Asgard’s Greatest Living Weapon Suffered A Humiliating Fate To Thor

Warning! This article contains spoilers for Avengers #51

While Thor has proven time and again that he is the strongest entity of Asgard in Marvel Comics, the enchanted armor known as the Destroyer was proven to be the greatest living weapon of that realm upon its first introduction. Now, however, it has suffered a humiliating fate. The Destroyer is powerful enough to battle Celestials and has been used by Loki to battle Thor on more than one occasion, even appearing as a boss fight in the Marvel Cinematic Universe film, Thor. In the Destroyer’s latest comic appearance, however, it is nothing more than a shell of its former glory. 

In Avengers #51 by Jason Aaron and Juan Frigeri, Thor is reeling from the revelation that his true mother is the Phoenix Force, and Iron Man is trying to talk him through his struggle. While working through the inner turmoil, Thor worked on his boxing skills by unleashing fury upon a unique kind of punching bag. That punching bag Thor was using was none other than the lifeless form of the Destroyer. 

The Destroyer is an all-powerful being that has the energy of a god. It is made from an enchanted metal said to be even stronger than Uru, the metal used to forge Mjolnir. Now, the Destroyer is nothing more than Thor’s punching bag as it takes blow after blow from the angry god-king with no greater purpose than to feel the wrath of his own rage. The humiliating fate of the Destroyer by the hands of Thor is even more shocking, considering how the Destroyer was the only thing that saved Thor from having his very life stolen from him. 

In an earlier Thor storyline, Thor noticed there was something wrong with Mjolnir’s worthiness enchantment so he switched places with his counterpart, Donald Blake, to investigate the matter further. Blake, however, went mad with power and sought to take over not only Thor’s life, but all of Asgard. When all hope seemed lost, Thor transferred his consciousness into the Destroyer and was able to defeat Blake and return to the life he almost lost. 

The Destroyer was the only thing Thor could count on to stop Blake, and now he is using it as a punching bag, showing no respect for the raw power of the enchanted armor. While Thor and the Destroyer have had good relations in the past, there also may be some resentment there that could have led to the armor’s new purpose on Asgard. Loki has used the Destroyer time and again in his efforts to defeat Thor, and just as many times came way too close to doing so because of the Destroyer’s near unparalleled power. Maybe Thor using the Destroyer as a punching bag is cathartic in a way as he is pulverizing a weapon that has almost ended his life on more than one occasion. Whether it’s due to deliberate retribution or complete indifference, Thor sentenced the Destroyer, Asgard’s greatest living weapon, to a humiliating fate.

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