The 50th issue of Marvel Team-Up continues the four-part Wraith/Jean DeWolff storyline, as Dr. Strange - the Master of the Mystic Arts - joins the battle.

In the previous two issues, Iron Man and Spider-Man battled the Wraith, a mysterious villain with immense psychic powers. The heroes are joined in the case by Jean DeWolff, a tough-talking New York City police captain. Clues point to the Wraith being Jean DeWolff's brother, Brian. But Brian supposedly has been dead for two years, having been killed in the line of duty as a police officer. So as this issue starts, Spider-Man seeks the help of Dr. Strange to solve this mystery - is the Wraith really Jean DeWolff's dead brother? Or does someone else want her to think so? Meanwhile, Jean DeWolff and Iron Man each go their separate ways to see what they can learn. Jean thinks she has a pretty good idea about the Wraith's identity - "none other than Phillip DeWolff -- my own dear father!" Phillip DeWolff never approved of his daughter's police career and the two have been at odds for some time.

Dr. Strange and Spider-Man go to the site of Brian DeWolff's shooting, where Dr. Strange uses his magic amulet to recreate the scene. Brian DeWolff was, in fact, shot, but whether or not he died, it is impossible to say. Also, Phillip DeWolff was on the scene and carried his son away after the shooting. Spider-Man draws the same conclusion as Jean, saying, "I have a hunch that when we find him (Phillip), we'll find the Wraith!" Iron Man's scientific inquiries reveal that Phillip DeWolff's fingerprints match those on a note sent by the Wraith. So Phillip DeWolff is the Wraith, right? Well, it's not so easy. Jean DeWolff finds the Wraith inside the family crypt. "Take off that ridiculous costume, father! It don't suit you!" she tells him. However, Phillip DeWolff emerges from the shadows - he's not the man in the costume. The Wraith removes his mask and Jean screams. Thankfully, Spider-Man and Dr. Strange arrive on the scene, but they are quickly overwhelmed by the Wraith's psychic attack and are taken prisoner. Phillip DeWolff holds them captive under a paralysis beam (no word on where a former police commissioner acquires that kind of technology, but we'll move on).

We then see the Wraith's face - it is, in fact, Brian DeWolff, although he appears to be in a trance. It turns out he was badly wounded in the shooting, but not killed. Phillip DeWolff turned to a banker Karl Bonn, and Max Vorster, a wealthy slumlord, for help. However, Phillip DeWolff insists that no one knows that his son is alive, as he wants him to become a masked avenger who strikes against the criminal world. But as the experimental operation was slated to begin, Phillip DeWolff learns that Bonn and Vorster are criminals and intend for the Wraith to serve them, not justice. A struggle ensues and both Phillip and Brian DeWolff are bathed by the energy from the machine intended to restore Brian to health. As a result, Brian's body returns to normal, but with Phillip controlling his mind. The Wraith, as he's now dubbed, has tremendous mental powers. And as we saw in Marvel Team-Up #48, Bonn and Vorster were the Wraith's first two victims. "In flames was Brian -- through me -- reborn into the being known as the Wraith!" Phillip DeWolff tells his daughter. At that moment, Spider-Man and Dr. Strange break free of the paralysis ray, as Dr. Strange uses his Cloak of Levitation to block the device's powerful beam. Spider-Man asks "how blowing up a fuel tank, wiping out a bank full of innocent people and attacking his own daughter works out to battling injustice? Mister -- you sound like a certified A-1 cracker to me!!"

As the heroes resume their battle against the Wraith, the cavalry arrives in the form of Iron Man. He's whipped up an "alpha-jammer" helmet designed to block Phillip DeWolff's mental connection with his son. "Prove to papa that he really is the inventive genius he thinks he is!" Iron Man thinks. "Not that any of us will be left to criticize if you fail!" Don't worry, Tony - you are an inventive genius. He slaps the helmet on the raving villain and the Wraith slumps to the floor, as Brian DeWolff goes back into a catatonic state. The big reveal to the Wraith mystery works here. I'm sure plenty of readers figured the Wraith was either Brian or his father, but I doubt many figured out that he actually was both. This story was a little light on the action, but given how much back story there was to explain, it works out just fine. Writer Bill Mantlo does a nice job creating a believable motivation for the Wraith's actions. Phillip DeWolff sees himself and his son as heroes and his ambition and thirst for revenge blind him to the fact that he is a much bigger threat than the criminals he professes to oppose.

Next issue: The battle is over, but the story is not. Next issue - the trial of the Wraith!

Reviewed by Bruce Buchanan.