THE DESTROYER
Real Name: Roger Aubrey
Identity/Class: Human mutate (British) (World War I era to modern era)
Occupation: Adventurer;
former V-Battalion leader, retiree, freedom fighter, marine;
briefly posed as a reporter
Group Membership: Invaders (Captain
America/Steve Rogers, Sharon Carter, Dryad/Peggy Carter, Nick Fury,
Jr., the Redacted), Radio Company (Captain America/Steve Rogers, John
Koroki,
Pam);
formerly the
V-Battalion (The
Angel/Thomas Halloway, Betty Barstow, Citizen V/Dallas Riordan, Citizen
V/John Watkins III, Fred Davis, Eamonn, Guy Fontreaux, Golden
Woman/Gwenny Lou Sabuki, Goldfire/Ameiko
Sabuki, Iron
Cross/Helmut Gruler, Irene
Martinez, Isadora
Martinez, David Mitchell, Nuklo/Robert Frank, Jr., Piers, "Reb"
Ralston, Riordan, Dr.
Sam Sabuki,
Spitfire/Jacqueline Falsworth, Topspin/Darren Mitchell, Vradec, Miles
Warbeck/Miles Warton, Whizzer/Robert Frank, Sr., others); the Invaders (Bucky/James Barnes, Captain America/Steve
Rogers, Human Torch/"Jim Hammond," Namor the Sub-Mariner/Namor
McKenzie, Spitfire/Jacqueline Falsworth, Toro/Thomas Raymond, Union
Jack/Brian Falsworth (honorary member)); the Crusaders
(Captain
Wings/Roger Dicken, Ghost Girl/Wendy
Hunt, the
Spirit of '76/William Nasland, Thunderfist/Patrick
Mason, Tommy
Lightning/Thomas Lovejoy), the Royal Marines
Affiliations: Atlanteans, the Black
Marvel (Dan Lyons), Black Panther (T'Challa), Black Widow
(Claire Voyant), Black Widow (Natalia Romanova), Blazing Skull (Mark
Todd), Blue
Diamond
(Elton Morrow), the Captain of the Railways (Aaron Fischer), Captain America (William Nasland), Captain
Terror (Dan Kane),
Captain
Wonder (Steve Jordan), Commander Hawley, Commcast
(Gareb Bashur), Dr. Valerie Cooper, Lord
Cedric Crichton, Mr. Crosswell, the Crusaders,
the
Defender (Don Stevens), Gloria
Delacroix, the Dynamic
Man, Electro
(robot), Lady Jane
Falsworth; Montgomery, Lord Falsworth;
the Fantastic Four (Human Torch/Johnny Storm, Invisible Woman/Susan
Richards, Mister Fantastic/Reed Richards, Thing/Ben Grimm), Father Time
(Larry Scott), the Fiery
Mask (Jack Castle), Louis
Frankel,
the French underground (Monsieur Farrotte, Monsieur Lamonte, Rouen,
others), Emma Frost, Golden Girl (Betsy Ross Mace),
Hawkeye (Clint Barton), Tom Hoffman, Hotchkins
(butler), the
Howling Commandos (Izzy Cohen,
"Dum-Dum" Dugan, Nick Fury, Sr., Eric Koenig,
Dino
Manelli, "Reb"
Ralston,
others), the Human Torch ("Jim Hammond"), the Invaders, Jack Frost, Rick Jones,
Justice (Vance Astrovik), Killraven (Jonathan Raven of Earth-691), King
George VI,
the
Laughing Mask (Dennis
Burton), Jeff Mace, Major Whalen, MI13 (Captain Britain/Brian Braddock,
Gloriana/Meggan Braddock, Spitfire/Jacqueline Falsworth, Union
Jack/Joey Chapman), Miss America (Madeline
Joyce), Miss Fury (Marla Drake), Ms. Marvel (Carol Danvers), Namor the
Sub-Mariner (Namor McKenzie), Nigel, Night Raven,
Nia Noble,
Peter Noble, Oskar, the
Phantom Reporter (Richard Jones), Red Raven, the
Redeemers (Beetle/Leila
Davis, Citizen V/John Watkins III, Fixer/Norbert Ebersol, Meteorite/Valerie
Barnhardt, Scream,
Smuggler/Conrad
Josten), Nathaniel Richards, She-Hulk (Jennifer Walters), S.H.I.E.L.D., Spider-Man (Peter Parker), Howard Stark, Tony
Stark, Andrea
Sterman, Storm (Ororo Munroe), Tara
(Invader-1), Thin Man (Bruce Dickson), Thunderbolts (Atlas/Erik Josten,
Charcoal/Charlie
Burlingame, Hawkeye/Clint Barton, Mach-3/Abner Jenkins, Moonstone/Karla
Sofen, Songbird/Melissa Gold), the
Thunderer (Jerry Carstairs), Toro (Thomas Raymond), Union Jack (Brian
Falsworth), USAgent (John Walker), the V-Battalion, Vision (Aarkus),
Wasp (Janet Van Dyne), the
Watcher (Uatu), the Wild Pack, Sam Wilson, the Winter Soldier
(Bucky Barnes), Wolverine (James Howlett), Yellowjacket
(Criti Noll), the Young Avengers (Hawkeye/Kate Bishop, Hulkling/Dorrek
VIII, Patriot/Eli Bradley, Speed/Tommy Shephard, Vision/Jonas,
Wiccan/Billy Kaplan), likely Destroyer ("Keen" Marlow) (see comments);
formerly Alfie
(William Leese)
Enemies: A.I.M. (M.O.D.O.K./George
Tarleton, others), Alfie
(William Leese), Attila the Hun, Attuma,
the Automaturks (Iron Sultan, others),
Baron
Blood (John Falsworth), Baron Strucker (Wolfgang von Strucker),
Baron Zemo (Helmut Zemo), Baroness
Blood (Lily Cromwell), the
Collective Man
(Han, Chang, Lin, Sun & Ho Tao-Yu, numerous others), the
Everlasting (Aqhat, Marduk
(Mesopotamian god), others), Fenris (Andrea
& Andreas von Strucker), Flag-Smasher (Karl Morgenthau),
Grausum, Graviton
(Franklin Hall), Henry Peter Gyrich, Iron
Cross (Oskar Mors), Madam
Satan, Martians, Master Man (Wilhelm Lohmer), Nazis (Capt.
Brool, Carl, Col. Dietrich,
Capt. Floo, Hermann Goering, Hans, Adolf Hitler, Capt. Krause, Schaeffer, Hauptmann Schmidt, Schnagel, Col.
Schutter, Shmite, Storm (see comments),
Gen. Von Hochstein, others), the Outer Circle (Love/Ana, Machine/Ika
Agboje, Money/Etien Argent, Power/Wulf Fortunov, Revolution/Gavrilo
Princip), the Quiet Man, the Red Skull (Johann Shmidt), Sandman
(William Baker), the Sculpture, Skrulls, Arnim Zola
Known Relatives: Unidentified father (presumably deceased)
Aliases: "The British Lion," "the Champion of
Democracy," "Der Zerstorer" (German name for Destroyer), Dyna-Mite,
"Enemy
of Tyranny & Dictatorship," "Friend," "Grampa," "Kid," "Little
Man," "Keen Marlow" (misspelling of dual identity), Keene Marlow (see comments), "the Mighty
Destroyer," "the Mighty Wallflower," "Mitey," "Polo Partner" (radio
call name), "Pops," Radio Two, "Rog," "Sir," "Sugar," "the Valiant
Commando from
Within;"
impersonated Carl
Base of Operations: England, UK;
formerly the
mobile Vanguard vehicle/base; Berlin, Germany; a boat docked on the
River Thames, England
First Appearance: (as Destroyer) All-Winners
Comics I#6 (September, 1942);
(as Dyna-Mite) Invaders I#14 (March, 1977)
Powers/Abilities: Due to his ingestion of a
Super-Soldier Serum derivative, the Destroyer retained the strength and
vitality of man half his age. The Serum also somewhat slowed his aging
process, often appearing to be ten to twenty years younger than his
actual age. In his prime, the Destroyer had peak human strength and
agility, sufficient to catch a speeding train on foot and swing
an adult man around like a human baseball bat.
The Destroyer also had the ability
to shrink down to height of twelve inches at will, retaining the
strength of his full-sized self at tiny size, though he seldom used
this ability and rarely even spoke of it.
Roger Aubrey was an exceptional
athlete and hand-to-hand combatant, especially in the martial art of
ju-jitsu. He was also a skilled radio operator and decoder, excelling
at puzzles. Aubrey was also very knowledgeable in engineering, having
studied in the Royal Marines as a sapper (combat engineer).
Aubrey was a capable disguise
artist and actor, able to convince others he was who he claimed despite
wearing disguises over his masked costume. He was also fluent in
German and was an accomplished polo player.
The Destroyer occasionally used
conventional firearms such as Tommy guns in battle and he at least once
carried a small emergency flashlight in his costume's pocket. During
his decades as leader of the V-Battalion, Roger Aubrey had access to
advanced technology including teleportation devices, advanced aircraft
and other unspecified tech.
In his later years, Aubrey's
eyesight was not as strong as it once was and he had taken to wearing
glasses when not in costume (see comments).
Height: 6'2" (variable); (originally) 5'4"; (as
Dyna-Mite) 4"
Weight: 221 lbs. (variable); (originally) unrevealed (approximately 130 lbs.); (as Dyna-Mite)
unrevealed (but less than 14 lbs.)
Eyes: Blue
Hair: White (originally blonde, possibly occasionally dyed brown - see comments)
History:
(Invaders
I#15 (fb) - BTS / Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Golden Age
2004 - Destroyer entry - BTS / Captain America X#750 (fb) - BTS) - Roger
Aubrey was born in England in 1919, a
British citizen, presumably in London specifically.
(Invaders I#15 (fb) - BTS) - Roger Aubrey was raised
in England as well.
(Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty II#10 (fb) -
BTS) - In the home Roger was raised in, fists were more commonly
used than forgiveness, and he grew up ever never really feeling he was
the son his father wanted, often being made well aware of his father's
disdain. At age thirteen, Roger's father took him along their family
land as his father collected rent money, either beating the tenants for
lack of payments or Roger himself for asking why the tenants were being
beaten. When Roger's favorite tenant, Mr. Crosswell, was threatened by
Roger's father as a way of teaching Roger a lesson about excuses, Roger
became angry at the unfairness of it all and leaped into the air,
fearlessly punching his father and knocking him down Crosswell's
stairs, horrifying the fearful Mr. Crosswell.
(Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Golden Age
2004 - Destroyer entry - BTS) - Over the years, Aubrey never acquired
a criminal record and he eventually went to college.
(Invaders I#19 (fb) / Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty II#9 (fb) -
BTS) - Roger was nicknamed "Dyna-Mite" (a pun on explosives) because of his explosive energy and short
stature.
(Invaders I#19 (fb)) - Roger Aubrey
became the dearest
friend and sometimes polo competitor to Brian Falsworth, son of
Montgomery, Lord Falsworth.
(Citizen V & the V-Battalion: The Everlasting#1
(fb) - BTS) - A photo was taken of Roger Aubrey and Brian
Falsworth in suits.
(Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Golden Age
2004 - Destroyer entry - BTS) - Roger ultimately left college, his
degree unfinished. At some point, Roger Aubrey and Brian Falsworth
became
lovers.
(Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty II#9 (fb) -
BTS) - Roger Aubrey trained to be a sapper in the Royal Marines for a
time. While he loved that line of work, Aubrey loved Brian more and did
not further his training in the Marines.
(Invaders I#19 (fb)) - By 1938, when the policy
of appeasing Adolf Hitler
went into affect in Britain, Lord Falsworth grew angry and warned that
something
had to be done lest all of Europe fall under Hitler's rule, but Brian
Falsworth argued that it was not their place to argue British policy,
Roger siding with Brian on the matter. As the Falsworth family
arguments grew fiercer, the pacifist Brian refused to live under his
father's roof and left in anger, taking Roger with him. As they left,
Lord Falsworth grumbled that while he respected Brian and Roger's
youthful enthusiasm, they were as foolhardy British Prime Minister
Chamberlain. Lady Falsworth reminded Montgomery that Brian and Roger
were still just boys and would learn things in time. A short time
later,
propaganda photos surfaced showing Brian and Roger in Berlin meeting
with Adolf Hitler in support of Britain's appeasement policies and Lord
Falsworth, furious that his son was associating with Hitler, denounced
Brian.
(Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty II#9 (fb) - Four weeks later, Roger Aubrey and Brian Falsworth visited
a German pub together and discussed their feelings for one another,
touching hands but neither willing to say the words the other wanted to
hear. Aubrey joked that Brian didn't want Aubrey to say it first, as he
always hated being second place. As Brian finally admitted he loved
Roger, German soldiers busted into the pub, gunning down innocent
civilians and forcing Roger and Brian to escape the burning pub
together.
(Invaders I#19 (fb) - After World War II
officially
broke out in 1939, Roger Aubrey and Brian Falsworth attempted to depart
Germany entirely but they were not allowed to leave due to the German
propaganda
victory caused by Brian Falsworth's prior support of appeasement and
their
passports were torn up by the Gestapo chief. Brian attacked the chief
in response and when Brian was arrested and sentenced to prison, Roger
became violent as well and was sentenced to execution. As Roger was
being arrested, Colonel Dietrich, a Nazi scientist working with Project
Crusader, noted that Roger's short stature made him an ideal candidate
for experiments the scientist had planned for the Project and Roger was
released into Dietrich's custody. Roger was then shrunk down to size of
only a few inches and brainwashed by Dietrich as part of Project
Crusader's plot to assassinate Britain's King George VI.
(Invaders I#15 (fb) - BTS) - His memory of his past
life erased over a period of years, Roger was told by Project
Crusader's agent Alfie, who was posing as a British government agent,
that he, alongside five other Project Crusader recruits, had wanted to
enlist in World War II military service but could not. He was also told
that he would be utilized in another fashion by his government liaison
Alfie, who granted each of the recruits a superhuman ability of some
sort and controlled their technologically-granted powers via a power
cutoff belt.
(Invaders I#14 (fb) - BTS / Citizen V & the
V-Battalion I#1 (fb)) - Roger
Aubrey officially joined Alfie's Crusaders group as Dyna-Mite,
retaining his full human strength despite only being a few inches in
size.
(Captain America X#750 (fb) - BTS) - During his time
with the Crusaders, Dyna-Mite enjoyed seeing the holographic "ghost"
images generated by his teammate Ghost Girl.
(Invaders I#14) - In
England with the Crusaders circa 1942, Dyna-Mite
accompanied the Crusaders into action against Hauptmann Schmidt and his
Nazi agents.
(Invaders I#14 / Invaders I#15 (fb)) - Leaping from his
teammate Spirit of '76's shoulder,
Dyna-Mite punched one of the Nazi agents in the face as he introduced
himself.
(Invaders I#14) - The Crusaders made quick work of
the Nazi agents, and Dyna-Mite
gloated that they exorcised the Nazi devils. Arriving at ground level
shortly thereafter, the Invaders' Human Torch and Namor the Sub-Mariner
commended the Crusaders on their work, and Dyna-Mite and his teammates
introduced themselves to the Invaders as well. When the Spirit of '76
mentioned not needing any superhuman powers other than his fists,
Dyna-Mite reminded the Spirit about his bulletproof cloak, at which
point the Spirit of '76 claimed he could've taken down the Nazi agents
with or without the cloak. The Spirit then dragged the defeated Nazis
off to the authorities, and Dyna-Mite bade the Invaders a hearty
"cheerio!" as the Crusaders departed the scene. Once the Invaders had
regrouped, they discussed Dyna-Mite and the other Crusaders. The
following morning, Dyna-Mite and the Crusaders visited Buckingham
Palace to meet with King George VI about potentially replacing the
Invaders as His Majesty's guard of honor.
(Invaders I#14 / Invaders I#15 (fb)) - To test the
Crusaders, King
George VI allowed Dyna-Mite to act as his personal bodyguard and later
that day, an
anarchist assassin attempted to assassinate King George,
only to be defeated by Dyna-Mite after the Invaders were incorrectly
led into St. James Park by Alfie. Following the assassin's
defeat, Dyna-Mite regrouped with the Crusaders and moments later, the
Invaders arrived on the scene, having suspected they had been purposely
misdirected.
(Invaders I#14) - At first thinking the Crusaders to
be behind the attempted
assassination when they saw Dyna-Mite standing over the defeated
assassin, the Invaders quickly learned that Dyna-Mite had actually
rescued King George VI, passing the test King George had set for the
Crusaders. Moments after, it was officially announced that the
Crusaders would serve as guard of honor for King George at the next
day's coronation of the battleship H.M.S. Hornblower, an announcement
that
brought Alfie to devious laughter.
(Invaders I#15) - Meeting at their boat headquarters
on the docks of the River Thames, Dyna-Mite and the other Crusaders
discussed their lack of knowledge regarding the origins of their
superhuman abilities, and the conversation was soon interrupted by the
arrival of Alfie. When the Crusaders
questioned why they still had to meet in secret and take orders from
Alfie when they were now publicly known, Alfie responded by turning off
Ghost Girl's powers using his belt and reminding the other Crusaders that
they were essentially bound into his service at the risk of losing
their superhuman powers. Keeping up his ruse of being a government
agent, Alfie also exclaimed that the only thing that should matter to
Dyna-Mite and his allies is that they would do anything for their king
and country, reminding them of their value to the king over a full
military regiment. When the Spirit of '76 argued that the Invaders were
there should the Crusaders not be around to act as the honor guard for
the king, Alfie presented the Crusaders with seemingly incriminating
photos of the Invaders and suggested the Invaders were actually secret Nazi
agents, further claiming that the Crusaders were created for that very
reason. Upon hearing this, Dyna-Mite questioned what organization Alfie
worked for and who had created the Crusaders, and Alfie responded by
claiming he was not authorized to say. Alfie then attempted to prove
himself by suggesting he would have given powers to Nazis instead of
heroes if he were an enemy, at which point Dyna-Mite questioned whether
Alfie could truly cancel his powers, considering that he had been at
small size as long as he could remember. Challenging Dyna-Mite's
questions, Alfie asked Dyna-Mite just how far back he could remember
and Dyna-Mite paused, puzzled for a moment at his lack of memory,
before proclaiming that he could only remember that he was born to
battle the British Empire's foes and he would until the day he died.
Alfie then suggested that was all Dyna-Mite needed to know until the
war was over and departed, deliberately choosing his words to make the
Crusaders think they were serving the British Navy.
Still suspicious of Alfie, the
tiny Dyna-Mite secretly hitched a ride in Alfie's coat pocket and
witnessed Alfie subsequently reporting his mission to sabotage the
Hornblower coronation with an explosive champagne bottle back to his
Nazi masters. Announcing that Alfie had not fooled him the way he had
the other Crusaders, Dyna-Mite prepared to take Alfie into custody but
Alfie hit Dyna-Mite with his radio receiver, knocking him through a
crack in the floor into the River Thames. Assuming Dyna-Mite was
finished, Alfie went back to his cab and monologued to himself that he
would tell the other Crusaders that Dyna-Mite had went on a secret
mission alone. Unbeknownst to Alfie, Dyna-Mite minutes later pulled
himself out of the river and leaped onto the rear stirrup of a passing
lorry to hitch a ride to warn the Invaders of Alfie's planned
treachery. The weakened Dyna-Mite soon arrived at the Invaders'
headquarters and feebly knocked on the door. The butler Hotchkins
answered and immediately summoned the Invaders, to whom Dyna-Mite
informed of Alfie's plan to assassinate the King with the explosive
champagne bottle. The Invaders immediately went into action to stop the
coronation ceremony while Spitfire remained behind to nurse Dyna-Mite
back to health. At the same time, as Captain Wings wondered to himself where Dyna-Mite
was, the Crusaders guarded the King until the Invaders burst onto the
scene and ultimately hurled the champagne bottle into the river, where
it exploded harmlessly, exposing Alfie's assassination attempt and
making the Crusaders realize they had been duped. King George VI
thanked the Invaders for the rescue, and the Crusaders gave up their
powers in shame at being tricked, with Captain Wings asking Captain
America to give Dyna-Mite his regards when he next saw him. As the
Invaders prepared to leave, Namor asked Captain America if he thought
Dyna-Mite would regain his full size with the destruction of Alfie's
power control belt.
(Invaders I#18 (fb) - BTS) - While the Invaders were
out dealing with Alfie's assassination plot, Spitfire and Lord Falsworth decided to take Dyna-Mite into Berlin in hopes of
restoring the memory of who he was prior to becoming Dyna-Mite.
(Invaders I#15) - Returning to their headquarters,
the Invaders were informed by Hotchkins that Lord Falsworth
and his daughter Spitfire had departed with Dyna-Mite, leaving behind a
note that the Invaders were not follow them lest they be forced to battle
them to the death.
(Invaders I#18) - Dyna-Mite accompanied Spitfire and
Lord Falsworth in a captured Nazi plane over Berlin,
remaining in Spitfire's gear bag as they parachuted into the outskirts
of town, where they met with the Falsworths' old friend Oskar. A bit
confused as they got into Oskar's car, Dyna-Mite was informed of the
Falsworths' friendship with Oskar, but Dyna-Mite explained that his
confusion laid in how the Falsworths kept calling him Roger yet he
still had no memory of who he actually was prior to becoming Dyna-Mite. Spitfire
politely explained that as the reason for their trip into Berlin, as
Dyna-Mite could only learn who he was in Berlin, but the frustrated
Dyna-Mite insisted he could still recall nothing at all.
(Invaders I#19) - From a small hideaway in Berlin,
Dyna-Mite, Spitfire, Lord Falsworth and Oskar watched as Adolf Hitler
paraded the recently captured Invaders through town, and the heroic Destroyer
was seemingly blown up during a subsequent rescue attempt. When Spitfire
remarked on what she would do if she were down in the streets alongside
the Invaders, Dyna-Mite seconded her desire to help, but Lord Falsworth
warned that they would have both been dead within seconds. Lord
Falsworth then suggested they could perhaps yet do something to assist
the Invaders and asked Oskar to see if his German underground allies
could discover when the Invaders were set to be executed, noting how
strange it was that they had come to Berlin to help jog Dyna-Mite's
memories only to find the Invaders captured. Now recalling his full
name of Roger Aubrey, Dyna-Mite suggested the Falsworths could now call
him as such but admitted that he still couldn't recall anything else of
his life prior to becoming Dyna-Mite. Knowing full well who Dyna-Mite
really was, Lord Falsworth, in an effort to help restore more of
Dyna-Mite's memories, recounted the story of Roger Aubrey and his son
Brian's closeness, their leaving the Falsworth Manor together and
meeting with Hitler, and Lady Falsworth's subsequent death in 1941.
Dyna-Mite regretfully responded that while he did believe Lord
Falsworth's story, he still did not truly recall who "Roger Aubrey"
really was and Spitfire suggested they focus more on rescuing the
Invaders instead of helping Dyna-Mite by finding Brian Falsworth. Oskar
then interrupted and suggested they could do both at the same time
since his information had Brian last seen seen as the Institute of Nazi
Science, prompting Lord Falsworth to suggest they could pay the
Institute a visit, both to see if they had managed to find a way to
shrink a person down in size and rob them of their memory and to
acquire weapons to use against the Nazis.
Soon arriving at the Institute for
Nazi Science, Dyna-Mite and his allies at first attempted to enter
secretly but Spitfire rushed out of the car to battle the Nazi guards
and Dyna-Mite leaped from her cloak to aid in the battle. Dyna-Mite
then helped the Falsworths fight their way into the heart of the
Institute, where they encountered a Nazi scientist that Dyna-Mite
recognized as Col. Dietrich, the man who had shrunk him down in size.
Dyna-Mite immediately attacked the scientist, demanding to know how to
cure himself of his shrunken stature, and Spitfire quickly pulled
Dyna-Mite off Dietrich before Dyna-Mite killed him and they were all
left in the dark. In exchange for the Falsworths keeping Dyna-Mite away
from him, Dietrich revealed how he had experimented on Roger Aubrey and
brainwashed him for Project Crusader's assassination plot and when the
Falsworths asked about Roger's friend Brian, Dietrich explained how
Brian had recently escaped captivity to become the heroic Destroyer.
Surprised to hear that Brian was the Destroyer, whom they had earlier
seen seemingly blown up, Dyna-Mite and Falsworths momentarily grieved
before Col. Dietrich opened a trap door beneath them. Once inside the
hidden chamber, Dyna-Mite and the Falsworths were subjected to knockout
gas. Spitfire was then taken to be executed alongside the other
captured Invaders while Dyna-Mite, Oskar and Lord Falsworth were left
to die in the trap door chamber.
(Invaders I#21 (fb) / Invaders I#34 (fb)) - Dyna-Mite, Lord Falsworth
and Oskar were soon rescued by the Destroyer, who revealed that he had not been
blown up in the earlier explosion, and he removed his mask to reveal
himself as Brian Falsworth.
(Invaders I#21 (fb)) - Upon seeing Brian again,
Dyna-Mite's full
memory was restored and he expressed happiness at the family reunion
between Brian and Lord Falsworth.
(Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty II#9 (fb) -
BTS) - Upon first seeing Brian again, Aubrey was admittedly jealous of
Brian's Destroyer codename, given his own codename of Dyna-Mite (see comments).
(Invaders I#21 (fb)) - Following the brief reunion, Lord
Falsworth suggested they all go to the rescue of the Invaders and when
Lord Falsworth mentioned his old Union Jack costume that he'd brought
along just in case, Dyna-Mite witnessed Brian Falsworth assume the
mantle of Union Jack from his father and rush off into battle to rescue
the Invaders, all the while wishing he could accompany Brian. Lord Falsworth
quickly reminded Dyna-Mite that they had their own parts to play in the
rescue and when they arrived at an airstrip minutes later, Dyna-Mite
was tasked with downing the Nazis so that Oskar and Lord Falsworth
could utilize their uniforms as disguises.
(Invaders I#20) - After the escaping Adolf Hitler and
Col. Dietrich boarded the Nazi bomber housing the disguised Oskar and
Lord Falsworth with Captain America's shield in tow, Dyna-Mite made his
way into the underside of Cap's shield and remained there as Hitler
beat the shield and plotted his revenge against the Invaders.
(Invaders I#21) - Dyna-Mite remained on the underside of the shield, dealing with the
vibrations of Hitler banging on it, and recalled how Brian had
rescued Lord Falsworth, Oskar and himself. When Hitler grumbly asked if
the pilots were in position to drop bombs on the Invaders, completely
unaware that Lord Falsworth and Oskar had replaced the real pilots,
Dyna-Mite made his move, leaping from Captain America's shield to punch
out one of Hitler's guards. As the shocked Hitler watched, Dyna-Mite
then jumped from the guard to Col. Dietrich. With Hitler's guards
downed, Dyna-Mite prepared to go after Hitler himself but Hitler
escaped the bomber via parachute. Lord Falsworth groaned about Hitler's
escape and Dyna-Mite opted to celebrate their smaller victory until Lord
Falsworth reminded him that the Invaders were still fighting on the ground
below. The Nazis soon deduced that the bomber had been commandeered and
Master Man leaped up towards the plane housing Dyna-Mite, Lord
Falsworth and Oskar, only to be met with a bomb. The Invaders then made
their way up to the plane, where they were met by the victorious cheers
of Dyna-Mite. Dyna-Mite's demeanor soon went grim with worry that,
while he had regained his memory, he might be stuck in diminutive size
forever but Spitfire and the Invaders threatened the recovering Col.
Dietrich into agreeing to restore Roger to his normal size. The bomber
soon ran low on fuel but Lord Falsworth was able to safely land it in
the English channel, where the Royal Navy rescued the heroes onboard.
(Invaders I#22) - The Invaders and their allies were picked up by
the H.M.S. Forester and as they were boarding the ship, Dyna-Mite
jumped up over a railing and surprised Lord Falsworth, who blurted out
Dyna-Mite's real name. Feeling as if he had become somewhat of an unwilling
costumed hero in the first place, Dyna-Mite suggested Lord Falsworth start calling him by
his real name of Roger Aubrey all the time, as he didn't intend to go by an alter
ego that needed guarding. Lord Falsworth agreed to do so and noted that
Col. Dietrich was now being taken aboard the Forester and could
hopefully restore Roger to normal. Roger then remained on Lord
Falsworth's shoulder until the Forester reached port. Once docked,
Roger accompanied the Invaders and their allies onto a hospital plane
that was to take the injured Invader Toro for medical treatment.
(Invaders I#23) - As part of the process of ensuring he was restored to his
full size, Roger Aubrey remained at Falsworth Manor to interrogate Col.
Dietrich alongside Lord Falsworth and Oskar.
(Invaders I#26 (fb) - BTS) - Col. Dietrich successfully
provided Roger Aubrey with an antidote that restored his normal stature.
(Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty II#9 (fb) - BTS) - After being restored to his normal size, Roger Aubrey
decided to combine his two loves (Brian and engineering) into a new
mission statement.
(Invaders I#26) - Union Jack, Spitfire, Captain
America, Namor and the Human Torch returned to Falsworth Manor and
found Col. Dietrich still in the company of Lord Falsworth and Oskar.
When Union Jack asked Lord Falsworth if Dietrich had cured Roger
Aubrey of his diminutive stature, Roger appeared in Brian's Destroyer
costume and suggested Union Jack ask him himself. The Invaders immediately
noticed that Roger was at his normal height and Union Jack quickly
questioned why Roger was in his old Destroyer uniform.
(Invaders I#26 / Invaders I#34 (fb)) - Roger replied that
he wished to assume the mantle of the Destroyer with Brian Falsworth's
permission now that his normal height had been restored and when
Captain America asked if Roger wished to join the Invaders, Roger
responded in the negative, instead wishing to fight the Nazis alone
behind enemy lines in Germany.
(Invaders I#26) - Brian expressed pride in Roger's
decision before the Invaders rushed off to catch a plane to California
to check on their still-injured teammate Toro.
(Citizen V & the V-Battalion#1 (fb)) - In his new identity of
the Destroyer, Roger Aubrey replaced Brian Falsworth behind enemy lines
and continued the work Brian had begun.
(The History of the Marvels#1 - BTS) - As the new Destroyer, Roger
Aubrey led a double life as the seemingly fictitious reporter Keen
Marlow in order to disguise his real activities as an agent behind
enemy lines in Germany.
(Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Golden Age 2004 -
Destroyer entry - BTS) - Aubrey kept his new dual identity a secret.
(Thunderbolts I#47 (fb) - BTS) - At some point, Roger Aubrey
received a derivative version of the Super-Soldier Serum that granted him
the vigor of a person half his age.
(Captain America X#750 (fb) - BTS) - Despite claiming to hate
Captain America's speeches, suggesting Cap instead use his fists
instead of his words against the Nazis, Roger Aubrey secretly loved
poetry.
(Invaders I#34 (fb)) - During one of Roger's sabotage missions as
the new Destroyer, he was overpowered by the superhumanly strong Master
Man, who captured Roger and donned the Destroyer costume to discredit
the hero.
(Invaders I#34) - Upon seeing several newspaper articles suggesting
the Destroyer had gone bad, the Invaders and Lord Falsworth worried
that perhaps Roger had been brainwashed once again. The discussion was
interrupted when a radio report came in about the Destroyer seemingly
bombing London Bridge. The Invaders rushed to the Bridge and when they
spotted a German plane with the seeming Destroyer leaving the scene,
Captain America, Union Jack and Spitfire flew after the plane while
Namor and the Human Torch handled the rescue efforts at London Bridge.
After the heroic trio followed the plane to the British Moors, Union
Jack and Spitfire ventured closer to the "Destroyer"'s castle
headquarters and soon learned that the "Destroyer" was actually a Nazi
impersonator. Crashing into the castle, Union Jack engaged the impostor
while Spitfire searched the castle for Roger Aubrey, whom she soon
found in a dungeon prison cell. Upon hearing how Master Man had
captured Roger and assumed his identity to discredit the hero, Spitfire
freed Roger and the two made their way back to Union Jack, who had been
knocked out by the unmasked Master Man. Following on the ground as
Master Man leaped towards a departing German plane with Union Jack in
tow, Spitfire and Roger subsequently witnessed Union Jack knock himself
free of the Master Man's grip and fall towards the ground. As Spitfire
created an updraft to slow Union Jack's fall using her superhuman speed
abilities, Roger Aubrey ran up and caught Union Jack. Weary, Union Jack
began to thank Roger for the save but a smiling Roger referenced their
competitive relationship and remarked that they were tied once more.
Spitfire interrupted their reminiscing to remind them that Master Man
was getting away but Union Jack suggested they would never be able to
catch him and Roger noted that he at least got the Destroyer costume
back, which he planned to use to restore the good name of the
Destroyer.
(Invaders I#34 / Citizen V & the V-Battalion#1 (fb) / Captain
America: Sentinel of Liberty II#1 (fb) - BTS) - Days later, once
Captain America had picked up the heroic
friends in Namor's flagship, Roger donned the Destroyer costume once
more and proclaimed how great it was to be back in a costume. Captain
America then reiterated his earlier offer of Invaders membership to the
Destroyer, but Roger again declined, feeling he could fight the Nazis
best alone on their own soil. He then remarked that if the Invaders had
such a need for his own fighting methods, he would agree to join the
Invaders on an honorary basis before excusing himself to begin his
heroic solo work. Union Jack wished the Destroyer well as he departed.
(Marvels I#1) - In mid-1942, the Destroyer participated in an
air attack on a
German bunker alongside numerous other superheroes of the time,
parachuting into the bunker with a gun.
(All-Winners Comics I#6/2) - In September, after Nazi
scientist Professor Schultz and sculptor Lubitch destroyed themselves
bringing life to a monstrous statue, the statue attacked a group of British
soldiers on behalf of Adolf Hitler, and the Destroyer went into action
against the Sculpture. The two fought fiercely until the moon
waned and the creature fled. Unable to match the living statue's speed,
the Destroyer pondered how it could be dealt with until one of the British
soldiers called for help. Learning the man had a broken arm, the
Destroyer also discovered that the man's group objective was the Nazi
ammunition factory, la Tenet. As the Destroyer helped the British
commando make his way to la Tenet in an effort to complete his mission,
the statue located a Nazi base and was ordered by the Nazis to kill the Destroyer.
When the Destroyer and the commando approached la Tenet,
they were assaulted by five Nazi soldiers, but the Destroyer and the
commando made quick work of three of them while the other two soldiers
surrendered. The Destroyer then grabbed a satchel of bombs and had the
commando hold the surrendered Nazis at bay while he made his way
towards la Tenet to destroy it. Soon finding a lone Nazi sentry, the
Destroyer snuck up and got the sentry in a sleeper hold, knocking him
out and stealing his uniform to use as a disguise. Freely moving
throughout the factory in disguise, the Destroyer planted a bomb in an
artillery room before the other soldiers recognized him. The Destroyer
immediately attempted to run for cover but was shot in the arm. Despite
his injury, the Destroyer attempted to fend off his pursuers but he was
eventually overcome by force of numbers and placed into a dungeon cell.
The Nazis then sent the Sculpture
into the cell to destroy the bound Destroyer but upon
recognizing his opponent, the colossus again fled and during the
distraction, the injured commando snuck into the cell and freed the
Destroyer mere moments before dying from injuries suffered at the hands of
the Sculpture. Confirming the commando's death, the Destroyer noted
that
he had died for a great cause and quickly made his way out of la
Tenet before it exploded due to the bomb the Destroyer had
earlier planted. Returning to London under the guise of American
reporter Keene Marlow, Roger Aubrey broadcasted a BBC news report
confirming not only the destruction of la Tenet but the
explosion-caused immobility of the formerly living Sculpture,
which "Marlow" suggested was a lasting a monument to the deceased British commando's fearlessness.
(All-Winners Comics I#7/5) - A couple of months later, before a group of Nazis including Colonel Schutter attacked
Switzerland, they decided to take care of the Destroyer to keep him
from interfering. To lure the Destroyer into their trap, the Nazis
began spreading rumors that they planned to invade England and, while
undercover behind enemy lines, the Destroyer soon overheard the rumor and decided to go to
Brest to allow himself to be captured in an effort to learn more.
Hitching a ride on speeding train to Brest, the Destroyer invaded the
Nazis' stronghold and discovered their plans to actually invade Switzerland rather than
England. Quickly realizing the rumor had been planted and that he had been
led into a trap, the Destroyer stashed the Switzerland invasion plans
in his belt seconds before Colonel Schutter and his men surrounded him
and demanded the return of the invasion plans. Grabbing one of the
soldiers, the Destroyer used him as a human baseball bat to knock the
other soldiers out of his way, and he escaped outside. Sneaking into a
building to avoid pursuing soldiers, the Destroyer read more of the
invasion plans to learn that the Nazis planned to start their Swiss invasion
at Sekingen.
Deciding to go there to stop the
invasion before it began,
the Destroyer was soon met by the pursuing soldiers but he fought back,
knocking the soldiers back long enough to duck around the corner.
Finding himself facing more soldiers, the Destroyer
used a fire escape ladder to swing over the soldiers then confiscated
one of the Nazis' cars. Driving his way to a German airport, the
Destroyer stole a plane and flew to the Swiss border, where he fired on
some of the invading German soldiers. His ammunition spent, the
Destroyer safely landed the plane in a snowy forest and made his way to
an explosives shack to acquire explosives to use against the German
tanks.
While the Destroyer was carrying a box of explosives towards the tanks,
Colonel Schutter
confronted the hero one-on-one and the two fought furiously until
the Destroyer defeated Schutter, tied him up and shoved him into a
tank. With Schutter captive, the Destroyer then used the confiscated
tank to attack the other tanks, but Schutter soon escaped his bounds and
attacked
once more. As the two fought inside the tank, the tank went careening
down a hill and the other tanks pursued what they thought was a runaway
tank. When the tanks neared the explosives shack, the Destroyer jumped
out of the tank, leaving Schutter and the other tanks to crash into the
explosives shack. Confident that the subsequent explosions had
sufficiently halted
Schutter's plans to invade Switzerland, the Destroyer ran off into the
woods.
(All-Winners Comics I#8/5 (fb)) - Traveling to Berchtesgden, Germany towards the end of 1942 to observe Adolf Hitler, the
Destroyer witnessed a meeting between Hitler, the demonic Madam Satan
and her ally from history, Attila the Hun. From his vantage point up in
a nearby tree, the Destroyer at first thought he was seeing things, but
he decided to keep his eyes peeled in case they were all up to
something. Upon witnessing Madam Satan turn some of Hitler's lackeys
into stone with a gas emitted from her cigarette, the Destroyer
realized the true danger of Madam Satan and jumped from the tree to
climb the vines growing up the side of Hitler's estate. Busting through
the window, the Destroyer announced himself by hurling Hitler across
the room. Dodging a knife attack from Attila the Hun, the Destroyer
retaliated by punching Attila and kicking Hitler in the rear. Madam
Satan quickly ordered Attila to use the special gas against the
Destroyer, who recognized the attack and held his breath as a trio of
Hitler's guards arrived and were turned to stone. When Attila projected
another dose of the gas via his cigarette, the Destroyer, running out
of breath, punched Attila but ran out of air and inhaled, quickly
turning the stone due to the gas.
After Hitler confirmed that the
Destroyer was indeed rigid as stone, Madam Satan tricked Hitler into
punching the Destroyer to further confirm the transformation and Hitler
did so, hurting his hand and prompting laughter from both Madam Satan
and Attila. Grumbling at having been the butt of a joke, Hitler
nonetheless opted to use the stone Destroyer as an ornament to boost
the morale of his troops and later that night, Hitler displayed the
stone Destroyer atop a dinner table as his men enjoyed a celebratory
victory feast. As the party progressed, a drunken Nazi soldier passed
out and his lit cigar rolled over to the foot of the stone Destroyer,
the fire partially reviving him. Using his restored legs, the Destroyer
ran into the room where Attila slept and fully revived himself by the
fire, only to be spotted by Madam Satan. Madam Satan immediately tried
to hit the Destroyer with a dose of the special gas again, but the
Destroyer knocked the cigarette from her hands. Madam Satan responded
by summoning Attila, and the Destroyer was knocked off-balance by
Attila's violent attempt to kill him. Forced onto his back by a
chokehold from Attila, the Destroyer ultimately kicked Attila into the
fire and the Hun disappeared in a cloud of dark smoke, returning to the
afterlife in Hades. A terrified Madam Satan followed suit and similarly
disappeared as the Destroyer rounded up the arriving Nazi
reinforcements. After stopping a machine gunner using Madam Satan's
dropped cigarette, the Destroyer went after Hitler with the cigarette
but he was stopped from transforming Hitler into stone by an Allied air
raid outside. Noting the irony that Hitler's life was saved by his own
enemies' attack, the Destroyer deduced that the heat of the attack
likely restored the Nazis that had been transformed into stone, and he
destroyed the gas-emitting cigarette, figuring it would be too
dangerous in the wrong hands.
(All-Winners Comics I#8/5) - In March 1943, the Destroyer
recounted the story of his mission against Madam Satan, Attila the Hun
and Adolf Hitler, noting that perhaps the fates had willed for Hitler
to escape that day. He then monologued that he would one day be present with
millions at his side for Hitler's final reckoning, promising to himself
that Hitler would not escape that attack.
(USA Comics I#8/2) - In early 1943, the
Destroyer met with the French underground in occupied France, where he
was tasked with helping captive rebels escape using a chemical that
simulated death for twenty-four hours. Agreeing to help, the Destroyer
stalked his way to the Gestapo headquarters and quickly took down a
guard to assume his identity as a cover. Taking over guard duty from
another guard, the Destroyer passed the death-simulating chemical to
the captive Monsieurs Lamonte and Farrotte then walked away, only to
find himself stalked by a suspicious Nazi guard. After punching out the
guard, the Destroyer coerced the guard to subsequently help trap
Nazi leader Captain Brool. The next evening, the Destroyer returned to
secret French underground agent Rouen at the morgue to find Monsieurs
Lamonte and Farrotte awaking from the death-simulating chemical. Once
Lamonte and Farrotte had fully regained their composure, the Destroyer
prepared to lead them from the morgue but found himself facing Captain
Brool. At first making quick work of Brool and his agents, the
Destroyer was eventually surrounded by Brool's agents but was rescued
by Rouen and the French underground. While the Nazis were held captive
outside, Rouen set explosives in the morgue and the Destroyer helped
lead Rouen, Farrotte and Lamonte into the sewers alongside the captive
Captain Brool, the subsequent explosion covering their escape. In the
sewers, the Destroyer introduced Brool to their secret ally, the nazi
guard he had earlier punched out, and the guard admitted the French were
quite clever in their plot to trap Brool in the morgue. The guard was
then tied up as well and before departing, the Destroyer asked the
resistance fighters what they planned to do with the captive Nazis.
Upon hearing the fighters remarks on possibly killing their captives,
the Destroyer bid the French underground goodbye and suggested they let
him know if they ever again needed help bringing back the dead.
(All-Winners Comics I#9/5 (fb) - BTS) - In his efforts to keep an eye on anyone in trouble, the
Destroyer witnessed spy Gloria Delacroix and a fellow spy posing as her
father attempting to escape Berlin, and he decided to secretly follow
them to help cover their escape.
(All-Winners Comics I#9/5) - Hidden inside the
hay of a horsedrawn cart, the Destroyer sent the driverless cart into
the fray of a group of Nazis led by Capt. Krause, who were
interrogating the stopped Gloria Delacroix and her "father." Emerging
from the hay, the Destroyer mowed down several of the Nazis with a
Tommy gun and freed Gloria and her father. As he ran out of bullets,
the Destroyer realized Capt. Krause had taken Gloria hostage so he
hurled his empty gun at Krause, hitting him and absconding with Gloria
for her own safety. Ushering Gloria and her spy partner towards a
nearby Nazi automobile, the Destroyer knocked out the driver, but
Gloria's partner was shot by the recovering Krause. As he died,
Gloria's partner handed the Destroyer important papers to give to
Gloria. and the Destroyer did as requested, turning the papers over to
Gloria before they fled in a confiscated Nazi car and leaving her deceased partner
behind. During their travels, the Destroyer explained to Gloria how he
had discovered their attempted escape and decided to follow them in an
effort to help them escape Germany. They soon came upon a Nazi
barricade, but the Destroyer plowed the car right through the barricade.
The pair were then set upon by a German Luftwaffe plane housing Capt.
Krause and his lackey, who hit the car's gas tank followed by its
tires, forcing the car to roll over.
After making sure Gloria stayed
conscious following the car crash, the Destroyer opted to fake their
deaths and when Krause and his soldier checked on them, the Destroyer
revealed his ruse and kicked Krause into the mud. The Destroyer then
lifted Krause up with his legs and tossed him into the crashed car.
When Krause took Gloria hostage once more, Gloria kicked Krause in the
shin, leaving him open for a punch from the Destroyer. Krause responded
by hurling a wrench at the hero, but the Destroyer dodged and hit Krause
in the stomach. Krause again hurled the wrench, this time hitting the
Destroyer in the face, and the Destroyer retaliated by using the wrench
to knock Krause out. The duo then decided to use Krause's plane to fly
to England, taking the captive Krause with them for questioning. Upon
arriving in England, the Destroyer dumped the unconscious Krause out of
the plane with a parachute and suggested Gloria do the same to explain
the situation to the authorities. The Destroyer then opted to fly back
to Germany to continue his work there.
(USA Comics I#9/2 (fb) - BTS) - Upon learning that
several of Hitler's generals were taking a train to a conference with
Hitler, the Destroyer disguised himself as a Nazi gunner and plugged
the other gunners' guns with wax so they would backfire if he were
discovered.
(USA Comics I#9/2) - While still in disguise, the
Destroyer rescued attempted bomber Louis Frankel from execution,
and the two made their way to the top of the train, where the Destroyer
revealed his ruse to Frankel. Devising a plan to stop the generals,
the Destroyer and Frankel made their way to the front of the train,
where the Destroyer helped Frankel into the front car of the train
before uncoupling the rest of the train from the front car. Frankel
then separated the front car from its engine as the Destroyer ventured
into the slowing back cars to confront the Nazi generals inside.
After knocking out one of the Nazi agents, the Destroyer was held at
gunpoint by another but the gun backfired due to the previously-placed wax. Another guard soon pulled a Tommy gun
on the Destroyer, but the hero was rescued by Frankel, who shot the
guard and held the other guards at gunpoint. The Destroyer then picked
up the dropped Tommy gun and ordered the Nazi generals to depart the
train car as the front train car returned to pick up the passengers of
the uncoupled back cars. Nazi soldiers emerged from the front car, and
the Destroyer held them off with the Tommy gun until nightfall, at
which point the Destroyer devised a plan to take care of the generals.
Ordering the generals to run by firing the Tommy gun at them, the
Destroyer and Frankel watched as the other Nazi soldiers gunned down their
own generals, thinking they were the Destroyer and Frankel. The
Destroyer then had Frankel uncouple the flat car from the rest of the train
while he rounded up the remaining Nazi soldiers. The two then ventured
into the engine car, surprising the conductor and engineer into
fleeing. The Destroyer and Frankel then commandeered the engine car and
rode it safety. Days later, the Destroyer and Frankel relaxed in an
underground hideout and listened to the radio reports that the Nazi
generals had died "heroically" under fire from a RAF plane. Knowing the
truth behind the generals' deaths, Frankel laughed to the Destroyer that it
must have been some RAF plane.
(Avengers/Invaders
I#12) - The Destroyer was one of the numerous heroes and
facsimiles of heroes summoned by Cosmic Cube-wielding soldier Paul
Anselm in the winter of 1943 to aid in defeating the Red Skull. Despite
Aubrey being summoned in his Destroyer identity, Anselm also used the
Cube to create a facsimile of
Aubrey in his Dyna-Mite identity to assist in the battle (see
comments).
(Kid Komics I#4/2) - As bombs fell on Berlin in 1943, the Destroyer smiled and thought
to himself how the city could not hold out much longer under that kind
of fire. Soon noticing Hermann Goering emerge from a bunker to get
into an automobile, the suspicious Destroyer hitched a ride on the back
of the car to investigate what Goering was up to. When Goering stopped
at the bunker of a Dr. Schmaltz, the Destroyer was spotted by a guard
but the hero quickly took down the guard and made his way into the
bomb-proof building. Secretly witnessing Goering and Schmaltz
talking about some sort of device that would prevent Allied bombs from
hitting Berlin, the Destroyer became determined to find out more about
this device and he soon tackled an assistant, Carl, stealing his
uniform and posing as him to get closer to Dr. Schmaltz.
Returning to
Dr. Schmaltz disguised as Carl, the Destroyer asked about the secret device, learning it
was a force-field generator, and when Dr. Schmaltz realized the Destroyer
was not Carl, the hero attempted to rough up Dr. Schmaltz for more
information. Schmaltz surprisingly fought back, knocking the Destroyer
aside and summoning guards. The Destroyer made quick work of the guards
but Schmaltz threatened to activate the machine, sending a million
volts into the hero. Reluctantly backing off, the Destroyer was taken
captive and held until nightfall to bear witness to the activation of
Dr. Schmaltz's machine. The machine was soon activated and as it
created a force-field around Berlin that deflected Allied bombs back
upon their planes, sparks from the machine set fire to the ropes
binding the Destroyer. Enduring the pain and suspecting he might have
burn scars from his experience, the Destroyer ultimately freed himself
and tackled Dr. Schmaltz. Schmaltz summoned more guards, but the
Destroyer dodged their gunfire to rush the force-field machine. Before
he could take any action against the machine, however, the guard's
bullets hit the machine, short-circuiting it and causing an explosion that killed Schmaltz. Feeling as if Schmaltz had met his
fate, the Destroyer ventured back outside to see the Allied bombs
hitting Berlin.
(All-Winners Comics I#11/5) - In December 1943, the Destroyer
arrived outside Hitler's stronghold in Berchtesgarten, Bavaria and he
began to plan on how to get inside. Soon noticing a Nazi patrol passing
by, the Destroyer climbed a nearby tree and then pounced on a straggling
patrolman, stealing his uniform to disguise himself. Making his way
onto the property with the group of patrolmen, the Destroyer discarded
his disguise once on the grounds and ventured into the stronghold,
where he found several men acting as doubles for Hitler. Deciding to
make a grand entrance, the Destroyer applied a fake mustache onto the
outside of his mask and walked right into the group of Hitlers,
claiming he was the one and only true Hitler and terrifying the doubles
into fleeing. The doubles summoned guards but the Destroyer took down
two of them with a hurled chair and soon cornered the Hitler doubles in
a hallway. The Hitler doubles fired on the Destroyer but each missed
due to fear causing their hands to shake.
More guards soon arrived, but
the Destroyer made quick work of them as well before opting to hide
until the real Hitler returned. Venturing through a set of doors, the
Destroyer found himself in Hitler's private office and when he noticed
a light behind a set of curtains, the Destroyer pulled open the
curtains to find a seriously ill and bedridden Adolf Hitler. Poking his
head into another nearby door, the Destroyer overheard doctors
discussing Hitler's apparently incurable condition. Realizing this was
the true Hitler and the one set to arrive shortly was yet another double, the
Destroyer considered killing the sick Hitler but opted to let fate
handle that. Brazenly revealing his presence to the doctors, the
Destroyer claimed that the cure for Hitler was to let the world live in
peace, as Hitler's sickness was one of a guilty conscience. Leaving the
doctors to ponder his suggestions, the Destroyer departed and stopped
on a nearby hillside to ponder the situation himself, wondering if
perhaps the man who had brought death to millions was now causing his
own death.
(USA Comics I#11/2 (fb) - BTS) - The Destroyer met
with British agent Tom Hoffman in his home in a small coastal town in
Holland. Together, they worked on a secret plan to be implemented that
night.
(USA Comics I#11/2) - When a townsperson entered
the room to warn of approaching Nazi secret police, the Destroyer
acknowledged his plan with Tom before departing through a secret outlet
to the roof. As the Destroyer watched from the roof, three Nazi agents
led by Schaeffer entered Tom's home and interrogated him on the
Destroyer's whereabouts. Tom claimed the Destroyer had forced his way
into the home for food under threat of death then escaped through the
back when the Nazis arrived but Schaeffer nonetheless had Tom's home
searched. Finding no sign of the Destroyer, Schaeffer and his men
departed, at which point the Destroyer climbed down the drainage pipe.
The Destroyer was quickly spotted by the Nazis, but the hero avoided
their gunfire and escaped into the sewers.
Schaeffer ordered guards to
watch over the area, but the Destroyer ventured through the sewers and
emerged near a small cottage some distance away. Upon emerging, the Destroyer used a small pocket flashlight to signal British
commandos led by Commander Hawley off the coast of Holland. Traveling
back through the sewers with Hawley and his men, the
Destroyer led the commandos in an attack on a German radio propaganda
tower. When a slew of Nazi soldiers attacked in retaliation, the
Destroyer and the commandos attempted to retreat back into the sewers
but a German grenade sealed the sewer entrance, trapping them in a
firefight. Forced to fight back, the Destroyer had the commandos create
a shield of protection around him with their equipment, and he got close
enough to shoot down a German motorcycle soldier. He then stole the
soldier's motorcycles and drove off to recruit reinforcements from the
Royal Marines. Returning a short time later with Royal Marines and a
tank, the Destroyer led the Marines in a tank attack on the Nazi
soldiers with the Destroyer himself mowing several down with the stolen
motorcycle. With the soldiers defeated and the radio tower destroyed,
the Destroyer, the Marines and the commandos all rode back to safety
aboard the tank. With the commandos' mission completed, the Destroyer
suggested they move on out before Nazi reinforcements arrived while he
decided to stay and continue the fight against Hitler.
(All-Winners Comics I#12/5 (fb) - BTS) - The
Destroyer was contacted by the French underground and told to meet a
secret British commando on the coast of France.
(All-Winners Comics I#12/5) - Arriving on the French
coast, the Destroyer was met by British commando Major Whalen, who
presented the Destroyer with plans for a second front of attack on the
Axis powers. Whalen then ordered the Destroyer to deliver the plans
back to the French underground and whispered a secret mission in the
hero's ear before the Destroyer departed, promising not to fail the
Major. The Destroyer was quickly spotted by a Nazi guard, but the hero
easily downed him, unaware that the guard remained conscious enough to
overhear that the Destroyer was carrying the plans for the second
front. Soon finding himself pursued by more guards led by a man named
Schnagel, the Destroyer distracted one of the guards by tossing a hat
at him and then stole the guard's car to continue on his way. Deliberately
leaving a trail for the Nazis to follow, the Destroyer made his way to
a French underground safehouse and delivered the plans, knowing the
guards would be right behind him. When the Nazis arrived as expected,
the French underground fought back, and the Destroyer allowed himself to
be captured and the plans to be taken by Schnagel. Learning from the
Destroyer's plans of a proposed second front at Chappelle, Schnagel
ordered his men from the coast to Chappelle, allowing the Destroyer to
witness the second front invasion get smashed by the relocated Nazi soldiers. When no second front
appeared at Chappelle and an Allied beachhead occurred along the coast
instead, Schnagel was informed of the new beachhead and he immediately
went to the Destroyer, only to find that the Destroyer had escaped with a note
left behind explaining how the entire second front plans mission was
staged to distract the Germans away from the Allied powers' true
intended beachhead location along the coast.
(Kid Komics I#5/2) - Witnessing a single German tank
pulling a slew of others in 1944, the puzzled Destroyer leaped onto one of the
tanks to investigate, only to discover it was made of cardboard. Riding
the fake tank to its destination, the Destroyer poked his head out to
look around and found the German Gen. Von Hochstein and his
men. Despite the Destroyer's fighting back, Von Hochstein ordered his
men to get the fake tanks into position and suspected the Nazis wanted
the Allied to attack the fake tanks for a reason. Following the fake
tanks into the nearby fields, the Destroyer confronted one of the
soldiers and forced him to explain how the fake tanks would lure Allied
attacks to a location near a dam which would be destroyed to flood the
Allies. When Allied planes began bombing the area, the soldier was
killed, and the Destroyer rushed to the top of the dam, where he found
more Nazi soldiers planting explosives. The Destroyer made quick work
of the Nazis and sent a message back to Allied leaders not to waste
time engaging the fake German forces at the dam, instead suggesting the
Allied attacks go more north. Having successfully informed the Allied
leaders of the attack to the north, the Destroyer stood atop the dam
and waved victoriously to the remaining Allied soldiers below. He then
announced his plans to return to Berlin, wishing to be there when the
Allied powers marched into the city.
(Marvel Comics Presents I#156/2) - During a night in which he planned
for stealth and subtle sabotage, the Destroyer was surprised by a
sudden light and the sound of anti-aircraft guns firing on a British
bomber. Determined to stop the Germans from firing on the bomber, the
Destroyer tossed a Nazi soldier into the spotlight, drawing the
attention of more Nazi guards. Laughing as the guards pointed a second
spotlight on him, the Destroyer acrobatically dodged their gunfire and
drew even more attention to himself. As the bomber neared, they noticed
that the Nazi spotlights were all directed at the British bomber's
target thanks to
the Destroyer purposely drawing the spotlights' attention to his
movements. When
the bomber dropped its payload onto the target, the Destroyer quickly
moved away from the target to avoid getting blown up. Narrowly avoiding
the explosions, the Destroyer was knocked from a rooftop but caught a
Nazi flag during the fall, using it as a makeshift parachute
to land safely. Once back on the ground, the Destroyer saluted the
bomber with a "V for victory" sign and commended the pilots on a good
job before running off into the night.
(Kid Komics I#6/2 (fb) - BTS) - The Destroyer arranged to
meet with a German forced labor worker to learn information about a
secret weapon the Nazis were building to stop Allied planes.
(Kid Komics I#6/2) - That night, as the labor worker made
his way to his meeting with the Destroyer, he was stopped by two Nazi
soldiers who demanded to know what business he had being out that
late. Having been waiting on the worker, the Destroyer ventured out of
the shadows and wrangled the Nazi soldiers, announcing that the worker
had business with him. He then easily took down the two soldiers but
when more arrived on the scene, the Destroyer suggested they leave, and
the worker led the hero to the slave workers' quarters, where the
workers could provide all of the information the Destroyer needed on
the Nazis' secret weapon. Subsequently learning from the workers that
the secret weapon was a gigantic magnetic intended to pull planes into
the line of German fire, the Destroyer decided to infiltrate the
workers' factory in disguise to destroy the magnet.
Soon after, the Nazis learned of the Destroyer's
presence near the factory and, deducing that the hero might be hiding
out in the workers' quarters, they torched the quarters to draw the
hero out. Unfortunately for the Nazis, the Destroyer and the workers
had gotten to safety in a hidden tunnel dug by the workers in the case
of an
emergency. From there, the Destroyer donned some of the workers'
clothes to disguise himself as one of them and entered the factory
unhalted by the guards. Once inside, the Destroyer regrouped with the
workers and revealed his plan to have the workers purposely spill small
amounts of gunpowder during their work on the magnet so that he could
subsequently set the powder off. The workers immediately got to work
scattering gunpowder and the Destroyer helped gather crates of dynamite
to surround the magnet. Moments after the Destroyer lit the gunpowder,
however, the workers were discovered by the guards, and the Destroyer
revealed his ruse, engaging the guards. The Destroyer easily took down
the two guards and then led the workers in fighting their way out of the
factory mere moments before the factory exploded, destroying the magnet
in the process. A short time after, the Destroyer said his goodbyes to
the freed workers, promising that he would be back with 100,000,000
others just like himself. He then asked the workers to keep up their
good work.
(Marvel's Voices: Pride I#1 (fb)) - At some point, Roger Aubrey went
into action as the Destroyer, fighting side-by-side with Brian
Falsworth as Union Jack.
(Citizen V & the V-Battalion: The Everlasting#1 (fb) - BTS) - A
photo was taken of the Destroyer fighting alongside Union Jack.
(Midnight Sons Unlimited I#9 (fb) - BTS) - The Destroyer had spent so
much time based in Germany that rumors began to spread that he had
defected to join the Nazis.
(Midnight Sons Unlimited I#9) - Following an
attack by the armored German Iron Cross (Oskar Mors) at the Club Copa
in January 1945, Union Jack
and the American hero Blazing Skull opted to track the Iron Cross to
the town of Schreckstadt, and Union Jack radioed Roger Aubrey for
assistance. Informing the Destroyer of Iron Cross' impending arrival in
Schreckstadt, Union Jack asked if the Destroyer could engage the
armored Nazi until the Blazing Skull could arrive. Flying the Blazing
Skull to Schreckstadt in his Infiltrator airship, Union Jack informed
the Skull that he would be working with the Destroyer, whom the Blazing
Skull had heard defected to the Nazis. Union Jack assured the Skull
that the rumors of the Destroyer becoming a Nazi were untrue before
dropping the Skull off at the rendezvous point. Already waiting for the
Blazing Skull, the Destroyer greeted the Skull by berating the hero for
arriving with a flaming head. When German soldiers arrived on the
scene, the Destroyer attacked the Blazing Skull and tied him up for the
Germans. He then accompanied the soldiers back to the Iron Cross and
presented the bound Blazing Skull to them, playing up rumors that he
had joined the Nazis. As the Iron Cross gloated about his plan to use
V3s to hit strategic targets, the Destroyer snuck away and began
hacking into the V3s, only to be caught and turned over to the Iron
Cross
as well. Before the Iron Cross could deal with the Destroyer, the
hero claimed he would prove his loyalty to the Nazis and grabbed a
flamethrower. Secretly knowing the Blazing Skull was impervious to
fire,
the Destroyer used the flamethrower on the Skull. Completely unfazed by
the flames, the Blazing Skull then aided the Destroyer, who turned the
flamethrower against the Nazis, by gathering evidence of the V3s. The
two heroes then made their way to a motorcycle the Destroyer had
arranged for their escape and along the way, the Destroyer apologized
for earlier roughing the Skull up, explaining that it was the only way
to get the Blazing Skull inside Iron Cross' base, as he manned the
motorcycle's machine gun. As they drove off, the Blazing Skull placed a
V3 target transmitter onto the Iron Cross' chest to draw one of the
launched V3s to the Iron Cross, where it exploded.
(The Twelve: Spearhead#1) - On April 11, 1945, the Destroyer
was present near the Blazing Skull at a military command center as
various superheroes prepared for an attack on Berlin, Germany. While
there, he witnessed the arrival of the Phantom Reporter and the Howling
Commandos.
(The Twelve I#1) - A few days later, on April 25, 1945, the
Destroyer joined numerous other superheroes in the massive attack on
Berlin. During the attack, the Destroyer ran through the
battlefield punching out several Nazi agents, clearing the way for some
of the superhumanly strong heroes to overturn tanks and take down
larger swaths of Nazi soldiers (see comments).
(Sub-Mariner: Marvels Snapshots#1 (fb) - BTS) - During the attack on
Berlin, a photo was taken of the Destroyer and the numerous other
heroes storming Berlin. Later that same day, the photo was used on the
front page of the Daily Globe
newspaper in an article titled "America's 'Marvels' Invade Berlin,"
written by Betty Dean.
(Citizen V & the V-Battalion I#1 (fb)) - Following the end of the
war, Roger
Aubrey returned home to England emotionally scarred from having
witnessed the horrors of World War II firsthand in the concentration
camps and destruction in Russia and Poland.
(Citizen V & the V-Battalion: The Everlasting#1 (fb) - BTS) -
Having experienced horrors behind enemy lines during World War II,
Roger Aubrey gained a soft spot for the country of Israel.
(Citizen V & the V-Battalion I#1 (fb)) - The Destroyer soon
began
working with Union Jack and Spitfire to rebuild London.
(Sub-Mariner: Marvels Snapshot#1 (fb) - BTS) - By
Spring 1946, Betty Dean had framed the newspaper article showing the
Destroyer and America's other superheroes invading Berlin.
(Citizen V & the V-Battalion I#1 (fb)) - In early 1948, the Destroyer, Union Jack and Spitfire worked with
Symkaria's Wild Pack organization to hunt down escaped Nazi war
criminals such as
the Red Skull.
(History of the Marvel Universe II#2) - While working with Union Jack
and Spitfire to hunt down Nazi war criminals, the Destroyer battled the
vampire Baron Blood.
(Citizen V & the V-Battalion I#1 (fb)) - Following a meeting with the American All-Winners Squad
group in late 1948 alongside the vigilante Angel, Roger Aubrey
decided to form an international
superhuman fighting force of his own.
(Citizen V & the V-Battalion I#3 (fb) - BTS) - A short time later, Aubrey
allied with Betty Barstow, recently known as the heroic Silver Scorpion,
while working to form his international organization.
(Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty II#7 (fb) - BTS) - In the winter
of 1949, Roger Aubrey was involved in a mission in Mykonos, Greece
alongside Peggy Carter in which a group called the Automaturks
attempted to go after the Caduceus Staff. During the mission, Aubrey
and Carter learned that the Automaturks' apparent leader, the Iron
Sultan, had been reprogrammed by the true mastermind, Nazi geneticist
Arnim Zola.
(Citizen V & the V-Battalion I#1 (fb) / History of the Marvel
Universe II#2 (fb) - BTS) - By
1951, Roger Aubrey had formed his international fighting force into a
reactivated version of the V-Battalion, an organization whose original
incarnation was formed during World War II by the heroic Citizen V
(John Watkins, Sr.). With the reactivated V-Battalion, Aubrey helped
battle would-be villains in secret.
(Citizen V & the V-Battalion I#2 (fb)) - Shortly after the reactivation of the V-Battalion, the Destroyer, the
Angel and Union Jack attempted to recruit Namor the Sub-Mariner into
the organization but Namor declined, not fully trusting Roger Aubrey.
(Citizen V & the V-Battalion: The Everlasting#4 (fb) - BTS) - At
some point, Roger Aubrey made very extensive V-Battalion files
including an entry on the android Human Torch's past murder of Adolf
Hitler.
(Citizen
V & the V- Battalion: The Everlasting#1 (fb) - BTS) - In 1953,
Roger Aubrey sent Citizen V (Paulette Brazee) on a mission
to Buenos Aires, Argentina and shortly after, Aubrey and Brian
Falsworth were involved in a car crash. Brian died in Aubrey's arms
from injuries suffered in the crash and Aubrey barely survived with a
head injury and having to use crutches for mobility.
(Citizen V & the V-Battalion: The Everlasting#1 (fb)) - A still
very injured Roger Aubrey attended the funeral of
Brian Falsworth alongside the Falsworth family, the V-Battalion and
numerous heroes Brian had fought alongside as Union Jack. During the
service, Aubrey apologized to Montgomery, Lord Falsworth, feeling as if
he should have done more to save Brian. Lord Falsworth informed Aubrey
that he was lucky to have survived the crash himself and admitted that
he knew how much Brian's death was hurting Aubrey since the two were
such "good friends." Muttering to himself how Lord Falsworth had no
idea how close the two were, Roger Aubrey whispered his thoughts that
Brian should have died in battle and apologized at Brian's grave that
he hadn't, recalling Brian in action as Union Jack. The V-Battalion's
Thomas Halloway (formerly the Angel) then confronted Aubrey and asked
if Lord Falsworth said
anything about continuing to help fund the V-Battalion, to which Aubrey
replied that he felt it would have been inappropriate to ask Lord
Falsworth a question like that when his son had just died. Helmut
Gruler then asked if Spitfire would be staying with the V-Battalion, and
Aubrey admitted he didn't know, suggesting they instead let her find
some solace in the arms of her beau Lord Crichton. Halloway then
exclaimed that, without Lord Falsworth's funding and political clout,
the V-Battalion would be finished and Aubrey responded by nearly
blurting out in anger how he'd just lost his lover but he quickly
covered his words, instead commenting how he'd just saw his friend die
in his arms. Grabbing Halloway's wrist, Aubrey insisted he was not
finished but rather, just tired, and he explained that Union Jack's
death would definitely change things with the V-Battalion, having
reinforced the fleeting nature of all of their lives. Aubrey then
hobbled off on his crutches, claiming that the time had come to start
thinking about the future and leaving Gruler and Halloway to discuss
his outburst and what it meant for the future of the V-Battalion.
(Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z HC
Vol. 3 - Destroyer (Marlow / Aubrey) entry - BTS) - Montgomery, Lord
Falsworth never approved of Aubrey's relationship with his son Brian (see comments).
(New Invaders I#4 (fb) - BTS) - Roger Aubrey
intended to honor the now-deceased Brian by succeeding him as Union
Jack but the still-disapproving Lord
Falsworth instead suggested Aubrey choose a different identity that he
was "better suited" for.
(Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z HC Vol. 3 - Destroyer
(Marlow / Aubrey) entry - BTS) - Lord Falsworth ultimately refused to
allow Roger Aubrey to become the new Union Jack.
(Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty II#7 (fb) - BTS) - Brian
Falsworth left a large sum of money to Roger Aubrey in his will,
effectively making Aubrey incredibly rich.
(Citizen V & the V-Battalion: The Everlasting#1 (fb)) -
A short time later, after Citizen V brought the V-Battalion a strange
bow belonging to the assassin Aqhat, the V-Battalion spent two years
studying it to learn about the energy arrows it fired. In 1955,
Roger Aubrey turned the bow over to an Israeli museum since
the bow and identity of Aqhat was based on Hebrew mythology.
(Agents of Atlas I#3 (fb) - BTS) - When the President was
kidnapped in 1959, FBI agent Jimmy Woo gathered files on all
superhumans who might be available to help rescue the President
including the Destroyer and many other heroes of the time (see comments).
(Citizen V & the V-Battalion I#2 (fb)) - Some
time later, the Destroyer and the V-Battalion uncovered a group of
shapeshifting alien Skrulls, keeping their technology out of the wrong
hands by killing the Skrulls.
(Citizen
V & the V-Battalion: The Everlasting#2 (fb)) - Pulled away from the
construction of the V-Battalion's new
headquarters circa 1971, John Watkins, Jr. was sent to Riyadh, Saudi
Arabia to
enlist the help of psychic Amahl Farouk in determining what the
Everlasting (a name that came up several times over the years as the
V-Battalion investigated Aqhat's bow) was and during the meeting,
Farouk read Watkins' mind,
learning that Watkins' superior, Roger Aubrey, despised not being in
control. Watkins laughed that Aubrey despised everything but especially
not being in control and Farouk agreed to perform a telepathic search
of the Everlasting for Watkins. Watkins then returned to Aubrey with a
name discovered by Farouk, "Marduk," and Aubrey became annoyed that it
was all Farouk was able to find out about the Everlasting. Assured that
the name was all Farouk could get, Aubrey began questioning what
"Marduk" meant and Watkins revealed that it was the name of an ancient
Babylonian god. When Aubrey expressed a bit of worry, Watkins
questioned him, and Aubrey admitted that Brian Falsworth's death had
made him realize how time was fleeting. He then speculated that an
organization calling itself the Everlasting could have immortality on
its side and expressed that the V-Battalion may fail to solve the
world's problems within the current generation.
(Citizen V & the V-Battalion: The Everlasting#3 (fb)) - In 1981,
Roger Aubrey traveled to Zurich, Switzerland to
meet with renowned mythology expert Zoltan Nestor (completely unaware
that Nestor was actually the ancient god Marduk himself), who showed
Aubrey one
of the helms of the Asgardian Heimdall. As Nestor explained the helm to
Aubrey, Aubrey jokingly asked if Nestor had found the helmet in his
mother's attic, prompting Nestor to joke back that Asgardians tended to
leave their belongings everywhere. The two then got down to business
and Aubrey showed a computer tablet image of the Sumerian deity Marduk.
At first surprised at the technology Aubrey was utilizing to
display such an image, Nestor asked why Aubrey was wanting to know more
about Marduk, and Aubrey expressed suspicions that Marduk might have an
unhealthy interest in the present day. Nestor followed up by asking if
Aubrey simply didn't want gods ruling the people or if perhaps he
himself wished to rule the gods and Aubrey shook hands with Nestor,
remarking that perhaps it was a little of both. Aubrey then assured
Nestor that his assistance would be for the betterment of mankind and
Nestor replied that he was sure that was the case Aubrey then promised
to be in touch again about Marduk.
After Aubrey departed, Nestor
revealed himself to be Marduk and met with his agents Aqhat and
Papahanau-Moku (secretly Whiro posing as Papa) to discuss how much Aubrey truly knew about him and
the Everlasting. Marduk / Nestor replied Aubrey knew just enough to
warrant their concern but not enough to be a real threat to their
plans. Papahanau-Moku
then asked what they should do about Aubrey, suggesting killing him
outright, but Marduk / Nestor suggested they instead derail Aubrey's
interests by providing him "answers" that would lead Aubrey's search
astray. He also noted to Papahanau-Moku and Aqhat that Aubrey's time
would eventually pass like all beings of flesh, smiling and commenting
that even if
Aubrey did not pass, he had been touched by Marduk and belonged to him
forevermore.
(Citizen V & the V-Battalion I#2 (fb)) - The
Destroyer and the V-Battalion later
helped save the world from an otherdimensional attack and subsequently
petitioned the cosmic Watcher to spare mankind for the scientific
excesses of a few. The Watcher agreed and allowed the V-Battalion to
depart with Howard Stark and Nathaniel Richards.
(Thunderbolts I#42 (fb)) - Some years later, Aubrey, still active as the Destroyer, and the other V-Battalion
members witnessed the heroic death of V-Battalion operative Mr. Riordan.
(Citizen V & the V-Battalion I#2 (fb) - BTS) - As time passed, Roger Aubrey redesigned and updated his
Destroyer costume. At some point, Aubrey founded the Holocaust Center
in Dachau.
(Citizen V & the V-Battalion I#2 (fb)) - The Destroyer and the V-Battalion gathered
together to view the mutant-detecting Cerebro computer system, secretly
helping to prevent the genocide of the entire mutant race. Not long
after, having retired his identity of the Destroyer, Aubrey subtlely
used his influence to ensure V-Battalion member Robert "Reb" Ralston's
election as a United States senator.
(Thunderbolts I#39 (fb) - BTS) - Over the course of his previous fifty years, Roger
Aubrey compromised many people and things including James Riordan and
his daughter, Dallas, who suggested Aubrey had even compromised his own
beliefs.
(Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z HC Vol. 3 - Destroyer
(Marlow / Aubrey) entry - BTS) - Having worked behind-the-scenes for decades, Roger Aubrey
and his allies built the V-Battalion into an extremely covert worldwide
organization, essentially unknown to even to other superhuman champions.
(Captain America X#750 (fb) - BTS) - At some point in his life, Roger
Aubrey twice saved the life of the heroic Wolverine, never letting
Wolverine forget it.
(X-Men: The Chaos Engine, Book 3 - Red Skull (fb) - BTS) - During his
high school years, young Leonard Mathias Jackson was taught a history
lesson about the horrors of World War II and he seemed to relate more
to the villains like the Red Skull, Baron Blood and Master Man while
his fellow classmates were more interested in the costumed heroes like
Captain America, Miss America, the Patriot, the Destroyer and others.
(Thunderbolts I#40 (fb) - BTS) - Roger Aubrey and
the V-Battalion Penance Council made a vow that their Symkarian Masada Castle base would
never be stained by bloodshed. In the modern era,
the revived Captain America told his Avengers teammate Hawkeye many stories about the
Destroyer.
(Thunderbolts I#49 (fb) - BTS) - After an unsanctioned Citizen V
appeared on the scene with the Thunderbolts group, Roger Aubrey and the
V-Battalion were supplied information on the Thunderbolts from secret
V-Battalion operative Miles Warton, who had earlier been placed first
in New York mayor's office and later the
Commission on Superhuman Activities.
Learning from Warton of a conspiracy within the CSA to destroy the
Thunderbolts and confirming Warton's information when the CSA raided
the castle of Baron (Helmut) Zemo, Aubrey and the V-Battalion opted to
stop the conspiracy by secretly creating their own group of superhuman
agents, dubbed the Redeemers, using the CSA's own materials.
(Thunderbolts I#42 (fb)) - When Dallas Riordan, granddaughter of former
V-Battalion operative Mr. Riordan, was fired by the mayor, Roger Aubrey
greeted her in a limousine as she left and offered Dallas her
"grandfather's inheritance" in the form of a position within the
V-Battalion and the mantle of Citizen V.
(Thunderbolts I#49 (fb) - BTS) - After learning the CSA's Henry Peter
Gyrich was behind the conspiracy to kill the Thunderbolts as part of
larger scheme to destroy all superhumans using Omega-32, Roger Aubrey
and the V-Battalion sought to act quickly and decided to have their
newest Citizen V (Dallas Riordan) assassinate Gyrich.
(Thunderbolts I#35) - Roger Aubrey and several
members of the V-Battalion monitored a training session for their new
Citizen V. When agents Eamonn, Piers and Vradec noted
some of the collateral damage to the training mannequins, Citizen V
remarked that, in war, innocent lives unfortunately often got killed.
Roger responded in agreement but noted that innocents were not so
cavalierly killed as Citizen V had just exhibited in her training
session and he warned Citizen V to never lose sight of the fact that
the V-Battalion's war was being fought to protect innocent lives and
defend their rights. Remarking that why they fought was much more
important than who, Roger then suggested Citizen V remember that when
she was debriefed on her next mission. With that note, Roger had Eamonn
present Citizen V with her next mission, one of assassination. A
shocked Citizen V claimed she could not kill her assigned target but
Roger commented that the V-Battalion had their reasons, reminding
Citizen V of her orders. As he left, he warned that if Dallas could not
fulfill her obligations as Citizen V, the V-Battalion would be forced
to replace her.
(Thunderbolts I#49 (fb) - BTS) - When Citizen V refused to terminate
Henry Peter Gyrich and defected from the V-Battalion, Aubrey and the
rest of the V-Battalion's Penance Council felt forced to initiate their
Redeemer program as a contingency program to stop Gyrich.
(Thunderbolts I#38 - BTS) - To protect the V-Battalion's secrecy, Roger
Aubrey and the rest of the
V-Battalion hunted Citizen V to Mt. Charteris, where the Thunderbolts
became involved in the fight. As the battle progressed, Roger and the
V-Battalion's Penance Council projected a hologram of themselves to the
Thunderbolts, warning that the group was risking their lives
unnecessarily since Citizen V was V-Battalion property and must perform
as ordered or cede her mantle to someone else.
(Thunderbolts I#39 - BTS) - The holographic projection of Aubrey and
the Penance Council remained in the air as Citizen V revealed herself
to the Thunderbolts as their former ally Dallas Riordan. Aubrey's
holographic projection then proclaimed that Dallas had performed as
well as could be expected but that she must renounce her title or risk
her family name becoming tarnished for her transgression. Suggesting
that giving back the mantle of Citizen V would only allow the
V-Battalion to sink further into a moral cesspool, Dallas commented
that Citizen V's heritage should mean more to Roger, prompting Aubrey
to warn against compromising the V-Battalion's secrecy. Dallas then
argued that perhaps the V-Battalion needed their secrets compromised,
remarking that Aubrey had compromised her father, herself and Aubrey's
own beliefs over the past few decades. Before their feud could
continue, however, the cowl of the Crimson Cowl appeared and enveloped
Dallas, leaving Citizen V's mask behind and surprising both the
Thunderbolts and Roger Aubrey.
(Thunderbolts I#40) - The holographic projections of Aubrey and the
Penance Council remained and when Betty Barstow questioned what the
Thunderbolts had done with Dallas Riordan, Hawkeye explained that they
were just as surprised at Dallas' disappearance as the V-Battalion was.
Aubrey admitted his respect for Hawkeye and his work with the Avengers,
noting that they had tolerated Dallas' previous refusal to apprehend
the Thunderbolts out of that same respect. He then announced that the
V-Battalion had no further reason to fight the Thunderbolts and that
the V-Battalion would depart without any further altercation. An angry
Atlas instead attacked the V-Battalion ground soldiers, emotional at
having reunited with then lost Dallas, and Aubrey ordered the evacuation of all
injured V-Battalion personnel and a retreat from the scene, leaving the
Thunderbolts to deal with the avalanche caused by Atlas' attack.
Reappearing over the European nation of Symkaria, Roger Aubrey ordered
the V-Battalion to reconvene at a later time for a damage report and
personnel status update from their mission to Mt. Charteris, remarking
that he wanted every nut, screw and guard accounted for.
When the Thunderbolts' Mach-2 and his reluctant ally
Sandman later tracked Mach-2's teammate Atlas to the Vanguard in
Symkaria and attacked, Roger Aubrey announced the attack to the other
Penance
Council members, prompting Councilman Helmut Gruler to remark that the
V-Battalion had no one to blame but themselves for the attack after
their existence had been earlier revealed to the Thunderbolts. Aubrey
admitted Gruler was right and suggested the Penance Council suit up and
provide a hands-on solution to the problem for the first time in years.
After suiting up, Roger Aubrey ordered the V-Battalion to stand down
before confronting the Thunderbolts, who had regrouped with their
teammates Mach-2 and Atlas. Announcing that it was the V-Battalion's
fault that things had come to a fight, Aubrey, dressed in his Destroyer
costume, apologized for unwisely starting the fight with the
Thunderbolts but further announced that they were prepared to end it.
(Thunderbolts I#41) - Once more active as the Destroyer, Aubrey led
the V-Battalion Penance Council in a fight against the Thunderbolts,
warning that the Thunderbolts' actions jeopardized half a century's
worth of carefully crafted V-Battalion isolation. During the battle,
Hawkeye mentioned that he had been told a lot about the Destroyer from
Captain America, sarcastically commenting that Aubrey must be at least
two hundred years old. Correcting Hawkeye that he was a spry eighty,
the Destroyer remarked on how it pained him to see how far Hawkeye had
fallen from the example set by Captain America. Hawkeye soon became
distracted by the injury of his ionic teammate Atlas, and the Destroyer
asked if Hawkeye's attention always wandered before he became a team
leader. Upon hearing that the escaping Sandman had been aiding the
Thunderbolts, a surprised Destroyer questioned whether Sandman had
joined the Thunderbolts, but Hawkeye assured the Destroyer that he had
only allied with Sandman to find their way through Symkaria. The
Destroyer then questioned Hawkeye's morality, asking whether the means
mattered as long as the ends were satisfied, but the Thunderbolt
Songbird accused the Destroyer of hypocrisy, given Dallas Riordan's
claims that she had went rogue from V-Battalion because they had
betrayed what they stood for. The fight was soon interrupted when the
Thunderbolt Moonstone rendered everyone present intangible and flew off
into space, prompting the Destroyer to comment that Moonstone's actions
had the desired effect of halting the hostilities. He then admitted the
two teams' fighting was unnecessary and tried to explain that the
V-Battalion was simply trying to protect their privacy. Aubrey then
quietly questioned where the escaped Sandman might go and Hawkeye
revealed that Sandman had only agreed to aid the Thunderbolts in
getting into Symkaria in order to go after Silver Sable. The two groups
then reluctantly decided to work together to apprehend Sandman, with
the Destroyer commending Hawkeye on his rousing speech that convinced the
Thunderbolts to work with the V-Battalion. The Destroyer and the Penance Council then
accompanied the Thunderbolts to Silver Sable, who provided the
Destroyer with access codes that allowed them to get past her security
to confront the Sandman, who was attacking Sable's Wild Pack team.
(Thunderbolts I#41 / Thunderbolts I#42 (fb)) - During the subsequent
brief battle, the Destroyer dodged the Sandman's attacks, noting how
surprisingly fast Sandman was.
(Thunderbolts I#41) - After Sandman was subdued, the Destroyer admitted
he would rather have the Thunderbolts working with the V-Battalion instead of
against them. Hawkeye agreed, and the Destroyer asked what the
Thunderbolts would do with Sandman, to which Hawkeye answered he would
be dropped off at Seagate Prison. At that point, Atlas snatched up
Destroyer, who agreed to come clean about Dallas Riordan's connections
with the V-Battalion.
(Thunderbolts I#42 (fb)) - Roger Aubrey and Penance Council member
Betty Barstow informed Atlas of Dallas Riordan's past, explaining how
she had become the newest Citizen V and how she had refused a direct
order and defected from the V-Battalion.
(Thunderbolts I#41 - BTS) - Aubrey and the Penance Council then briefed
Atlas on the situation with Dallas as the other Thunderbolts worked on
figuring out where Moonstone had flown.
(Thunderbolts I#45 - BTS) - When John Watkins III awoke from a coma in
London after five years, the nurse Lydia reported the occurrence to the
V-Battalion, insisting that they inform Roger Aubrey.
(Thunderbolts I#46) - Lydia informed John Watkins III that he had
visitors and then led Roger Aubrey and Betty Barstow into John's room,
where Roger commented on how good it was to see John up and about. John
responded by sarcastically asking if he heard real emotion in the two
Penance Council members' voices, wondering aloud if he might mean more
to Aubrey and Barstow than a return on the V-Battalion's long-term
investment. Taking note of John's cynicism, Aubrey sarcastically
replied that it was a pity John's sense of humor remained intact
following his comatose state. Announcing to Aubrey that more than his
sense of humor remained, John leaped from his bed and carved a giant
"V" onto the wall, remarking that it was time to fully assume his
responsibilities.
(Thunderbolts I#47) - Roger Aubrey was training at the V-Battalion's
Castle Masada in his Destroyer costume when Betty Barstow entered the
room. When the Destroyer warned Barstow that it was too dangerous for
her to be in the room, Barstow ignored warnings and assured him that
while she did not have a Super-Soldier Serum derivative in her veins like
Aubrey did, she was still quick enough to hit an "off" button. She then
hit a button on the training room's computers, accidentally hitting the
button that increased the level of the training simulation to a lethal
level. The Destroyer quickly dodged the incoming dangers and touched
the "off" button with his toes, commenting to Barstow that while he had
been wearing his Destroyer costume more often of late, he had no desire
to play the role of superhero again. Barstow apologized, remarking that
her memory wasn't as sharp as it once was, but Aubrey assured Barstow
that she had solved many a mystery in her day and that whatever memory
she had left was more than most had to begin with. Barstow thanked
Aubrey for his chivalry before showing him footage from Burton Canyon,
Colorado of the Scourge battling the Thunderbolts' Atlas. Upon seeing
the footage, Aubrey noted that "the weapon" had been activated and the
V-Battalion had been right to order the assassination. Barstow argued
that Dallas Riordan had been correct in questioning the assassination
orders but Aubrey argued that they had no other choice. He then
suggested they contact V-Battalion spy Warbeck (Miles Warton) to accelerate their
contingency plans. Communicating with Warbeck to ensure he was watching
the feed from Colorado, Aubrey witnessed the Scourge utilize
size-altering Pym Particles. Hours later, Warbeck met with John Watkins
III to deliver a suit of Beetle armor and Watkins remarked that Aubrey
had devised quite a gambit. When Watkins wondered if their upcoming
target would appreciate the irony of the situation, Warbeck mentioned
that the target was the most humorless man he knew, to which Watkins
replied "next to Roger, of course."
(Thunderbolts I#49 (fb) - BTS) - Roger Aubrey set out to find writer
Andrea Sterman, the only person he felt was capable of convincing Dr.
Valerie Cooper that there was a conspiracy within the Commission on
Superhuman Activities.
(Thunderbolts I#48) - Roger Aubrey visited the home of Andrea Sterman,
saving her from being assassinated by deflecting a hard air bullet with
Sterman's hat rack. Picking up the bullet, Aubrey suggested the
panicked Sterman come with him if she wished to survive past sunset.
(Thunderbolts I#49) - Aubrey brought Sterman to the V-Battalion's
Castle Masada in Symkaria, where Sterman joked that her being kidnapped
would make for a good book. Assuring Sterman she had not been
kidnapped, Aubrey explained that his request that she convince Cooper, of a conspiracy
within the Commission. Upon seeing Sterman,
Dr. Cooper sarcastically commented to Aubrey that the V-Battalion's
"big secret" was being kept by someone who had shilled her most recent
book on The Jerry Springer Show.
Despite Dr. Cooper's comment, Sterman then informed Aubrey, the Penance
Council and Dr. Cooper about how the CSA had absconded with Jack Monroe
and coerced him into becoming the new Scourge of the Underworld
assassin using nano-probes. She continued, explaining how the new
Scourge was tasked with assassinating the Thunderbolts and how he had
already killed the Thunderbolt Jolt, reporter Gayle Rogers and Roxxon
employee Roberta Haggert. Aubrey confirmed Sterman's story, revealing
to Dr. Cooper that a secret V-Battalion operative within the CSA, Miles
Warton, had passed information about the conspiracy from the CSA to the
V-Battalion. Following a brief discussion regarding the reasoning for
not simply blowing up the Thunderbolts in their headquarters, Aubrey
quietly watched as Dr. Cooper deduced the CSA conspirator's identity as
Henry Peter Gyrich, who wished to draw out the anguish suffered by the
Thunderbolts before their supposed deaths.
(Thunderbolts I#50 (fb) - BTS) - Roger Aubrey and Valerie Cooper
contacted the assembled Redeemers team to announce that they were ready
for the assault on Gyrich. Learning that Miles Warton had
not returned from his dinner, Aubrey noted how odd Warton's
disappearance was since Warton knew of the V-Battalion's plans to begin
the attack that night.
(Thunderbolts I#50) - One day after Gyrich's defeat and
exposure as being under the control of nano-probes himself, Citizen V
reported back to Roger Aubrey and the V-Battalion. A frustrated Aubrey
questioned who was truly behind the CSA conspiracy since Gyrich himself was being controlled and when Citizen V
responded that the entire conspiracy idea was Gyrich's and that Gyrich
had merely been nudged into action by the nano-probes, Aubrey noted
that whoever had nudged Gyrich had to be found. Aubrey continued,
commenting that whoever had enough power to infiltrate the deepest
recesses of the most secretive government agency was someone the
V-Battalion wanted either stopped or recruited.
(Citizen V & the V-Battalion I#2 (fb) - BTS) - Aubrey became
increasingly impatient during the V-Battalion's day to day activities.
(Thunderbolts I#51 (fb) - BTS) - Roger Aubrey and the V-Battalion
fronted a Project: Earth mission into Latveria to rescue Dallas Riordan.
(Citizen V & the V-Battalion I#1) - One week after
saving the world, Roger Aubrey led a V-Battalion assault on China's
Pa-Mie Shan Mountains.
(Thunderbolts I#51) - Roger Aubrey contacted the mutant Commcast to
request his assistance in filtering through various communications in the
area to locate Dallas. Commcast revealed his prior knowledge of who Dallas was
and her importance to the V-Battalion, at which point Aubrey assured
Commcast he meant no disrespect to Commcast's abilities and that he
only needed Commcast to relay the info he acquired to a S.H.I.E.L.D. convoy
sent to the scene. When Aubrey promised he would owe Commcast, Commcast
agreed to Aubrey's request for that very reason, asking why the
V-Battalion did not simply fly their Vanguard ship over to destroy
Latveria. Aubrey replied that they were busy blowing something else up.
(Citizen V & the V-Battalion I#1) - As the attack on the Pa-Mie Shan
Mountains concluded, Aubrey projected a large hologram of himself
warning that if China continued to service illegal organizations, the
V-Battalion would return to target their buildings then hospitals then
homes. He then turned his attention towards Citizen V's activities in
Atlanta, Georgia against the thief Diamondback. When Diamondback tossed
a vial containing an antidote to poison she had administered to two
V-Battalion agents, Aubrey attempted to guide Citizen V, who turned off
his communicator, angering Aubrey. Penance Council member Fred Davis
attempted to reach Citizen V again but he refused to answer, and the
annoyed Aubrey ultimately had Davis stop trying, figuring Citizen V
would contact them when he wanted to. Grumbling that Citizen V's
penchant for doing things his own way had gotten him into trouble in
the past, Aubrey walked out of the room, commenting that Citizen V had
been downright impossible since recovering from his coma. As
Aubrey walked out, Andrea Sterman noticed how tired both Aubrey and
Betty Barstow looked. Aubrey then visited Helmut Gruler's room to
inform him that his recent absences from Penance Council meetings
had become awkward. Learning that the one hundred and three-year-old
Gruler was dying, with his Iron Cross armor the only thing still
keeping him alive, Aubrey admitted that he still valued Gruler's input
and agreed to keep the Iron Cross on a live link. When the Iron Cross
sarcastically asked if he could turn off the link like Citizen V,
Aubrey grumbled and left the room, only to be confronted by Betty
Barstow, who could not recall a time she had seen Aubrey so flustered.
The still-annoyed Aubrey replied that he was surprised Barstow recalled
anything at all with the way her memory
had been lately. Barstow replied that Aubrey's comments were uncalled
for and when Aubrey began to suggest he be allowed to vent frustrations
given how long he had known Barstow, Barstow revealed that she had
Alzheimer's Disease. Shocked, Aubrey then joked that Gruler and Barstow
had planned their terminal situations in an effort to leave Aubrey
leading a bunch of children. Aubrey then assured Barstow that
Alzheimer's would not affect what she brought to the V-Battalion before
walking off, leaving Barstow to mutter that their operation was all
that mattered to him.
Returning to the Vanguard's Abyss Bridge, Aubrey
found Fred Davis communicating with Citizen V, and he learned that
V-Battalion agents Eamonn and Piers had been killed by
Diamondback. Citizen V then revealed to Davis and Aubrey that,
while he had been unable to prevent Eamonn and Piers' deaths, he had
tracked Diamondback to Brooklyn. Before the two Penance Council members
could argue against Citizen V's subsequent actions, he turned off his
communicator, prompting an angry Aubrey to mutter what he would do to Citizen V if
he were forty years younger. Davis suggested Citizen V's actions went
beyond simple rudeness, as he had grown up with Eamonn and Piers, and
Aubrey admitted that, while Citizen V had perhaps went into field duty
a bit too soon, his past injuries had earned Citizen V some latitude
for the time being. As Davis and Aubrey left the room, V-Battalion
guest Andrea Sterman thought back on Aubrey's heroic career, noting how
Brian Falsworth and Roger Aubrey swapping heroic identities during the
1940s sounded slightly homosexual but also curiously wondering about
the psychological toll of decades of dedication and sacrifice. When
Citizen V later tracked nano-probes inside Diamondback to an A.I.M. base,
Roger Aubrey and the rest of the Penance Council arrived at the base in
the Vanguard and demanded A.I.M. present the voice modulation program
(VMP) controlling the nano-probes or risk obliteration. When MODOK responded
that the back and forth with the V-Battalion was pointless since the
VMP was already being field-tested in Atlantis.
(Citizen V & the V-Battalion I#2) - Immediately traveling to
Atlantis via the Vanguard, Aubrey and the rest of the V-Battalion
assaulted Atlantis, forcing the nano-probe-controlled Atlanteans to
halt an
attack on a Russian submarine to protect their main city. Fred Davis
immediately asked how the V-Battalion should handle such a big
situation and when Betty Barstow suggested they pray, Roger Aubrey
suggested Davis instead contact the commissary to see how much Old Bay
they had in stock, joking that they would be frying a lot of fish that
night. Watching Aubrey, Andrea Sterman took note of Aubrey's joking and
suspected an ethical conflict was raging inside the Penance Council
leader. As the battle progressed, Davis informed Aubrey that a Fenris
craft was departing the A.I.M. island where they had previously
confronted MODOK Aubrey ordered Davis to track the Fenris twins
and let Citizen V handle them while he dealt with MODOK Ordering
Davis to open a communication channel with MODOK, Aubrey threatened
to detonate Quistilium warheads on A.I.M. island and have the
V-Battalion salvage what was left unless MODOK cooperated with
their orders. MODOK claimed the V-Battalion could not back up
their threat but Aubrey commented that he would be happy to show MODOK
why he was called the Destroyer and suggested MODOK ask
China if he was bluffing. When MODOK appeared indecisive, Aubrey
repeated his threat to bomb MODOK into the Stone Age if he refused
to cooperate, prompting MODOK to talk.
A short time later, as the battle against the
mind-controlled Atlanteans worsened, Iron Cross contacted Roger Aubrey
and demanded options other than slaughtering the Atlanteans. When
Aubrey mentioned that genocide may be the best option with the
barbarian Attuma in charge of Atlantis, Namor the Sub-Mariner
sent a communication to Aubrey advising against such action, having
been contacted by V-Battalion member Irene Martinez. When Namor
admitted that he did not originally join the V-Battalion due to his
mistrust of Aubrey and remarked that he was disappointed to have been
proven right, an angry Aubrey demanded Namor give him another
alternative, suggesting perhaps he could use Namor's voice with the VMP
to order the Atlanteans to be free under Namor's newly-imposed rule.
Further attempting to goad Namor into that action by reminding him of
the lives that could be saved if Namor participated in such an action,
Aubrey and Betty Barstow warned that they would soon have no choice but
to kill the attacking Atlanteans. Agreeing to provide Aubrey and the
V-Battalion with any Atlantean medical information they needed to help
stop the mind-controlled Atlanteans, Namor refused to reassume his role
as Atlantean ruler by brainwashing his
people. Without Namor's full cooperation, Aubrey ordered Iron Cross and
the other agents in the water to warm the waters around them to provide
better flow of sound. Aubrey then utilized the VMP information provided
by MODOK and the medical information provided by Namor to halt the
attacking Atlanteans using his own voice to command the nano-probes
through the VMP. Slyly smiling as the other V-Battalion appeared
shocked by his actions, Aubrey then ordered Betty Barstow to debrief
the mission team as he left the room, further commenting that he wanted
the Vanguard back in low orbit until they could find the person
originally responsible for the VMP nano-probes. Once Aubrey left, Fred
Davis and Betty Barstow exchanged worried glances and Andrea Sterman
commented that she would be worried Aubrey might use the VMP to control
anyone infected by the VMP nano-probes as well. Barstow quickly came to
Aubrey's defense, reminding Sterman of the sacrifices and
accomplishments Aubrey had made over the past decades before asking
Davis to meet her in Iron Cross' quarters in one hour.
An hour later, Barstow, Davis and Iron Cross met to
discuss how dangerous Roger Aubrey truly was, noting that he rarely
ever crossed the line. Davis noted that Aubrey had become increasingly
impatient and the foursome discussed whether they would stay true to
themselves if the time came where their loyalty to themselves or Aubrey
would be tested. Forty minutes later, Aubrey led an attack on A.I.M. in
his Destroyer identity, much to the confusion of the terrorist
organization, who assumed they would be safe after MODOK had
provided the V-Battalion with information. When Nuklo referred to the
Destroyer by his real name, MODOK was shocked that the Destroyer
he was battling was the same Destroyer active during World War II and
wondered how the V-Battalion could have waged a secret war for fifty
years without detection. The Destroyer replied that they had dealt with
threats in much the same manner as they were dealing with MODOK:
efficiently, cleanly and permanently. A terrified MODOK then
claimed he could tell the V-Battalion who was behind the entire nano-probe
operation, prompting the Destroyer to remark that the information might
ensure MODOK survived into the next day.
(Citizen V & the V-Battalion I#3) - After the V-Battalion
learned that Baron Strucker was behind the nano-probe conspiracy and
Citizen V infiltrated Strucker's headquarters, Citizen V contacted the
Vanguard to discuss his next course of action and when he asked
V-Battalion member Vradec about reprogramming the nano-probes rather than
destroying them, Vradec questioned whether Roger Aubrey had given
Citizen V authorization for such an action. Citizen V replied by
stating that he was the one in the field while Aubrey sat on a pedestal
and demanded that he be allowed more flexibility in the field. Vradec
then sent the V-Battalion's Guy Fontreaux to the Abyss Bridge of the
Vanguard to request Aubrey's authorization for Citizen V. Recognizing
Fontreaux's voice without even seeing him, the very busy Aubrey gave
Fontreaux authorization for Citizen V. Having watched the exchange,
Andrea Sterman quickly realized that the V-Battalion did not have
enough manpower to stop the atmospheric release of the nano-probes, and she
suspected Aubrey had intended to reprogram the nano-probes for his voice
commands all along. Having heard the authorization code, Fred Davis
questioned Aubrey, who sternly reiterated his commands to a
disapproving Davis. Noticing that Betty Barstow also disapproved but
was not confronting Aubrey about his actions, Andrea Sterman confronted
Aubrey herself, and Aubrey outright admitted his actions were wrong
before ordering Davis to have Iron Cross inspect the satellites housing
the nano-probes.
Watching from the Vanguard as Iron Cross patched his
armor into one of the satellites, Aubrey and the V-Battalion discovered
that the satellites had been manufactured by Oracle, Inc., a company
formerly ran by former World War II heroic android the Human Torch.
Sending a communication over to the Torch in his dual identity as Jim
Hammond, Aubrey surprised Hammond, who thought Aubrey to be long dead.
The two then argued about the satellites as the V-Battalion field
agents failed to stop the satellites by destroying the communication
signal of a single satellite. When Hammond reminded Aubrey that he was
no longer the head of Oracle, Aubrey angrily reminded Hammond that he
had been in charge when the satellites were created and he demanded
that Hammond tell the V-Battalion how to disable them, prompting
Hammond to argue that the world was already compromised if it was
dependent on Aubrey to save it. Iron Cross suggested the two halt their
arguments, and Hammond reluctantly sent Aubrey the codes to shut down
the satellites. Aubrey immediately transmitted the codes to Iron Cross
but the armored hero quickly realized he lacked the power to shut down
the entire array. Aubrey suggested feeding power from the Vanguard into
Iron Cross, but Iron Cross argued that the Vanguard's power would
overload communications, instead suggesting he use all power within his
armor to accomplish the goal at the loss of his own life. As Iron Cross
prepared to destroy the satellite array, Citizen V battled Baron
Strucker at his base, commenting that Roger Aubrey might spare
Strucker's life if he surrendered. Citizen V eventually defeated
Strucker, severing his arm, and rushed to the VMP computers as Aubrey
quietly watched both the Iron Cross and Citizen V's actions from the
Vanguard. Realizing Iron Cross was not scuttling the satellites but
rather, reprogramming the VMP codes, the V-Battalion looked to Aubrey
in wonder of whose voice commands were being programmed into the VMP.
Iron Cross ultimately sacrificed his life to stop the satellite doors
from opening to drop their nano-probe payload and Aubrey said goodbye from
the Vanguard as Iron Cross' armor ceased functioning, thereby ceasing
its life support functions. The younger V-Battalion agents then brought
Iron Cross' corpse back to the Vanguard and when Betty Barstow asked
why they could not have found another way to stop the nano-probes, Aubrey
replied that they could have with something they did not have: time.
After the V-Battalion spent eighteen hours disabling
the other satellites, they returned to Masada Castle, where Aubrey
grieved Iron Cross' death by throwing himself into intense physical
training in his Destroyer costume. Barstow eventually came to check on
him and asked if he was coming to Iron Cross' funeral service or if he
would continue hiding. When Aubrey insisted he was not hiding but
grieving, Barstow questioned whether that was possible. Demanding to
know why Barstow was angry with him, Aubrey exclaimed that he did not
want Iron Cross to die and Barstow revealed that she was not angry with
Aubrey for Iron Cross' death but rather, she was curious whether Aubrey
would have truly used the VMP nano-probes to enslave the planet with his
own vision of peace. Aubrey became silent and Barstow admitted that she
was angry because, after all their years fighting together, she was not
sure what Aubrey's answer to that would have been. The Destroyer then
departed to check on Iron Cross' corpse and found Citizen V by Iron
Cross' side. Citizen V questioned why Aubrey was in his Destroyer
costume and Aubrey explained that he found it comforting to slip into
the past in times like these. Figuring Citizen V could relate, the
Destroyer suggested that Iron Cross did not have to die if they had
just waited a bit longer for Citizen V to reprogram the nano-probes but
Citizen V expressed his thoughts that Iron Cross had wished to stop
both Strucker and Aubrey from using the nano-probes. The Destroyer then
revealed his knowledge that Citizen V had attempted to reprogram the
nano-probes to his own voice commands rather than Aubrey's but Citizen V
claimed he only did so because Aubrey could only live so long and they
had to prepare for the future. Agreeing with the need to prepare, the
Destroyer revealed a plan to reconceive Baron Strucker's idea into one
for peace. He then suggested it might be time for Citizen V to return
to the Thunderbolts and after that, there would be peace on Earth no
matter the cost after sixty years of fighting.
(Thunderbolts I#57) - Following Graviton's capture of most of Earth's
heroes and his attempt to reshape Earth in his own image, Roger Aubrey
and most of the V-Battalion took the Vanguard into orbit per
V-Battalion protocol. Having little choice but to stand idly by with
the Vanguard's structural integrity at 14%, Aubrey asked how long
before they could return to Earth's atmosphere. Informed that it would be at
least ten hours before the Vanguard could return to Earth, Aubrey asked
for a status update on Citizen V, and he was told that the V-Battalion
was still trying to raise him but if he were still alive, Aubrey could
be sure Citizen V was trying to do something about Graviton. With the
help of the retired Mach-2 and Songbird, Citizen V ultimately managed
to get a communication to the Vanguard asking for Roger to activate
V-Battalion protocols M-3 and SB-2. Despite some misgivings from Betty
Barstow, Roger Aubrey ordered new armor for Mach-2 and new carapace
technology for Songbird into an escape pod that was launched to Earth.
(Thunderbolts I#58) - Monitoring the situation with Graviton from the
Vanguard, Roger Aubrey was informed of gravimetric spikes in Colorado
and it was suggested by Betty Barstow that they get Citizen V out of
Colorado. Aubrey agreed and ordered all remaining power rerouted to the
teleporter. Barstow reminded Aubrey that the first time they used the
teleporter was the last but Aubrey argued that it was pretty much the
same if Citizen V died on Earth or in their teleporter: He would still
be dead. Just as the situation with Graviton reached its peak, the
Vanguard managed to pull enough power into their teleporter, and Aubrey
ordered Citizen V teleported back to the Vanguard.
(Thunderbolts I#60 (fb) - BTS) - During the Aubrey-ordered
teleportation of Citizen V, a bio-modem link with Citizen V's mind
established by Baron Zemo was severed. Following the revelation
that Zemo had access to Citizen V's mind, Roger Aubrey ordered a
worldwide search for the Thunderbolts and traces of Zemo's bio-modem
frequency, only to find nothing and no one other than Songbird.
(Thunderbolts I#60) - Roger Aubrey and the rest of the Penance Council
were informed of a medical scan of Citizen V, which now showed him
clean of conflicting encephalograms. Aubrey was assured that whatever
had been controlling Citizen V's mind since he awoke from his coma was
gone. Citizen V then acrobatically jumped down in front of the Penance
Council, happily proclaiming that he was finally back and ready to
design a new costume for himself, but a stern Aubrey reminded Citizen V
that his mind had housed that of Baron Zemo, who had access to
information on the V-Battalion from his mind. When Aubrey
wondered what Zemo planned to do with the information he had accessed,
Citizen V reminded Aubrey that they had searched the world for the
Thunderbolts since the teleportation and found nothing, questioning
whether it mattered what Zemo accessed if he was dead. Citizen V then
suggested Aubrey look at the bright side, noting that if Zemo had not
sought refuge inside Citizen V's mind, Citizen V would have never
awakened from his coma in the first place. When Citizen V proclaimed that he was back and
ready for action, Roger Aubrey asked how Citizen V would like to
capture a "dead man."
(Citizen V & the V-Battalion: The Everlasting#1 (fb) - BTS) - At
some point, Roger Aubrey felt Andrea Sterman had learned too much about
the V-Battalion and he refused to let her leave the Vanguard. By the
time he came to that decision, Sterman had gotten so used to being
around the V-Battalion that she had come to enjoy being there.
(Citizen V & the V-Battalion: The Everlasting#1) - Following one of
the Citizen V's missions in which he encountered the bowman Aqhat,
Roger Aubrey and the rest of the V-Battalion's Penance Council viewed
footage and images taken from the cameras within Citizen V's mask. Upon
reviewing the images, Aubrey suggested they go pick up Citizen V in
eastern Europe. Once Citizen V was back aboard the Vanguard, he
questioned how Aqhat could be alive when the V-Battalion knew Aqhat to
be dead circa 1953, and Aubrey explained that this Aqhat could not be
the same man the 1950s Citizen V had encountered, noting that Aqhat's
bow had been stolen from its Israeli museum display three weeks earlier. When
Citizen V assumed that meant that this Aqhat was someone assuming the
mantle, Aubrey corrected him, further explaining that V-Battalion
scientists had originally determined that Aqhat's bow could only be
fired by someone with the properties of its original wielder. Citizen V
then suggested some sort of reincarnation, prompting Aubrey to question
why anyone want to live their life over when life was miserable enough
the first time. He then proposed more questions such as who had rescued
Aqhat from Citizen V, why Oracle, Inc. was helping the terrorist
ULTIMATUM organization (whom Aqhat was aiding) foment civil strife and
what Oracle might gain from such an alliance.
Citizen V insisted the
V-Battalion would find the answers it sought and when he mentioned they
could do it without Aubrey, Aubrey glanced over at Betty Barstow and
asked what Citizen V was talking about. Barstow then suggested that
perhaps Aubrey needed a vacation after the death of Iron Cross, but an
angry Aubrey insisted he was the same he had been for fifty years,
unchanged by Iron Cross' death, and that the only peace he expected was
that of the grave once he had brought peace to the world. The argument
was interrupted by Vradec, who informed the Penance Council that Aqhat
had been tracked to Beijing, China. Aubrey immediately ordered the
Vanguard to Beijing then ordered Fred Davis to have the V-Battalion's
One-Eyed Team look into Oracle, Inc.'s records to see what the company
had turned into following Jim Hammond's departure.
Fred Davis asked why Aubrey didn't simply ask Hammond himself, and
Aubrey reminded Davis about how much he disliked Hammond and reiterated
his orders a bit more politely. Aubrey then left the room, unaware that
Andrea Sterman suspected he was tired of life, having spent it fighting
for the unattainable goal of world peace. Retiring to his quarters,
Roger Aubrey picked up an old photo of himself with Brian Falsworth and
longingly whispered Brian's name. Moments later, the Vanguard arrived
in Beijing and Citizen V ventured outside to investigate the area,
prompting Aubrey to ask for a status report. A shocked Citizen V
reported back that everyone in China appeared to be dead.
(Citizen V & the V-Battalion: The Everlasting#2) - Roger Aubrey
had
Citizen V inspect the fallen in China and questioned whether they
were asleep rather than dead. With the Penance Council, Aubrey viewed
the footage of the confirmed-sleeping Chinese natives, and Fred Davis
soon presented Aubrey with an
analysis of the situation from the V-Battalion Steam Team. Aubrey then
informed Citizen V that something appeared to be forcing the Chinese
people to sleep and the energy source was traced to the same point
where Citizen V's tracer had tracked Aqhat. Citizen V sarcastically
suggested that Aubrey not sound too eager to get the source into his
own
hands, and Aubrey countered Citizen V could imagine the
potential uses for something that could put an entire nation to sleep
just as much as he could. Aubrey and the Penance Council then monitored
Citizen V's activities and when a giant sand-like creature erupted from
Aqhat's location, Aubrey appeared stunned and asked if the others had
any suggestions. When Nuklo suggested the phrase "the bigger they are,
the harder they fall," Aubrey agreed and sent Nuklo, Topspin and
Goldfire out to engage the creature alongside several V-Battalion jets.
Soon determining the creature to be a gigantic
incarnation of the mutant Collective Man, Aubrey witnessed the Collective Man kill Goldfire in
the blink of an eye and he immediately pulled back the V-Battalion
forces. Citizen V then engaged and captured Aqhat, and the V-Battalion
Steam Team recovered the equipment used to transform the Collective Man
into a giant monster, with Roger Aubrey subsequently informing Betty
Barstow that the equipment was too damaged to use to reverse the
Collective Man's transformation. As the Steam Team worked to bring the
equipment back to the Vanguard, Citizen V reported that they needed to
stop the Collective Man before he drained the lives of billions and
Aubrey, realizing the situation, wondered if perhaps there was a way to
instead speed up the life-draining. Surprised
that Aubrey would even suggest such a thing, Citizen V instead
suggested they learn what the life-draining process was for, and he
interrogated Aqhat, learning that the deaths were to fuel something
called the Genesis Well. Upon hearing this information and the pleading
from Betty Barstow that Collective Man was also a victim, Aubrey
reluctantly decided that if they could not reverse the Collective Man's
transformation and if the V-Battalion refused to take advantage of him,
the Collective Man had to be stopped. Andrea Sterman quickly reminded
Aubrey that the V-Battalion didn't have the firepower to destroy the
Collective Man, and Aubrey agreed, proposing two possible solutions:
allow the Collective Man to drain the lives of billions or pull the
plug on the Chinese people he had already absorbed as a fuel source.
Despite his insistence that he was merely being practical and logical,
Aubrey was reminded by Citizen V that killing those who made up the
Collective Man would only fuel the Genesis Well as Aqhat intended.
Aubrey nonetheless ordered an attack on those who made up the
Collective Man, hoping to only kill enough to weaken the Collective
Man. Citizen V overrode Roger Aubrey's orders and instead punctured the
Collective Man, destroying his assembled form. After Citizen V was
rescued from the scene, he met with Roger Aubrey, who considered
Citizen V lucky to have survived. Citizen V reminded Aubrey that the
V-Battalion worked to sacrifice the least for the most while Aubrey's
earlier suggestions would sacrifice many to stop a single opponent.
Citizen V then questioned when Roger Aubrey had started contradicting
everything for which he had fought his entire life.
(Citizen V & the V-Battalion: The Everlasting#3) - As the
Flag-Smasher and his ULTIMATUM agents attacked various countries across
the world, Roger Aubrey set in a chair in the V-Battalion's Vanguard
base and remarked that death was coming, suggesting they open the door.
Knowing that ULTIMATUM had been getting its weaponry from Oracle, Inc.,
Aubrey and the V-Battalion's Penance Council reached out to Jim
Hammond, the original android Human Torch and former CEO of Oracle,
Inc. Antagonistically noting how much Aubrey had aged since their last encounter, Hammond was
questioned about why Oracle had been helping ULTIMATUM, but Hammond
responded by remarking on the V-Battalion's seeming desperation in reaching out
to him. Aubrey argued that if they could not cut off ULTIMATUM's
weapons supply at its source, the small attacks could turn into a
worldwide inferno. Hammond still proved less than cooperative with
Aubrey, noting that he was in London. Aubrey turned his back on Hammond
and gave him three minutes to get ready. Within minutes as expected,
the Vanguard was in London, and Hammond was aboard the Vanguard to
assist. Still somewhat antagonistic towards Aubrey, Hammond sarcastically
asked why they didn't have a teleporter and Aubrey grumbled that the
teleporter was Skrull tech that rarely worked, commenting that he opted
to use it on Hammond anyway but Betty Barstow disagreed. They then got
to work, and Aubrey and Barstow brought Hammond by a medical bay where
medical scans of Aqhat had provided vital information. As Aubrey
remained quiet, Barstow informed Hammond of how Aqhat worked for a man
named Marduk, whom the V-Battalion had discovered also went by the name
of Zoltan Nestor, a name Hammond immediately recognized as the man who
succeeded him as CEO of Oracle, Inc.
Later, after the V-Battalion cut fourteen of
Oracle's weapons distribution points, Roger Aubrey reached back out to
Citizen V and demanded he restore his comm-link to provide a status
report. Upon learning that Citizen V had provided Flag-Smasher the
country of Rumekistan to rule in exchange for ULTIMATUM's immediate
ceasefire, Aubrey demanded to know what sort of game Citizen V was
playing and asked if he thought Rumekistan would just hand their
country over to Flag-Smasher. When Citizen V mentioned that Rumekistan
officials would be asleep thanks to the powers of the Collective Man,
Betty Barstow questioned what Aubrey's plans for the Collective Man's
remains were, and Aubrey admitted he had a similar idea to the one
Citizen V was utilizing. Despite not particularly agreeing with Citizen
V's plans, Aubrey then watched as Citizen V utilized the Collective
Man's remains to project Rumekistan into a state of sleep in order to
turn the country over to Flag-Smasher. Hammond questioned whether
Aubrey was just going to let Citizen V finish such a plan, and Aubrey
replied that it would be hypocritical of him not to let Citizen V
complete his plan as well as that the action did serve to stall Marduk's plans. He
did note that Citizen V nonetheless had a lot to answer for. As Citizen
V continued with his plan, Marduk and Papahanau-Moku (Whiro) prepared Marduk's Genesis
Well, and "Papa" remarked on how Marduk had once stated years ago that
Aubrey's continued involvement in their plans would only lead to more
killing. Smiling, Marduk commented on how rude it was for Aubrey not to
cooperate with his plans, noting that Aubrey would have to be punished
and since they had shaken hands years ago, Aubrey's soul remained
Marduk's for the taking. Marduk then snapped his fingers and Aubrey
fell to the ground dead, with Betty Barstow and Jim Hammond rushing to his side
in fear of what had happened.
(Citizen V & the V-Battalion: The Everlasting#4) - As Marduk
gloated about his plan to regain his immortality via his physical death
and how Roger Aubrey's own death helped fuel his own, Roger Aubrey's corpse was scanned by the V-Battalion but no apparent
cause of death existed. When Jim Hammond noted that it was almost as if
Aubrey's life was stolen, an upset Betty Barstow asked what it mattered
if Aubrey was still dead. Andrea Sterman noted Barstow's past detective
skills and asked if Barstow wanted to find out if Aubrey had been
murdered, but Barstow remarked that everything seemed so pointless now
and reminded Hammond that everything Aubrey had done was in an attempt
to bring the world peace. Having learned of Aubrey's apparent death,
Citizen V angrily confronted the captive Aqhat to learn how Aubrey's
soul could be saved from Marduk. Citizen V subsequently departed to
confront Marduk, and the Vanguard followed behind, ready to assist him.
As the Vanguard appeared at Marduk's Black Sea oil refinery
headquarters, Andrea Sterman and Jim Hammond discussed the
V-Battalion's bloodthirsty methods, and Sterman reminded Hammond of his
murder of Adolf Hitler, prompting Hammond to groan at how complete
Roger Aubrey's files were. When Sterman mentioned that the war never
ended for Aubrey, Hammond replied that Aubrey's kind of thinking had
corrupted Aubrey's morals.
Citizen V eventually made his way in to confront
Marduk, who devoured Roger Aubrey's soul before hurling Citizen V's
sword through V's midsection. Marduk then began to experience severe
stomach pains and learned that Aubrey's soul (appearing in the form of
Aubrey's original Destroyer identity and costume) was internally
fighting against being absorbed by Marduk from beyond the grave.
Teaming with other souls devoured by Marduk, the Destroyer continued
his fight against Marduk internally as a recovering Citizen V fought
the god externally. Eventually, Citizen V used explosives to destroy
Marduk's Genesis Well, freeing the souls inside to aid the Destroyer in
fighting, and Marduk was soon torn apart by the souls in the Well. Most
of the souls passed on into the afterlife, but Aubrey's soul
returned to his physical body mere seconds before a V-Battalion
mortician was to perform an autopsy on his corpse. Reports then made their
way back to Citizen V that Aubrey had been restored to life.
Two days later, Aubrey attended the funeral of V-Battalion operative
Goldfire. At the service, Aubrey commended Goldfire on being a good
soldier, and Topspin questioned whether the war ever ended. Aubrey
replied that while the war never ended, soldiers could lay down their
arms when they didn't have any fight left in them. Later that day, Roger Aubrey informed the rest of
the Penance Council that he was leaving the V-Battalion. A shocked
Betty Barstow asked why, and Aubrey answered that, since he could not
even find peace in death, he had to find it in life. Admitting he no
longer wished to be a Destroyer, Aubrey nominated Jim Hammond as his
replacement and Hammond, while surprised, agreed to become the new head
of the V-Battalion.
(New Invaders I#2 (fb) - BTS) - Following his retirement from the
V-Battalion, Roger Aubrey (still in his Destroyer identity) was one of the
first allies recruited by the new Invaders organization.
(New Invaders I#2 - BTS) - While showing the new Invaders his
Infiltrator
ship / base of operations, the Thin Man displayed screens
showing various allies his reorganized Invaders had made including Red
Raven, the Blue Diamond, the otherdimensional Vision (Aarkus), the V-Battalion's
Citizen V and what appeared to be a new Iron Cross (see comments).
(New Invaders I#5 (fb) - BTS) - At some point, Roger Aubrey developed
the ability to shrink down to size of 12 inches while retaining his
full human strength. However, he chose not to advertise this ability
and rarely used it (see comments).
(New Invaders I#4 (fb) - BTS) - As he prepared to visit a Gay and
Lesbian Pride fest known as the Dymhurst Common Outright Festival,
Roger Aubrey was told people would be wearing costumes.
(New Invaders I#4) - Roger Aubrey and his friend Nigel attended the
Dymhurst Common Outright Festival in the UK, less than twenty
kilometers from ancestral Falsworth Manor, where Roger wore a shirt
that bore the logo of the mighty Destroyer. Nigel immediately
complained that Roger looked like the grim reaper at a Pride festival
and noted that, despite Roger being surrounded by many strapping lads,
Roger had spent the day grousing like an old woman. When Aubrey
grumbled that he had left Jim Hammond in charge of his life's work,
only to watch Hammond leave in less than a year to join the new
Invaders, Nigel reminded Aubrey that he had offered his own services to the new
Invaders. Growing tired of Aubrey's gripes, Nigel decided to get the
two some drinks and while walking around, Aubrey was met by a pair of
leather-clad festgoers. When one began aggressively flirting with him,
Aubrey accused the man of giving the gay community a bad name before
threatening to nail the man's tongue to his forehead. Assuming that
Aubrey was a fan of the Punisher due to the skull on his shirt, the man
continued flirting until lightning rained down, electrocuting the two
leather-clad men. Aubrey managed to duck for cover and soon, a group of
vampires leaped down from the skies, prompting Aubrey to rip a piece of
wood from a nearby window sill and impale one of the vampires with it.
Another vampire attacked in retaliation, turning into mist when Aubrey
slashed at him. When Aubrey managed to destroy that vampire as well,
the vampire group ganged up on him and used their lightning attack to
down Aubrey.
Aubrey eventually regained consciousness with Nigel
standing over him, and he immediately reached out to the new Invaders on
their Infiltrator ship to inform them of the vampire attack and its
proximity to Falsworth Manor. The new Invaders subsequently held a
meeting in which the Thin Man discussed the attack, and both Spitfire
and Union Jack were sent to meet Aubrey at Falsworth Manor. As the
android Human Torch decided to accompany Union Jack and Spitfire and
bring the android Tara with him, the vampire Herr Grausum reported back
to Baroness Blood that the Destroyer had opposed their attack at the
Dymhurst Common Outright Festival. Baroness Blood asked Grausum if the
Destroyer lived and when Grausum replied in the affirmative, Baroness
Blood commended Grausum on leaving Aubrey alive, as it would lure the
Invaders into their clutches. Unaware of Baroness Blood's plans,
Spitfire, Union Jack, the Human Torch and Tara soon arrived at
Falsworth Manor and were greeted by Roger Aubrey and the Manor's
butler, Hotchkins. When Spitfire asked if Aubrey was sure the
attacking vampires were agents of Baroness Blood, Aubrey admitted he
couldn't be sure but noted that the original Baron Blood could affect
the weather and the vampires he encountered were manipulating
lightning. He also noted that the vampires were not afraid of the sun,
prompting Spitfire to note that if perhaps Aubrey had attended her son
Kenneth's funeral, he might have been better prepared. Union Jack then
informed Aubrey that Kenneth had been transformed into a vampire by
Baroness Blood, who had acquired the means to overcome sunlight. As
Union Jack mentioned how he had tried to save Kenneth, a grumbling
Aubrey remarked on Union Jack's failure and insulted him by referring
to him as "Junior Jack." Union Jack angrily corrected Aubrey, and Aubrey
explained how he had once tried to honor Brian Falsworth's death by
becoming the new Union Jack, only to have Brian's father, Lord
Falsworth, refuse such an idea. Union Jack reminded Aubrey that
Aubrey's issues with Lord Falsworth had nothing to do with him, and
Spitfire agreed, acknowledging Aubrey's love for Brian but noting that
Joey Chapman was nonetheless the new Union Jack and that he was very
brave. They all then decided to get some rest before renewing their
investigation and when Spitfire pulled Union Jack into another room,
calling him "Jim" instead of "Joey," Union Jack sarcastically commented
on the insult to a shocked Human Torch, prompting Aubrey to wink and
sarcastically remark "Me-ow."
After Union Jack and Spitfire went to bed, Roger
Aubrey asked Tara if he could have a private conversation with the
Human Torch. Once Tara had departed to her room, Aubrey demanded to
know why the Human Torch was with the new Invaders. The Torch responded
that he could ask the same of Aubrey, and Aubrey noted that
they may have to take the Invaders' Infiltrator ship. Falsworth Manor
was soon rocked by a huge strike of lightning, prompting all inside to
rush to Spitfire's room, only to find it empty and half the outer wall
missing.
(New Invaders I#5) - Roger Aubrey watched as Union Jack yelled into the
night about the missing Spitfire and he later accompanied the other new
Invaders to confront Baroness Blood after they learned of Spitfire's
capture. Using the Human Torch's blood connection to Spitfire, the
Invaders and Aubrey ventured into Falsworth Caverns, where Union Jack
had the Invaders' Infiltrator ship scan for vampires based on a hunch.
While the Invaders were sneaking into Baroness Blood's base using the Caverns, two vampires attacked Aubrey, who briefly shrank
down in size as he shot the vampires, returning to normal size when he
heard a noise behind him. Quickly realizing the noise was just Union
Jack, who admitted he had no idea Aubrey could get smaller, Aubrey
remarked that it wasn't a trait he cared to advertise before asking
Union Jack how he knew the Caverns would house vampires. Union Jack
expressed his thoughts that Baroness Blood could not come up with
original ideas and the original Baron Blood had used Falsworth Caverns
in the 1940s. More vampires soon attacked and briefly downed Union
Jack, prompting Aubrey to destroy them with silver bullets before
sarcastically commenting on how expensive silver bullets were. The
foursome then made their way to Spitfire, arriving just as Baroness
Blood was attempting to recapture the escaping Spitfire. The Human
Torch made quick work of the vampires, but Baroness Blood escaped with
the infant John Crichton while Aubrey tended to the injured Spitfire.
Following the rescue of Spitfire, the Human Torch asked Roger Aubrey to
resume command of the V-Battalion on a temporary basis while the Torch
remained with the new Invaders until the threat of the Neo-Nazi Axis
Mundi organization could be contained. Roger Aubrey later visited Brian
Falsworth's grave with Nigel, remarking on how he had been to visit
Brian's sister Jacqueline (Spitfire). Referring to Jacqueline as a
witch, Aubrey nonetheless mentioned that he loved her and, while they
were not blood related, Jacqueline and himself would always be family.
Speaking as if to inform the deceased Brian, Aubrey then mentioned that
Jacqueline's current boyfriend Joey Chapman was a bit rough around the
edges but a fine Union Jack, hoping to assure the deceased Brian that
the Union Jack tradition was secure. He then laid some flowers on
Brian's grave.
(New Invaders I#9) - Following the destruction of the android Human
Torch while trying to save the new Invaders from a programmed Tara,
Roger Aubrey attended the Torch's funeral alongside numerous other
heroes and Nigel, where he solemnly proclaimed Jim Hammond to be an
ally and brother.
(Fallen Son: The Death of Captain America - Iron Man) - After Captain
America was seemingly killed following the superhero civil war, Roger Aubrey
attended his funeral alongside Betty Barstow. During Sam Wilson's
eulogy in which he asked those who served alongside Cap to stand, he
also asked any superheroes from Cap's World War II days and those keep
those legacies alive to stand. When Sam asked those from that era
that had given up their heroic identities to also stand, both Aubrey
and Barstow stood with a few other retired heroes.
(All-New Invaders I#10) - The Destroyer, Union Jack and Spitfire came
upon a Martian ship while patrolling Britain. After Spitfire expressed
wishes that Captain Britain were there, she asked for opinions as to
whether the three of them could take down the ship, and the Destroyer
remarked that they had it in the bag. When Union Jack asked if the
Destroyer was sure he was up to the fight, the appalled Destroyer
reminded Union Jack that he was an incredibly vain older gay gentleman
who probably was in the gym more than Union Jack himself was. The
Destroyer then suggested they get down to business, as time waited for
no man, and the trio rushed into action despite wondering why the
Martian ship was there in the first place.
(All-New Invaders I#12 (fb)) - During the subsequent battle, the
Destroyer leaped onto the top of the Martian ship, and Union Jack
followed suit, both attacking the ship directly. When the ship began to
glow, Spitfire suggested the two leap free and as the Destroyer and
Union Jack jumped to safety, the Martin ship disappeared. Following the
ship's disappearance, the trio opted to review Lord Falsworth's
writings and discovered a writing from 1922 mentioning an earlier
Martian incursion from October, 1917.
(All-New Invaders I#12) - After reviewing Lord Falsworth's
writings, the Destroyer, Union Jack and Spitfire realized that Martian
incursions had been happening on and off for more than a century. As
Union Jack began to question what the Martians were there for, the
Winter Soldier arrived and interrupted, noting to the trio that the
better question would be who the Martians were there for. The Winter
Soldier then introduced the trio to Earth-691's Killraven, whom the
Martians were after for his knowledge.
(All-New Invaders I#15 - BTS) - While discussing recent events
involving the Invaders, the android Human Torch, Namor the Sub-Mariner
and the then-elderly Steve Rogers discussed the unresolved threats the
Invaders had been involved in, including the Winter Soldier working
with the Destroyer, Spitfire, Union Jack and Earth-691's Killraven
against the recent Martian incursion.
(Fantastic Four V#643) - When the enigmatic Quiet Man unleashed
interdimensional monsters on the world, the Destroyer and Britain's
MI13 organization fought back against the monsters in London.
(Marvel's Voices: Pride I#1 - BTS) - While documenting LGBTQ+ history
within the superhero community, the mutant Prodigy recorded entries on
various LGBTQ+ superhumans, noting lovers Union Jack and the Destroyer
that were active during World War II.
(Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty II#1 (fb) - BTS) - Roger Aubrey
joined a radio group of those who lived through World War II dubbed
Radio Company. As part of Radio Company, Aubrey used the call sign of
Radio Two.
(Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty II#1) - In the wee hours of a
morning, Aubrey (as Radio Two) reached out to Radio Company and asked
if anyone was interested in watching the sunrise over some tea. Captain
America (using his call sign of Radio Four) responded that he was still
up, noting that the moon was also still up and that Aubrey would have
to report back about the sunrise. Cap then asked how Aubrey had been
doing, and Aubrey replied that everything hurt and his Super-Soldier
Serum had been working over time, joking that they didn't all get spa
time in the Arctic Sea. Cap responded back, joking how the "Mighty
Destroyer" complained in his old age, at which point Aubrey joked back
that at least he wasn't in a country about to throw a garish party for
itself. Radio Company's John and Pam then chimed in, noting that the
next day was also Cap's birthday before a string of recorded numbers
interrupted their broadcast. Pam tried to brush off the numbers as
simply an old code interfering with their broadcast, but Aubrey noted
that the numbers were not interfering the day before and that these
code numbers must be new. Pam then became intrigued by the potential
puzzle and when John also expressed interest in getting to the bottom
of the puzzle, Aubrey asked Cap if he thought the code numbers
were worth their time. Cap smiled and broadcasted back for Radio
Company to assemble. As each of the Radio Company members began working
on the puzzle of the code numbers, Roger Aubrey first determined that
the numbers were a substitution cipher similar to the Enigma Machine
and he became convinced that the puzzle lied in the numbers themselves
rather than any sort of machine. With Radio Company's help, Captain
America soon deduced an attack set for the following day and the next
day, he and the Winter Soldier scoped out the local parade and
eventually saw some activity near the docks involving someone dressed
as the Destroyer. When the Winter Soldier noted that Roger Aubrey was
close to ninety years old and Brian Falsworth was dead, Cap interrupted
to state that this Destroyer appeared to be someone new and that he
would regret wearing the colors of men Cap respected. During the
subsequent battle against the new Destroyer, Captain America noted that
the man appeared to possess his strength, Roger Aubrey's attitude and
Thor's lightning.
(Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty II#2) - While Captain America was
out on patrol, Roger Aubrey radioed in to report they had received
another coded radio message, confirming that it was the fourth one that
week. Informing Cap that he was running the message through Radio
Company's decoder device, Aubrey further noted that while the message
did not seem to suggest another kid had stolen his Destroyer identity,
it appeared to be part of some larger game. Discussing the matter with
Cap via radio, Aubrey warned that he had not seen such a war machine
since Hydra or any political power capable of making moves such as the
ones mentioned in the coded messages. John and Pam both chimed in as
well, agreeing with Aubrey. When Pam mentioned having to use her brain
to figure out the coded puzzles, Captain America noted that he thought
better while moving, prompting Aubrey to reply that it was a terrible
thing to say to an almost-centenarian. He then sarcastically remarked
on how people had no idea what kind of person Captain America could be,
prompting Cap to remind Aubrey about the old phrase regarding glass
houses and how he felt Aubrey was the only person who enjoyed punching
Nazis as much as Cap himself did back in the day. Aubrey then continued
his work trying to decode the radio message and became confused as to
what "Secure the Forge" meant.
(Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty II#7 (fb) - BTS) - Captain
America and Roger Aubrey continued working, eventually discovering that
the messages were being sent by an old organization called the Outer
Circle. The two then began tracking the Outer Circle.
(Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty II#7) - Namor the Sub-Mariner met
with a slightly disillusioned Steve Rogers to return his missing shield
and when Rogers began to explain how he and Roger Aubrey had uncovered
something, Namor admitted his surprise that "Dyna-Mite" was still alive.
Rogers calmly explained that Aubrey preferred the codename of the
Destroyer, and Namor commended Aubrey on choosing that codename. Rogers
then continued, explaining how he and Aubrey had been tracking the
Outer Circle and how the Winter Soldier had seemingly joined the group.
After Namor reminded Rogers of how the Winter Soldier had always been
in the shadows while Captain America shined in the light, he bade
Captain America farewell and asked Cap to give his best to "Dyna-Mite."
As Rogers returned home, he heard Aubrey speaking over his radio,
thinking Rogers was asleep and trying to wake him up. Rogers
immediately jumped on the radio and asked if Aubrey had learned of
another move in the coded messages. Aubrey replied that he had not but
that he had perhaps found something else. He then revealed that since
Brian Falsworth's will had left him rich, he was able to feign interest
in advanced home security and had buyers with connections to A.I.M.
When Rogers tried to dissuade Aubrey from associating with A.I.M.,
Aubrey explained that his false interest and contacts had oddly found
no A.I.M. tech on the market anywhere, suggesting that either someone
had bought all of the A.I.M. tech on the market or A.I.M. was planning
something new. As the two discussed the possibility that A.I.M. was
planning something big, Aubrey admitted his delight in stating that the
Destroyer was reporting for duty before asking Steve Rogers what his
orders were. Feeling as if he had once again fallen into a situation
that was too big to take on alone that was too vague to understand,
Rogers remained silent as Aubrey questioned whether Rogers was still on the
radio line.
Steve Rogers later met up with Sharon Carter and the
two made some calls to recruit allies to help uncover the conspiracy
that Aubrey seemed to have discovered. Using his private jet, Aubrey
flew in everyone Cap called and they soon all met up in-person in an
underground bunker. Captain America exchanged happy greetings with
Aubrey, noting that Namor also said hello and prompting Aubrey to
sarcastically remark that Namor saying hello should be put on his
tombstone. Cap then informed everyone present of the conspiracy of the
Outer Circle and how they had apparently influenced and even directed
several of
the biggest organizations such as Hydra, A.I.M., the F.B.I., Interpol
and even S.H.I.E.L.D. When Black Widow questioned who the Outer Circle
leaders were, Aubrey replied that they had only learned the leaders'
aliases: Love, Power, Money, Machine and Revolution. He also confirmed
that Revolution had recently been executed, his seat willingly taken by
Bucky Barnes. As Captain America revealed a piece of Neganite found in
Barnes' apartment, Aubrey recognized it as being similar to what was
used in the Caduceus Staff during a mission involving Peggy Carter back
in 1949. Carter also recalled the 1949 mission and noted to the others
that the true mastermind in that mission was Arnim Zola. Zola's
potential involvement prompted Hawkeye to mention a damaged Zola
facility beneath downtown New York and the group decided to meet back
in two days to prepare a trap for the Outer Circle in Zola's damaged
facility.
(Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty II#8 (fb) - BTS) - Prior to their
takeover of Manhattan, A.I.M. transported Captain America, Roger Aubrey
and Cap's other allies out of the city.
(Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty II#8) - Five days later, Roger Aubrey regrouped with
Captain America, Nick Fury, Jr., Sharon Carter, the Redacted and Peggy
Carter in Kansas, where Captain America had been transported to. While
discussing what had happened to them and how most of the group had five
days of no memory, Sharon Carter noticed subdermal scar tissue behind
her ear and Aubrey quickly noticed the same about himself. When Fury
and Peggy Carter also noticed similar scar tissue, the entire group
realized that not only had their bodies been moved but their minds had
been tampered with. Sharon then asked what they planned to do about
their situation, and Aubrey suggested having a psychic read their minds
in hopes of getting to the bottom of the mystery. Captain America then
psychically summoned Emma Frost, who owed Cap a favor, and Frost agreed
to help restore some of their memories by psychically reading the
collective scar tissue left behind from the mental tampering. Frost
ultimately discovered the presence of M.O.D.O.C. in their minds and
when each of the group came to, each dealt with the anger about
M.O.D.O.C. stealing secrets from their minds in their own way, Aubrey
punching a large dent into the door of the train car they were in.
Determined to stop A.I.M. and retake Manhattan, Captain America
gathered up his band of allies and Roger Aubrey donned his original
Destroyer costume as Cap dubbed his group the Invaders.
(Captain America X#750 / 2 (fb) - BTS) - At some point during his time with
the Invaders, Aubrey bragged to Nick Fury, Jr. about how much he could
still bench-press, prompting Fury to joke that he didn't care how much
Aubrey could bench-press, as he still "smelled like old people."
(Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty II#9) - The Destroyer and his new
Invaders teammates invaded Manhattan, riding in atop a train and
leaping from it when it collided with another train on the tracks.
Landing in the heart of Manhattan, the Destroyer was partnered with
Sharon Carter and the two were tasked with destroying A.I.M. Command
and Control. During the attack, Sharon jokingly asked if the cardio was
too much for Aubrey, who joked back that at his age, he was happy his
heart was still pumping at all. He then exclaimed that while he might
get old, smashing crypto-fascists never did as he punched an A.I.M.
agent in the face. Upon locating A.I.M. Command and Control, the
Destroyer asked if Sharon happened to have rocket boots, and Sharon
joked that she must have left those in her other purse, prompting the
Destroyer to remark "Same." Sharon then handed the Destroyer a roll of
microfilament and ordered him not to let it go under any circumstances.
The confused Destroyer asked where Sharon was going, and she smiled,
asking if Aubrey was still Super-Soldier'ed under his costume and how
his throwing arm was. The Destroyer then hurled Sharon, who pulled the
Destroyer along with her using the microfilament,
and the two smashed their way into A.I.M. Command. As they battled
A.I.M., the Destroyer remarked to himself that Brian would have loved
Sharon, whom he commented was their "exact kind of trouble." When
Sharon mentioned that they needed to take down A.I.M. Command, the
Destroyer revealed his engineering background while explaining why he'd
first taken the Destroyer identity and suggested they set explosives
charges at key engineering points on the building, remarking that the
Destroyer wasn't just a name but a promise. The two then blew up
A.I.M. Command. The Destroyer and Sharon subsequently regrouped with the other
Invaders as M.O.D.O.C. arrived on the scene in a large UFO. M.O.D.O.C.
then attacked their minds, telepathically forcing them into illusory
situations, with the Destroyer finding himself surrounded by World War
II-era soldiers.
(Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty II#10) - Within M.O.D.O.C.'s
telepathic illusions, the Destroyer next found himself reliving the
moment that Brian Falsworth first expressed his love for him and the
German attack that followed. While the Destroyer was still stuck in his
illusory world, Peggy Carter realized she was trapped in an illusion
and reminded M.O.D.O.C. that he'd trapped dynamite in the form of Roger
Aubrey. Soon realizing as well that he was trapped in an illusion,
Roger Aubrey refused to relive events, instead announcing that
M.O.D.O.C. would live to regret his intrusion. Gloatingly asking if he
would regret his actions because Aubrey had regained self-awareness,
M.O.D.O.C.
was informed by a tearful Aubrey that M.O.D.O.C. would instead regret
the act of assuming the form of the only man Aubrey ever loved.
Proclaiming that it had been decades since Brian had died but there
wasn't a day that went by that Brian's actions didn't remind Aubrey of
how far he was willing to go to resist, Aubrey began manifesting his
Destroyer costume within his illusion, exclaiming that M.O.D.O.C.
hadn't caged him but rather, inspired him to fight back. Smashing
through M.O.D.O.C.'s illusions, the Destroyer fought his way to his
Invaders teammates, freeing each of them while informing M.O.D.O.C. of
the childhood that had made him the person he was. When M.O.D.O.C.
gloatingly asked if the Destroyer thought his fists could hurt him into
the realm of the mind, the Destroyer replied that he wasn't using his
fists but rather, hitting M.O.D.O.C. with fearlessness, compassion,
solidarity, hope and love as the now-freed Invaders joined in the
attack on M.O.D.O.C. The Invaders eventually smashed their way
completely free of M.O.D.O.C.'s telepathic hold, and the Destroyer
confronted M.O.D.O.C. personally, demanding the whereabouts of
M.O.D.O.C.'s superior in the Outer Circle, the Power. Aubrey then
ordered the shocked M.O.D.O.C. to inform the Outer Circle that the
Invaders were coming for him. M.O.D.O.C. did as ordered, causing the
Power to release MODOK from the innards of M.O.D.O.C. himself.
Aubrey barely had time to order Sharon Carter to get back before the
newly-emerged MODOK blasted the Destroyer apart, his mask dropping
and shattering on the ground.
(Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty II#11) - As the Destroyer's
smoldering corpse fell to the ground, a grieving Sharon Carter
attempted to free herself from Captain America's hold in an effort to
avenge Roger. Unaware they were being watched from afar by Bucky
Barnes, Captain America ordered Sharon to get down and sternly
confirmed to Sharon that while Roger was now dead, they didn't have to
be. An emotional Sharon exclaimed that she would kill MODOK, and
Cap admitted he had no doubt in his mind of that but suggested he
handle the Outer Circle's Power while Sharon and the other Invaders
dealt with MODOK. Sharon agreed, remarking that they would take
down MODOK for Roger and from afar, Bucky Barnes whispered "for
Roger." After taking down the Power, Captain America spoke, knowing
Bucky Barnes could hear him, noting that Roger Aubrey was dead and
accusing Barnes of playing Aubrey like a pawn. Barnes, remaining stern,
insisted Aubrey had made his own choices and so did Cap based on the
clues Barnes himself had left behind. In the aftermath of the battle,
Sharon picked up Roger's shattered Destroyer mask and revealed how
impressed she had been with Aubrey's actions during the mission, asking
Captain America what the point was of Barnes' recent actions if he
still let a man like Roger Aubrey burn to death. Cap and Sharon then
shared a hug as the other Invaders gathered around Aubrey's corpse. One
week later at a cookout, Nick Fury, Jr. discussed with Sharon Carter
the need for Captain America to receive some sort of care following
Bucky Barnes' recent manipulations and the loss of Roger Aubrey.
(Captain America: Cold War Alpha - BTS) - When the heroic Nomad met
his father Captain America for dinner, Nomad admitted his worry for
Captain America after Bucky Barnes departed and Roger Aubrey died.
Later, after Nomad was captured by Peggy Carter, who appeared to be
acting as an agent of Barnes, Sharon Carter informed Misty Knight that
Peggy had apparently gone rogue and gotten Roger Aubrey killed in the
process.
(Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty II#12 - BTS) - The Black Widow
confronted Bucky Barnes in his guise as the Outer Circle's Revolution,
and Barnes claimed that no one was burning by his actions that didn't
deserve it, prompting the Black Widow to remind him about Roger
Aubrey's death. Barnes responded by insisting that he had nothing to do
with Aubrey's death. As the two discussed Barnes' recent actions, Steve
Rogers, Sam Wilson, Misty Knight and Sharon Carter were battling
monsters from Dimension Z in Alaska and when Sharon took down one of
the creatures, she spoke aloud to the deceased Roger Aubrey, asking if
he was seeing her destructive actions as the promise he'd once made in
regards to his codename.
(Captain America: Cold War Omega - BTS) - As Sam Wilson and Sharon
Carter located and confronted Peggy Carter and Bucky Barnes, with
Sharon assuming the identity of Destroyer, Peggy remarked that Roger
Aubrey would be honored to see Sharon taking over the Destroyer
identity.
(Captain America X#750 / 2) - Following Nomad assuming the throne of
Dimension Z and Captain America deciding to stay in Dimension Z to
assist, Captain America emerged from his self-imposed exile to attend
Roger Aubrey's funeral. Regrouping with his then-recent friends, Cap
traveled to England and arrived at the funeral service to see several
of Aubrey's surviving decades-old and modern era friends and allies.
During the service, many of his friends and former teammates spoke
about how great Aubrey was and Sharon Carter spoke about how Aubrey had
destroyed everything that tried to rule his life and tell him what he
couldn't be. Sharon then donned her Destroyer mask and reiterated
Aubrey's own words by saying the Destroyer was not a name but a
promise. Captain America then walked to the podium and revealed Aubrey's
secret love of poetry, reading from a dog-eared page in an old poetry
book Cap had found in Aubrey's study. After Cap read the poem aloud,
Aubrey's coffin was draped in the British flag and carried to the
cemetery by pallbearers Namor, Sharon Carter, the Redacted, Captain
America, Captain Wings and Jim Hammond. At the cemetery, Aubrey was
laid to rest next to his lover Brian Falsworth with a tombstone that
read "Roger Aubrey: A Man of Love and Destroyer of Hate (1919-2023)" (see comments). As the service
concluded and attendees were departing, Peggy Carter remained behind to
put flowers on Aubrey's grave. She was met by Aubrey's Radio Company
friends Pam and John, who offered her an umbrella, stating that there
was no need for a friend of Roger's to go through the rain alone and
inviting her into Radio Company. A short distance away, Bucky Barnes,
having watched Aubrey's service from the shadows, was confronted by
Captain America, who admitted Barnes' decision to remove Nomad from the
Outer Circle's clutches by having him rule Dimension Z made sense. Cap
also assured Barnes that the blame for Aubrey's death no longer rested
on Barnes, as Aubrey had willing sacrificed his own life to save others.
(Love Unlimited Infinity Comic#49 (fb) - BTS) - Upon his death, Roger
Aubrey left a sizable donation for the establishment of a series of
centers designed to help those most in need of inspiration and hope.
(Love Unlimited Infinity Comic#49 - BTS) - Captain America appeared in
New York City at the dedication of the inaugural Roger Aubrey Center.
While speaking to the visitors, Cap revealed how Aubrey had taught him
to never falter and never give in to weakness. Explaining how Aubrey
had lived during a time when living his true self was almost impossible
and yet, Aubrey had done just that, Captain America remarked that
Aubrey's home country of England and the entire world owed a
debt to Roger and Brian Falsworth's love, courage and sacrifices.
Following the dedication, Captain America met with the attending Aaron
Fischer and when Cap mentioned how much the Roger Aubrey Centers could
help those in the LGBTQ community like Fischer, Fischer argued that
Aubrey's Centers weren't even a drop in the bucket when there were
entire states demonizing his community.
(Captain America: Finale#1 - BTS) - Following the destruction of the
Outer Circle, Steve Rogers went for a morning run and as he passed the
New York Public Library, its entrance was draped with banners
recognizing and honoring the fallen Destroyer.
(Thunderbolts V#1 - BTS) - During a battle with the Red Skull, who
commented on Sharon Carter choosing the identity of men he claimed to
have crushed countless times, Sharon Carter blocked the Skull's attack
and exclaimed that both Brian Falsworth and Roger Aubrey said hello.
Comments: Technically created (due to retcon)
by an unidentified writer and Mike Sekowsky. Actually created by Roy
Thomas, Frank Robbins and Frank Springer.
Originally, the Destroyer was a
singular character, Kevin "Keen" Marlow, who fought during the 1940s
but later retcons revealed that the Destroyer identity was actually
shared by both Marlow and Briton Brian Falsworth, the lover of Roger
Aubrey, who assumed the mantle of the Destroyer himself in 1942 after
Brian assumed the mantle of Union Jack from his father. These retcons
place Roger Aubrey as the Destroyer in All-Winners Comics I#6
(September, 1942) despite the original story being written as if it
were "Keen" Marlow. Since Roger took over the Destroyer identity from
Brian Falsworth, he also continued to play along with the ruse that
there was only a single Destroyer and thereby shared the Destroyer
identity with
Marlow much as Brian Falsworth had done. As part of that ruse, one can
assume that, in the reference to the Destroyer being Marlow in
All-Winners Comics I#6 despite it being retconned that it is actually
Roger Aubrey in that story, Roger was merely impersonating
"Keene" Marlow to continue the ruse of there being a single Destroyer to
confuse the Nazis. This would be the only time Roger would be shown to impersonate "Keen" Marlow.
Update 7/1/2024: The
History of the
Marvels#1 establishes that Roger Aubrey used the seemingly "fictitious"
identity of reporter "Keen" Marlow to disguise his true activities in
Germany. This explains why Aubrey is using the Keene Marlow identity in
his first appearance in All-Winners Comics I#6. Presumably, he used
that identity prior to that story in between his taking on the mantle
of Destroyer and that story in All-Winners Comics I#6. He only ever
shown using the identity in that one issue so presumably, he got very
busy with his Destroyer activities following that story that he simply
didn't have time for a dual identity.
Interesting note about the above
mentioned retcon: While the original stories were written (and intended
at the time) as if all of the Golden Age Destroyer stories were the
same character, the later retcon that there were three different
Destroyers active during the 1940s is kind of supported by a line in
the Golden Age Destroyer story in Kid Komics I#6 (1944). In that issue, a Nazi
leader reports back to his bosses that the Destroyer, "der REAL
Destroyer" was there, suggesting that the Nazis had encountered more
than one Destroyer at some point and deduced that some might be doubles or stand-ins.
Perhaps that line was what inspired the later retcons that there were
indeed three different Destroyers ("Keen" Marlowe, Brian Falsworth
& Roger Aubrey) with at least two active (Marlowe and either
Falsworth or Aubrey, depending on the year) at the same time at any
given time during World War II.
Perhaps due to outdated Comics
Code Authority
restrictions or even social culture at the time of his earlier comic
book appearances, Roger Aubrey's homosexuality was not even hinted at
until 2001's Citizen V & the V-Battalion#1 and even
then, it was ONLY hinted at by a off-handed statement thought by Andrea
Sterman, who noted the swapping of heroic identities between Brian
Falsworth and Roger Aubrey sounded "gayer" than it really was. Prior to
that, Brian and Roger had only been referred to as "good friends" and
the like despite there seeming to be some unstated homosexual
undertones. In the flashback to 1953 seen in Citizen V & the
V-Battalion: The Everlasting#1 (2002), it was more blatant when, at the
funeral of Brian Falsworth, Roger becomes angry at some of the other
V-Battalion members and nearly blurts out that his lover had just died
in his arms before stopping himself. It was outright stated and
officially confirmed that Brian and Roger were lovers in the Destroyer
entry in the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Golden Age 2004
(2004).
So, the real reason
that Roger Aubrey's homosexuality wasn't hinted at until 2001 and
confirmed until 2002 is that he is a fictional character, and that he
was not originally written to be homosexual. I am not trying to argue
that Roger is not gay by any stretch of the imagination, just detailing
the history of the character--Snood.
Our own Loki details it best as follows:
When I worked on the Union Jack profiles I came across Roy
Thomas' statement about this, and back in 2014 Paul Cornell sent a writer
working on a paper discussing LGBT (and especially T) representation in comics,
who asked me the same question. So here's what I said
to her:
No, it wasn't in the
Invaders. It was in either
Thunderbolts circa 2000 or a mini-series that spun off from
Thunderbolts,
Citizen V and the V-Battalion (2001). The modern day Roger Aubrey was
reintroduced and it was revealed that he and Brian had been lovers.
This was
definitely made clear in Citizen V, but it might have been mentioned in
Thunderbolts - I'd have to re-check the issues to be sure. Both were by
writer Fabian Nicieza, who, when asked about the reveal, said he was
just confirming
something he felt the Invaders writers had hinted at but been unable to
openly
say back in 1976. However, Roy Thomas subsequently stated that he
hadn't
intended to hint anything like this - he's introduced GLBT characters
since
then, but it wasn't on his mind when he was writing Destroyer and
Union Jack, who he considered just close friends. There is one Invaders issue,
#34, which focuses on the pair somewhat and which was written by Don Glut
instead of Roy, and I know some people cite some of the art in that as evidence
of the creators hinting at them being lovers, but it is unconfirmed and I'd be
surprised if the artist, Allan Kupperberg, who worked with Roy on several other
issues, would have snuck in something so major for Don Glut, a guest writer,
without at least mentioning it to Roy.
Back to current response: In terms of Invaders#34 the
"evidence" cited is literally a single panel (see the image to the right):
Allegedly the way Roger looks at Brian, and the fact the
text says they were "close" friends, are clear hints that they
were a gay couple. Me, I think that's stretching worthy of Mr. Fantastic.
I'll check over the profile and give feedback. Off the top
of my head the handbook entries for the characters make it clear which
Destroyer was which in the Golden Age stories, and the general decision was
that any of the stories that depicted the Destroyer working back in the U.S.A.
were Marlow and the ones set in Europe subsequent to the first U.S. adventure
were Brian and then Roger.
And
then Jacob correctly detailed the information as first hinted and then
confirmed in Citizen V and the V Battalion#1 and Citizen V and the V
Battalion: The Everlasting#1, respectively.
In his Golden Age appearances, the
colors of the Destroyer's costume would sometimes randomly change, as
evident by two different images utilized above (and the one to the left here). For example, when he
first shows up in the All-Winners Comics I#8 story, his trunks are
inexplicably colored pink, and later in that same issue, his face is
colored Caucasian rather than his usually gray mask. Although one could
argue that one, as it occurred moments after a large bomb blast and the
force of the blast could have loosened the Destroyer's face mask. He's
seen with the mask in the next panel though he could have corrected the
issue. It's more likely, however, that it was just a coloring error. In
one panel of USA Comics I#8, his skullcap appears white instead of its
usual red (see image at left).
Despite being referred to as
Captain Krause throughout the story in All-Winners Comics I#9, the
Destroyer (& the narrator) refers to Krause as "Storm" on the last
page of the story. Since Krause's main soldier ally was never
identified, perhaps "Storm" is his name...?
Roger Aubrey's Crusaders group was
created as a counterpart to DC's Freedom Fighters, a group of heroes
formerly owned by Quality Comics. Each of the members of the Crusaders
mirrored a DC / Quality character. For example, Captain Wings=Black
Condor,
Dyna-Mite (Roger Aubrey)=Doll Man, Ghost Girl=Phantom Lady, Tommy
Lightning=The Ray, the Spirit of '76=The Fighting Yank and
Thunderfist=The Human Bomb. In fact, the entire story in Invaders
I#14-15 (1977) was sort of an unofficial DC crossover in the sense that
DC characters of the same group name appeared in Freedom Fighters#7-9
(1977) and each of DC's Crusaders characters mirrored Marvel's Invaders
characters: Americommando=Captain America, Barracuda=Namor the
Sub-Mariner, Fireball=Human Torch, Rusty=Bucky and Sparky=Toro.
It's been established that Roger
Aubrey became Dyna-Mite in early 1942 and by 1942's end (around Fall
going into Winter), he had taken up the mantle of the Destroyer.
However, in Invaders I#14, in which Dyna-Mite & the Crusaders first
meet the Invaders, Captain America makes a reference to the
"Casablanca" movie, a film he claims to have seen "last week."
According to real life facts, "Casablanca" first released in November
1942 with a more wide release occurring in January 1943. So either
Dyna-Mite & the Crusaders didn't meet the Invaders until sometime
between November 1942-January 1943, or the "Casablanca" movie released
nearly a year earlier on Earth-616 than it did in real life reality
(Earth-1218 for you novices)....
On one panel in Thunderbolts I#40,
Roger Aubrey was miscolored to resemble the Thunderbolts' Atlas, with
his hair and eyes colored to match Atlas' (red and red, respectively).
Similarly, Roger Aubrey's hair is mistakenly colored brown in
Thunderbolts I#46 & #48 (where his eyes were also mistakenly
colored brown). His eyes also seemed to be colored brown throughout his
appearances in the New Invaders series but that could easily be written
off as artistic interpretation.
Citizen V & the V-Battalion I#3
suggested Aubrey had an antagonistic past with the original android
Human Torch and it was insinuated that the reason why was well-known
but I could find no issue prior to that where Aubrey and the Torch had
problems with one another.
In New Invaders I#2, the Thin Man
shows the android Human Torch his Infiltrator ship and at one point
shows a bunch of screens showing scenes of the various allies the new
Invaders had made. Roger Aubrey is present on the screen in his
V-Battalion-era Destroyer costume and the Thin Man mentions that Aubrey
was one of the first recruited into the new Invaders' allies. However,
Aubrey's last appearance before that issue (Citizen V & the
V-Battalion: The Everlasting#4) ends with him saying he was tired of
being a Destroyer and he quits the V-Battalion. Apparently, he wasn't
TOO tired of being a Destroyer because he was fairly soon after
recruited into the new Invaders' allies in his Destroyer guise. The
Thin Man introduces him as Roger Aubrey the Destroyer, former head of
the V-Battalion, so his recruitment into the allies of the new Invaders
clearly occurred after he left the V-Battalion so I guess he just
decided to not quite retire the Destroyer identity. Additionally, one
of the screens the Thin Man shows also shows Citizen V and Iron Cross
but Helmut Gruler, the Iron Cross who was with the V-Battalion and who
wore the particular armor shown, was dead at that point. It's unclear
who this Iron Cross is but whoever it was allied with Citizen V and
possibly the V-Battalion. It seems unlikely to be Oskar Mors, who
seemingly died in 1945, as even if he had survived getting hit with the
German V-3, he would be very very old in the modern era plus, as a
Nazi, he probably would not be palling around with Citizen V and aiding
the new Invaders. There was a modern era Iron Cross that debuted in
2010 but it seems unlikely to be that person either due to that Iron
Cross' neo-Nazi alliances. My theory is that the Iron Cross seen on the
screen in New Invaders I#2 (and at Jim Hammond's funeral in New
Invaders I#9, standing behind Captain America) was a new Iron Cross
serving the V-Battalion, having succeeded Helmut Gruler upon Gruler's
death and possibly outfitted with Gruler's own armor. Perhaps it was a
relative of Gruler's or some other form of legacy hero...maybe even
Helmut's daughter Clare, who later wore a variation of Helmut's armor
in the All-New Invaders series before being transformed into a
robot-like form by dormant Inhuman genes. Given that her nickname while
wearing the armor was "the Iron Man of Germany," perhaps it was Clare
wearing Helmut's old armor, which she later modified to appear more
feminine (given the masculine nickname) before eventually transforming
into robot-like form. It being
Clare actually makes logical sense since many of the V-Battalion
members were legacy heroes, the children of WWII era heroes. That being
the case, it would make sense for her to perhaps hang around with
V-Battalion to honor her father and perhaps was given his armor
following his death or something like that, much in the way that Dallas
Riordan briefly became the new Citizen V as part of her own V-Battalion
legacy.
In his New Invaders appearances,
Roger Aubrey was seen alongside a man named Nigel but it was unclear if
Nigel was simply a close friend or if he was a lover. They attended the
Dymhurst Pride festival together but during the fest, Nigel berated
Aubrey for being grumpy despite being surrounded by several single men,
which might suggest Nigel wasn't Aubrey's lover since he was
insinuating Aubrey could meet someone at the fest. Nonetheless, Nigel
was seen by Aubrey's side when Aubrey visited Brian Falsworth's grave
at the end of New Invaders I#5 and was seen next to Aubrey during Jim
Hammond's funeral in New Invaders I#9. So while Nigel suggesting Aubrey
could meet someone at the Pride festival could be a clue that Nigel was
not Aubrey's lover, the fact that he was by Aubrey's side throughout
those appearances seems to suggest that Nigel might have been more than
friends. No definitive answer was given in those issues and during his
Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty II appearances, Roger mentions
Brian Falsworth as the only man he ever loved...
The Marvel Database Wiki states
that Roger Aubrey appears in a photo as the Destroyer in Agents of
Atlas I#3. However, I believe the character the Marvel Database Wiki
thinks is the Destroyer is actually the Golden Age hero known as the
Terror, given the demonic / skull-like face and prominent widow's peak
hairline. While Aubrey DID eventually adopt a costume with a more
demon-like
mask, that was not until much later, closer to the modern era. As for
the Terror, sure, his powers were essentially faded by 1959 when Jimmy
Woo was assembling his FBI team but Jimmy was reviewing an old FBI
photo of the Terror and may not have known the Terror was no longer
active at that time...OR maybe the Terror WAS still active and had only
told She-Hulk that his powers faded "after a year or so" because by the
time he met She-Hulk, he was elderly and could have been misremembering
the exact time frame his powers disappeared. He was also an amnesiac
when he first became the Terror so perhaps due to that affliction, he
may have ongoing memory problems. Either that or like I suggested,
Jimmy Woo was simply working off old data because the Terror had not
been seen in awhile by 1959. At any rate, there are a few photos Woo
was reviewing that aren't seen 100% in the Agents of Atlas issue (some, we
only see an arm or part of a body due to other photos covering them
up). I see no reason why one of those partially obscured photos could
not be the Destroyer. Aubrey was still active in 1959, after all, as
part of the V-Battalion.
In winter 1943, the Red Skull used
a Cosmic Cube to conquer Earth. However, soldier Paul Anselm
subsequently used the Cosmic Cube to restore Earth-616 to normal,
diverging the Red Skull-conquered world into Earth-93198. During the
reality restoration, Anselm used the Cosmic Cube to summon numerous
Allied superheroes to battle the Skull in Avengers / Invaders#12, one of
which was Roger Aubrey in his Dyna-Mite identity. The Official Handbook
of the Marvel Universe A to Z TPB Vol. 3 Crusaders entry update text
suggests that some of these heroes summoned by Anselm could be Cosmic
Cube-created facsimiles of the actual heroes. I believe that to be the
case with Dyna-Mite and pretty much all of the Crusaders seen in that
issue for a couple of reasons: 1) The Crusaders disbanded in 1942 and
most of the group lost their special abilities and equipment when Nazi
agent Alfie died, 2) The Spirit of '76 is shown flying in
Avengers / Invaders#12 and he cannot fly and 3) Roger Aubrey took over
the identity of the Destroyer around the middle of 1942 so by winter
1943, he would have no longer been using the identity of Dyna-Mite but
rather, the Destroyer. If anything, the Destroyer seen in
Avengers / Invaders#12 would have been either the real Aubrey, the real
Keen Marlow or another Cosmic Cube-created facsimile, with the Union
Jack present in that scene being Brian Falsworth. Either way, the
Dyna-Mite and Crusaders present there would have been facsimiles
created by the Cube for the reasons described above. One might argue
that it was the Earth-93198 counterpart of Aubrey that was the
Dyna-Mite in that issue but I don't think that works either, for the
same reasons I gave (since Earth-93198 diverged from Earth-616's own
history and I've established why it couldn't be the Earth-616 Aubrey as
Dyna-Mite there). Also, I don't believe the heroes / facsimiles summoned
by Paul Anselm were native to the diverged Earth-93198 reality but
rather, heroes and / or facsimiles summoned from the unaltered,
non-divergent Earth-616. Basically, on Earth-616 (restored to normal by
a Captain America-wielded Cosmic Cube), history played out with the
heroes being present to defeat the Skull whereas in the divergent
Earth-93198, the Skull succeeded in conquering the world and many of
those Golden Age heroes were killed. As such, I've included a mention
of the Avengers / Invaders issue in Aubrey's history with a note to see
this particular comment for an explanation of what exactly had happened.
In Captain America: Sentinel of
Liberty II#9, Roger Aubrey claims he was jealous of Brian Falsworth's
codename of the Destroyer when they first started seeing each other, as
he was dubbed Dyna-Mite. However, that statement doesn't exactly match
up chronologically. Brian and Roger had known each other for years by
the time Brian became the Destroyer and while Roger did had the
nickname
Dyna-Mite, he didn't take it as a codename until he was brainwashed in
1942, also years after he and Brian became friends then lovers. One
might try to
argue that Brian and Roger had been friends for years before becoming
lovers but even that doesn't exactly work because the brainwashing of
Roger as Dyna-Mite lead directly into the events in which Lord
Falsworth and Spitfire bring Roger to Germany and his memory is
restored upon seeing Brian (suggesting the two already had a strong
closeness, which later learn was more than just friends) and by the end
of the
adventure in Germany, Brian had become the new Union Jack and Roger,
the new Destroyer. Roger couldn't have been jealous of the
Destroyer name when he first started seeing Brian because he'd met
Brian years before Brian became the Destroyer. A few modern Handbook
entries (and a few later retcons) mention Brian and Roger being lovers
prior to the two being captured in Nazi Germany (the point in which
Roger was shrunk
down in size to use Dyna-Mite as a codename & Brian first became
the Destroyer). Therefore, Roger
might've been jealous of the Destroyer codename but it couldn't have
been when they
first met or started seeing each other because Brian wasn't using that
name at that point. I'm leaning more towards Aubrey's remarks were
meant to reference the first time he saw Brian after his memory was
restored not the actual first time they'd met or starting seeing each
other. That seems to make more sense, as when Roger first saw Brian
again, he was using the Dyna-Mite codename and Brian was the Destroyer.
In later years, Roger Aubrey wore
glasses when not in costume. While it was never explained in-story, it
seems likely that he had special lenses in his Destroyer costume to
account for the vision issues so that he could still see properly while
in action.
Captain America X#750 (September,
2023) shows Roger Aubrey's funeral and the Love Unlimited Infinity
Comic#49 (May, 2023) shows Captain America dedicating the inaugural
Roger Aubrey Center, the first in a series of centers that Aubrey had
left money aside to found upon his death. Therefore, despite being
published online several months earlier than Captain America X#750
(Roger's funeral), the Love Unlimited Infinity Comic takes place after
Captain America X#750 because it deals with the aftermath of Aubrey's
death
& funeral.
Roger Aubrey's death date of 2023 is topical due
to Marvel's sliding time scale.
Modern stories have established that Montgomery,
Lord Falsworth never truly approved of Roger's relationship with
his son Brian, even to the point of Lord Falsworth not allowing Roger
to take up Brian (and earlier Lord Falsworth's himself)'s identity as
Union Jack following Brian's death. If that's the case, then Lord
Falsworth must have deliberately tried to ignore the fact that Brian
and Roger were lovers, as there are several stories that show Lord
Falsworth aiding both Roger and Brian while only referring to them as
"close friends" rather than lovers and, in most cases, straight up
seeming to be completely unaware that they were lovers. Perhaps the
outdated and probably less-than-accepting, elderly Lord Falsworth
convinced himself that Brian and Roger were only friends in denial of
the fact that his son was gay, to the point that he outright feigned
ignorance of the fact. After all, it was a time period during which
homosexuality was not very accepted in society. That would explain why
Lord Falsworth seemed unaware that Brian was gay at Brian's funeral as
seen in Citizen V & the V-Battalion: The Everlasting#1. Lord
Falsworth mentioned how hard Roger must be taking Brian's death given
their close friendship, prompting Roger to mutter to himself about how
Lord Falsworth had no idea how close they were. Clearly, Lord Falsworth
was somewhat aware of it, as he subsequently prevented Roger was taking
up the mantle of Union Jack following Brian's death and again, it was
established later that Lord Falsworth had never approved of Brian's
relationship with Roger. Perhaps Lord Falsworth had no actual ill will
towards Roger (given that he did help restore his memories & normal
size during the Invaders stories) but just didn't approve of his
homosexual relationship with Brian without ever stating his disapproval
outright, instead outwardly feigning ignorance of Brian's relationship
with Roger. That might also explain why Lord Falsworth declined to
allow Roger to assume the role of Union Jack using the excuse that
Roger should find an identity better suited to him rather than outright
stating his disapproval of Roger. Perhaps Lord Falsworth loved his son
Brian but blinded himself to Brian's homosexuality, allowing Brian to
assume the mantle of Union Jack from him because Brian was his beloved
son but not Roger, who was Brian's homosexual lover.
In New Invaders I#5 and only New Invaders I#5,
Roger displayed the ability to shrink down to a size of 12 inches, an
ability he admitted he rarely used. Whether this was an ability he
developed over time or if it was an ability he had since his time as
the Dyna-Mite remains to be seen...
Though we never saw them interact (for obvious reasons), he's
presumably affiliated with Keen Marlow to some degree - they must have
co-ordinated if only just a little to maintain their pretence of being
a single individual. - Loki
It's feasible that the Destroyer in The Twelve#1 was Marlow rather than
Aubrey, though the latter is more likely. - Loki
According to The
Marvels Project#7, Brian Falsworth only went to Germany in 1941, and as
a spy under the name of Keen Marlow, rather than in 1938 under his own
name as a would-be appeaser. However, this tale was the account given
in the Angel's diary, and that in turn was based on events Angel wasn't
present for and so only pieced together from tales he had heard from
others, so it's the very definition of an unreliable narrator. Notably
Angel's version doesn't explain Roger's presence. It is possible there
is some truth to Angel's account, and perhaps Brian AND Roger went to
Germany in 1938 as spies but under the guise of being appeasers;
however, that then begs the question of why they tried to flee when war
broke out instead of posing as collaborators. I suspect that the real
world reason for this attempt to retcon the timeline was that Marvels
Project writer Ed Brubaker wanted Steve Rogers to be the first person
to take a Super Soldier serum; however, there are others who pre-date
Rogers regardless (cf Protocide). For my money, Brian and Roger went to
Germany in 1938 as appeasers, were arrested when war broke out in
September 1939, and Roger was a victim of Nazi experimentation and
mind-control from 1939/1940 until freed in 1942; if Angel's diary is
considered the more accurate account, then Brian went to Germany as a
spy after war broke out, was captured, gained his powers in 1941, and
though not mentioned presumably the same details hold true for Roger,
making him a Nazi pawn for only a few months. - Loki
I concur with the comment that it's the Terror in the photos in Agents
of Atlas I#3, not the Destroyer. - Loki
In terms of Montgomery not permitting Roger to take up the mantle of
Union Jack, that might have had more to do with Montgomery considering
it a family legacy and Roger wasn't a Falsworth. Yes, Montgomery
eventually let Joe Chapman take up the mantle over his grandson Kenneth
Crichton, but that was decades later when Montgomery had time to
rethink his position, plus Montgomery was barely clinging to life when
that decision was made and so in no position to raise objections. And
once Joe had helped slay Baron Blood, the dying Montgomery would have
recognised Joe had earned the title and hardly be so churlish as to
waste his final moments demanding Joe surrender the costume to someone
who didn't even want it. - Loki
Profile by Proto-Man.
CLARIFICATIONS:
The Destroyer should be distinguished from:
- Destroyer - Asgardian
construct of Odin, intended as final defense against the Celestials,
activated by life force--Journey into Mystery I#118
- Destroyer (Kevin "Keen"
Marlow) - WWII era hero, shared costumed identity first with Brian
Falsworth and later Roger Aubrey--Mystic Comics I#6
- Destroyer - shared costumed identity used by Brian Falsworth during WWII before taking up the mantle of Union Jack--Invaders I#18
- Destroyer (Charles
Stanton) - costumed Soviet spy, smuggled info via submarines, defeated
by Human Torch (Johnny Storm)--Strange Tales I#101
- Destroyer - identity used by Alex Power during a brief period in which he possessed energy abilities--Power Pack I#25
- Destroyer - identity used by Jack Power during a brief period in which he possessed energy abilities--Power Pack I#52
- Destroyer
- Lord of Darkness & Eater of Worlds, demon-like being who visited
Maruthea, taken down by the FPA Death's Head--Doctor Who Magazine I#173
- Destroyer - Outer Circle agent, killed in a blast of antimatter--Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty II#1
- Destroyer (Sharon Carter) - costumed identity used by Sharon Carter in honor of Roger Aubrey--Captain America: Cold War Omega
- Destroyer Darkmass of Earth-1161 - destroyer & remaker of a million realities that empowered the Sentry--Age of Sentry I#6
- Destroyer of Demons - Yoruba tribe, received Sacred Amulet from aged witch doctor--Ghost Rider II#60
- Destroyer of Demons - Yoruba tribe, son of the original--Ghost Rider II#60
- Destroyer of Demons - father of Rev. Joshua Grimly, passed Sacred Amulet on to Joshua--Ghost Rider II#60
- Destroyer of Demons (Joshua
Grimly) - Church of the Living God, encountered Ghost Rider (Blaze)
& sought to stop him until seeing him save innocents--Ghost Rider
II#60
- Destroyer of the Sacred Seven - Spider-Man video game--Amazing Spider-Man Family I#6
- Drax the Destroyer (Arthur Douglas) - human resurrected to destroy Thanos, later joined Infinity Watch & Guardians of the Galaxy--Iron Man I#55
- Shiva the Destroyer (Si Fan Chung) - astronomer transformed by the Nest--Marvel Team-Up I Annual#1
- or any other "Destroyer" characters
images: (without ads)
Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty II#9, front
cover (Destroyer, main image)
Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty II#7, p7, pan5
(unmasked Roger Aubrey headshot, with glasses)
Invaders I#19, p8, pan2 (younger Roger Aubrey in polo outfit)
Invaders I#14, p7, pan1 (Dyna-Mite in the palm of Spirit of '76's hand)
Invaders I#22, p2, pan3 (Dyna-Mite jumping over a boat railing)
Invaders I#26, p10, pan3 (Roger Aubrey's debut as the Destroyer)
Invaders I#34, p15, pan3 (Roger Aubrey holding Destroyer uniform)
Marvels I#1, p44-45, splash page (Destroyer parachuting into Germany
with a gun)
All-Winners Comics I#6, p19, pan6 (Destroyer with bomb satchel)
All-Winners Comics I#6, p20, pan7 (Destroyer leaping over a barbed wire
fence)
All-Winners Comics I#6, p21, pan5 (Destroyer disguised as a Nazi sentry)
All-Winners Comics I#7, p40, pan1 (Destroyer running from explosion)
All-Winners Comics I#7, p42, pan2 (Destroyer in undercover disguise)
All-Winners Comics I#8, p43, pan1 (Destroyer in pink trunks)
All-Winners Comics I#8, p46, pan1 (Destroyer turned to stone)
All-Winners Comics I#8, p50, pan5 (Destroyer without mask)
USA Comics I#9, p18, pan1 (Destroyer disguised as a Nazi gunner)
Avengers / Invaders I#12, p14-15, splash page (Destroyer, headshot,
standing next to Blue Diamond)
Kid Komics I#4, p19, pan3 (Destroyer running down a hallway)
Kid Komics I#4, p20, pan6 (Destroyer posing as Nazi scientist Carl)
All-Winners Comics I#11, p40, pan7 (Destroyer disguised as a Nazi
patrolman)
All-Winners Comics I#11, p42, pan4 (Destroyer pretending to be Hitler
to mess with Nazi patrolmen)
All-Winners Comics I#12, p40, pan6 (Destroyer running across the French
coastline)
Marvel Comics Presents I#156, p9, splash page (Destroyer on the edge of
a rooftop)
Kid Komics I#6, p20, pan3 (Destroyer wrangling Nazis)
Kid Komics I#6, p22, pan6 (Destroyer disguised as a factory worker)
Marvel's Voices: Pride I#1, p1, splash page (Destroyer running into
action)
The Twelve I#1, p1, splash page (Destroyer punching a Nazi)
History of the Marvel Universe II#2, p13, pan2 (Destroyer leaping with
guns)
Citizen V & the V-Battalion: The Everlasting#1, p1, splash page
(Roger Aubrey on crutches circa 1953)
Citizen V & the V-Battalion: The Everlasting#2, p3, pan5 (Aubrey in
V-Battalion uniform circa 1971)
Citizen V & the V-Battalion: The Everlasting#3, p2, pan1 (Aubrey
circa 1981)
Thunderbolts I#40, p7, pan2 (Roger Aubrey in V-Battalion Penance
Council uniform)
Thunderbolts I#40, p21, pan2 (Roger Aubrey in modern era Destroyer
costume)
Thunderbolts I#42, p17, pan2 (Roger Aubrey, headshot in suit)
Thunderbolts I#46, p10, pan6 (Roger Aubrey with brown hair)
Thunderbolts I#49, p17, pan4 (Roger Aubrey leading the V-Battalion
Penance Council)
Citizen V & the V-Battalion I#2, front cover (Roger Aubrey's dual
identities as head of the V-Battalion Penance Council & the
Destroyer)
Citizen V & the V-Battalion I#2, p1, splash page (Roger Aubrey,
full body image in V-Battalion uniform)
Citizen V & the V-Battalion: The Everlasting#1, p16, pan1 (Roger
Aubrey in an alternate V-Battalion Penance Council uniform)
Citizen V & the V-Battalion: The Everlasting#3, p6, pan5 (Roger
Aubrey, nearly full body image in alternate Penance Council uniform)
Citizen V & the V-Battalion: The Everlasting#4, p14, pan4 (Roger
Aubrey's soul form)
New Invaders I#4, p5, pan2 (Roger Aubrey in Destroyer sweatshirt)
New Invaders I#5, p10, pan4 (Roger Aubrey geared up)
Fallen Son: The Death of Captain America-Iron Man, p10, pan3 (Roger
Aubrey at Captain America's funeral)
All-New Invaders I#10, p18, pan2 (Roger Aubrey in modern Destroyer
costume saying "My Goodness.")
All-New Invaders I#12, p17, pan1 (Aubrey headshot in modern Destroyer
costume)
Fantastic Four V#643, p2-3, pan1 (Destroyer battling interdimensional
monsters)
Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty II#1, p11, pan1 (Roger Aubrey in
robe)
Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty II#2, p2-3, pan3 (Roger Aubrey as
Radio Two)
Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty II#7, p7, pan2 (Roger Aubrey in
civilian clothes)
Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty II#8, p20,
splash page (Destroyer, back in original costume)
Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty II#9, Ron Lim variant cover
(Destroyer among the Invaders)
Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty II#10, p20, pan1 (death)
USA Comics I#8, p16, pan2 (Destroyer with white skullcap)
Appearances:
All Winners Comics I#6 (September, 1942) - "The Stone-Man Slayer!"
story - uncredited writer, Mike Sekowsky (art), Stan Lee (editor)
All Winners Comics I#7 (December, 1942) - "Strike Hard!" story -
uncredited writer, Mort Leav (art), Stan Lee (editor)
All Winners Comics I#8 (March, 1943) - "Spawn of the Devil!" story -
uncredited writer, Mort Leav (art), Stan Lee (editor)
USA
Comics I#8 (May, 1943) - "Death Strikes Back" story - uncredited
writer, Bob Oksner (pencils), Allen Bellman (inks), uncredited editor
All Winners Comics I#9 (June, 1943) - "The Flight from Peril" story -
Mickey Spillane (writer), Bob Oksner (art), Vince Fago (editor)
USA Comics I#9 (July, 1943) - "Death-Rides the Rails!" story - Mickey
Spillane (writer), uncredited artist & editor
All Winners Comics I#11 (December, 1943) - "The Real Hitler Inside"
story - uncredited writer, Fred Bell (art), Vince Fago (editor)
Kid Komics I#4 (1944) - "The Wings of Death" story - uncredited writer,
artist & editor
USA Comics I#11 (January, 1944) - "The Commandos Strike!" story -
uncredited writer, artist & editor
All
Winners Comics I#12 (March, 1944) - "The Beachhead Blitz!" story - Otto
Binder (writer), Don Rico (pencils), Fred Bell (inks), uncredited editor
Kid Komics I#5 (1944) - "The Phantom Invaders" story - uncredited
writer, artist & editor
Kid Komics I#6 (1944) - "The Dealers of Hate!" story - uncredited
writer, Allen Bellman (art), uncredited editor
Invaders I#14 (March, 1977) - Roy Thomas (writer, editor), Frank
Robbins, Frank Springer (art)
Invaders I#15 (April, 1977) - Roy Thomas (writer, editor), Frank
Robbins, Frank Springer (art)
Invaders I#18 (July, 1977) - Roy Thomas (writer, editor), Frank
Robbins, Frank Springer (art)
Invaders I#19 (August, 1977) - Roy Thomas (writer, editor), Frank
Robbins, Frank Springer (art)
Invaders I#20 (September, 1977) - Roy Thomas (writer, editor), Frank
Robbins, Frank Springer (art)
Invaders I#21 (October, 1977) - Roy Thomas (writer, editor), Frank
Robbins, Frank Springer (art)
Invaders I#22 (November, 1977) - Roy Thomas (writer, editor), Jim
Mooney, Frank Springer (art)
Invaders I#23 (December, 1977) - Roy Thomas (writer, editor), Frank
Robbins, Frank Springer (art)
Invaders I#26 (March, 1978) - Roy Thomas (writer, editor), Frank
Robbins, Frank Springer (art)
Invaders I#34 (November, 1978) - Don Glut (writer), Alan Kupperberg,
Frank Springer (art), Roy Thomas (concept, editor)
Marvels I#1 (January, 1994) - Kurt Busiek (writer), Alex Ross (art),
Marcus McLaurin (editor)
Marvel
Comics Presents I#156 (Early June, 1994) - "Der Zerstorer in Eins
Nacht" story - Dan Slott (writer), James Fry (pencils), Mark Badger
(inks), Richard Ashford (editor)
Midnight Sons Unlimited I#9 (May, 1995) - "The Blazing Skull & the
Spearheads of Vengeance" story - Dan Slott (writer), James W. Fry III
(pencils), Andrew Pepoy (inks), Evan Skolnick (editor)
Thunderbolts I#35 (February, 2000) - Fabian Nicieza (writer), Mark
Bagley (pencils), Greg Adams (inks), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Thunderbolts I#38 (May, 2000) - Fabian Nicieza (writer), Mark Bagley
(pencils), Scott Hanna (inks), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Thunderbolts I#39 (June, 2000) - Fabian Nicieza (writer), Mark Bagley
(pencils), Scott Hanna (inks), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Thunderbolts I#40 (July, 2000) - Fabian Nicieza (writer), Mark Bagley
(pencils), Scott Hanna (inks), Tom Brevoort (editor)
The History of the Marvels#1 (July, 2000) - Tom Brevoort (writer), John "JG" Roshell (designer), Matt Hicks (editor)
Thunderbolts I#41 (August, 2000) - Fabian Nicieza (writer), Mark Bagley
(pencils), Greg Adams (inks), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Thunderbolts I#42 (September, 2000) - Fabian Nicieza (writer), Mark
Bagley (pencils), Al Milgrom (inks), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Thunderbolts
I#45 (December, 2000) - Fabian Nicieza (writer), Patrick Zircher
(pencils), Walden Wong (inks), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Thunderbolts I#46 (January, 2001) - Fabian Nicieza (writer), Mark
Bagley (pencils), Greg Adams (inks), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Thunderbolts I#47 (February, 2001) - Fabian Nicieza (writer), Mark
Bagley (pencils), Greg Adams, Scott Hanna (inks), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Thunderbolts
I#48 (March, 2001) - Fabian Nicieza (writer), Mark Bagley (pencils),
Greg Adams, Mark McKenna (inks), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Thunderbolts I#49 (April, 2001) - Fabian Nicieza (writer), Patrick
Zircher (pencils), Al Vey (inks), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Thunderbolts I#50 (May, 2001) - Fabian Nicieza (writer), Mark Bagley
(pencils), Greg Adams, Al Vey, Scott Hanna (inks), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Thunderbolts I#51 (June, 2001) - Fabian Nicieza (writer), Patrick
Zircher (pencils), Al Vey (inks), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Citizen V & the V-Battalion#1 (June, 2001) -
Fabian Nicieza (writer), Michael Ryan (pencils), Sean Parsons (inks),
Tom Brevoort (editor)
Citizen V & the V-Battalion#2 (July, 2001) - Fabian
Nicieza (writer), Michael Ryan (pencils), Sean Parsons (inks), Tom
Brevoort (editor)
Citizen
V & the V-Battalion#3 (August, 2001) - Fabian Nicieza (writer),
Michael Ryan (pencils), Sean Parsons (inks), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Thunderbolts I#57 (December, 2001) - Fabian Nicieza (writer), Patrick
Zircher (pencils), Al Vey (inks), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Thunderbolts I#58 (January, 2002) - Fabian Nicieza (writer), Patrick
Zircher (pencils), Al Vey, Adams, Perrota (inks), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Thunderbolts I#60 (March, 2002) - Fabian Nicieza (writer), Patrick
Zircher (pencils), Al Vey (inks), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Citizen
V & the V-Battalion: The Everlasting#1 (March, 2002) - Fabian
Nicieza (writer), Lewis LaRosa (pencils), Jim Royal (inks), Tom
Brevoort (editor)
Citizen V & the V-Battalion: The Everlasting#2 (May, 2002) - Fabian
Nicieza (writer), Lewis LaRosa (pencils), Jim Royal, Scott Koblish,
UDON Studios (inks), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Citizen
V & the V-Battalion: The Everlasting#3 (June, 2002) - Fabian
Nicieza (writer), Lewis LaRosa (pencils), UDON Studios (inks, colors),
Tom Brevoort (editor)
Citizen V & the V-Battalion: The Everlasting#4 (July, 2002) -
Fabian Nicieza (writer), Klebs Junior (pencils), UDON Studios (inks,
colors), Tom Brevoort (editor)
X-Men: The Chaos Engine, Book
3: Red Skull (December, 2002) - Steven A. Roman (writer), Mark Buckingham (frontispiece), Dwight Jon Zimmerman (editor)
New Invaders I#2 (November, 2004) - Allan Jacobsen (writer), C.P. Smith
(art), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Golden
Age
2004 (2004) - Ronald Byrd, Michael Hoskin (writers), Mike Sekowsky
(Destroyer entry art), Pondscum (art
reconstruction), Jeff Youngquist (editor)
New Invaders I#4 (January, 2005) - Allan Jacobsen (writer), C.P. Smith
(art), Andy Schmidt (editor)
New Invaders I#5 (February, 2005) - Allan Jacobsen (writer), C.P. Smith
(art), Andy Schmidt (editor)
New Invaders I#9 (June, 2005) - Allan Jacobsen (writer), C.P. Smith
(art), Andy Schmidt (editor)
Agents of Atlas I#3 (December, 2006) - Jeff Parker (writer), Leonard
Kirk (pencils), Kris Justice (inks), Mark Paniccia (editor)
Fallen
Son: The Death of Captain America - Iron Man (August, 2007) - Jeph Loeb
(writer), John Cassaday (art), Bill Rosemann (editor)
The
Twelve I#1 (March, 2008) - J. Michael Straczynski (writer), Chris
Weston (pencils), Garry Leach (inks), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Official
Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z HC Vol. 3 (2008)
- Jeff Christiansen (head writer, coordinator), Mike Fichera (writer,
art refurbishment, coordination assistant), Madison Carter, Stuart
Vandal (writers, coordination assistants), David Wiltfong (writer, art
refurbishment), Sean McQuaid, Ronald Byrd, Michael Hoskin, Eric J.
Moreels, Mark O'English, Al Sjoerdsma, Chad Anderson, Chris Biggs,
Jacob Rougemont, Rich Green, Gabe Shechter (writers), David Sexton,
Bill Lentz, Barry Reese, Jonathan Couper-Smartt, Anthony Flamini (past
writers), Mike Sekowsky, John Forte, Alan Kupperberg, Frank Robbins
(Destroyer (Marlowe / Aubrey) entry art), Abe Waranowitz (art
refurbishment), Pond Scum (art reconstruction), Jeff Youngquist,
Jennifer Grunwald (editors)
Avengers / Invaders
I#12 (August, 2009) - Alex Ross (plot), Jim Krueger (plot, script),
Steve Sadowski, Jack Herbert (art), Stephen Wacker (editor)
The Twelve: Spearhead#1 (May, 2010) - Chris Weston (writer, pencils,
inks), Gary Erskine (inks), Tom Brevoort (editor)
All-New Invaders I#10 (November, 2014) - James Robinson (writer), Steve
Pugh (art), Mark Paniccia (editor)
All-New
Invaders I#12 (January, 2015) - James Robinson (writer), Barry Kitson
(pencils), Marc Laming (pencils, inks), P. Craig Russell (inks), Mark
Paniccia (editor)
All-New Invaders I#15 (April, 2015) - James Robinson (writer), Steve
Pugh (art), Mark Paniccia (editor)
Fantastic Four V#643 (April, 2015) - James Robinson (writer), Leonard
Kirk (pencils), Karl Kesel (inks), Mark Paniccia (editor)
History of the Marvel Universe II#2 (October, 2019) - Mark Waid
(writer), Javier Rodriguez (pencils, colors), Alvaro Lopez (inks), Tom
Brevoort (editor)
Sub-Mariner: Marvels Snapshots#1 (May, 2020) - Alan Brennert (writer),
Jerry Ordway (art), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Marvel's Voices: Pride I#1 (August, 2021) - "Introduction" story -
Luciano Vecchio (writer, art), Sarah Brunstad (editor)
Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty II#1 (August, 2022) - Jackson
Lanzing, Collin Kelly (writers), Carmen Carnero (art), Alanna Smith
(editor)
Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty II#2 (September, 2022) - Jackson
Lanzing, Collin Kelly (writers), Carmen Carnero (art), Alanna Smith
(editor)
Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty II#7 (February, 2023) - Jackson
Lanzing, Collin Kelly (writers), Carmen Carnero (art), Alanna Smith
(editor)
Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty II#8 (March, 2023) - Jackson
Lanzing, Collin Kelly (writers), Carmen Carnero (art), Alanna Smith
(editor)
Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty II#9 (April, 2023) - Jackson
Lanzing, Collin Kelly (writers), Carmen Carnero (art), Alanna Smith
(editor)
Captain
America: Sentinel of Liberty II#10 (May, 2023) - Jackson Lanzing,
Collin Kelly (writers), Carmen Carnero (art), Alanna Smith (editor)
Love Unlimited Infinity Comic I#49 (May, 2023) - Josh Trujillo
(writer), Cara McGee (art), Alanna Smith (editor)
Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty II#11 (June, 2023) - Jackson
Lanzing, Collin Kelly (writers), Carmen Carnero (art), Alanna Smith
(editor)
Captain America: Cold War Alpha (June, 2023) - Jackson Lanzing, Collin
Kelly, Tochi Onyebuchi (writers), Carlos Magno (art), Alanna Smith
(editor)
Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty II#12 (July, 2023) - Jackson
Lanzing, Collin Kelly (writers), Alina Erofeeva (art), Alanna Smith
(editor)
Captain America: Cold War Omega (August, 2023) - Jackson Lanzing,
Collin Kelly, Tochi Onyebuchi (writers), Carlos Magno (art), Alanna
Smith (editor)
Captain America X#750 (September, 2023) - "Nothing But a Fight" story -
Jackson Lanzing, Collin Kelly (writers), Carmen Carnero (art), Alanna
Smith (editor)
Captain America: Finale#1 (October, 2023) - Jackson Lanzing, Collin
Kelly (writers), Carmen Carnero (art), Alanna Smith (editor)
Thunderbolts V#1 (February, 2024) - Jackson Lanzing, Collin Kelly
(writers), Geraldo Borges (art), Alanna Smith (editor)
First posted: 06/04/2024
Last updated: 07/07/2024
Any Additions / Corrections? please let
me know.
Non-Marvel Copyright info
All other characters mentioned or pictured are ™ and
© 1941-2099 Marvel Characters, Inc. All Rights Reserved. If you
like this stuff, you should check out the real thing!
Please visit The Marvel Official Site at: http: / / www.marvel.com
Special Thanks to
www.g-mart.com for hosting the Appendix, Master List, etc.!
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