Real
Name: Todd (Gambit) LeBeau
Real
Name: Todd (Gambit) LeBeau
Identity/Class: Extra-dimensional (Earth-Amalgam) metamutant
Occupation: super-hero
Affiliations: the Shadow Guild (member);the JLX (member), Apollo (Ray Summers), Firebird (Beatriz Grey), Aqua-Mariner (Arthur McKenzie), Mr. X (J'onn J'onzz), Mercury (Pietro "Pete" Allen), Nightcreeper (Kurt Ryder), Runaway; (formerly) Judgment League: Avengers, Super-Soldier (Clark Kent), Angelhawk (Warren Hall), Canary (Dinah Barton), Captain Marvel (Billy Mar-Vell), Dark Claw (Logan Wayne), Goliath (Oliver Queen), Hawkeye (Clint Archer)
Enemies: Will Magnus; Sentinels; Jocasta
Known Relatives: Jade Enchantress (twin sister)
Aliases: none
Base of Operations: JLX Wavecruiser; (formerly) New Orleans
First Appearance: JLX #1 (April, 1996); JLA: The New Blood#1 (in Amalgam continuity)
Powers/Abilities: Wraith possesses the metamutant ability to change into an insubstantial shadowy form and "phase" through solid objects. His set of playing cards serves as the focus for his powers, so it is unknown if he can utilize his metamutant powers even in the absence of his cards. When Wraith uses his powers to phase through living beings, the experience leaves them with an incapacitating feeling of intense cold.
History:
Todd (Gambit) LeBeau and his twin sister,
Jennie, were separated at birth and raised
on different worlds. While Todd eventually found himself in New Orleans,
Jennie grew up on New Asgard as the
Jade Enchantress.
(JLA: The New Blood
#1) - Todd (Gambit) LeBeau made a deal in New Orleans bar
for a magic set of playing cards that would "change his life." The
cards served as a focus for his metamutant ability to change into a an
insubstantial shadowy form. As Wraith, Todd joined the
New Blood (a sub-division of newer, primarily
metamutant, members of the Judgment League:
Avengers), and began a relationship with his fellow New Blood
member Runaway. But Wraith soon
began to fear that Runaway was being corrupted by his "dark side."
(Judgment League: Avengers #122) - "Trial of Mariner" - The metamutant member of the Judgment League: Avengers known as Aqua-Mariner (Arthur McKenzie) was framed for the destruction of three Roxxon oil freighters, a heinous criminal act which was actually perpetrated by the metamutant-hating madman known as Will Magnus. Given Aqua-Mariner's longtime personal war against surface dwellers who would harm his undersea habitat, the United States government automatically labeled him an "eco-terrorist" and sent in an army of troops to apprehend him without so much as an investigation. Aqua-Mariner was eventually captured by his fellow Judgment League: Avengers teammates and imprisoned without trial. Aqua-Mariner's imprisonment, which was undertaken by Super-Soldier (Clark Kent) and the other non-metamutant members of the Judgment League: Avengers, caused a rift within the team that split the organization down metamutant lines.
Outraged by the manner in which their fellow metamutant was
imprisoned without trial, Wraith and his fellow New Blood members, under
the guidance of the mysterious New Gotham
power broker known only as Mr. X (Marco
Xavier), freed Aqua-Mariner from JLA custody and set out to find
the lost city of Atlantis, the legendary
city of Homo Superior, under the surface of the Atlantic Ocean. But
the non-metamutant members of the Judgment League: Avengers were not about
to give up Aqua-Mariner without a fight . . .
(JLX#1) - "A League of Their Own!" - The Judgment League: Avengers finally caught up to Wraith and his rogue New Blood teammates (who were now calling themselves the JLX) on the waters of the North Atlantic Ocean and attempted to board the JLX Wavecruiser by force. As Wraith used his shadow-phasing powers to avoid projectiles, he thought to himself how Runaway was getting more violent and more strident everyday. He pondered whether it was the battle against the JLA that had brought out the worst in Runaway or instead Runaway who had brought out the darkness in him. An apologetic Wraith proceeded to use his powers to phase through the JLA member known as Canary (Dinah Barton), who was temporarily disabled by the intense "cold" that the altercation caused in her. Later in the battle, Wraith comforted an injured Runaway after she was struck by one of Hawkeye's (Clint Archer) stray arrows. The battle between the Judgment League: Avengers and the JLX raged on and came to an end only after the Judgment League: Avenger member known as Angelhawk (Carter Hall), who was secretly a metamutant in league with Mr. X, feigned a severe back injury, causing the JLA to retreat in order to seek medical attention for their comrade.
With
their former Judgment League: Avengers allies no longer a threat, Wraith
and his fellow JLX members entered their Wavecruiser and prepared to submerge
beneath the ocean's surface in search of Atlantis, the legendary ancestral
home of metamutantkind. Since the Wavecruiser's hull was damaged by
the JLA member known as Captain Marvel (Billy
Mar-Vell) during the battle, the vessel began to take on water
soon after submerging as the pressure kept increasing. Runaway, suddenly
alarmed by the team's predicament, uncharacteristically grabbed Wraith by
the jacket collar and asked him to use his phasing powers to save her.
Shocked at Runaway's change in attitude, Wraith reminded her that she had
never put herself ahead of her teammates before. As she calmed down,
Runaway admitted that Wraith was the only man that she had been able to touch
without draining him of his lifeforce and that she acted out of character
because she did not wan to loose him.
Despite taking on water, the JLX Wavecruiser eventually made its way to the domed city of Atlantis. But to Wraith's, and everyone else's, surprise, the entire city of Atlantis was abandoned. As the JLX began to investigate, they were attacked by Will Magnus, Jocasta, and a squadron of Sentinel robots. Will Magnus had used the artifact known as the Serpent Crown to locate Atlantis in an attempt to exterminate its metamutant population. Wraith and his JLX teammates were soon engaged in a massive battle with Will Magnus and his Sentinels. Acting out of character once again, a violent Runaway flew toward Will Magnus -- threatening to use her metamutant power to drain him dry and leave him as a vegetable (and to love every second of it). Watching Runaway's overly-aggressive actions, Wraith realized the problem: Runaway had absorbed a part of his inexhaustible darkness every time they touched. Although it had no effect on Wraith, the darkness was starting to drive Runaway mad.
Suddenly, Will Magnus' personal robotic bodyguard known as Jocasta engulfed Runaway in a massive energy blast as the metamutant approached Will Magnus, causing Runaway to crash into a building. Blaming himself for "tainting" Runaway's light, Wraith charged his bo-staff with shadow energy and decapitated Jocasta with one swipe, vowing to never let anyone hurt Runaway again.
Soon
after Jocasta was put out of action, Will Magnus called off his Sentinels
and retreated to the surface in an attempt to repair Jocasta. An infuriated
Wraith vowed to hunt Will Magnus and his Sentinels to the ends of the
Earth. But his vendetta against Will Magnus was put on hold when Wraith
saw that Runaway had recovered from Jocasta's attack.
In the final moments of the battle, Mr. X revealed himself
to be the shape-shifting J'onn J'onzz,
the last survivor of the Martian race known as the
Skrull. When the battle ended,
Wraith and his fellow JLX teammates agreed to stay affliliated with Mr. X,
vowing to solve the mystery of why the Atlanteans departed Atlantis and where
they have gone.
(JLX#2) - "Apocalypso"
- Wraith and the JLX were in search of their missing teammate
Apollo (Ray Summers) when the black-hearted
villain known as Thanoseid attacked.
Luckily, Magneto (Erik Magnus) and the
Magnetic Men were able to lend a
hand.
(JLX#4) - Wraith
and the JLX teamed-up with Wonder Woman
(Ororo).
(JLX#6) - Wraith
and the JLX battled the villainous Ms.
Tique and her Brotherhood of
Injustice.
(JLX Unleashed!#1(bts)) - The United States Congress passed
the Armageddon Agenda, the legislation
that permitted Will Magnus and his Sentinels to declare war on all
metamutants. Magnus' mandate and funding enabled him to wage a relentless
war on the metamutant population, leading to many deaths -- both human and
metamutant. Wraith was able to vanish into nothingness with the assistance
of the Shadow Guild -- but other metamutants
were not so fortunate. Runaway mourned the loss of the only man she
ever loved.
Comments: Created by Gerard Jones, Mark Waid, Howard Porter, and John Dell; the "JLX-Press" letter column written by Brian Augustyn
Key:
Marvel characters are listed in regular, or bold black
type.
DC characters are listed
in bold blue type.
Amalgam characters are
listed in bold purple type.
Wraith's real name is listed
as "Todd Gambit" in the
Amalgam Comics Trading Card Set (Card
#25). However, in JLX UNLEASHED!
#1, Runaway refers to him
as "Todd LeBeau."
In case you're confused, Amalgam Comics didn't really exist beyond those seen in the few DC/Marvel cross-over. The titles you don't recognize are amalgams of similar Marvel and DC comics--Snood.
The brother-sister relationship between Wraith (Todd (Gambit) LeBeau) and the Jade Enchantress of the Amalgam Universe mirrors the brother-sister relationship between Obsidian (Todd James Rice) and Jade (Jenny-Lynn Hayden) of the mainstream DC Universe.
The
Jade Enchantress is the twin sister
of Wraith (Todd (Gambit) LeBeau), although
they were separated at birth and raised on two separate worlds. Although
named "Jennie" at birth, she grew up on New
Asgard alongside the New
Asgods as the Jade Enchantress.
The Jade Enchantress is an amalgam of the Enchantress (Amora) of the Marvel Universe and Jade (Jenny-Lynn Hayden) of the DC Universe.
-- Amalgam Comics Trading Card#25
The Shadow Guild
The Shadow Guild is an
organization affiliated with Wraith (Todd (Gambit)
LeBeau) of the JLX.
After the United States Congress passed the
Armageddon Agenda, the legislation that
permitted Will Magnus and his Sentinels to declare war on all metamutants,
the Shadow Guild helped Wraith vanish into nothingness for safety.
The Shadow Guild is an amalgam of the Thieves' Guild of the Marvel Universe and Obsidian elements of the DC Universe.
-- JLX Unleashed!#1
Profile by Skullogeist
If you like the Amalgam stuff, Skullogeist recommends these two sites:
http://www.geocities.com/schablotski.geo/Center.htm
http://www.io.com/~woodward/chroma/amalgam.html
CLARIFICATIONS:
Also assume that the Amalgam characters have no other connection to any others than whom they are Amalgamated, unless specifically mentioned.
Wraith is an amalgam of:
• Gambit of Earth-616, Remy LeBeau, @ Uncanny X-Men (vol. I) #266
• Obsidian of the mainstream DC
Universe, Todd James Rice, @ All Star Squadron#25
The Jade Enchantress has no known connection to:
• Enchanted Tigra, the former love of Thanoseid, @ Thorion of the New Asgods#1
• Jade Nova, power ring-wielding
agent of Dr. Strangefate, @ Doctor Strangefate#1
First Posted: 08/05/2003
Any Additions/Corrections? please
let me
know.
Non-Marvel
Copyright info Special Thanks to www.g-mart.com for hosting the Appendix, Master List, etc.!
Last updated: 08/05/2003
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