Wraith - What would YOU change?

[IV]

Pretty much as the title says really xD
I'm sure we all have our own ideas about the ideal antagonist - maybe hidden in the shadows picking us off one by one, or chasing us through the streets or even disguising itself amongst us til the time's right to strike.
So that is my question to you, SGA fans.

How would you make the wraith the ultimate enemy?
What would you change?
What would you keep the same?
How would they hunt?
Would their abilities stay the same?

[ciannwn]

This is what I'd have done for Season 6.

1: Keller and Beckett develop a genetic adjustment treatment which works. It was ridiculous that Keller produced one which caused a disease when Michael was able to come up with one which worked on him without any ill effects.

2: Todd sees that Wraith face extinction if they don't switch to eating normal food. He leads a faction of genetically altered Wraith.

3: Some Wraith refuse to change so they stay as hostile Wraith. They wouldn't have so much competition for traditional food with Todd's faction no longer requiring it. This means they'd be better fed so difficult to kill again

4: Would Todd's Wraith always keep to eating normal food? Maybe nobody knows what would happen if the Hoffan drug effects aren't passed down to future generations so the stock of edible humans in Pegasus builds up again. After all, genetic alteration can be reversible in the Stargate universe.

Having Wraith allies who don't feed on humans would mean it's possible to have real Wraith characters who don't get killed at the end of the episode. Some humans in Pegasus could resent the Atlantis expedition members making peace with food eating Wraith because they want revenge. Real Wraith characters could reveal more about their race's culture and history.

[DigiFluid]

I think the Wraith could've been really damn cool if we never actually saw them in the flesh--only their ships culling human populations; people never seen again but lots of rumours about what's happened to them.

[IV]

I'll actually answer my own questions now xD

What would you change?
-same strength levels as they were in the early seasons; they've become easier to kill, and for seemingly no real reason aside from food - what about the cannibalism aspect that's been rumoured?
-more insight into the runners aspect; how are runners chosen, are they killed immediately after, why are there so few etc

What would you keep the same?
-technology, appearance

How would they hunt?
-much like digifluid's idea; less obvious, more sneaky - more use of ambush or guerilla tactics, to make them more of a feared boogeyman than broad-daylight killer

Would their abilities stay the same?
-in accordance to how they are in the early seasons, yes

[Dr. Selene Ankarres]

How would you make the wraith the ultimate enemy?
simple, allow them to be able to weild ancient technology
What would you change?
maye the whole hive queen ruling. maye let there e a king ect. *not just boris*
What would you keep the same?
their looks, habits, ect. even feeding. it's what makes them, them
How would they hunt?
still cull ect. but maybe not destroy the village
Would their abilities stay the same?
Telepathic, feeding, strength and senses, along with glow in the dark eyes.

[ciannwn]

maye the whole hive queen ruling. maye let there e a king ect. *not just boris*

From Be All My Sins Remember'd

http://www.gateworld.net/atlantis/s4...ipts/411.shtml

WRAITH (who wasn't called Todd at this point in the series): Not all of them were convinced that the mission was achievable, plus many of our ships are without Queens.

The Sateda hive commander (Boris) was just one of many male Wraith who command hive ships. Todd himself was commanding his own hive in 'Be All My Sins Remember'd'. He was also commanding the hive which was destroyed in 'Infection'.

[Ouroboros]

There's been a lot of threads like this and I've written a lot of long posts in them so I'll try to keep this one shorter. Note that some of these obviously conflict with one another so if you did want to use them all you'd have to get a bit creative, maybe separating the Wraith into two groups and having the expedition encounter only the Pegasus splinter group which is all asleep at the time, with the vast bulk of more proper Wraith society residing in the Andromeda galaxy.

-Recurring characters with actual names and identities: Create recurring characters/villains, especially queens, and give them actual names histories and characters of their own beyond what can be developed with two pages of dialog in a single episode before they're killed off and reset again.

-Less is more: Less ships and soldiers but more powerful both. Too many Wraith makes them feel weak and worst of all familiar. This is not the sort of treatment you should be giving "the enemy so terrible they destroyed the ancients". Keep 99% of the species in hibernation, scrap the whole idea of killing one queen and waking them all up. Keep that "hive keeper" alive instead and let the show be about the expedition fighting her "night watchmen" for the early part of the series then maybe bring in one actual Wraith warlord or queen later on in the series, or just a different hive keeper, for some variety.

-More diverse technology: The Wraith had a total of 4 types of vehicle and 3 types of hand weapon species wide. I shouldn't have to explain why that's both stupid and boring. They looked nothing at all like a species that'd been enjoying uncontested domination of an entire galaxy for 10,000 years.

-Grander achievements both cultural and technological: They're supposed to be the species that usurped a galaxy from none other than the ancients themselves, then went on to enjoy their victory for 10,000 years of uncontested rule. How about we actually make that storyline, you know, believable. Give the Wraith some grand structures, things like biological ring worlds, giant space stations that tap energy from stars, things that are grand and impressive to behold. Likewise with their culture. Lets give them some music, some art, some philosophy, some actual culture beyond the silly notion that all quasi human immortal beings would ever think about or accomplish over millenia long lives is eating.

-Less one note culture: Not all Wraith should act and think the same. Have some that hunt humans and choose to live in a more feral state, embracing a theory of natural harmony with the universe. Have others that grow human substitutes in artificial wombs in vast factories and live on unimaginably advanced worlds protected by fleets of terrifying "post ancient tech" power. Have some that do that but also choose to live with humans side by side, have others that hunt and kill them not even for hunger anymore, but for sport. Have some who are learned scholars and intellectuals who seek contact with other intelligent races and a larger role in an inter-galactic community. Have some who dream of inter galactic conquest and empire, to crush all inferiors the way their ancestors did. Separate them into factions, scatter a few anomalous ones here and there in the various factions, and you might begin to approach something that actually looks like a believable society. This last one's not really compatible with the idea of them all being asleep though. If you wanted to use this you'd have to be a lot more careful about which factions the expedition pissed off as the more technologically powerful and aggressive ones would, predictably and realistically, squash them like bugs. It could be fun playing political intrigue with them though, or pitting them against their various rivals.

[Bald'r]

Pretty much as the title says really xD
I'm sure we all have our own ideas about the ideal antagonist - maybe hidden in the shadows picking us off one by one, or chasing us through the streets or even disguising itself amongst us til the time's right to strike.
So that is my question to you, SGA fans.

How would you make the wraith the ultimate enemy?
What would you change?
What would you keep the same?
How would they hunt?
Would their abilities stay the same?

Basically, I wouldn't change a thing. I can't even think of one single thing I want to improve.. They are the perfect enemy in my view, kinda like the Xenomorph in the Alien-movies.

Their erotic qualities makes them even more formidable, since you won't know wether to fall in love with them or kill them.. And the queens do also have that Praying Mantis-quality since they are prone to feed upon any human they should choose to bestow their grace upon (If they don't feed upon them just for kicks)

[Ed]

Dont wake them all up

use hives more sparingly a hive ships beat the lantians it should not go donw from a three beam shots or one shot from a satellite of a handful of drones the 1 hive 4 crusier ratio was bad thinking hive should have dozens of ships to send and these would always travel with the hive no lone hive ships getting blown up every few weeks.

keep the faced wraith incredibly badass and hard to kill maybee they get to feed more often

not nerf them a 304 should be on par with a cruiser a hive should still pwn it

let the weapons have a kill setting

make the war with the asurans and the effects of the atero device happen in quick succession and ave these devastate the galaxy while leaving the earth travellers and evil asgard even stronger via looted asuran stuff this would have made any eventual defeat of the wraith more believable hell even EATG could have been spun as a last ditch effort.

To be honest the entire show suffered from lack of foresight the wraith are a symptom of this not a cause

[Ltcolshepjumper]

How would you make the wraith the ultimate enemy?
The Wraith would be dark and mysterious. As powerful as the Ancients(as they were portrayed in SG-1). Their commanders would remain on the Hives most of the time ( only the drones would be on the ground) and it would be impossible for the Atlantis expedition to defeat them without Ancient technology.

NO alliances. The Wraith would be entirely evil. No sympathy for the Wraith "plight". They are evil, not because they have to feed, but because they want to control the galaxy and they kill any race that is a challenge to them. They are not hunger driven animals. They are intelligent, rational and malevolent beings.
What would you change?
The wraith would not NEED to feed per se. They would need to feed of course, but only once every 100 or so years (the maximum lifespan of a human being). The Wraith would not be as insect based, and their societal structure would be more Ancient based. Yet, they would be far closer to the Sith of Star Wars lore than typical alien hive-based species. the queens would behave more like actual empresses rather than matriarchal insect queens.

They would be nearly as powerful as the Ancients, so that the Ancients had only a marginal advantage.

Not all the Wraith would awake at the same time; the awakening process would be like a slow domino effect, at first only awaking the wraith in a close vicinity to the first encountered Hive, and then spreading throughout the galaxy.
What would you keep the same?
The Wraith would still possess organic hulls, and most of their technology would remain the same. The civil war would be toned down, but it would be there. The Wraith would still want to get to earth, albeit for other reasons.
they would be VERY numerous.
How would they hunt?
The wraith would use the darts to cull people every 100-500 years. They would still hunt the runners, but the runners themselves would be immune to the feeding, hence why the Wraith would rather hunt them.
Would their abilities stay the same?
their physical and psychic abilities would be far more powerful. they would rival the Ancients in knowledge and ability.
They would not be a hybridized combination of Iratus bug and human, but would be an evolution of the Iratus bug based on Ancient DNA, not human.

[Replicator Todd]

I'd make them more....human, as in not requiring to feed on humans anymore, but still raging war! I like DigiFluid's idea also, although after a while I would like to finally see them.

[dasNdanger]

Just some quick thoughts, many of which I have shared before.

How would you make the wraith the ultimate enemy?

I would have made them near-invincible. Menacing, yet still capable of non-feeding human interaction, just NOT as dumb!

What would you change?

The entire layout of the galaxy. I would have made things more like the interaction between Romulans and Star Fleet in Star Trek , with Wraith controlling the majority of the galaxy - the 'dark zone', and Atlantis controlling just a few star systems closest to them - the 'light zone', with a neutral zone in between.

The 'dark zone' would be filled with planets rich in resources - planets humans would WANT to live on because of what they offered. In this Wraith-controlled space would be Wraith, worshippers, criminals, thrill-seekers (guys like Ford), civilizations living under greedy dictators (like we have on earth today), and fortune-hunters. The Genii would DEFINITELY be in there! The majority of humans would choose to risk living in Wraith space because of the rewards of doing so (including having Wraith protection from the likes of the Lanteans! )

Those who live under the protection of Atlantis are those who have put life and family before adventure, and riches. Not rich, but not poor, either - they would have good things, too...not living as humbly as the Athosians.

I would also change how easy the Wraith were to kill, and how stupid they were.

What would you keep the same?

Their look and style, their personalities, their organic tech, their feeding/gifting abilities - the Wraith were near-perfect!

How would they hunt?

Same as they always do, but only in my universe, one Lantean armed with a feather-duster would NOT be able to kill 100 fearsome Wraith hunters.

Would their abilities stay the same?

Yes, and improved upon. Things that were later played down in the show (their speed, strength, and durability) would be enhanced in my universe - they would be very fast, VERY strong, and VERy, VERY hard to kill...near-impossible, save for cutting off their heads. Their skin would be more armor-like, too.

That's about it for now.


das

[IV]

Awesome feedback guys Thanks for replying

[An-Alteran]

Pretty much as the title says really xD
I'm sure we all have our own ideas about the ideal antagonist - maybe hidden in the shadows picking us off one by one, or chasing us through the streets or even disguising itself amongst us til the time's right to strike.
So that is my question to you, SGA fans.

How would you make the wraith the ultimate enemy?
What would you change?
What would you keep the same?
How would they hunt?
Would their abilities stay the same?

Either Two ways:

First way, if I could have been on the show production team from the start:
How would you make the wraith the ultimate enemy?
1. Many more earth side characters for the first few episodes of season 1.
2. Many die in the first several cullings on the worlds they explore.
3. Have the Wraith have far more powerful weapons and skill as enemies.
4. Make them almost unkillable with human weapons through armour combined with the self healing and have human populations far higher than mere villages and massive cullings potrayed.

What would you change?
1. The Wraith would ALL have effective body armour and also regenerate like the Defiant One.
2. The Expedition would switch to advanced and realistic Alteran energy hand weapons that are more similar to ours and the travelers style of weapons (efficient, ergonomic, ect) and very powerful and advanced. Only these can reliably kill Wraith.
3. Make the Wraith ships far more powerful and the expedition needs to use Ancient weapons against them and have Ancient ships more frequently found and utilized, and more rarely destroyed thanks to strategy.
4. More plentify ZPMs. Show the Wraith to be effective.
5. Have the Wraith fleet in far higher numbers.
6. They would have been a race that existed before the Ancients arrived like implied in the first episode.
7. The Ancient seeded the Galaxy before comming and another race had lived their dying and unable to find food because they had eaten through all previous animals that were compatible with their physiology... but humans were (and Ancients) highly compatible. They becam herding and culling and rebuilding. After the Ancients arrived, they had ammassed vast forces and the Ancients amoke them and started the war by accident.

What would you keep the same?
1. Appearance.
2. Basic designs.

How would they hunt?
The same, except far more effectively and on a much larger scale.

Would their abilities stay the same?
No. Everything we have seen except far far more powerful with an emphasis on unkillability.


Second way: starting from wheerr we left off in enemy at the gates

How would you make the wraith the ultimate enemy?
1. Introduce a new faction of Wraith that are the actual and the descendents of the primary fighting force of the wartime Wraith.
2. Turns out that the Wraith i the show were the youngest and weakest generation of massproduced Wraith. Only a handful of Queens and a few others like Todd and the Defiant one were actually real Wraith. The rest were clones or weak younglings bred for mass breeding rather than quality.
3. This new massive main faction has been developing its technology and traveling the Universe with faster and more capable intergalactic Wraith technology. Culling the galaxies the Ancients seeded with humans before the great plague.
4. Because of encounters with advanced Tollan and Traveler level humans they have been in constant combat and have greatly increased the efficiency capabilities of their vessels.
5. Far more heavily armoured and segmented internally so there are no "hot spots" that can cause the entire ship to explode.
6. Almost unkillable. Heavy body armour combined with Defiant One like regeneration.
7. They have massive human reserves so they will never get tired durring the initial battles and as they cull very populous Milkyway human populations.

What would you change?
1. Very little obviously about the Wraith now.
2. These Wraith would just be highly improved.
- Also the backstory would be more apparent. It would turn out that early on (3 million years ago, APPRX) when the Ancients arrived in Pegasus the Wraith were originally created in experiments with Human/Iratus bug hybrids that had been created by the strange reaction between Humans and Iratus bug's while feeding. The bugs began changing the humans that survived feeding. The humans that survived began getting Iratus bug features and physiology. It was also contagious between humans that touched or shared any body fluid. Like AIDS but even more visiously epidemic. The Aleterans, trying to prevent the already inteplanetary breakout, disabled the Stargates from dialing any planet not affected. They then established a network of medical fascilities. They were able to introduce a partial cure that prevented contagion and slaughtered the Iratus-bug (not the hybrids) population down to one planet (they had spread through the stargate to multiple worlds) and introduced a treatment that would prevent this from occuring again. Though the populations of Iratus/Humans remained altered as what were now proto-Wraith.
- The Ancients then realized that the Iratus Humans were immortal. They began experimenting on some to determine if they could use this to extend Ancient lives even longer (they already were living hundreds and hundreds of years) if not make them immortal so they could spend far more time researching Ascencion and hopefully not die before inventing it.
- They reduced the resarch posts to one. They never expected the Wraith to rebel. They did and destroyed the post, or so it was thought.
- Wanting to leave the matter to rest, the Ancients enacted a forced quaranteen and never travelled to that isolated network of planets again.
-The Wraith, now telepathic and able to share all knowledge each learns and already including knowledge from some rather advanced human worlds infeced, reverse engineered what remained of the Ancient technology at the posts on the worlds and the main outpost. Having interrogated and absorbed the knowledge of several low level Ancient scientists, their knowledge of the technology increased greatly. They realized that Ancient weapons would anihilate any shields they had, so they focused on armour. They innovatively blended organic and standard synthetic materials in living structures. They learned that Iratus-bug shells, though thin, were made from a material that with minor synthetic alteration, would create an extremely effective and self-growing and repairing armour that could be used on their ships.
-They also reconnected the stargate to a few other worlds and began culling, since their physiology was altered they needed to replenish their DNA and other elements with human elements that their bodies don't produce because of their changed physiology and thus degrade and need to be replenished or they die.

What would you keep the same?
Everything else.

How would they hunt?
This new faction would use similar methods but be far more effective, skilled, and powerful.

Would their abilities stay the same?
Yes but highly hightened.

[thekillman]

i've been thinking of an Atlantis rebooted fanfic.

my idea: scrap them altogether.


The Revenant.

Revenant are basically humanoidish creatures who's real face is never seen. they all wear biopolymer armor (giving them the same cool looks as their ships). the simple Drones possess intellect, however it's mostly problemsolving and basic thinking. quite strong, loyal, and good overall workers and soldiers. their armor stops handguns and the lighter weapons.

Grunts are the revenant, that are similar to the male wraith. better armor (AP rounds or heavier calibers needed), enhanced senses, stronger than the average human. require more feeding than the Drones. these guys lead groups of drones, man the ships etc.

Kings.
Kings are the Revenant that are elite-class. command ships. the Kings are short-sighted, direct, and no-nonsense. after the A plan, there's a B plan and that's it. extremely good at short-term stuff, suck at long-term stuff. only heavy weapons effective. mild telepathic powers

Queens. produce offspring, need Kings for that. long term, plotters, produce plans with dozens of backups and account for everything. in general, great long term rulers.
telepathic powers.


Emperor/Empress.
faction leaders. a King or Queen can rise to become the Emperor or Empress. these have great telepathic strenght, and endurance. takes a lot to kill them. mostly, they are killed by their underlings and replaced.


the armor of a Revenant is a full suit. this means that though a suit is expensive to make for a Prop department, it takes about 20 minutes to dress up, instead of hours for makeup. also, actors can (relatively easily) be replaced.

for inspiration, i'd say a Kull-warrior look, with similar curves etc as the Superhive.


ships would be more diverse. a Command Fortress contains the Emperor. there are about 10 or 12 Emperors (or empresses).


they would need to feed, but they also would have more food than the wraith.

CIVILISATION FARMING.

that's what the Revenant do.

Revenant Scale Of Advancement.

0- recently seeded human group.
1
2
3
4
5- about Roman age. significant advancements and significant spread across the planet
6
7
8
9 Information age. about earth-like.
10 Hyperdrive technology and shield technology and plasma weapons available.

a level 9 civilization that is becoming a level 10 society, is terminanted (culled) and then, reseeded.

each cycle takes between 2000 and 3000 years. by tactical spreading, the revenant have more than enough humans for food.

this means we can meet relatively advanced societies. no uber ones.

wouldn't they be overpowered? no. they do not care about the humans. Atlantis would be on the edge of two Revenant territories, and the other 8 or 10 groups only like that we kill the two factions, it means more space for them.