In the pages of Marvel Comics and the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Drax the Destroyer’s most important goal is to kill Thanos, the Mad Titan. However, the long-time Guardians of the Galaxy member wasn’t always a deadly warrior, as in the comics, he had his life saved and was originally given superpowers by the powerful Eternal Kronos in exchange for hunting and killing Thanos.
Drax and Thanos both debuted in Iron Man #55 by Jim Starlin, Mike Friedrich, Mike Esposito, and John Costanza as Drax’s quest from the beginning was to capture and kill Thanos. Marvel’s greatest villain has long posed a threat to the entire universe, but to Drax specifically, he was always enemy number one. With their intertwined origins, Drax has come face-to-face with Thanos on multiple occasions, including killing him in the Annihilation event. In the MCU, Drax was also desperate to seek vengeance on Thanos for murdering his family – however, he wouldn’t be the person who killed the Mad Titan for good.
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In Iron Man #55, Thanos’ father Mentor realizes that he needs to restore balance in the universe and calls upon Kronos to create a warrior capable of taking down his son: Drax. However, Captain Marvel #32 by Friedrich, Starlin, Dan Green, and Dave Hunt would reveal more heartbreaking details about Drax’s human origin and how he came to be a superpowered soldier. It turns out Drax used to be a human named Arthur Douglas, who was driving to an Elvis Presley concert with his wife and daughter when Thanos blew his family up after he thought they saw his spaceship during a scouting mission on Earth.
Not only was Draxed killed, but his daughter Heather, who would later become Moondragon, was stolen by Thanos. However, as Drax’s soul was moving onto a new plane of existence, Mentor and Kronos intercepted it and used him to create a destroyer capable of taking down Thanos.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe didn’t choose to adapt Drax’s origin fully, as he instead was a Kylosian whose family was murdered by Ronan the Accuser on orders from Thanos. Still, Drax’s quest to kill Thanos wouldn’t change in the Guardians of the Galaxy or other MCU films. But in the comics, Drax had an even more direct connection to Thanos, as he was specifically saved and changed by the Mad Titan’s father to kill his own son. The human element of Drax’s comic origin adds another element of grief – as the Destroyer not only lost his wife to Thanos but was solely kept alive to fight him. Thankfully, he would get his own agency and eventually join the Guardians. But still, Drax the Destroyer has one of the most heartbreaking backstories in all of comics thanks to Thanos.
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