EVERWRAITH

 Real Name: Not applicable

Identity/Class: Astral entity

Occupation: Avenger of Japan

Group Membership: None

Affiliations: Doctor Octopus (Otto Octavius);
former pawns Sunfire, Hiro Takachiho

Enemies: Big Hero Six (Baymax, Fredzilla, GoGo Tomago, Honey Lemon, Silver Samurai, Sunfire, Hiro Takachiho, Wasabi No-Ginger)

Known Relatives: All Japanese or those of Japanese descent, I guess

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Japan

First Appearance: Sunfire and Big Hero Six#1 (September, 1998)

Powers/Abilities: The Everwraith is an incorporeal being, and though he can be sliced into pieces, he can immediately reassemble himself. He can go through a person and cause them great pain. He can spring nectoplasmic energy out of his power, and can teleport people. He can also siphon energy from a being. He is vulnerable to Sunfire's flames, though whether it's fire in general or just atomic-fire is unrevealed. He can also be rendered tangible with a type of nectoplasm.

History: (Sunfire and Big Hero Six#3 (fb)) -The Everwraith was created when America dropped atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II. However, the souls released--instead of departing for the realms of death--stayed (or at least part of them did) and formed the Everwraith.

The Everwraith initially plotted revenge on the United States, but decades later, realized that Japan had excelled both financially and technologically. He believed this to be because of the atomic attacks.

In the Modern Era, the Everwraith started to disappear, as the Japanese started to forget the anger that formed him. Still, he decided to give them a gift--he believed that Japan would only grow further if it again faced the horror of a nuclear attack.

He saw his opportunity when an electromagnetic pulse released by Magneto caused the Japanese hero Sunfire's atomic-based powers to go out of control. He also worked in young genius (Reed Richards-type genius) Hiro Takachiho, who was about to join Japan's superhero team, Big Hero Six. The Everwraith started by kidnapping Hiro's mother.

(Sunfire and Big Hero Six#1) - As Hiro and Baymax (Hiro's robotic bodyguard) entered their home, they saw his mother's scorched clothes at the Everwraith's feet--the Everwraith informed Hiro that from then on, he was working for him.

(Sunfire and Big Hero Six#2) - While Hiro and Baymax tried to kidnap Sunfire (who was told he was dying) from the Giri Corporation, the Everwraith muttered talk about his plans and origins to Ms. Takachiho.

(Sunfire and Big Hero Six#3) - Big Hero Six (minus Sunfire) confronted the Everwraith in Tokyo. The Silver Samurai managed to chop him up, but the Everwraith easily pulled his parts together and then went through the hero, knocked him down. Sunfire arrived and erected a wall of fire around the heroes. The Everwraith explained his origins and intentions, and began the final stage of his plot--he revealed that several billboards were actually solar panels, and started to use Sunfire's atomic-flame to power them. Soon, this would cause an atomic explosion that would engulf Tokyo and have Japan excelling again.

   Honey Lemon then covered the Everwraith with nectoplasm that enabled them to touch him. She and the Silver Samurai distracted him while Gogo Tomago tried to destroy the panels, and Baymax rescued Hiro's mother. Unfortunately, the panels were impervious, and the nectoplasm wore off. However, Hiro informed Sunfire that Department H put a bio-kinetic charge in him; using it, he broke free, and used it to both extinguish the panels and destroy the Everwraith.

BTS - Everwraith somehow reformed.

(Amazing Spider-Man I#685) - Doctor Octopus hired Everwraith to protect his missile launch site in Japan.

(Amazing Spider-Man: Ends of the Earth#1) - Protecting the missile launch site hidden under a skyscraper, Everwraith attacked Big Hero Six's GoGo Tomago first. When Fredzilla was brought in to deal with him, Everwraith easily grabbed him, despite his monster aura. Another attack by GoGo failed when Everwraith became intangible. The villain wanted to see Japan burn. Honey Lemon used a converter stolen from Mr. Fantastic through her interdimensional purse to disable the force field around the skyscraper and turn Everwraith tangible for a few seconds. GoGo used the opportunity to knock Everwraith out while the rest of the team took out Octobots. Though they failed to stop the missile launch, Baymax destroyed the rocket in mid-air.

Comments: Created by Scott Lobdell and Gus Vazquez.

One wonders if the Everwraith had anything to do with Godzilla and the other monsters that terrorized Japan from the 1950s to the 1970s.

The Everwraith said that he would soon disappear, but it would be easy for him to return, considering he's already died. And even if he can't, any writer could use him as an opponent for superheroes active from the end of World War II to when this story takes place.

    With regards to the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, they were actually fortuitous. It has been discovered that Japan (which had a neutrality pact with the Soviet Union) had sent to Joseph Stalin (old lovable Coldsteel) some feelers for a peace treaty between Japan and the United States. Stalin sat on these peace treaty feelers and did not forward them to the United States.
    The reason why? Possibly, Stalin wanted to prolong the conflict between Japan and the United States so that the US would ask for the Soviet Union's help in invading Japan. Probably Stalin wanted to have the Red Army move into Japan with the American army.....and once the Red Army occupied Japan, set up a Communist government in their occupation zone. Thus, Japan could have ended up divided into two countries the way Germany and Korea did/are. 
Also, other characters with ties to Hiroshima/Nagasaki:

• Sunfire, obviously,
  Sunfire's ties to Hiroshima and Nagasaki might be gone now due to the sliding
  time scale--Caesar.
      --It could easily be made that it was instead his grandparents that were affected, and it just skipped a generation.
  --just like Otomo and his grandfather's Super Soldier Serum from X-51#4-5.
      --Snood
• In What If II#71, gamma bombs were dropped on Japan during World War II, resulting in a country of Shinto-Hulk imperialists
• Samurai Steel from Iron Man I#257. That issue revealed that Howard Stark worked on the atomic bombs dropped on Japan.   
  --Per Degaton
• Godzilla's creation in "real life"(?) was inspired by the horror, but in both the films and Marvel comics it was a later atomic test that created him (though in the films, it was the real Bikini Atoll tests, while Marvel had a fictional joint American-Japanese test).
• Perhaps some pre-FF tales? (I doubt it, though)
  --Caesar
• As for pre-FF tales about the August 8, 1945 Hiroshima Atomic Bomb: "The Eyes That Never Close!" Strange Tales I#61 (February, 1958)--a magic idol transports prisoner Jeff Corley to the H.M.S. TITANIC, then the LZ-129 Hindenburg, and then Hiroshima, Japan (when the A-Bomb was dropped on it).
  --Gammatotem
• Walter Krugg, the thief ended up in Hiroshima around the time the bomb dropped
  --Gammatotem
• Fang from Captain America Comics#6 presumably became a part of Everwraith when he was killed in Hiroshima (as revealed in Tales of Suspense I#82/2).
  
• Miko Kyusha could also be part of the Everwraith
  --Gammatotem