Name: Arthur Douglas

Superhero Name: Drax The Destroyer

Created By: Jim Starlin

Played By: Dave Bautista

Powers: Artificial body with superhuman strength, stamina, healing, senses and durability, meaning that Drax can be hit with incredible force and handle extremes of temperature without much issue. On top of this, he is also a skilled combatant and is said to have mastered the alien martial art form of Dwi Theet.

Mini Bio: Drax started out life as a human being known as Arthur Douglas – an average estate agent with a wife called Yvette and a daughter, Heather.

It all went wrong when Thanos passed over Arthur and his family’s car on a recon mission. Not wanting to be seen, Thanos destroyed the car to make sure there were no witnesses. What he didn’t realise, was that a) Heather was still alive and b) Thanos’ father was watching his actions, deciding that he was going too far.

His father took Heather back to Titan to be raised, and realised that he needed someone with sufficient power to defeat his son, so he took Arthur’s spirit before it completely left his body, fashioning a super-strong body for his soul out of soil.

Arthur’s memories of his past life were wiped, replaced with an almost all-consuming hatred of Thanos. He used this hatred to thwart Thanos’ plans, sometimes with the help of Iron Man and the Avengers, though never quite managing to defeat Thanos himself.

In the end, Captain Mar-Vell defeated Thanos, leaving Drax feeling like he had no purpose, as his entire being had been consumed with defeating him. He would only recover when Thanos was discovered alive again, only for it to be dashed yet again when Thanos was killed a second time.

Drax blamed Captain Mar-Vell for Thanos’ death, and set off to kill him. The two battled for a long time, only stopping when asked to take down the rest of Thanos’ remaining forces by Titan’s computer network.

After the battle was done, Drax decided to see if he could be a creator, not a destroyer, but found that it wasn’t really in his nature. He became depressed, until he joined up with his daughter, now known as Moondragon, and the two travelled together for a while. They teamed up eventually with Adam Warlock, becoming part of the Infinity Watch alongside Gamora and Pip The Troll. Drax was specifically given the Power Stone to look after.

Drax would meet the rest of the Guardians Of The Galaxy during the Annhilation event, and finally got his wish by punching Thanos’ heart out through his chest. He would then become a key member of the Guardians team for many years, usually providing the muscle when push came to shove.

But the years took their toll on Drax, especially when he came across slavers. He killed the leaders and their king without a second thought, despite the pleading from the enslaved. It turned out to be a mistake, as the enslaved had poisons inside them which activated when their enslaver died.

The tragedy made Drax re-evaluate his life, and he took a vow of non-violence. The vow did sometimes get in the way of missions with the rest of the Guardians, and did end with Drax killing several creatures, despite his vow.

Wanting to keep his vow, Drax moved to Xiataung, a peaceful planet inhabited by rogue Nova Corps members, who were hiding the Power Stone. The planet was attacked, and when the Guardians arrived, Star Lord managed to pass the Power Stone to Drax so he could attack the enemies. The fight renewed Drax’s love of the fight, and he has been the muscle of the Guardians ever since.

Interesting trivia: As a human, Arthur used to play saxophone in a jazz band.

First Comic Appearance: Iron Man issue 55 (1972)

Most Common Team Ups: Guardians Of The Galaxy, Nova Corps, Secret Defenders

Comic Recommendations: Drax: Guardian Of The Galaxy (2016) by Jim Starlin, Annhilation (2007) by Dan Abnett, Guardians Of The Galaxy (2017) by Gerry Duggan, Drax (2016) by Cullen Bunn