Destroyer (Thor)

For other uses, see Destroyer (comics).

Destroyer
The Destroyer.
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First appearance	Journey into Mystery #118 (July 1965)
Created by	Stan Lee Jack Kirby
In story information
Type	Weapon
Element of stories featuring	Asgard

The Destroyer is a fictional object that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The object first appears in Journey into Mystery #118 (Jul. 1965) and was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby.

Debuting in the Silver Age of Comic Books, the Destroyer is featured in over four decades of Marvel continuity and other Marvel-endorsed products such as animated television series; video games, and merchandise such as action figures and trading cards. Due to trademark issues, at least one toy version of this character is marketed as Marvel's Destroyer.^[1]

Fictional history

The Destroyer is an enchanted suit of armor forged by Odin, and when it first appeared it was hinted that the Destroyer had been created as a weapon to face some dark menace from the stars. It is first seen residing in the Temple of Darkness in Asia. The Destroyer is used by Thor's arch-foe Loki on several occasions, and each time has actually come close to killing Thor. First, it was used by a hunter whom Loki had lured to the temple using his mental powers. At one point Thor was imprisoned in the ground, but Loki saved him by making him intangible briefly before the Destroyer could strike him with an elemental transmution beam. Thor forced the hunter to return by using his body as a shield before it could fire at him, then burying the Destroyer under thousands of tons of rock when the hunter tried to return to it.^[2][3] It is next salvaged by Karnilla and animated by Sif, who attempted to use it to battle the Wrecker when Thor was temporarily deprived of his godhood and all his powers but his strength by Odin as a lesson, only for the Destroyer to proceed to attack Thor before Sif broke her connection with it.^[4] At one stage Thor offers the armor to the World Devourer Galactus, in exchange for the release of Galactus' current Herald, Firelord.^[5][6] Galactus accepts, and the Destroyer acts as his Herald, detecting Counter-Earth for him and going on to battle the Fantastic Four^[7] until finally recaptured for reuse by Loki.^[8]

Years later the menace from the stars is revealed to be the Celestials, with the Skyfather gods (e.g., Odin; Zeus etc.) having pooled their resources a millennium before to create a weapon to stop the arrival of the so-called Fourth Host of Celestials. At the penultimate moment, Odin enters the Destroyer armor and then absorbs the life essences of all present in Asgard (with the exception of absent Thor), growing to a height of 2,000 feet (610 m). The Destroyer then draws the Odinsword, and with the Uni-Mind confronts the Fourth Host, who dissipate the Uni-Mind and melt the Destroyer armor into slag, scattering the life-forces of the Asgardians.^[9] The Asgardians were later revived by Thor gathering power from the other Skyfathers.^[10] The armor, however, is not completely ruined and several years later Loki reforms the armor in a bid to destroy a severely weakened Thor, who has been reduced to pulp after killing the Midgard Serpent due to a curse by Hela which made his bones brittle and made him incapable of healing or dying.^[11] Thor, however, wrests control of the armor from the host - an enthralled Frost Giant named Siggorth - through sheer force of will and goes on to defeat Loki. The Destroyer tries to take control of him but fails. Then the death goddess Hela is defeated by the Destroyer attacking her realm, forcing her to restore Thor to his true form and undo the curse that left him in such a dire condition.^[12][13] The Destroyer is left in a crystal in Hela's realm, and is eventually animated by the goddess Lorelei. Lorelei battles several Asgardians and becomes trapped in the dimension of the Great Beasts.^[14]

The Destroyer is later deployed by trolls, who empower it with the spirit of the Maestro, an evil version of the Hulk. Although the Hulk fails to defeat the Destroyer in combat, he is able to enter the Destroyer because he and the Maestro are the same spirit, allowing him to fight the Maestro for control and defeat it from within.^[15] Thor has two more encounters with the Destroyer, with the armor almost killing him on the first occasion and breaking his jaw on the second.^[16][17] The armor is eventually retrieved by Loki and occupied by the entity Desak, although Thor - equipped with the Odinpower - decapitates it with one throw of Mjolnir.^[18]

The armor was later under the control of the god Balder when Thor was on a quest to locate his missing brethren, the Asgardians.^[19] Doctor Doom takes possession of the Destroyer armor and uses a copy to attack the Asgardians.^[20]

Powers and abilities

The Destroyer is lifeless on its own - although it can act independently for short periods^[12] - until animated by the life-force of a sapient living being. Even when so animated, the Destroyer retains a rudimentary base personality that will eventually subvert the host unless a strong-willed individual is in control, such as Thor or Loki.^[3][12] Odin is also able to cast a spell that can force the animating persona from the armor and deactivate it.^[3] Once animated, the Destroyer possesses the strength to exceed that of beings such as Thor and so far in its history appears to be completely impervious to earthly damage, withstanding even a million tons being thrown onto it without even falling over - even destruction at the hands of the unknowable Celestials did not totally extinguish it. The automaton also has the ability to project blasts of energy/heat/concussive force, emit a disintegration beam activated via its visor, manipulate electro-magnetism and molecules allowing it to turn solid stone to lava (for example) and achieve flight.

In other media

Television

• The Destroyer appears in The Mighty Thor segment of the animated television series The Marvel Super Heroes.

Film

• The Destroyer appears in the live-action film Thor.^[21] In this continuity the Destroyer is a giant, semi-autonomous golem that obeys the direct command of the king of Asgard. The Destroyer stops a group of Frost Giants attempting to steal the Casket of Ancient Winters in Asgard. When Loki takes the throne while Odin sleeps the Odinsleep, he attempts to kill the now-mortal Thor by sending the Destroyer to Earth after him. Thor's willingness to allow the Destroyer to kill him to save Sif, the Warriors Three and the innocent mortals in the town where the battle took place proves his worth and restores his ability to wield Mjolnir. Thor subsequently defeats the Destroyer by throwing Mjolnir through its head as it charges up its beam weapon.

Video games

• The Destroyer appears in Marvel: Ultimate Alliance. Loki's mind inhabits the armor after tricking the superheroes into releasing it. In addition to possessing great strength and power, The Destroyer armor is invunerable to all attacks. Only by having the Destroyer fire a concussive blast at the crystal containing Loki's body can both it and Loki be defeated.

Toys

• The Destroyer was included as a chase variant in the 15th wave of Toy Biz's 6" Marvel Legends action figure line.
• A figure of Destroyer was released in wave 39 of the Marvel Minimates line.
• Destroyer was released in the Battle for Asgard's Vault 3-pack from the Marvel Super Hero Squad line, packaged with figures of Thor and Loki.
• 2 figures of the Destroyer were released in Hasbro's 3.75" Thor: The Mighty Avenger movie tie-in line. Additionally, an 8" figure was released in that same line.

References

1. ^ Hasbro.com - Inferno Marvel's Destroyer
2. ^ Journey into Mystery #118-119 (Jul. - Aug. 1965)
3. ^ ^{a b c} Thor Annual #2 (Sept. 1966)
4. ^ Thor #150-152 (Mar. - May 1968)
5. ^ Thor #224-225 (June - July 1974)
6. ^ Thor #228 (Oct. 1974)
7. ^ Fantastic Four #172-174 (Jul. - Sept. 1976)
8. ^ Thor #264-266 (Oct. - Dec. 1977)
9. ^ Thor #300 (Oct. 1980)
10. ^ Thor #301 (Nov. 1980)
11. ^ Thor #380 (Jun. 1987)
12. ^ ^{a b c} Thor #381 (Jul. 1987)
13. ^ Thor #382 (Aug. 1987)
14. ^ Thor #437-441 (Oct. - Dec. 1991)
15. ^ Incredible Hulk #461 (Feb. 1998)
16. ^ Thor vol. 2, #1-2 (Jul. - Aug. 1998)
17. ^ Thor vol. 2, #36 (June 2001)
18. ^ Thor vol. 2, #79 (Jul. 2004)
19. ^ Thor vol. 3, #5 (Jan. 2008)
20. ^ Thor #605 (Jan. 2010)
21. ^ "Exclusive: First Look At The Destroyer From THOR!". http://www.latinoreview.com/news/exclusive-first-look-at-the-destroyer-from-thor-9852. Retrieved 2010-07-24. 

External links

• Destroyer at Marvel.com