Brian DeWolff was the son of the Police Commissioner of New York City. His father, Phillip raised him and his sister. Brian wound up in a coma at some point and his Father attempted to bestow him with super powers to seek revenge on criminals. The experiment gave Brian powers but also transferred his Father's mind in his body. The struggle between the two and his powers, cause mental stability in Brian throughout his career as the Wraith. He sometimes aided heroes such as Iron Man and Spider-Man and other times fought them. The Wraith was ultimately killed by the villain-slayer named Scourge.

The Wraith's powers were all psionic based. He could summon illusions within a victim's mind, cause them mental anguish, or hypnotize them into doing his bidding. He could read minds and perform some telekinetic feats. His powers typically only affected one target at a time. He was also able to cloak himself from Spider-Man's spider-sense and appear invisible to others.