Desak Sterixian, more commonly known as Desak the God Slayer, is a
fictional character
In fiction, a character (or speaker, in poetry) is a person or other being in a narrative (such as a novel, play, radio or television series, music, film, or video game). The character may be entirely fictional or based on a real-life person, ...
appearing in
American comic book
An American comic book is a thin periodical originating in the United States, on average 32 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publication of ''Action Comics'' ...
s published by
Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...
. The character was created by
Dan Jurgens
Dan Jurgens (; born June 27, 1959) is an American comic book writer and artist. He is known for his work on the DC comic book storyline "The Death of Superman" and for creating characters such as Doomsday, Hank Henshaw and Booster Gold. Jurgens ...
and
Tom Grummett
Thomas Grummett (born 1959) is a Canadian comic book artist and penciller. He is best known for his work as penciller on titles such as '' The New Titans'', '' The Adventures of Superman'', ''Superboy'', ''Power Company'', '' Robin'', ''New Thun ...
and first appears in ''Thor Annual'' 2001. The character has been succeeded in his role as a killer of gods by the character
Gorr the God Butcher
Gorr the God Butcher is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Jason Aaron and Esad Ribic, Gorr first appeared in '' Thor: God of Thunder'' #1 (January 2013).
Gorr The God Butcher has been descri ...
, a more brutal character with a similar mission to kill gods, though the two are unrelated beyond this.
Fictional character history
Desak comes from an unnamed world where the inhabitants worship a god called Kronnitt. Kronnitt demands the sacrifice of Desak's daughter, and it was during the sacrifice that an apparition visits Desak and offers him a magic gem that will save his daughter. Desak thinks he is hallucinating, and refuses. When Kronnitt punishes Desak's people—despite the sacrifice—the apparition returns and this time Desak accepts the gem. Empowered by the gem, and equipped with a huge sword, axe, dagger and a shield, Desak then confronts and kills Kronnitt. His course of action clear, Desak travels from world to world and slays pantheon after pantheon of gods.
It is during a hunt for two gods called Pennsu and Tae. Desak encounters
Thor
Thor (; from non, Þórr ) is a prominent god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding æsir, god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred trees and groves in Germanic paganism and mythology, sacred groves ...
,
Beta Ray Bill
Beta Ray Bill is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Debuting in the Bronze Age of Comic Books, the character was initially intended to be a surprise; an apparent monster who unexpectedly turns out ...
, and
Hercules
Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures.
The Romans adapted the Gr ...
. When Pennsu and Tae attempt to destroy their own people, the heroes intervene, giving Desak time to slay both of them. After a terse verbal encounter with Thor, Desak departs.
Desak eventually slaughters almost all of the Dark Gods—the
Asgardians' old enemies—with the exception of Perrikus and Adva, who escape. Desak is then contacted by
Zarrko the Tomorrow Man, who warns him of the threat that Thor, now Lord of Asgard after the death of
Odin
Odin (; from non, Óðinn, ) is a widely revered Æsir, god in Germanic paganism. Norse mythology, the source of most surviving information about him, associates him with wisdom, healing, death, royalty, the gallows, knowledge, war, battle, v ...
, poses to Earth. After easily dispatching the villain
Grey Gargoyle
Grey Gargoyle (Paul Pierre Duval) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.
Publication history
The Grey Gargoyle first appeared in ''Journey into Mystery'' #107 (Aug. 1964) and was created by Stan Lee and J ...
, Desak fights and almost kills Thor. Having absorbed the Odinforce after a futile attack by Thor, Desak is about to kill Thor when a fellow Asgardian, Thialfi, provides Thor with the
Bloodaxe, which Thor uses to kill Desak.
Unknown to Thor, the apparition rescues Desak and allows him to heal in hiding. Desak returns many years after a changed Thor has conquered the Earth, and kills many of Thor's closest Asgardian comrades. It is at this moment that the apparition is revealed to be
Tarene, the Designate, who had traveled back in time to try to stop the future from occurring. Merging with the
Destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort
larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...
, Desak becomes even more powerful, but now faces an enlightened Thor who realizes that his actions were wrong. Thor hurls his hammer
Mjolnir with such force that it completely decapitates the Destroyer, killing Desak instantly.
[''Thor'' vol. 2 #75-79 (May-July 2004)]
Powers and abilities
Desak possessed superhuman strength, endurance, and his stone-like skin provided him with an extremely high resistance to injury. Desak had the ability to fly, teleport, shoot energy beams from his eyes, and survive indefinitely in the void of space. He could sense all aspects of godliness, immortality in an individual, and he was given power equal to any god. With his Amulet of Power, he could also absorb their life force into the gem, adding the defeated god's power to his own. It had not been revealed to what limit the amount of power Desak could attain. However, Desak had destroyed whole populations of gods single-handedly.
References
External links
*
{{Thor
Characters created by Dan Jurgens
Fictional characters with superhuman durability or invulnerability
Comics characters introduced in 2001
Marvel Comics characters with superhuman strength
Marvel Comics supervillains
Thor (Marvel Comics)