Height: 6'3"Weight: 230 lbs.
Eyes: Blue (sometimes brown)
Hair: Dark blond
WRATH
Real Name: Thomas Hunter
Identity/Class: Extradimensional (Earth-93060/Ultraverse) human mutate
Occupation: Mercenary;
formerly Aladdin agent
Group Membership: None;
formerly Aladdin
Affiliations: Jake Alexander, Dr. Dalmas, Bob
Kendall,
Kristin (last name unrevealed), Mantra (Lukasz),
Prime
(Kevin Green), Slayer,
Warstrike
Enemies: Aladdin, Colonel Carpenter, Discus,
Doc Virtual,
Dr. Vincent Esquida, Exiles(-'Strike) (Siena Blaze,
Cayman,
Hellblade, Amber
Hunt, Reaper, Shuriken, 'Strike), Freex (Anything,
Boomboy, Plug, Pressure, Sweetface),
Hellion,
Modeus,
Ogre,
Patriot, Pierce,
Prototype
(Jimmy Ruiz), Radicals
(Albright, Boam, Marcus)
Known Relatives: Morgan
(Willard?) Hunter
(father), Theresa Hunter (mother, deceased)
Aliases: Tim Hopkins (name when hypnotized
prisoner)
Base of Operations: Mobile across the USA;
formerly Aladdin base, Los Angeles, USA;
formerly Pittsburgh, USA (all Earth-93060)
First Appearance: Prototype#3 (October, 1993)
Powers/Abilities: Thomas Hunter is very intelligent and has a university degree in sociology. Hunter has been augmented to have superhuman strength (up to 1 ton), enhanced agility with parkour skills, heightened durability and is a master of several types of unarmed combat with athlete-level endurance, and is skilled in stealth and covert operations. Hunter has enhanced hearing. He can also detect naturally augmented superhumans ("ultras"), although this extra sense has been unreliable. Over time, his enhancements improved his strength. He also has good knowledge of various weaponry. Hunter is very patriotic and a right-wing conservative.
His first uniform, a customized battle
suit supplied by Aladdin organization, integrated advanced technology,
such as metallic shield-like parabolic transducer coils that could
deflect and/or absorb incoming energy attacks while the wrist shields
could also discharge that absorbed energy at about 60-70% of the
original intensity (the rest of the energy was dissipated); however,
this suit had a tracking device and was discarded. His later preferred
suit incorporates leather padding that is lighter in weight and
enhances his agility and has just one wrist-mounted shield.
Height: 6'3"
Weight: 230 lbs.
Eyes: Blue (sometimes brown)
Hair: Dark blond
History:
(Rune/Wrath Ashcan Edition, Aladdin Datafile (fb) -
BTS) - Thomas Hunter was born October 30, 1965 in a small town.
(Wrath#3 (fb) - BTS) - While still a child, Thomas
visited New York with his father and was bewildered by the noise and
people, and afraid he'd get lost.
(Rune/Wrath Ashcan Edition, Aladdin Datafile (fb) -
BTS) - His mother was killed
in a plane crash in 1979 with terrorist activity suspected while his
father was disabled and comatose from injuries sustained as a bystander
during wanton ultra activity; this fostered growing resentment toward
superhumans ("ultras") and reinforced his American patriotism.
(Wrath#8 (fb) - BTS) - Aladdin agent Thayer was the
one ultimately responsible for his father's injury, but the covert
organization kept this secret.
(Rune/Wrath Ashcan Edition, Aladdin Datafile (fb) -
BTS) - Hunter
graduated from Penn State University (Pittsburgh) in 1988 and was
immediately
recruited by secret government organization Aladdin, dedicated to
monitoring ultras. Aladdin assessed him as
psychologically stable with a deep hatred of ultras that made him
a near-ideal field agent (but not for high-level covert operations);
Aladdin considered his possibility of defection as low. Hunter's
initial training merited assignment to the Genetic Enhancement Program
(Project W) with four other candidates. Hunter's I.D. code was A-004.
(Wrath#3 (fb) - BTS) - Three prideful
Project W candidates deserted, stealing files, and killing and injuring
as they fled. It took Hunter weeks to convince Aladdin he was not part
of them. Hunter was the only one to complete the intensive training and
became agent Wrath.
(Wrath#8 (fb) - BTS) - Thayer, the fifth class
member, secretly became Project Patriot, a covert extension of Project
W.
(Rune/Wrath Ashcan Edition, Aladdin Datafile (fb) -
BTS) - Hunter was fitted with the custom Wrath battle suit, which
incorporated a tracking chip in it. Aladdin also kept tabs on people
close to Hunter in case he started exhibiting any defiant behavior.
(Wrath#2 (fb) - BTS) - Hunter began dating Kristin,
although his eyes still wandered.
(Prototype#3) - Aladdin's Jake Alexander tasked Wrath
to retrieve a microchip planted on the privately developed Prototype
armored suit that was mapping
its technical details and algorithms. Wrath considered it an honor and
that he had been concerned about Prototype since seeing him on the news.
(Prototype#4) - Hunter easily slipped into UltraTech
headquarters after tranquilizing the guard. He changed into his Wrath
combat suit and tore into the secure lab holding the armor. Wrath
prised off the hidden microchip, but the suit's neural link alerted its
pilot Jimmy Ruiz, who quickly confronted Wrath. The short fight was won
by Wrath, who fled, but Ruiz jacked quickly into the Prototype armor
and gave chase. Using his battle suit, Wrath was able to return
Prototype's blasts back at him and Wrath's superior combat skills
overwhelmed Prototype; however, Prototype almost destroyed the stolen
microchip (later found to be permanently damaged) as Wrath escaped via
an Aladdin helicopter.
(Break-Thru#1) - Aladdin put Wrath through an intense
mechanical training program to have him on preactivation status due to
the potential threat that Amber Hunt
posed as she radiated with dangerous energy. Mantra (Lukasz), in her
Eden Blake guise working undercover at Aladdin, saw Wrath.
(Break-Thru#2 (fb) - BTS) - Aladdin sent Wrath out to
find any ultra who investigated Amber Hunt but hadn't traveled to the
Moon as part of the connected secret mission, but only the mercenary
Warstrike was still on ground.
(Break-Thru#2) - Wrath found Warstrike and demanded
he go to Aladdin to provide any information. But Warstrike refused to
cooperate, having had a vision of an impending Hunt-centered nuclear
blast, and fiercely fought off Wrath. Hunt did indeed release a burst
of blazing energy, but it ultimately proved harmless and panic abated.
(Wrath#1) - Suspicious power outages in Pittsburgh led to Aladdin activating Wrath to investigate. Mantra was also intrigued and set off independently. After a tough combat workout session, Wrath first went to Philadelphia where he visited his disabled father in a local retirement and medical facility. Although his father was unresponsive, Thomas Hunter took time to speak to him, hoping one day to take care of him personally, and then flew to Pittsburgh. The sudden power leeching and forced shutdown of the local nuclear powerplant directed Hunter's efforts. He impersonated a Nuclear Security Agency officer for information and returned to the powerplant at night as Wrath. Investigating the sewer, he quickly found the extraterrestrial culprit Hellion. Trusting of his agency, Wrath tried to communicate to the alien to go to Aladdin, but instead a dramatic battle forced Wrath to flee, an explosion throwing him unconscious into the snow where Mantra found him.
(Wrath#2 (fb) - BTS) - Mantra moved
Wrath to safety
in a nearby cabin and he soon recovered.
(Wrath#2) - Trusting her, but also strongly attracted
to her, Wrath let Mantra accompany him back into the sewers. He asked
her to mystically search for Hellion; detecting him, they returned to
the surface and found him at the distribution power lines, about to
leech massive power. Wrath and Mantra attacked to stop the alien and
his helper flying disc Modeus. Wrath was overwhelmed by Hellion's sheer
power and almost killed until Mantra released a mystical onslaught that
fueled Hellion's energy needs. Although Mantra fell, Wrath recovered
and blasted Modeus down. Hellion thanked Wrath for the honorable battle
and left. Wrath considered taking the unconscious Mantra to Aladdin,
but compassionately let her
go. He later filed a report via Aladdin's GENIE-Link computer and
recommended a
"sniffer"
mission go hunt for Hellion and that he'd been unable to capture
Mantra. He sent flowers to Kristin.
(Wrath#3) - Back home, Hunter enjoyed intimacy with
Kristin, unaware Aladdin was secretly filming them. At Aladdin HQ, Col.
Carpenter supported the continuation of Project W ("Wrath") because of
the increase in ultra activity, although the devious Dr. Esquida
objected. Later, Esquida quietly sent Wrath to New York to capture the
three failed Project W candidates, who had deserted and since become
the destructive Radicals. Esquida hoped Wrath would fail and sent him
secretly into a trap; Wrath was ambushed on the rooftops by the
Radicals, his
ultra-detecting sense somehow compromised. Vigilante Slayer's timely
intervention saved Wrath, and their mutual foes were incapacitated.
Slayer fled just as displeased Aladdin agents arrived. Wrath realized
he'd
been set up and was ordered to see Carpenter.
(Wrath#4) - Hunter visited his unresponsive father,
hoping he was proud of his work, while Kristin waited outside, still
oblivious to Hunter's real job. At Aladdin HQ, Wrath fought training
androids until Carpenter arrived (although Wrath became concerned at
Carpenter's talk of ultras as if they were a race to be confined).
Carpenter brought in Robert Kendall to speak on the young ultra group
the Freex (Anything, Boomboy, Plug, Pressure, Sweetface) with
particular focus on Plug for his ultra ability to enter electronic
systems. Hunter had friendly drinks with Kendall, then went to San
Francisco
to apprehend and bring in the Freex. Wrath quickly took down the
panicked Boomboy and Sweetface, surprised they presented no apparent
danger as Aladdin took custody of the unconscious pair, but then
Pressure and Anything turned up, both angry, ready to protect their
friends.
(Wrath#5) - Wrath was surprised that the teen-aged
ultras weren't the hard-hitting terrorists that Aladdin described. With
distractions, the Freex overpowered Wrath and he feigned
unconsciousness to see what they would do. Realizing they were not
villainous after all, he asked them firmly to accompany him back to
Aladdin, but they refused and left him cuffed (which he easily broke
free of later); seeing no intention to kill him, he let them go and
waited for Aladdin agents to arrive. Wrath returned to Aladdin
base and confronted Kendall about not having full information about his
missions.
(Wrath#6 (fb)) - Kendall reprimanded Wrath but he
fobbed it off. Wrath pushed his way in and confronted Col. Carpenter
about attacking teen-aged ultras; Carpenter dismissed it as an Aladdin
GENIE software issue, but then riled Wrath by mentioning a father
figure. Wrath overheard Carpenter phone up increased security orders
for himself concerning the Wrath
project.
(Wrath#6) - Wrath was put through a dangerous combat training test, first androids, then fellow agents, then killer lasers, but passed all. Afterward, Aladdin's Dr. Dalmas told him that his enhancements had continued to improve his strength. He spoke to Kristen to patch up the damaged relationship and wanted to tell her more about his job. He visited his father again, then relaxed in the park with Kendall and Kristen, and used a hard baseball hurl to get rid of a nearby Aladdin snooper.
(Wrath#7 (fb) - BTS) - Spending free time in
Philadelphia, Hunter chose to get exercise in his Wrath battle suit,
but cyber-villain and reality-warper Doc Virtual had plans to use the
energy stored in Wrath and laid a trap, paying three mercenaries to
attack the agent.
(Wrath#7) - Encumbered by Doc
Virtual's interrupting
illusions, Wrath clumsily fought back separate attacks from mercenaries
Ogre, Pierce and Discus. Frustrated, Wrath unleashed all his stored
energy and it revealed Doc Virtual's form, who then told Wrath of his
plan to take over the world using the agent as his personal battery for
energy. Wrath was able to break free, but the foe escaped. Wrath spoke
to disbelieving police, then later Aladdin, with Kendall and Carpenter
privately believing Wrath's report.
(Wrath Giant Size#1) - Hunter visited his
unresponsive father and voiced his concerns about work. Kristen
suddenly appeared and Hunter appreciated her presence. He was passed a
data disk (secretly sent by duped Kendall) that showed (faked) footage
that Warstrike was responsible for his father's injury. Viewing the
footage, Hunter changed into Carpenter's office, almost choking the
colonel to leave him brain-dead, but Aladdin security forces rushed in
and almost overwhelmed Wrath, forcing him to flee into the night.
Carpenter soon recovered but furiously declared Wrath as a rogue
agent and Project Patriot be activated to terminate Wrath. Meanwhile,
knowing the Aladdin battle suit had a tracer, Wrath discarded it and
found new gear, keeping only one wrist shield. He left Kristen alone
for her safety. Wrath hunted down Warstrike in the city and the two
fought intensely. Warstrike denied Wrath's claim; Mantra suddenly
arrived and confirmed it mystically, but then Patriot found and blasted
them.
(Wrath#8)
- Wrath's faster healing helped him recover first and he stopped
Patriot, then rescued Mantra and Warstrike. The trio made their way to
an Aladdin data site in Washington, DC, where Wrath discovered Thayer
(since transformed into Patriot) was responsible for his father's
injury. Patriot appeared and fighting
began anew. Aladdin guards also arrived, and Mantra and Warstrike
escaped, but the maddened Wrath vengefully kept striking at Patriot and
killed him. Carpenter entered with guards and forced Wrath's surrender.
(Wrath#9 (fb) - BTS) - Kendall convinced Carpenter
not to kill Wrath, but instead have him and Kristin brainwashed with
new identities and isolated in a small town.
(Ultraverse Premiere#8/4) - Carpenter had Wrath
placed in a cell at a secret Aladdin site. He also had Kristin captured
and a photo of her tied up shown to Wrath to taunt him. Wrath raged in
the cell but was made unconscious. Elsewhere, Mantra suspected the
likely punishment for Thomas Hunter and made plans with Warstrike.
(Wrath#9 (fb) - BTS) - Thomas Hunter was brainwashed
and given the identity of Tim Hopkins, high school history teacher in
the small idyllic town of Paradise, with Kristin as his wife Karen.
Aladdin agents constantly monitored them. Meanwhile, Mantra and
Warstrike pretended to be a married couple and infiltrated the town.
(Wrath#9) - Oblivious to their real past, "Tim" and
"Karen" enjoyed a sunny day in Paradise, and met Mantra an Warstrike in
civilian guises, who later returned at night away from Aladdin
surveillance and triggered Hunter remembering who he really was (and
Kristin). Aladdin forces charged in but were quickly eliminated by the
superior fighting experience of the three heroes. Hunter donned various
pieces of armor from fallen Aladdin agents to form a new costume.
Kendall soon arrived and warned Wrath that Carpenter would next go
after his father Morgan Hunter, and they all raced to the retirement
home. Meanwhile, Carpenter had duped Prime (Kevin Green) into believing
Wrath was a threat; Prime confronted Wrath at the home but stopped
fighting when he realized Wrath's sincerity. Unhinged, Carpenter fired
his gun point blank at Morgan's head in front of Wrath, but Mantra's
spell blocked the bullet; Carpenter then chose to end himself instead.
Kristin arrived after the turmoil, and she and Wrath embraced, closer
now that she knew the truth and Hunter was apparently no longer with
Aladdin.
(All-New Exiles#11) - Back in his second costume,
Wrath was amongst the
mercenaries seeking to capture the Exiles (Siena Blaze, Cayman,
Hellblade, Amber Hunt, Reaper, Shuriken, 'Strike), who had been blamed
for devastation in Manhattan.
Comments: Created by David Ammerman.
A little extra info on Wrath was supplied in the
interview with creator David Ammerman in Malibu Sun #33 (January,
1994). Ammerman initially conceived Wrath (still with the same
background) as a corporate superhero, but
left that idea to Prototype, and the decision was made to shift him
within an
Aladdin framework.
As discussed elsewhere, there's no indication that
the Ultraverse was saddled with Marvel's sliding timescale (although I
suppose that could've changed after Black September?), so the dates
given can be considered accurate.
His one (wordless) post-Black September appearance was just one panel in amongst a whole muddled pile of older characters.
The Rune/Wrath Ashcan Edition included the first 4 pages of Wrath #1 plus a bonus "Aladdin Datafile" page on Thomas Hunter as agent Wrath (reprinted in the Ultraverse Origins one-shot), where his parents are named, and a short blurb from scripter Mike Barr.
I could make some sort of smart-ass comment about
excessive shoulder pads, but in my opinion, Wrath was a good character
concept that fitted very well into the Ultraverse. It's unfortunate he
was
mainly isolated to his own series when he could've been used as a
"guest star" in other stories involving Aladdin.
Profile by Grendel Prime.
CLARIFICATIONS
:
Wrath (Thomas Hunter) has no known connections to:
Morgan Hunter was Thomas' father. He was a bystander
during ultra activity and was hit by Thayer, a covert Aladdin agent;
the injury left him paralyzed and comatose. Aladdin kept the incident
strictly secret. Thomas Hunter put him into a retirement and medical
facility, hoping one day to look after him personally. However, because
Thomas Hunter was agent Wrath for covert organization Aladdin, it kept
tabs on the elderly patient. Ultimately, Wrath discovered the person
responsible was Thayer and killed him. However, maddened Aladdin leader
Col. Carpenter, keen to punish Wrath for rebelling against Aladdin,
tried to shoot the wheelchair-bound Morgan in front of his son, but
Mantra stopped the bullet. Carpenter destroyed himself and so his
threat to the Hunters was ended.
He is initially named Willard "Willy" Hunter in the
Aladdin Datafile page in the Rune/Wrath Ashcan Edition, but he's named
Morgan Hunter for the address at the retirement home. Is Morgan an
alias or did they choose to register him under his middle name?
Whatever the case, it's Morgan in-story.
--Wrath#1 (Wrath#2,4,6, Wrath Giant Size#1, Wrath#9
Kristin (last name unrevealed) was
Thomas Hunter's
girlfriend and she cared
for him deeply, although he kept his work life as Aladdin secret agent
Wrath private. Kristin ran a florist shop and voiced her concerns about
Hunter's sudden trips (secretly Aladdin missions) to her best friend
Dominique. Hunter cared for Kristin also and wished to tell her more of
his life, eventually introducing her to his unresponsive father at the
medical facility. Aladdin secretly monitored her in case Thomas Hunter
acted against the organization. When Wrath went rogue, Aladdin's
Colonel Carpenter had her captured and tied up to taunt Wrath after he
was taken in. She was brainwashed into believing she was Karen, the
wife of Tim Hopkins (the likewise brainwashed Thomas Hunter) and
isolated in a small idyllic town. However, Mantra and Warstrike
infiltrated the town and shocked the pair back to reality. After
defeating Aladdin forces, Kristin and Hunter became closer now that she
knew the truth and Hunter was apparently no longer with Aladdin.
--Wrath#2 (Wrath#3-6, Wrath Giant Size#1,
Ultraverse Premiere#8/4, Wrath#9
images:
(without ads)
Wrath#7, post-editorial pin-up (main image, 2nd & final costume)
Wrath#9, p9, pan1 (headshot)
Wrath#1, p14 (1st costume (from Aladdin), running in snow)
Wrath#6, p13, pans 1-4 (training with 1st suit)
Wrath#8, p8, pan1 (2nd suit, fighting)
Wrath#9, p12, pan3 (3rd costume, holding big gun)
Wrath#4, p4, pan1 (Morgan Hunter)
Wrath#6, p15, pan1 (Kristin, full body)
Wrath#9, p22, pan4 (headshot)
Wrath#7, p16, pan7 (end?)
Appearances:
Prototype#3 (October, 1993)
- Tom Mason & Len
Strazewski (writers), David Ammerman (pencils), James Pascoe (inks),
Chris Ulm (editor)
Prototype#4
(November, 1993) - Len Strazewski & Tom Mason (writers), David
Ammerman (pencils), James Pascoe (inks), Chris Ulm (editor)
Break-Thru#1 (December, 1993) - Gerard Jones, Mike W. Barr, Steve
Englehart, Steve Gerber, James D. Hudnall, Tom Mason, George Perez
& James Robinson & Len Strazewski (writers), Gerard Jones
(script), George Perez (pencils), John Lowe (inks), Chris Ulm &
Hank Kanalz (editors)
Break-Thru#2 (January, 1994) - Gerard Jones (script), Gerard Jones,
Mike W. Barr, Steve Englehart, Steve Gerber, James D. Hudnall, Tom
Mason, George Perez, James Robinson & Len Strazewski (plot), George
Perez (pencils), Al Vey (inks), Hank Kanalz & Chris Ulm (editors)
Rune/Wrath Ashcan Edition (January, 1994) - Mike W. Barr (script),
David Ammerman (plot, pencils), James Pascoe (inks), Dan Danko (editor)
Wrath#1 (January, 1994) - Mike W. Barr (script), David
Ammerman (plot,
pencils), James Pascoe (inks), Dan Danko (editor)
Wrath#2 (Febraury, 1994) - Mike W. Barr (script), David Ammerman (plot,
pencils), James Pascoe (inks), Dan Danko (editor)
Wrath#3 (March, 1994) - Mike W. Barr (script), David Ammerman (plot,
pencils), Rodney Gates (inks), Dan Danko (editor)
Wrath#4 (April, 1994) - Mike W. Barr (script), David Ammerman (plot,
pencils), Rodney Gates (inks), Dan Danko (editor)
Wrath#5 (May, 1994) - Mike W. Barr (script), David Ammerman (plot,
pencils), Rodney Gates (inks), Dan Danko (editor)
Wrath#6 (June, 1994) - Mike W. Barr (script), David Ammerman (plot,
pencils), Rodney Gates (inks), Dan Danko (editor)
Wrath#7 (July, 1994) - Roland Mann (writer), Rick Mayes (pencils),
Scott Reed (inks), Dan Danko (editor)
Wrath Giant Size#1 (August, 1994) - Mike W. Barr (writer, co-plot),
David Ammerman (co-plot, pencils), Rodney Gates (inks), Dan Danko
(editor)
Wrath#8 (October, 1994) - Mike W. Barr (writer), David Ammerman
(pencils), Rodney Gates (inks), Dan Danko (editor)
Sludge#12/Ultraverse Premiere#8/4 (December, 1994) - Mike W. Barr
(writer), Keith Conroy (pencils), Jim Sanders (inks), Hank Kanalz
(editor)
Wrath#9 (December, 1994) - Mike W. Barr (writer, co-plot), David
Ammerman (co-plot, pencils), Rodney Gates (inks), Dan Danko (editor)
All-New Exiles#11 (August, 1996) - Phil Crain (writer), John Fang &
Shannon Denton (pencils), Rod Whigham (layouts), Bruce McCorkindale
(inks), Mark Paniccia (editor)
First posted: 06/24/2023 - celebrating the 30th
Anniversary
of the Ultraverse!
Last updated: 06/24/2023
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
Non-Marvel Copyright info
All other characters mentioned or pictured are ™
and © 1941-2099 Marvel Characters, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
If you like this stuff, you should check out the real thing!
Please visit The Marvel Official Site at: http://www.marvel.com.
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