I know there was some speculation as to the identity of Freedom Six Wraith before since she does look quite a bit different in that future... but I believe that it was confirmed by Chris at some con that the Wraith of that future was indeed Maia Montgomery still.
In another post I made a half-joking reference that the Wraith looked like she had come back from the dead or something, and the more I think about it, the more I think that might actually be the case. The clues I see to lead me to think that are as follows (hardly conclusive evidence, but fun enough to speculate):
1. The incapacitated side of the EE wraith shows her tombstone with a Wraith standing behind it. I originally thought this to mean that someone else had taken the mantle, but now I think this is her back from the grave.
2. Her subtitle "Price of Freedom" could be a reference to whatever she had to give up to be able to come back and continue to protect her city... like her soul or something.
3. The white eyes. They are usually used to represent some kind of altered state... maybe it's her lack of soul now.
4. The name Wraith itself, which means ghost or spirit. That could have been a foreshadowing of what was to become of her.
5. Erm... I got nothing.
OK, so not that solid an argument, but well within the scope of comics. I think this would be an interesting twist...
5 - The Chairman has the ability to be reborn, meaning that the process exists within the Multiverse. Also, the Chairman is the Villain of The Wraiths hometown.
I feel like I have some pretty good counter arguments, nothing that would officially debunk it, just counterpoints:
1: Wraith is a batman expy, faking your death is a pretty Batman move
2: The "Price of Freedom" could just as easily mean prison break, Iron Legacy clearly runs some sort of super jail, and it is mentioned he fights old friends and foes, Demoralizing Presence looks like he got Ra and the ennead. Wraith to me looks built and looks like she had to fight her way through people she fought on the outside, hence the operatives weapons being in her possession
3: White eyes, all I got is artistic liscense.
4: Wraith, I do like the idea of her name being foreshadowing, although it could just as easily be because she is ghostlike
I think F6 Wraith is probably breaking people out of the jail Iron Legacy is running. It's still Maia Montegomery, alive. I doubt the idea of her having died.
I've always thought it was strange that her tagline was "price of freedom", when it was obvious that Tempest was the one who had payed the price. I like the idea that she paid perhaps an even greater price.
If she really was revived using Chairman's pit of resurrection, then maybe that's how she's got the connection of having the Operative's weapons. I doubt she was the one who cut off Tempest's arm, though. You can clearly see it missing on his incapacitated side, and there's no indication that he's standing over a pit. Also, it seems a little drastic for Wraith to have cut off his arm so she could fall.
Tempest: Really? You are gonna plunge to your death to save me so you cut OFF my arm?! WTF?!?! Why not just cut your own hand off. You were gonna die anyway!!
Wraith: Eeww and make a one-armed corpse. No way. Besides, it makes you look tougher... kinda piratish too. And chicks dig scars. Own it.
Okay, crazy theory: The Operative dies, but the Wraith doesn't kill her - Iron Legacy does, and kills Wraith too. The Operative sends men to recover the Operative's body, thinking to revive her, but they only find Wraith's. Now the Chairman still has a score to settle but no Operative to settle it with, so he reluctantly revives his old enemy, equips her with the Operative's weapons and sends her to join the Freedom Six - the only people who might be able to stop Iron Legacy once and for all...
Honestly, I think you guys are overcomplicating things. Based on the art of the card and the confirmation that it is indeed Maia, I'd say that her entire Freedom 6 backstory is a reference to The Dark Knight Returns, with her reclaiming the mantle of The Wraith after years of retirement (or perhaps imprisonment, as others have mentioned); The Price of Freedom could simply refer to her having a darker, more violent and perhaps bloodthirsty attitude towards crimefighting than before, as indicated by her having taken the (visibly bloody) weapons of The Operative, a criminal assassin, rather than to a literal act such as a prison break or rebirth.
I think that's a good point, but Iron Legacy's whole schtick is that he's decided to cross the line and take out all evil anyway he can since he's now the last of the Legacy line. It's safe to say that F6 Wraith may be darker, but I doubt she's crossed the same line as Iron Legacy since she's still a Hero card.
