Warning: Contains SPOILERS forX-Manhunt Omega #1 (2025)and theX-Manhuntevent
Nightcrawler has been dethroned as theX-Men’s best teleporter, only to be replaced by a mutant so minor that most never knew he existed. Charles Xavier has almost escaped Earth for good, and Cyclops has summoned his best to capture him. However, just as Xavier is within the X-Men’s grasp, Marvel’s greatest teleporter appears in time to protect the Professor’s escape. To this mutant, nothing is but a blink away.
InX-Manhunt: Omega#1– writtenby Murewa Ayodele and Gail Simone, with art by Gleb Melnikov, Federica Manciń, & Enid Balám – Charles Xavier has almost escaped Earth with his freshly resurrected wife asCyclops’s X-Mendo everything in their power to stop their former leader.
In a last-ditch effort to stop the Professor and Lilandra’s Shi’ar Dreadnaught, Cyclops summons an otherworldly Kaiju to support Magik in the fight. However, without even a poof, pop, or BAMF, a towering mech suddenly appears, taking the heroes off guard. Inside the gargantuan, robotic shell is one ofMarvel’s well-forgotten but unbelievably teleporting powerful mutants: John Wraith.
John Wraith, Marvel’s Most Impressive Teleporter, Returns In An “Omega”-Level Moment
X-Manhunt: Omega#1–Written By Murewa Ayodele & Gail Simone; Art By Gleb Melnikov, Federica Manciń, & Enid Balám; Color By Brian Reber; Lettering By VC’s Travis Lanham
John Wraith is a fairly minor Marvel character introduced in 1991’sWolverine#48,by writer Larry Hama and artist Marc Silvestri. Yet, despite his relatively unknown status, Wraith is a powerful mutant with a particularly “OP” ability.John was a member of Team X, a covert militant faction of the Weapon X program, alongside mutants like Wolverine and Sabretooth. John sequestered himself in isolated paranoia for years after the team disbanded, until he later discovered a problem which reunited the squad. Years later, John waskilled by the Hellverineuntil mysteriously returning now to aid in Professor Xavier’s escape.
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John Wraith, much likeNightcrawler and Magik, is a teleporter. However, John’s power is distinctly unique compared to his fellow teleporting mutants. Unlike Nightcrawler and Magik, John Wraith doesn’t depend on another dimension to bridge the gap between his teleportations; he simply appears where he wishes. But more terrifyingly, Wraith makes no flashy entrance. He makes no poofs of smoke or disc-shaped portals; he just appears. Within the blink of an eye, John and anyone or anything he touches disappear or reappear in an instant. While it may be a simple detail, it’s an advantageous one.
Unlike Nightcrawler’s Signature “BAMF,” Wraith’s Teleportations Are Instant & Silent
He Appears & Disappears Instantaneously
InX-Manhunt: Omega#1, the X-Man Sageboasts about her new ally’s teleportation powers,“No disc of photons. No sonic booms. Nothing. He just appears.”Before Cyclops and Magik know what hit them, their demonic Kaiju is instantly punched backward by John Wraith and his mountainous mech. No matter the demon’s strength, Wraith and his mech reappear just behind without any indication. As the battle rages on, Cyclops realizes that Xavier has been hidden on another spaceship and ordersthe rest of his X-Mento stop the ship at all costs.
For the third time in Xavier’s escape from Earth, John Wraith has made the X-Men look like fools.
As the true Shi’ar escape ship prepares to jump into space, Kid Omega and Temper try one powerful final assault before the ship jumps into space. However, in the micro-second of a moment right before Temper hits the vessel, it simply disappears. No smoke. No sound. Nothing. Having come short once again, Cyclops’s X-Men are forced to watch their failure fly to the stars while Kid Omega is left shocked while exclaiming that “No one’s that O.P.” For the third time inXavier’s escape from Earth, John Wraith has made the X-Men look like fools. His power, while unnoticed, is mighty.
John Wraith Has Omega-Level Potential To Be A Major X-Men Character
Wraith Has The “X” Factor
Because of John’s small status in the comics, not much is really known about the mutant. His entire identity outside of Weapon X remains a mystery, as the character has only ever been used ina small number of Wolverine stories. However, the finale ofX-Manhunthas proven that John is far more than an old side character. While the mutant’s power has yet to be defined, there’s a good chance that Wraith could be considered an Omega-level mutant. Omega-levels were recently redefined as mutants whose powers possess no upper limit, and John looks like he could fit that definition.
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Mutantteleporters like Nightcrawlerare incapable of pulling off the feats that Wraith has done in a single issue. Kurt’s teleportation can exhaust him after prolonged use, and that’s on top of his power’s limited distance and obvious warning signs. Even Magik, whose portals can open anywhere in time and space, can only open so many before growing weak. In this issue alone,Wraith manages to teleport hundreds, if not thousands, of tons of metal and machinery within an instant.Nightcrawler may be everyone’s favorite blue teleporter, but John Wraith has proven that he is theX-Men’s best.
X-Manhunt: Omega#1is available now from Marvel Comics
X-Men
The X-Men franchise, created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, centers on mutants with extraordinary abilities. Led by the powerful telepath Professor Charles Xavier, they battle discrimination and villainous mutants threatening humanity. The series explores themes of diversity and acceptance through a blend of action, drama, and complex characters, spanning comics, animated series, and blockbuster films.
