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| The Destroyer | |
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| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
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TheDestroyer is the name of threesuperheroes appearing inAmerican comic books published byMarvel Comics. The original incarnation was created by writerStan Lee and artistJack Binder[2] and first appeared inMystic Comics #6 (October 1941), being one of Lee's earliest creations during theGolden Age of Comic Books.
Subsequent incarnations created byRoy Thomas andFrank Robbins appeared inThe Invaders #18 (July 1977), andThe Invaders #26 (March 1978). TheOfficial Handbook of the Marvel Universe clarifies that all three versions of the character are considered canon.[3]
The Destroyerfirst appeared as the cover subject and in a story inMystic Comics #6 (Oct. 1941), fromMarvel Comics' predecessorTimely Comics.[4] One of theWorld War II-era heroes of what fans and historians call theGolden Age of Comic Books, the character was one of the first co-created by Marvel writer-editorStan Lee.[5] The artist co-creator is uncertain: the storypenciler-inker wasJack Binder, but the cover artist, who may have drawn the character first, wasAlex Schomburg.[6]
In 1997, comics historian and former Marvel editor-in-chiefRoy Thomas wrote that "Stan's most popularsuperhero creation before theFantastic Four was the Destroyer."[7] However, a 2019 book by Thomas and Kurt Mitchell described the Destroyer as "a Stan Lee-written mash-up ofCaptain America's origin andBlazing Skull's setting notable largely for its hero's eerie grey-and-red costume."[8]
According toJess Nevins' Encyclopedia of Golden Age Superheroes, "He fights a variety of villains, from ordinary Axis agents to Dr. Dragon to Satan and Madam Satan to the Japanese villain the Face."[9]
The Destroyer ran as the cover feature ofMystic #6 and of the remaining four issues of that 10-issue superheroanthology, and while less popular than the company'sCaptain America, theHuman Torch, and theSub-Mariner, he went on to star in issues of nearly every Timely superhero comic-book series — becoming the company's most-published character outside of those three stars and theAngel.
The Destroyer stood out from other wartime heroes in that he operated solely withinoccupied Europe.[10] Artists associated with the feature include pencilersAl Gabriele andMike Sekowsky, and inkersVince Alascia andAllen Bellman. Comic-book giantJack Kirby contributed the Destroyer cover ofMystic Comics #7 (Dec. 1941).[11][12] The cover was inked by eitherSyd Shores orJoe Simon (sources differ).
The character's Golden Age appearances included:[13]
Roy Thomas andFrank Robbins first featured Roger Aubrey as the diminutiveDyna-Mite inThe Invaders #14–15 (March–April 1977); in the story he is part of the predominantly British superhero group the Crusaders, who are being manipulated by the Nazis into killing the British King. He returns in Thomas and Robbins'Invaders #18–21 (July–Oct. 1977); in the story he parachutes into Nazi Germany withLord Falsworth andSpitfire on a mission to restore his memory; a flashback reveals that he and his best friend Brian Falsworth had gone to Berlin on a peace mission which ended with them in a Nazi prison where he was experimented on.
Thomas and Robbins also featured the Falsworth incarnation of the Destroyer inThe Invaders #18–19 (July–Aug. 1977); in the story he explains how he received a variation of the super-soldier formula from a fellow inmate of a Nazi prison; the previous incarnation as Marlow isretconed as a mistaken FBI theory popularized in comic books. Thomas and Robbins concluded the plot-line inThe Invaders #20–21 (Sept.–Oct. 1977); in the story he abandons his role as the Destroyer and takes over his father's role ofUnion Jack to rescue his sister and the rest of the team while Aubrey helps to steal a plane to get them home, and inThe Invaders #22 (Nov. 1977); in which they are both safely returned to England. Thomas and Robbins also featured Falsworth as Union Jack inWhat If? #4 (Aug. 1977); in the story he and Spitfire saveWinston Churchill from a Nazi assassination attempt.
Thomas and Robbins continued to feature Falsworth and Aubrey in the series, with the former becoming a semi-permanent member of the team in his new role as Union Jack with issues #23 (Dec. 1977) & #25 (Feb. 1978); in which he joins them on his first mission, while the latter appeared in a supporting role as Dyna-Mite in issue #23 (December 1977); in which he searches for a cure for the Nazi experimentation that has reduced his size, and #26 (March 1978); in which a restored Aubrey is introduced in his role as the new Destroyer. This incarnation was also featured by Thomas, Donald Glut and Alan Kupperberg inThe Invaders #34 (Nov. 1978) and by Glut, Kupperberg and Charles Eber Stone inThe Invaders #41 (Sept. 1979).
Roger Stern andJohn Byrne mentioned Falsworth in the backstory forCaptain America #253–254 (January–February 1981); the story reveals in a flashback that he died in a car crash in 1953.
Dan Slott and James W. Fry III featured Aubrey in the World War II-era storyEnis Nacht forMarvel Comics Presents #156 (June 1994); in the story he guides a British bomber to its Nazi target. Slott and Fry featured him in another World War II-era story forMidnight Sons Unlimited #9 (May 1995); in the story he helps theBlazing Skull to infiltrate a Nazi base.
Aubrey appears as a supporting character inFabian Nicieza and Lewis LaRosa'sCitizen V and the V-Battalion: The Everlasting #1 (March 2002). The story begins with a flashback showing him at Falsworth's funeral in 1953.
Allan Jacobsen and C.P. Smith used Aubrey as a supporting character in a number of issues ofNew Invaders, including #2 (Nov. 2004), in which he is claimed to be one of the new team's first recruits, #4–5 (January–February 2005), which sees him battling the vampiric Baroness Blood alongside Union Jack, and #9 (June 2005), which sees him resuming command of V-Battalion following the death of the original Human Torch.
InCaptain America: Sentinel of Liberty (Vol 2) #10 (May 2023), by writers Jackson Lanzing and Collin Kelly and artistCarmen Carnero, Aubrey's lifetime experiences of overcoming adversity enable him to play a central role in breaking M.O.D.O.C.'s control over the minds of the Invaders.[14] He ultimately sacrifices his life to saveSharon Carter[15] when he takes the brunt of the villain'sdirected energy weapon, a beam from which had been intended for Carter.[16]
In "Nothing but a Fight", a follow-up story by the same creators that appears in the anthology issueCaptain America #750 (September 2023), Aubrey's peers eulogize him at his funeral. He is laid to rest beside Falsworth beneath a headstone whose epitaph reads, "Roger Aubrey: A Man of Love and Destroyer of Hate".[17][18][19]
Americanjournalist Keen Marlow is captured for spying while reporting behind-the-lines inNaziGermany. While imprisoned in aconcentration camp, Marlow is given a super-soldier serum, similar to that given toCaptain America, by fellow prisoner Professor Eric Schmitt, a German anti-Nazi scientist. Responding to the chemical (and without the beneficial "Vita-Rays" used to chemically stabilize Captain America's serum), Marlow becomes a prime human specimen who escapes, dons a sleek, dark costume with a skull motif and a skintight blue mask that made him appear inhuman, and adopts a fearsome identity with which he fights the Nazis on their own turf.[20] He was occasionally abetted by anAllied agent named Florence von Banger. Antagonists included the Scar, Herr Sin and Von Maus.[citation needed]
In the Destroyer'sretconned appearances in the 1970s, his origin is attributed toBrian Falsworth, brother ofInvaders memberSpitfire and son of James Montgomery Falsworth / Union Jack.
Brian Falsworth gave up the Destroyer identity to become the newUnion Jack, and his friendRoger Aubrey (initially introduced as the superhero Dyna-Mite, a member of the team theCrusaders[21]) became the new Destroyer. Falsworth's story is recounted in passing inEd Brubaker's 2009–2010 miniseriesThe Marvels Project as part of the Angel's diary of the war. This retelling claims that "Keen Marlow" was an alias used by Falsworth to enter Germany to spy; he was betrayed and captured, and then empowered well after Captain America.[22] However, prior established continuity showed that Falsworth entered Germany under his real name pre-war to promote appeasement, that he was captured trying to leave Germany shortly after Poland was invaded, and empowered only days later, more than a year before Steve Rogers became Captain America.[23] It was later revealed that Brian and Roger were lovers.[24]
Versions of the Destroyer, both in continuity and out, have appeared in various Marvel comics.The Age of theSentry #5 (March 2009) depicts the character as a member of theGuardians of the Galaxy. The character also made a guest appearance in a 2000s issue ofNew Invaders.[volume & issue needed]
Marvel'sMAXimprint published the five-issueminiseriesThe Destroyer vol. 4 (June–Oct. 2009).[25] Written byRobert Kirkman and drawn byCory Walker, it starred a version of the character Keene Marlow depicted, according to Kirkman, under "the assumption that he's had an ongoing series since the '40s, so I'm basically writing 'issues #701-#705' ..."[26] In this series, a still-active but elderly Marlowe discovers he has a limited amount of time before he will suffer a fatal heart attack, and sets out to kill his old enemies and anyone else who might threaten his wife Harriet, who isblack and has abionic arm, or their grown daughter Felecia.[27]
Keene Marlow (his first name slightly different from the earlier comics' "Keen") is enhanced by a super-soldier serum variant, similar to the one used to createCaptain America (Steve Rogers), but lacking the Vita-Ray treatment. His formersidekick Turret (Darius Mitchell) is married to Felecia and takes over the role of the Destroyer when Marlow retires.[citation needed]
The Keen Marlow incarnation of the Destroyer, renamedKeene Marlowe, appears in theSpider-Man: The Animated Series five-part episode "Six Forgotten Warriors", voiced byRoy Dotrice. This version is an old colleague ofCaptain America and friend ofBen Parker who, along with theWhizzer,Miss America, theBlack Marvel, and theThunderer, obtained his powers from a flawed attempt at recreating the process that empowered Captain America during World War II and has to regulate them with a special ring.
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