Species Name: Dire Wraith

Type: Amorphic

Physical Traits: Can adopt the form and abilities of any living beings by mentally altering their bodily structure. Females look radically different from males and kill their victims in the process of adopting their forms. Each hand has three (spatulate) fingers with a mouth in middle.

Height: 4-6 ft

Weight: 80-150 lbs

Mobility: Legs

Sensory Organs: Visual

Communication: Vocal

Reproduction: Unknown

INT: 3D6, WIS: 3D6, STR: 3D6, DEX: 3D6, CON: 3D6, CHA: 3D6, MR: 3D6, HPs: CON +D10

Orbit/Climate: 1 AU. Extremely erratic, retrograde, elliptical orbit, unpredictable, harsh and violent temperature changes.

Atmosphere: Thin and tainted Oxygen/Nitrogen/Carbon Dioxide with toxic contaminants.

Oceans: 15%, acidic

Gravity: 100%

Feeding Habits: Omnivore

Lifespan: Unknown

Technology: 10

Culture: Truly malicious race with no redeeming qualities at all. While the Skrulls were still in their early stages of evolutionary developments the Celestials, a star-spanning race of genetic engineers, landed on Skrullos and selected a number of natives upon whom to experiment. With one sample group the Celestials affected a series of genes related to longevity and thereby created Skrullian equivalents to Earth's Eternals. With another group the Celestials tested for genetic stability and diversity and created the Skrullian counterparts to Earth's Deviants. In a third group the Celestials implanted a gene series which would permit rapid benevolent mutation under the right conditions when the species matured. This group its genetic modifications latent remained the Skrullian normals. After performing their genetic experiments the Celestials left Skrullos. There were either two separate Deviant races of Skrulls or else the Deviant Skrulls evolved into two separate races. The Deviant Skrulls proved to be able to change their shapes, began to dominate the planet and eventually eradicated both the Eternal and Normal branches of their species. Later the majority race of shape-changing Skrulls sought to exterminate the minority Deviant Skrull race who are today known as the Dire Wraiths. The majority of the Skrulls regarded the Wraiths as a threat to them. However through sorcerous means the Dire Wraiths escaped to the Dark Nebula and did not clash with the true Skrull race until relatively recent times.

The Dire Wraiths did not venture out until the male science-oriented wraiths brought a proposal before the then queen to expand their evil into the neighbouring Golden Galaxy of Galador. In preparation, the science wraiths had constructed a fleet of warships and when the Galadorian Armada entered the Dark Nebula seeking to offer trade of goods, culture, and enlightenment, the wraiths seized the opportunity to strike. Though outnumbered and caught completely off guard, the Armada was able to form a defence sphere. With their advanced technology, they would have been able to retreat from the Dark Nebula as long as the sphere was maintained. Seeing their prey about to escape, the Dire Wraiths summoned forth their most terrible ally & weapon, the Deathwing. This mystical creature penetrated the Galadorian defences and "consumed" all living flesh present destroying the Armada. The Wraiths then regrouped and mounted an invasion force that headed to Galador. News soon reached Galador that their fleet was destroyed and Wraithkind would soon attack in force. Being defenseless with the destruction of the Armada, the Prime Director issued a call for whoever would to sacrifice their humanity to become Spaceknights as a last desperate defense of their beloved homeworld. A thousand were selected and underwent the transformation. When the Wraith invasion fleet arrived, they were met in orbit by these cyborg warriors led by Rom. A pitched battle ensued and the Spaceknights began to gain the upper hand. The Wraiths then summoned the Scourge of the Armada, the Queen Mother Deathwing. Rom faced this creature in desperate battle and managed to destroy it with his Neutralizer. Seeing their greatest weapon destroyed, the Wraiths fled in panic dispersing across the universe pursued by the surviving Spaceknights. Rom himself pursued a portion of the fleet. The presiding commander split his force sending the remainder to infiltrate other worlds while his ship headed straight for Wraithworld. Rom chose to follow this lead vessel and banished the wraith witches powering the drive systems as it approached the Wraith citadel on the planet. Rom then began banishing to Limbo every Wraith he found on the planet. In desperation the wraiths created a spell that caused Rom to see non-existent wraiths everywhere he looked. This provided the delay necessary for the survivors to evacuate Wraithworld and seek new bases to rebuild their forces. Rom was later rescued from the enchantment by another spaceknight, Unam the Unseen and the rest of the Spaceknight Squadron that the Prime Director had sent to find the long overdue Rom.

One world the Wraiths infiltrated was Earth. It was there almost 200 years after the defense of Galador that Rom arrived near Clairton, West Virginia seeking out his enemies. The Wraiths were led by the "Most High One" that had the machinations in motion for the rebuilding of Wraith power and the conquest of Earth and then Galador. Rom upset many of the Wraith plans despite the interference of a number of Earth's super-powered heroes who were unable to detect the wraiths and thought Rom a "killer robot". Eventually, Rom was able to make the situation known to Power Man and Iron Fist who actually witnessed a wraith disintegrate upon its accidental death. Soon after the Fantastic Four were convinced of the Wraith threat, as was Doctor Strange. Rom departed for Galador for a brief period. In the interim a powershift occurred among the Dire Wraiths. In a showdown at the United Nations building hidden from human perception, the witchwraiths slew their male counterparts and destroyed their scientific creations vowing to return Wraithkind to their innate sorcery and eschewing science altogether. These now ascendant witch Wraiths then began re-infiltrate the town of Clairton, West Virginia. The female wraiths were not ashamed of their true forms as the science wraiths had been and their manner of assuming an individual's shape was far more insidious. These Wraiths used their razor sharp barbed toungues to pierce the skull of their victim and begin to assimilate that persons knowledge and personality into themselves. The victim began to shrivel and die immediately as the wraith assumed its identity. The greater part of the town was savagely murdered by the wraith witches in this manner. Earth would eventually learn of the presence of the evil Wraiths and a state of total war existed. The Wraiths then struck with their most devastating plan. Using the greatest bulk of their sorcery they struck a black hole through Earth's Sun to the dreaded Dark Nebula beginning a spell known "Worldmerge". This incantation would, upon fulfillment, merge Earth and Wraithworld into a single planet and replace the Earth's sun with Wraithworld's Black Sun. As Wraithworld approached drawing the Wraith's ultimate victory nigh, an entranced Rom stood helpless as all the wraiths on the Earth came to gloat at his humiliating defeat. At this moment the super-powered heroes of Earth, warned by Rick Jones arrived to fight one last great battle and rescue the paralyzed Spaceknight. Once freed of the wraith sorcery Rom returned to space with the mutant Forge where they had constructed a "Neo-Neutralizer". This device was powered by Rom's own Neutralizer and could banish every wraith on earth at once. As the moment of Worldmerge was upon them, Rom & Forge turned the Neo-Neutralizer away from Earth to prevent the potential of neutralizing the superpowers of everyone on Earth and thus thwarting the plans of Agent Gyrich. Then Rom & Forge used the Neo-neutralizer to negate the evil of Wraithworld itself which was the source of the Wraiths mystical powers. Though Wraithworld had been neutralized, its proximity to Earth was having catastrophic effects. Rom therefore finish the process by banishing Wraithworld itself to Limbo. With Wraithworld gone, every Dire Wraith throughout the universe lost its ability to use evil sorcery. Upon returning to the surface of the Earth where its heroes had corralled the surviving wraiths, Rom once again opened the portal to Limbo banishing every wraith left on Earth. There are still a remnant of Dire Wraiths remaining throughout the universe.

Government: Totalitarian Monarchy

Population: 63 million at one point, now almost extinct

Home System:

Number of Stars: 1, Dark Sun