| For other uses, see Destroyer of Worlds (disambiguation) |
- "Imagine a man with the density of lead, with the volatility of cesium. The possibilities are endless."
- ―Daniel Whitehall[src]
Project Destroyer of Worlds was a HYDRA project with which Daniel Whitehall intended to recreate a super soldier by designing an individual capable of taking on the properties of any known material.
History
Daniel Whitehall's Work
- "Von Strucker will be working on the Chamber."
"Is this because he and I got into a fight?"
"In a sense, yes. We're actually impressed by your strength, your mettle. We think that you will be essential in engineering the perfect human specimen for the Chamber." - ―Daniel Whitehall and Hale[src]
Daniel Whitehall recruited Wolfgang von Strucker to lead the project after he graduated from the HYDRA Preparatory Academy. Another HYDRA member, Hale, was selected to be artificially inseminated and gave birth to Ruby Hale, who was expected to become the future Destroyer of Worlds.
Strucker used Carl Creel as a test subject, giving the latter the ability to absorb the properties of any material he came in contact with. However, Whitehall's death at the hands of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Director Phil Coulson led to the early end of the project.[1]
Project Reactivated
- "We've been searching for an old Whitehall program. It's a Particle Infusion Chamber. It's designed to create the most powerful man."
"Like Captain America."
"Better than that." - ―Hale and Phil Coulson[src]
Despite Daniel Whitehall's death, the project was resurrected by Hale herself when she intended to use it to back-stab the inter-galactic alliance known as the Confederacy.[1] To that end, Hale tasked Werner von Strucker, Wolfgang's son, to compile all the information he could find in his memories about the Particle Infusion Chamber designed for the project.[2]
Werner von Strucker discovers that the equipment is too damaged
Ruby Hale expected to be empowered by the project, but her instability led Hale to select Quake as a more suitable candidate.[1] As a result, Ruby rebelled against her mother and left with Strucker to find the Particle Infusion Chamber by themselves, only to find out that the equipment required to make it work had been destroyed by Leo Fitz and Jemma Simmons.[3]
Threatening to kill either of them, Ruby and von Strucker forced Fitz and Simmons to repair the pieces of equipment they had destroyed. Although they did their best to play for time so that Yo-Yo Rodriguez could call for backup, Fitz and Simmons had no choice but to comply and finally repaired the machine. Nevertheless, they also warned Ruby and von Strucker about the danger of using Gravitonium, but Ruby and von Strucker elected to ignore the warning.
Ruby Hale prepares to be infused with Gravitonium
Ruby entered the Particle Infusion Chamber, which was closed and activated by von Strucker, who began injecting the Gravitonium they had brought along into the Chamber. However, it turned out that the process was incredibly painful for Ruby, who started screaming and ended up fainting in the chamber while von Strucker blamed Simmons and Fitz for her pain. In the meantime, General Hale had also arrived along with Quake and Melinda May. Eventually, the Chamber was deactivated by Fitz and Ruby was only infused with 8% Gravitonium.
Ruby Hale levitates out of the Particle Infusion Chamber
The Chamber was opened and Ruby regained consciousness. Because of the Gravitonium she had been infused with, her body started levitating in the room. Ruby then landed on the ground, but she was unable to bear the voices of Ian Quinn and Franklin Hall who were constantly arguing in her mind. Unable to master her newly acquired gravity manipulation abilities, Ruby accidentally killed von Strucker by crushing his skull.
Both Hale and Quake attempted to talk Ruby down, but their efforts got little results as Ruby was progressively driven insane because of the Gravitonium, nearly killing Quake and arguing with her mother. They were joined by Rodriguez who, upon seeing the one who had sliced her arms off, murdered Ruby with her own Ring Blades. Following her death, the Gravitonium in Ruby's body unleashed a powerful outburst, which knocked all the other people present away.[4]
Legacy
- "You'd be surprised. Seems there's been a development with your Destroyer of Worlds Project. Turns out, it's a go."
"Daisy Johnson went into the machine?"
"Actually, it was someone a little more out of the box." - ―Phil Coulson and Hale[src]
Following the confrontation with Ruby Hale, S.H.I.E.L.D. reclaimed the Chamber and remaining Gravitonium. During an invasion of the Lighthouse by the Confederacy, Glenn Talbot reactivated the Chamber to fully infuse himself with the Gravitonium.[5]