byers. The latter group was approached by the Micronauts for aid in thwarting the alliance between Karza and the Wraiths. Though the Wraith Soldiers fell quite easily, Rom was sent away to Microspace by Karza's new powers with the Wraith leaders and the Baron escaping. Small World While in Microspace, Rom was attacked by the assimilated Repto before the heroes came upon a Wraith infected Hornetroid that managed to spread its infection to Acroyear. Microspace Knight Rom managed to quickly burn out Acroyear's Wraith-infection before he and the Micronauts were able to destroy the conduit the Wraiths were using to harness the Entropy Cloud. On Earth, Karza ordered the Dire Wraiths to send their fleet to Microspace to better protect the back-up conduit. Entropy

The Earth-bound forces eventually cornered their foes only for Rom and the Micronauts to return from Microspace prompting the Wraiths to step up their time table with the Absence offering himself as the sole portal to the Presence's realm. By the time their foes caught up with them, the Presence had awoken. Asymmetric Warfare The deity's awakening caused all Wraiths across the planet to experience a substantial boost in power and begin open conquest. When the Presence was sent back to her realm, the Wraiths lost their additional power and found themselves rather easy pickings for the humans. Gods and Monsters

Despite this crippling blow to their plans, the Wraiths managed to survive long enough to see the coming of Unicron. Led by Dubosky, a group of Wraiths attended a briefing on the threat within Trypticon. Though they nearly came to blows with Livia, Rom and Soundwave managed to convince both parties to put aside their animosity until Unicron was destroyed. Unicron #5 Led by Countdown, they took part in the battle against the Earth-bound Maximals. Ceremony

Aw Yeah! Revolution

Traveling through space in search of Dire Wraith, Rom the Space Knight discovered a Wraith collective hiding in an asteroid. Rom attempted to talk things out, but the Dire Wraiths decided they'd rather fight. As they attacked him, Rom activated his forcefield, only to be whisked away by Baron Karza, leaving the Wraiths confused. Aw Yeah! Revolution #1 The Wraiths eventually tracked Rom to Earth. As they approached the planet, they reveled in the thought of destroying their enemy. Aw Yeah! Revolution #2 In orbit of Earth, Rom sighted the Wraith ship and followed them down but failed to arrive in time to stop them from assimilating several Cobra troops. The Wraiths swarmed their foe before he managed to break free to confront Destro. Aw Yeah! Revolution #3

Physiology

The Dire Wraiths support diversity in the workplace.

Dire Wraiths vary heavily in appearance, but generally shared features include their distinctive split forearms, four-fingered clawed hands and wide mouths with sharp teeth and long, pointed tongues, as well as the "palm-spike" tendrils emerging from their wrists, used to infect other beings. ROM Revolution Rom vs. Transformers: Shining Armor Two main "variants" appear to be more common — heavy-set, eyeless brown Wraiths and slender, four-armed and six-eyed blue-grey Wraiths — but many others have appeared, varying in skin color, number of eyes and other features such as horns. Revolution Revolutionaries Rom vs. Transformers: Shining Armor

While more durable than humans, Dire Wraiths were still able to be killed by human bullets. Thundercracker & Buster Save the World D.T.A. Cybertronian Insecticons also possessed teeth sharp enough to eat through Wraith flesh. Thundercracker & Buster Save the World In spite of this, Wraith flesh was immune to the ravages of time. Entropy

It is possible for Dire Wraiths to crossbreed with human beings, G.I. Joe vol. 5 #4 creating half-Wraith/half-Human hybrids. G.I. Joe vol. 5 #5

In their natural forms, Dire Wraiths were of similar height to human beings and Space Knights. Earthfall: Part Three Cold Fire Shining Armor #1 The natural form of one Wraith however was just below shoulder level of the average Cybertronian. Nothing Will Ever Be the Same Again! Dire Wraiths were capable of shrinking down to Microspacian scale. ROM: First Strike

The color of Dire Wraith blood varied. While most instances of Wraiths bleeding showed red blood, D.T.A. ROM Rom vs. Transformers: Shining Armor other cases have shown Wraiths bleeding green Thundercracker & Buster Save the World and pink/purple blood. ROM: First Strike

Abilities

The most obvious physical trait of the Dire Wraiths is their ability to shapeshift. Earthfall: Prelude After infecting something, the Wraiths are able to shift between their original form and the form of the being that they had infected, as well as all prior infected beings they had sampled DNA from; Interlude Ghost in the Machine and while in Wraith-form, they are capable of shifting shape for combat purposes, distorting and changing their bodies while still remaining visibly Dire Wraiths. Cold Fire The Wraiths could shift the position of their internal organs for defensive purposes while in solid form, Micronauts: First Strike and became near invincible while shapeshifting as they as lacked internal organs during this transition period. Thundercracker & Buster Save the World They also had the ability to dissolve their ears to shield themselves from sonic attacks. First Strike #6 Rom believed that when a Wraith infected another being, both the Wraith and its victim ceased to exist, with the new creature being nothing but a mimicry of life. Earthfall: Part Three Dire Wraiths were capable of releasing Cybertronian victims they had possessed, Shining Armor #5 though it was not clear if this applied to organic lifeforms.

Once the Wraiths assumed a new form, nothing short of an Energy Analyzer could distinguish between them and the genuine article of a species. Earthfall: Prelude (The dog Buster also possessed the "seemingly unique" ability to tell the Wraiths apart from humans.) Thundercracker & Buster Save the World Bob, Buster and D.0.C. profile However it was only a mimicry of the species as an autopsy would reveal the Wraith DNA buried beneath the surface, O Ship of State though in some cases dead Wraiths remained indistinguishable from humans, down to the DNA. Reinforcements, Part 3

The results of killing a Dire Wraith varied: in some cases, they would revert to their "true" Wraith form, D.T.A. while in others, they would remain in their assumed form. Earthfall: Part Three Concorde Hymn Dire Wraiths could call upon their tentacles or palm spikes in their human forms. Earthfall: Part One Thundercracker & Buster Save the World

Variants

The Dire Wraiths come in many different forms, with different castes having different abilities. These include:

Wraith Sorcerers

The Wraith Sorcerers are the highest class of Wraiths, possessing the most powerful magics; they would "break the spirit" of infiltrated worlds from within, before their soldiers devastated them. Earthfall: Part Two Earthfall: Part Three

Wraith Hawks

An elite caste of Dire Wraiths, the Wraith Hawks are capable of using magic to grant themselves wings and the power of flight. Earthfall: Part Two

Wraith Soldiers

Heavily built muscular Wraiths resembling the Sorcerer caste, Wraith Soldiers act as the main muscle of the Wraiths. Earthfall: Part Four Despite their great strength, they are not as formidable a threat as the Sorcerers. Shining Armor #1

Wraith Stalkers

The trackers of the Wraiths, the Wraith Stalkers are twisted and animalistic, resembling humans twisted into the shape of hunting dogs. Rom considered them to be "victims" of the Wraiths. Earthfall: Part Two

Wraith mutates

Wraith mutates are those Dire Wraiths that form from their infected victims. It's unclear what distinguishes a "normal" Wraith from a mutate, or if Wraiths are considered "mutates" only in the early stages of their transformation.

Wraith Cows

Moo. Rom & The Micronauts #1

Notes

• While it was believed that Marvel Comics owned the Dire Wraiths (using them as recently as 2011), that is not the case, as they were mentioned in Rom's original toy commercial. However, while Marvel doesn't own the name or concept of the Dire Wraiths, they do own their design for the Wraiths, forcing IDW Publishing to give the Wraiths a new look.
• A toy of the Dire Wraiths' IDW design was released at San Diego Comic-Con 2017, as part of an exclusive box-set of G.I. Joe-scale Revolution toys.

External links

• Dire Wraith on TFWiki.net
• Dire Wraith on Wikipedia