History: (Rom
I#33 (fb) - BTS) - Dire Wraiths slew the parents of a girl named Sybil.
A Wraith High Witch then appeared at Sybil's home, claiming to be her
"Aunt Mara." Mara told the girl that her parents had abandoned her.
WRAITH HIGH WITCHES
Membership: "Maine Mara," "UK Mara," others
(each taking the name "Mara")
Purpose: To use human children to fuel spells
enabling Dire Wraith conquest of Earth
Aliases: Each Wraith High Witch was named "Mara"
Affiliations: The Ancient Sleeper, Conquistador,
Dire Wraiths, the Dweller on the Threshold, the piper
Enemies: Ethan Carruthers; Namor; the people of Gwillyn Dale, Atlantis and Mallet,
England, UK; Rom; Shang-Chi; Sir Denys Nayland
Smith; Stephen; Sybil; Sybil's parents; Black Jack Tarr; Leiko Wu
Base of Operations: The coast of Maine, USA;
Gwillyn Dale, Wales, UK; Mallet, England, UK
First Appearance: Rom I#33 (August, 1982)
History: (Rom
I#33 (fb) - BTS) - Dire Wraiths slew the parents of a girl named Sybil.
A Wraith High Witch then appeared at Sybil's home, claiming to be her
"Aunt Mara." Mara told the girl that her parents had abandoned her.
(Rom I#34 (fb)) - At some point, the high witch Mara bewitched Sybil in her sleep.
(Rom I#33 (fb) - BTS) - Sybil went blind shortly thereafter. Mara also transformed Sybil's
puppy Conquistador into a hellhound.
(Rom
I#33) - Mara found Sybil near the cliffs adjacent to her home. Mara and
Conquistador led her away from the cliffs and back to her home. Later,
several Dire Wraiths came to the house to discuss their mission and
Mara revealed that she intended to transform Sybil the same way she had
transformed Conquistador. Sybil was eavesdropping and attempted to flee
but Conquistador detected her and gave chase. Just before he could
catch her, Rom arrived and fought Conquistador. Rom defeated the
hellhound and turned his attention to Mara. Mara transformed into a
monstrous shadow creature but Rom's Neutralizer weapon nullified her
magic and banished her to Limbo.
(Rom
I#34 (fb)) - Sybil and Rom reminisced about their recent experiences
with Mara and Sybil recalled Mara
bewitching her in her sleep.
(Rom
I#35 - BTS) - Wraith High Witches were responsible for the Dire Wraith
plot to revive the Ancient Sleeper to attack Atlantis.
(Rom
I#36 (fb)) - Dire Wraiths abducted children from the Welsh village of
Gwillyn Dale at the direction of a high witch. The witch demanded that
a child be given to the wraiths each full moon or the village would be
destroyed.
(Rom
I#36) - Rom flew to Wales and found a boy named Stephen, who had been
tied up in a field and left as tribute for the wraiths. Rom untied the
boy but was attacked by wraiths, including the high witch. She
boasted that her powers were at their peak due to a stellar convergence
and battled Rom briefly before teleporting away.
(Rom
I#37) - Rom tracked the high witch to a castle and attacked just as she
was about to perform a spell that would transform the children into her
slaves. Rom dispatched several of her henchmen but she then summoned
shadow creatures that proved resistant to Rom's Neutralizer. Unable to
defeat the creatures, Rom instead turned his Neutralizer on the high
witch, banishing her to Limbo.
(Rom
I#38 (fb) - BTS) - A high witch (also named Mara) took over an
orphanage in Mallet, England, imprisoning the children and replacing
them with Dire Wraiths.
(Rom
I#38) - An official named Ethan Carruthers arrived at the orphanage to
conduct an inspection. Unaware of the Dire Wraith high witch's true
nature, Carruthers threatened to file charges against Mara due to the
conditions at the orphanage. Mara set the "children" upon Carruthers
and they nearly killed him but he was saved by Rom. While Rom kept the
Wraiths occupied, he sent Carruthers to find the real children.
Carruthers heard chanting coming from the basement and observed Mara
performing a spell to transform the children into monsters. He grabbed
a torch and hurled it at her, setting her robes ablaze. Mara attempted
to blast Carruthers but Rom appeared once again and blocked the spell
with his Neutralizer before banishing Mara to Limbo.
(Rom
I#39 - BTS) - A high witch was behind the plot to revive a Wraith
princess that had been entombed in ancient Egypt.
Comments: Created by Bill Mantlo, Sal Buscema and Joe Sinnott.
Rom ultimately defeated the high witch's piper. In issue #41, he and Dr. Strange defeated the Dweller on the Threshold and the planetary convergence passed. The High Witches were not seen after this. Presumably, they were rendered powerless when Wraithworld was destroyed.Profile by Chuck D.
CLARIFICATIONS:
The Wraith High Witches have no known connections to:
images:
(without ads)
Rom I#38 pg. 19, panel 2 (Wraith High Witches, robed witch form, main image)
Rom I#38 pg. 11, panel 2 ("UK Mara," headshot)
Rom I#33 pg 17, pan3 ("Maine Mara," shadow form)
Appearances:
Rom I#33 (August 1982) - Bill Mantlo (writer), Sal Buscema (pencils), Joe Sinnott (inks), Ann Nocenti (editor)
Rom I#34 (September 1982) - Bill Mantlo (writer), Sal Buscema (pencils), Akin & Garvey (inks), Ann Nocenti (editor)
Rom I#36 (November 1982) - Bill Mantlo (writer), Sal Buscema (pencils), Akin & Garvey (inks), Ann Nocenti (editor)
Rom I#37 (December 1982) - Bill Mantlo (writer), Sal Buscema (pencils), Akin & Garvey (inks), Ann Nocenti (editor)
Rom I#38 (January 1983) - Bill Mantlo (writer), Sal Buscema (pencils), Akin & Garvey (inks), Ann Nocenti (editor)
Rom I#40 (March 1983) - Bill Mantlo (writer), Sal Buscema (pencils), Akin & Garvey (inks), Ann Nocenti (editor)
First Posted: 10/25/2018
Last updated: 10/25/2018
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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