Destroyer

Origin

The Destroyer was originally created by Odin as the choice weapon to be used against the Fourth Host of Celestials. The various pantheons of Earth had previously met with the Third Host, and knew that their next arrival would be to proclaim judgment on the planet. It was magically endowed with invulnerability, and the most powerful gods of Earth (Odin, Zeus, and their peers) poured part of their powers into the armor to give it titanic strength and energy blasts. The Destroyer was sealed away in a plateau in the Temple of Darkness until the time of its purpose.

Early History

The armor became the center of several plots by Loki to kill Thor. The first time Loki discovered the armor, he used a nearby hunter called Buck Franklin as the life essence to animate it. Thor and the Destroyer battled, with Thor eventually using Franklin's body to trick the Destroyer into sending its life essence back into the body. At a later date Loki transferred his own essence into the armor to fight Odin in Asgard, and was defeated by Odin forcing his essence to return to his body. Loki joined up with Karnilla to use Sif's consciousness to power the Destroyer.

For a short period of time the Destroyer acted as a herald of Galactus.

When the Fourth Host arrived on Earth, Odin transferred the essences of the entire Asgardian race (except for Thor) into the Destroyer. With the Odinsword and an ally in the Uni-Mind, the armor attacked the Celestials at their base in South America. The Celestials destroyed the Uni-Mind and turn the armor into a melted ruin.

Loki restored the armor in a bid to defeat Thor, who was cursed with a brittle body and immortality by Hela. Thor defeated the armor by expelling its inhabitant, a frost giant named Siggorth, and taking control of it himself. He then used it to threaten Hela, by pretending that the Destroyer's consciousness is in control, into lifting her curse. He trapped the armor in crystal.

After Heroes Reborn

Thor fights the Destroyer again when the Dark Gods conquer Asgard, the construct animated to serve the Dark Gods. Thor is killed and his soul sent to Hela, but Marnot saves him by combining his life force with Jake Olsen's. Thor banishes the armor into space while fighting alongside the Avengers. He later seeks it out as an ally against the Dark Gods.

Hulk comes into conflict with the armor yet again, imbued with the spirit of Maestro by trolls. After an ineffective battle, the Hulk fights and triumphs over the Maestro for control of the armor. The armor fell into the hands of Loki again, who animates it with the essence of the Designate. Thor fights the Destroyer one last time when he has conquered the Earth as the successor of Odin. Desak challenges him, fused with the armor, but Thor uses the Odin Force to decapitate him.

After Ragnarok

Thor encounters the Destroyer when searching for potential Asgardians who are mysteriously disappearing. He finds them in an underground bunker in the American Southwest, and confronts their jailor: the Destroyer armor. When he liberates the Asgardians from their human hosts, it is shown that Balder was controlling the armor. This is part of Loki's plan to release the 'undesirable' Asgardians ( Enchantress, Karnilla, etc) by forcing Thor into a corner.

Doctor Doom later uses the Destroyer armor as a template to create his own facsimile, powered by the life essences of Asgardians that he has killed. Doom enters the armor and fights Thor himself. Thor destroys this version in battle with the help of Balder (who severs the power source of the construct).

The armor was stolen from the ruins of Asgard by the troll Ulik and Diablo. It was taken by the High Evolutionary in an attempt to make a new god to replace the Norse gods, whom he viewed as outdated. The High Evolutionary planned on fusing the magical power of the Destroyer with Iron Man's technology to create his new god, a hybrid of magic and technology. Thor and Iron Man worked together to stop the plan and the armor was successfully recovered and returned to Asgard.

Powers and Abilities

The Destroyer was built by Odin as an answer to the Fourth Host of Celestials. It is animated by the life force of a sentient being, although it can be imbued with the essences of many. The Destroyer possesses its own violent consciousness, which usually dominates the consciousness of whomever animates it. However, beings with great willpower or magical ability (Odin, Thor, Loki, Hulk) can force the armor to their whims.

It has superhuman strength far exceeding any Asgardian and is almost totally invulnerable due to Odin's enchantment. It is capable of vast supersonic flight as well as firing various beams of electricity, plasma, heat and magnetic force. A disintegration beam is located in his helm that can destroy almost any substance.Technically the armor is not a living being, hence it can pick up and use Mjolnir.

Other Media

Film

Thor (2011)

In the movie, Destroyer is an automaton consisting of great energy encased in a shell of interchangeable metallic plates; it can lower its face plate to fire the energy in destructive bursts. Kept in the the weapons vault in Asgard, when the frost giants try to sneak in and reclaim their casket of ancient winters, Odin senses the break in and calls upon the Destroyer to do its job in protecting the weapons. Later on, when Loki became king of Asgard, he sends Destroyer to go to Earth and kill Thor, so that Thor cannot return to Asgard and foil Loki's plan to destroy the entire race of frost giants. Destroyer attacks and defeats Sif, the Warriors Three, and Agent Coulson's SHIELD subordinates (who mistake the Destroyer for a creation of Tony Stark), so Thor has to fight Destroyer to save Sif, the Warriors Three and Jane Foster. Thor goes to face the Destroyer as a mortal man. Has he begins walking towards the Destroyer, he talks to his brother Loki, who can hear him through the Destroyer and apologizes to him. Thor pleads with Loki and tries to make peace with his brother. He also wants to spare the lives of the people of Midgard (Earth) by asking Loki to take his life instead of the people of Midgard. The Destroyer strikes Thor with a great crushing blow and kills him. As Jane Foster cradles Thors lifeless body, a flash to Asgard shows Odin in his slumber shed a single tear that rolls down his face. Then the Mjolnir begins to shake and returns to Thor's hand as he is now, once again, worthy to wield the power of the Mjolnir. Then Thor rises and decimates the Destroyer with the power of the hammer.

The Avengers (2012)

After SHIELD captures the remains of the Destroyer, they experiment and use the this knowledge on its power to create an experimental weapon, that is used by Agent Coulson, which he fires upon Loki.

Television

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

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.