Warwolves have a unique method of attack: when they lock eyes with a victim, they can drain its soul, as well as somehow remove all internal body parts, leaving only the skin. Warwolves then enter the skin through the mouth, reshaping their bodies to fill it up exactly as it was in life. They use these skins as disguises to blend in with natives and entrap more prey. On attack, they exit through the skin's mouth. Warwolves can have more than one skin, which they treat like good suits, since there is no way to repair a damaged one. In addition, when out of the skins, Warwolves wrap the arms around their necks, somehow achieving a bond that keeps the skins from falling off. This bond can also be activated with a live but stunned victim, so that the Warwolf may run with its prey on its back before killing it in a safer locale.

Absorbing victims is not without its side-effects. Warwolves tend to take on personality traits of the people they absorb, to the point of mimicking their speech patterns and using their names, even when out of their skins. In addition, the malleable nature of their bodies, which allows them to fit into and fill out their skins, means that Warwolves can take a great deal of physical punishment. They can even take heavy blows that temporarily deform their bodies, which return to their original shape after a time.

The Warwolves were used by Mojo to hunt down and capture Phoenix III, who ran out on her "contract." Whether or not Mojo created the Warwolves or just hired them is unknown, though thre former is likely. They pursued Phoenix to Earth, and together with the Technet, who were also after Phoenix, served as the catalyst that brought the heroes of Excalibur together. In these inital battles, one of the original six Warwolves was electrocuted on a subway track and another was shrunk to one-quarter size by China Doll.

Shortly after Excalibur formed, the remaining Warwolves began to prowl again, and collected their first skins. The psychic cries of their victim's ravaged Phoenix's mind, though no one at the time made the connection. Only Shadowcat, in playing a hunch, developed a power signature duplicator and dressed up as Phoenix, hoping to draw the Warwolves out of hiding. She succeeded, but was taken unawares, as no one had ever seen a Warwolf emerge from a skin before.

Shadowcat tried to phase out of the attack, but the Warwolf's blow disrupted her nervous system, paralyzing her. The 'wolves escaped and in their lair, one of them tried to absorb her. However, due to a strange interaction with Kitty's powers, the Warwolf actually ingested all of Shadowcat, skin included. With Phoenix keeping her mind coherent, Kitty was soon able to influence the Warwolf's body, to the point that it took her shape and even grew hair. By the time Excalibur arrived, Kitty was able to force her way out of the Warwolf's mouth, in much the same way that the Warwolves doff their skins.

Shadowcat had the bright idea to "donate" the Warwolves to a zoo, where they lived for months in a cage set up like an apartment, drinking beer and watching British TV. However, one other member of their original pack was on the loose, and apprently freed his comrades, and embarked on a sinister plan to complete their mission.

The Warwolves gathered every scrap of information about the X-Men they could find, and hunted down numerous skin until they found one which matched the physical dimensions of the mutant team. One of them sewed costumes, and they contacted Excalibur, who had yet to reunite with their American friends since their reported deaths were revealed to have been false. When the Warwolves revealed themselves, they also merged into one beat with four legs and five torsos. They made an attempt to grab Phoenix and open a portal to Mojoworld. Fortunately, Excalibur was able to distract the Warwolves with some disembodied souls they were fighting at the same time, allowing Phoenix to escape before the portal closed and the Warwolves were returned to their dimension. How and why the Warwolves merged bodies is unknown. Perhaps it was the means by which they opened the dimensonal portal. They have not been seen since.