Drax the Destroyer

"His people are completely literal. Metaphors are gonna go over his head." "Nothing goes over my head! My reflexes are too fast. I would catch it."

- Rocket Raccoon and Drax

Drax, also known as Drax the Destroyer (or simply The Destroyer), is a former intergalactic criminal and a member of the Guardians of the Galaxy. He sought revenge on Ronan the Accuser for killing his wife and daughter, and went on a rampage across the galaxy ending with him being imprisoned by the Nova Corps in the Kyln. There he became uneasy allies with Star-Lord, Gamora, Rocket Raccoon, and Groot. Together they broke out of the Kyln and became embroiled in the Quest for the Orb. After the Battle of Xandar, in which he finally gained the vengeance on Ronan he had long sought, he left Xandar with the other Guardians, following Star-Lord's lead.

Early Life
Drax comes from a race of primitives who are considered naive and hopelessly underdeveloped by the more advanced galactic groups. As a result, Drax is extremely unaware of basic concepts such as metaphors and customs. They are, however, a fierce and capable warrior race who follow a tribal-like culture. Drax was married to a woman named Hovat, and together the two had a daughter named Kamaria. After Ronan the Accuser murdered Hovat and Kamaria under the order of the warlord Thanos, Drax was driven into a path of vengeance and went on a bloody rampage across the galaxy in search of the murderous Kree. After over twenty-two counts of murder and six counts of grievous bodily harm, he was arrested by the Nova Corps and brought to the Kyln.

Prison Escape
"Woman! Your words mean nothing to me!"

- Drax to Gamora

In Kyln, Drax ended up meeting Peter Quill, Rocket Raccoon, Groot, and Gamora, the latter whom had very close ties to Ronan. The four carried with them the Orb, a housing device carrying a powerful Infinity Stone that Ronan was attempting to deliver to Thanos. Drax came close to murdering Gamora in order to briefly satisfy his thirst for revenge, but Quill was able to convince him to spare her, as she had recently betrayed Ronan and would undoubtedly lead him to her. The next day Drax witnessed Groot stealing a Quardrix battery from the middle of the prison, causing the entire prison to go into emergency mode and the guards to arrive. When  he saw the guards preparing to shoot at Rocket and Groot, he made the decision to assist them so he could also escape. He fought a number of guards and easily knocked them out, laughing hysterically as he did. He threw a machine gun to Rocket who used it to shoot at the Security Drones. Drax later assisted Peter Quill by ripping a Security Drone apart with his bare hands. The five prisoners locked themselves in the Secruity Watchtower, Rocket then initiated his plan; he switched off the prison's artificial gravity, took control of the security drones, and used these drones to propel the watchtower room out of the cellblock and into the prison's docking bay. They waited in the Milano for Peter Quill who had left for a personal errand. Drax was the first to see him coming, flying through space. Drax was greatly impressed by Peter Quill's bravery, but was horrified when he discovered that Quill was simply retrieving his music.

Knowhere
"This is no respectable establishment. What do you expect us to do while we wait?"

- Drax the Destroyer

Drax traveled to Knowhere with the others to deliver the Orb to Taneleer Tivan, to whom Gamora had agreed to sell the Orb. While they waited for Tivan, Drax, Rocket, and Groot goofed off in the Boot of Jemiah, where Drax and Rocket ended up getting drunk and betting on Orloni fights. For a while Drax and Rocket appeared to get along and even shared a few laughs together. While betting on Orloni fights, Drax and Rocket got into a fight after Drax insulted Rocket's rodent-like appearance. Groot tried to help Rocket, but Drax attacked him, prompting Rocket to draw a Laser Cannon and prepare to shoot Drax with it. Luckily Quill came and stopped the drunken Rocket. In rage, Drax left the bar. After he left, the rest of the group was finally summoned by Tivan. While stalking through Knowhere in frustration, Drax came across a dispatcher at the Tivan Dispatch Center and forced him to call Ronan so that he could kill him and avenge his family.

Showdown with Ronan
"I shall meet my foe and destroy him"

- Drax the Destroyer

Meanwhile, the rest of the group discovered that the stone inside the Orb was powerful enough to destroy a planet. When Ronan arrived, he sent Nebula and his Sakaaran mercenaries after the rest of the group while he fought with Drax. Ronan dismissed Drax's claims of murdering his family, claiming he did not remember them, and easily subdued Drax with little effort before dropping him in a tank full of yellow liquid. Drax nearly drowned in the tank, but Groot pulled him out and resuscitated him. Outside of Knowhere, Gamora was nearly killed by Nebula, and the Orb was retaken by Ronan. Quill summoned the Ravagers to assist, and they ended up capturing him and Gamora. Rocket blamed Drax for Quill and Gamora's kidnapping, and Drax realized that he uses anger just to hide his pain. However he got very no sympathy from Rocket, who intended to escape to the other side of the galaxy to avoid Ronan's wrath. Drax however stood by Groot and choose to rescue Quill and Gamora. Hoping to save Quill and Gamora, the three flew to the Eclector in the Milano, planning to destroy the ship if they do not hand over Quill and Gamora in five seconds. Right before they were going to destroy the ship, Quill used the Ravagers' communication system to tell Rocket that he had managed to come up with a deal for the leader of the Ravagers, Yondu Udonta. He planned to get the Orb back from Ronan by raiding his ship and stopping him from destroying Xandar.

Battle of Xandar
"Finger on throat means death! Metaphor." "Sort of."

- Drax and Star-Lord

The next day, Quill's team and the Ravagers put the plan into action and Quill warned Rhomann Dey so that he could tell the rest of the Nova Corps. When the battle began, Drax road with Quill, Gamora and Groot into Ronan's battleship, the Dark Aster, where they battled their way to Ronan, killing several Sakaarans. Drax also personally engaged and slew Korath the Pursuer by ripping out one of his cranial implants, electrocuting him to death.

Upon finding Ronan, the group attempted and failed to kill him with Rocket's Hadron Enforcer. Before Ronan could finish the group, Rocket suddenly crashed his ship through the Dark Aster and into Ronan, causing both vehicles critical damage. Drax was knocked unconscious in the crash, and Groot created a dome of wood out of his body, which protected the team when the damaged Dark Aster crashed into Xandar. When the ship crashed, the team survived, but Groot's body was pulverized into pieces. Ronan also survived the crash and nearly attempted to destroy Xandar with the Infinity Stone. Luckily, Rocket and Drax used the Hadron Enforcer to blast Ronan's Universal Weapon, exposing the stone. Quill quickly grabbed the stone, but was nearly killed by its power. Gamora helped him by taking his hand and spreading the burden between the two of them. Drax did the same by grabbing onto Quill's shoulder, with Rocket following suite by gripping Drax's finger, who was still holding the twig that would grow back into Groot. Stabilizing the stone's power long enough to direct it towards Ronan, the four obliterated him and then resealed the stone back into a new orb-like device.

Guardian of the Galaxy
"What if someone does something irksome, and I decide to remove his spine?" "That's... that's actually murder, one of the worst crimes of all. Also illegal."

- Drax and Rhomann Dey.

After the battle, the stone was given to the Nova Corps and Drax realizes that Ronan was sent by Thanos to kill his wife and daughter, and vowed to kill the Dark Lord next. Drax then traveled around the universe with Quill's team, which became known as the Guardians of the Galaxy. Rocket managed to save a twig from Groot's body and put it in a pot, allowing Groot to grow into a new body. Once in the Milano, after Groot had grown a bit bigger, he began to dance to "" by The Jackson 5 behind Drax, freezing whenever Drax looked his way.

Personality
Drax demonstrated many times a lack of understanding for metaphors and symbolism.

Drax has an affinity for knives; these are his weapons of choice. Moloka Dar attempted to appease him by offering Drax his own.

Although Drax has grown fond of his teammates, his social skills leave much to be desired as he called Gamora a "green whore" when telling her she is his friend along with the rest of the Guardians of the Galaxy.

Powers

 * Superhuman Strength: Drax has much more physical prowess than most species, being able to lift bulk weight and breaking through solid metal. Using his brute strength alone, he easily tore a drone in half, parts of Groot, and Korath's cybernetic implants. His strength has allowed him to overpower many enemies and toss them aside. The strength of Drax also extends to his legs, allowing him to jump great heights at a single leap; he was able to catch a drone several feet off the ground with a single leap, and also was able to jump several meters to attack Ronan. Despite his incredible superhuman strength and combat skills, Drax was no match for Ronan, whose strength and combat skills were greater than Drax's, though this was likely due to Ronan's armor and the Power Stone being in his possession. Nevertheless, Drax was strong enough to easily take down most of Ronan's forces who had neither the Power Stone or armor like Ronan's.
 * Superhuman Agility: Drax is able to move and jump with great speed and height. He was able to jump 10 feet high and at least 60 feet across when he lunged at Ronan on Knowhere.
 * Superhuman Durability: Drax can withstand attacks that most species cannot, due to impact resistant skin. During the prison escape, Drax withstood direct turret blasts to his chest unharmed before tearing the turret apart with his bare hands. Drax has also withstood a beating from Ronan the Accuser, who sent Drax flying several feet through a metal wall. Also in the Guardians' battle with Ronan aboard the Dark Aster, Drax was able to survive the impact of Rocket's M-Ship crashing into him, although he was knocked unconscious.
 * Regenerative Healing Factor: Drax's cells regenerate much faster than most species. During his fight with Ronan, Drax suffered several bruises and cuts on his face, however when he was removed from the yellow liquid tank, he was completely healed.

Abilities

 * Expert Combatant: Drax has proven to be a brutal, yet accomplished combatant, able to overpower multiple opponents, including several Kyln guards and Sakaaran warriors with little effort. He was also capable of holding his own and slaying Korath the Pursuer. But, even though he lasted longer than most against Ronan the Accuser, he was ultimately no match for the Kree Commander's skill and strength.
 * Knife Mastery: Drax is skilled in using knives, particularly his dual knives. He has used them with exceptional skill and has taken down many Sakaaran soldiers with it.

Equipment

 * Dual Knives - Drax uses two knives in battle.

​Family

 * Hovat † - Wife
 * Kamaria † - Daughter

Allies

 * Moloka Dar †
 * Guardians of the Galaxy - Teammates
 * Peter Quill/Star-Lord - Leader
 * Groot
 * Rocket Raccoon
 * Gamora - Enemy Turned Ally

Video Game Only

 * Cosmo
 * Mantis

Enemies

 * Ronan the Accuser †
 * Korath the Pursuer † - Victim
 * Thanos
 * Nebula

Video Game Only

 * Angmo-Asan/Red King
 * Caiera
 * Charlie-27
 * Beta Ray Bill
 * Bruce Banner/Hulk/Green Scar
 * Skunge
 * Levan
 * Korg
 * Margus
 * Angela
 * Zak-Del/Wraith
 * Supremor
 * Xandarian Worldmind †

Trivia

 * In the comics, Drax was a human named Arthur Douglas whose wife was killed by Thanos. His daughter, Heather, survived and was found by Thanos' father. She grew up to become superheroine Moondragon.
 * In the movie, it required Drax plus 3 of the other Guardians to control the power of the Orb for just a moment. However, in the comics, an incarnation of Drax managed to easily control the Power Gem by himself.
 * Drax never seems to wear a shirt, displayed various times.