My countdown to the release of Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3 continues! Today I have another green-skinned warrior, though he’s not related to Gamora. In fact, one of his earliest objectives was to kill her! I never fully understood this character until I put together his guide, when I realized his key character trait wasn’t his strength or his single-mindedness, but his endless cycle of death and rebirth all triggered by the brutality of everyone’s favourite purple-skinned mad titan, Thanos. Learn about the man known as “The Destroyer,” who was revived to be Thanos’s arch-nemesis in my Drax Guide!
What do I mean about an endless cycle of death and rebirth? Drax’s earliest incarnation was a revival of an Earth man as a powerful golem hell-bent on Thanos’s destruction, but on his mission he has died several times over, which each revival leading to a tweak to his powers (and, sometimes, his intellect). Read more about how the Marvel Cinematic Universe merged those multiple versions of Drax into one in my original launch essay from when I debuted this guide to Patrons of CK.
If you really want to understand Drax’s cosmic comic origins, you absolutely must read a back-up story from the obscure Logan’s Run (1977) #6 as well as Warlock & The Infinity Watch (1992) #12-13. You’ll appreciate Drax more with that core of understanding, no matter which of has many incarnations you read next. I wish I had already known that material when I first read the Annihilation event prologue in Drax The Destroyer (2005). At the time, the themes of that book went totally over my head – I just saw a violent green guy and was confused about why he came back to life so quickly!
Drax has the most fully-developed comics history out of all of the core Marvel Cinematic Universe members of the team, but it also often feels like he doesn’t get the full focus of the book the way Star-Lord and Rocket often do. For a strong modern arc that connects to Drax’s origins, check out Guardians of the Galaxy (2019) #7-12 by Donny Cates.
All of Drax’s many incarnations and every one of his Marvel Comics appearances are detailed in my Drax Guide. Whether you’re trying to put your single comics in a perfect reading order or reserve some Destroyer-filled reads from your local library, my guide has every issue and collected edition you’re looking for.
