Drax the Destroyer (Arthur Douglas) is a fictional character 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 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 Comics'' in ...

. Created by

Jim Starlin James P. Starlin (born October 9, 1949) is an American comics artist and writer. Beginning his career in the early 1970s, he is best known for space opera stories, for revamping the Marvel Comics characters Captain Marvel and Adam Warlock, an ...

, the character first appeared in '' The Invincible Iron Man'' #55 (February 1973). The character's origin story relates that Arthur Douglas was a human whose family was attacked and killed by the

supervillain A supervillain or supercriminal is a variant of the villainous stock character that is commonly found in American comic books, usually possessing superhuman abilities. A supervillain is the antithesis of a superhero. Supervillains are of ...

Thanos Thanos is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He was created by writer-artist Jim Starlin, and first appeared in '' The Invincible Iron Man'' #55 ( cover date February 1973). An Eternal– Deviant warl ...

. Needing a champion to combat Thanos, the being known as Kronos took Arthur's spirit and placed it in a powerful new body, and Drax the Destroyer was born. Drax's powers included enhanced strength and resilience, flight, and the ability to project energy blasts from his hands. The character often battled Thanos, and on occasion the

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, ...

es Captain Marvel and Adam Warlock. He was also a member of the group known as the Infinity Watch. In 2004, the character lost his flight and energy blasts, and a portion of his strength and resilience. This version of the character played a role in the

crossover Crossover may refer to: Entertainment Albums and songs * ''Cross Over'' (Dan Peek album) * ''Crossover'' (Dirty Rotten Imbeciles album), 1987 * ''Crossover'' (Intrigue album) * ''Crossover'' (Hitomi Shimatani album) * ''Crossover'' (Yoshino ...

comic book storylines "

Annihilation In particle physics, annihilation is the process that occurs when a subatomic particle collides with its respective antiparticle to produce other particles, such as an electron colliding with a positron to produce two photons. The total ener ...

" and " Annihilation: Conquest", and became a member of the relaunched Guardians of the Galaxy. Drax has been featured in a variety of associated Marvel merchandise, including

animated Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most ani ...

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, action figures, and

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s. Dave Bautista portrays the character in the

Marvel Cinematic Universe The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on a series of superhero films produced by Marvel Studios. The films are based on characters that appear in American comic books published ...

films '' Guardians of the Galaxy'' (2014), ''

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 ''Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2'' is a 2017 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics superhero team Guardians of the Galaxy, produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. It is the sequel to ' ...

'' (2017), '' Avengers: Infinity War'' (2018), '' Avengers: Endgame'' (2019), and '' Thor: Love and Thunder'' (2022) and '' Guardians of the Galaxy: Holiday Special'' (2022 television film). Drax also appears in the

Disney+ Disney+ is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned and operated by the Media and Entertainment Distribution division of The Walt Disney Company. The service primarily distributes films and television se ...

animated series '' What If...?'' (2021).

Publication history

Drax first appeared in '' The Invincible Iron Man'' #55 (February 1973), and was created by

with the help of writer

Mike Friedrich Mike Friedrich (; born March 27, 1949) is an American comic book writer and publisher best known for his work at Marvel and DC Comics, and for publishing the anthology series '' Star*Reach'', one of the first independent comics. He is also an a ...

. He had a recurring role in '' Captain Marvel'', beginning with issue #27 (July 1973). He also appeared in '' Warlock'' #10 (December 1975), ''Iron Man'' #88 (July 1976), ''Warlock'' #15 (November 1976), ''Logan's Run'' #6 (June 1977), ''

Thor Thor (; from non, Þórr ) is a prominent god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred groves and trees, strength, the protection of humankind, hallowing, ...

'' #314 (December 1981), and '' Avengers'' #219 (May 1982), before being killed by Moondragon in ''The Avengers'' #220 (June 1982). Starlin resurrected Drax in '' Silver Surfer'' vol. 3 #35 (1990), and he had a recurring role until issue 50. After appearing in ''

The Infinity Gauntlet ''The Infinity Gauntlet'' is an American comic book storyline published by Marvel Comics. In addition to an eponymous, six-issue limited series written by Jim Starlin and pencilled by George Pérez and Ron Lim, crossover chapters appeared ...

'' #1–6 (1991), he was featured in '' Warlock and the Infinity Watch'' #1–42 (1992–1995) as a member of the titular team, the Infinity Watch. The character reappeared in ''Warlock'' vol. 3 #1–4 (1998–1999) and '' Captain Marvel'' vol. 4 #4–6 (2001). Drax received an eponymous 4 issue miniseries in 2004, and was a starring character in ''Annihilation:

Nova A nova (plural novae or novas) is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparently "new" star (hence the name "nova", which is Latin for "new") that slowly fades over weeks or months. Causes of the dramat ...

'' #1–4 (2005) and ''

'' #1–6 (2006). After a follow up appearance in ''Nova'' vol. 4 #4–7 (2007) and the 2008 " Annihilation: Conquest" storyline, he was featured as a team member in the 2008 relaunch of Guardians of the Galaxy, and appeared in the 25 issue series of the same name. The character had a small role in '' The Thanos Imperative'' #1–3 (2010), in which he was killed. The character reappeared in '' Avengers Assemble'' issues #4–8 (June–October 2012), with no reference to his death. He will star in ''Guardians of the Galaxy'' vol. 3, a part of the Marvel NOW! relaunch.

Fictional character biography

Creation and early life

While driving through a desert with his wife and daughter, Arthur Douglas' car is attacked by a spaceship piloted by

, who thinks the humans have seen him. His daughter, Heather, survives the crash and is adopted by Thanos' father, Mentor, and raised on

Titan Titan most often refers to: * Titan (moon), the largest moon of Saturn * Titans, a race of deities in Greek mythology Titan or Titans may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Fictional entities Fictional locations * Titan in fiction, fictiona ...

. She later becomes Moondragon. Needing a champion to combat the threat from Thanos, Mentor and the Titan god Kronos capture Douglas' spirit and place it in a powerful new body. He is rechristened "Drax the Destroyer", and his sole purpose is to kill Thanos. With

Iron Man Iron Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was co-created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby. The cha ...

, Drax battles Thanos and the Blood Brothers, but Thanos escapes. While trying to prevent Thanos from getting the Cosmic Cube, Drax's memories are restored to him. After seeing Captain Marvel defeat Thanos, Drax attacks Captain Marvel for robbing him of his purpose. Drax wanders space in grim contemplation, searching for a resurrected Thanos. By the time he learns that Thanos had managed to rematerialize himself, Thanos has once again been destroyed in battle with Captain Marvel, the Avengers, and Adam Warlock. Alongside Captain Marvel, Drax battles

ISAAC Isaac; grc, Ἰσαάκ, Isaák; ar, إسحٰق/إسحاق, Isḥāq; am, ይስሐቅ is one of the three patriarchs of the Israelites and an important figure in the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. He was ...

, Stellarax, Lord Gaea, Elysius, and Chaos. Some time later, Drax, possessed by an alien entity, battles his daughter Moondragon and the superhero

. After Drax recovers, he and Moondragon journey through space in search of knowledge. Eventually, they come upon the planet Ba-Banis, a world of humanoid aliens caught in a vast civil war. Moondragon uses her mental powers to quell the conflict and then decides to set herself up as the world's goddess. Drax recognizes that her ambitions are ignoble and so sends their ship to Earth with a holographic distress message. The Avengers respond and discover Moondragon's world of mentally enforced tranquility. Freed by the Avengers from his daughter's mental domination, Drax advances toward her, seeking to end her menace. In order to stop him, Moondragon mentally forces Drax's life essence to vacate his artificial body.

Infinity Watch

When Thanos is resurrected by Mistress Death, Kronos reanimates the Destroyer and grants him even greater physical power. However, Kronos does not consider the effects of Drax's death, and the Destroyer's mind retains the damage done by Moondragon. Alongside a multitude of other heroes, Drax helps battle Thanos and

Nebula A nebula ('cloud' or 'fog' in Latin; pl. nebulae, nebulæ or nebulas) is a distinct luminescent part of interstellar medium, which can consist of ionized, neutral or molecular hydrogen and also cosmic dust. Nebulae are often star-forming regio ...

for possession of the Infinity Gauntlet. Drax is chosen by Adam Warlock to safeguard the Power Gem as part of the Infinity Watch. After the energy vampire Rune steals the gems, the Watch members go their separate ways. Drax returns to Titan with Moondragon, who successfully petitions Kronos to restore Drax's mind to its former acuity at the cost of some physical power. Thus, Drax is restored to his original condition. Drax is accused of the murder of Elysius and several others, but is cleared when it is discovered that the creature

Syphon A siphon (from grc, σίφων, síphōn, "pipe, tube", also spelled nonetymologically syphon) is any of a wide variety of devices that involve the flow of liquids through tubes. In a narrower sense, the word refers particularly to a tube in a ...

was manipulating him. While seeking out Moondragon, Drax enters into an altercation with Genis-Vell. In the course of this struggle, Drax is transported to the Microverse with Genis, where, for a time, he finds acceptance and happiness on the planet

K'ai Jarella is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Along with Betty Ross Banner and Caiera, she was one of the Hulk's great loves. The character was introduced in ''The Incredible Hulk'' vol. 2 #140 (M ...

Reborn

Later, Drax is seen on a prison transport ship with

Paibok Paibok the Power Skrull is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is a foe of the Fantastic Four. Publication history Paibok's first appearance was in ''Fantastic Four'' #358 (November 1991); he was cre ...

Lunatik Lunatik is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Publication history Lunatik first appeared in ''Defenders'' #51 (September 1977), though a later retcon identifies him as an incarnation of Arisen Tu ...

, and the Blood Brothers. The ship crashes in Alaska, and Drax attacks the others to keep them from harming innocent lives. He mistakes a young girl named Cammi for his daughter, and tries to protect her from Paibok. Drax appears to be killed, but a slimmer, smarter Drax emerges from the larger shell of the dead body. When a second prison ship arrives to recapture the prisoners, both Drax and Cammi are arrested. Surviving

Annihilus Annihilus () is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, primarily as an adversary to the Fantastic Four. The character debuted in ''Fantastic Four (comic book), Fantastic Four Annual'' #6, which was published i ...

' attack on the intergalactic prison known as the

Kyln The comic book stories published by Marvel Comics since the 1940s have featured several noteworthy concepts besides its fictional characters, such as unique places and artifacts. There follows a list of those features. Places Certain places fe ...

, Drax and Cammi team up with the last member of the Xandarian Nova Corps,

Richard Rider Nova (Richard Rider) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character appeared historically as the star of his own series, and at other times, as a supporting character in team books such as '' T ...

. Together they fight against the advancing Annihilation Wave as Drax trains Nova to be a warrior. Drax learns that Thanos has taken Moondragon hostage, and that she will be killed if Drax pursues him. During a doomed battle between the Annihilation Wave and the

United Front A united front is an alliance of groups against their common enemies, figuratively evoking unification of previously separate geographic fronts and/or unification of previously separate armies into a front. The name often refers to a political ...

, Drax stays behind to fight off the invaders while

and the rest of the group (including Cammi) finish the evacuation. Drax fights his way to the Annihilation Wave's mother ship, where he finds Thanos and kills him. Drax helps to free a captive

Galactus Galactus () is a fictional Character (arts), character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Formerly a mortal man, Galactus is a cosmic entity who consumes planets to sustain his life force, and serves a functional role ...

, who teleports Moondragon and Drax to a far-off planet to spare them from his wrath on the Annihilation Wave. Afterwards, Moondragon says Drax just "disappeared". Cammi is later seen, alive, allied with Skreet, one of Thanos' powerful, miniature assistants. When the Phalanx invade the Kree home-world, Drax is assimilated as a "select" of the Phalanx hive mind. They dispatch him, along with Gamora, to apprehend Nova, who had fled the planet. Following Nova to Kvch, the home planet the Technarchy (parental race of the Phalanx), Drax and Gamora are freed from the Phalanx by the Technarch Tyro. Together they return to Hala where they help in the defeat of Ultron.

Guardians of the Galaxy

Star-Lord recruits Drax for the new Guardians of the Galaxy. The Guardians are forced to ally themselves with a resurrected Thanos and travel into an alternate reality known as the "Cancerverse". While experiencing a bout of madness, Drax attacks Thanos and is killed. Drax later reappears with the Guardians on Earth without reference to his death.

Powers and abilities

Drax's initial incarnation's powers included superhuman strength, stamina and resistance to physical injury as well the ability to project concussive blasts of cosmic energy from his hands. He could also travel at high speeds in

outer space Outer space, commonly shortened to space, is the expanse that exists beyond Earth and its atmosphere and between celestial bodies. Outer space is not completely empty—it is a near-perfect vacuum containing a low density of particles, pred ...

and hyperspace without air, food, or water. Drax also had telepathy, having used it to engage

in a psychic battle and stalemating him mind to mind. After his resurrection, his physical capabilities are greatly enhanced beyond their original levels but he suffered severe mental disability in his new incarnation. Instead of his telepathy which enabled him to track Thanos across vast distances, he now possessed the ability to sense either him or other beings who have been in recent contact with Thanos, alongside a precognitive ability to sense when beings will be in contact with Thanos in the near future. For a time, Drax possessed the Power Gem that had the potential to grant him superhuman physical and energy manipulation powers with no feasible limit. However, because of his severely-reduced intellect, he lacked the mental capacity and imagination to use the gem for anything other than bolstering his physical strength. While possessing the gem, Drax's strength has been compared with that of the merged incarnation of the

Hulk The Hulk is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the debut issue of ''The Incredible Hulk (comic book), The Incredible Hulk' ...

, but lacking the latter's rage-fueled potential. Just prior to the 2006 "Annihilation" mini-series and continuing through the present, Drax undergoes a physical change, resulting in a much-smaller physical form, his superhuman, physical powers greatly reduced to a level comparable to those of his original form and the loss of his energy projection, flight and most any residual psionic capabilities; having just enough to glean the moments of his demise from Cammi. However, his intellect has returned to its original level, and he has taken a liking to using knives in battle. At least temporarily, he had the ability to pass through Thanos's force field; his power levels seem to increase the closer he is to Thanos. He could also heal at an accelerated rate and had senses sharp enough to tell humans from aliens by smell, root out a Skrull in disguise and detect when energy weapons were about to go off.

In other media

Television

* Drax appears in the '' Silver Surfer'' episode "Learning Curve", voiced by

Norm Spencer Norman Spencer (23 February 1958 – 31 August 2020) was a Canadian voice and television actor best known for his work on Saturday-morning cartoons in the 1990s. He performed several roles for Marvel Comics characters, most famously Cyclops in ' ...

. This version is a cyborg with an organic brain in a mechanical body and a companion of Mentor. * Drax the Destroyer appears in '' Ultimate Spider-Man'', voiced by David Sobolov. This version is a member of the Guardians of the Galaxy. * Drax the Destroyer appears in the '' Avengers Assemble'' episode "Guardians and Spaceknights", voiced again by David Sobolov. This version is a member of the Guardians of the Galaxy. * Drax the Destroyer appears in ''

Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H. ''Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H.'' is an American animated television series based on the superhero character by Marvel Comics. The series premiered on August 11, 2013, on Disney XD as part of the ''Marvel Universe'' block, and ended on June 2 ...

'', voiced again by David Sobolov. This version is a member of the Guardians of the Galaxy. * Drax the Destroyer appears in '' Guardians of the Galaxy'', voiced again by David Sobolov. This version is a member of the titular team. * Drax appears in ''Lego Marvel Super Heroes – Guardians of the Galaxy: The Thanos Threat'', voiced again by David Sobolov.

Marvel Cinematic universe

Drax the Destroyer appears in media set in the

, portrayed by Dave Bautista. He first appears in the live-action film '' Guardians of the Galaxy'' (2014) before making subsequent appearances in the live-action films ''

'' (2017), '' Avengers: Infinity War'' (2018), '' Avengers: Endgame'' (2019), '' Thor: Love and Thunder'' (2022), and the upcoming '' Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3'' (2023). Additionally, Bautista reprises his role in '' The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special'' (2022) while an alternate timeline version of Drax appears in the

animated series '' What If...?'', voiced by

Fred Tatasciore Fred Tatasciore (; ) is an American voice actor who has provided voices in animated and live-action films, television shows, and video games. He is known for voicing the Hulk and Beast in various Marvel media and Solomon Grundy in various DC ...

Video games

* Drax makes a

cameo appearance A cameo role, also called a cameo appearance and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief appearance of a well-known person in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking ones, and are commonly ei ...

in '' Marvel Super Heroes''. * Drax appears as an unlockable character in '' Marvel: Avengers Alliance''. * Drax appears as an unlockable assist character in '' Marvel Heroes,'' voiced again by David Sobolov. * Drax appears as a playable character in '' Marvel Puzzle Quest''. * Drax the Destroyer appears as a playable character in '' Lego Marvel Super Heroes'', voiced again by David Sobolov. * Drax appears as a playable character in '' Disney Infinity 2.0'', voiced again by David Sobolov. * Drax appears as an unlockable playable character in '' Marvel Contest of Champions.'' * Drax appears as a playable character in '' Marvel: Future Fight''. * Drax appears as a playable character in ''

Disney Infinity 3.0 ''Disney Infinity 3.0'' (also known as ''Disney Infinity: Star Wars'') is an action-adventure sandbox video game published by Disney Interactive Studios (the last game to be published by the company before their closure) for Microsoft Windows, ...

'', voiced again by David Sobolov. * Drax appears in '' Guardians of the Galaxy: The Telltale Series'', voiced by Brandon Paul Eells. * Drax appears as a playable character in '' Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2''. * Drax appears as a playable character in '' Marvel Strike Force'', voiced by Dave Bautista. * Drax appears in '' Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy'', voiced by Jason Cavalier.

Collected editions

References

External links

Drax
at the Marvel Universe
Drax
at the Marvel Database Project * {{Jim Starlin Characters created by Jim Starlin Characters created by Mike Friedrich Comics characters introduced in 1973 Fictional characters from Los Angeles County, California Fictional knife-fighters Guardians of the Galaxy characters Marvel Comics characters who can move at superhuman speeds Marvel Comics characters with superhuman strength Marvel Comics superheroes Superhero film characters