Who Killed Drax’s Family? (Comics & MCU)

Drax the Destroyer is the character that gained recognition with a wider audience when he debuted on the big screen in the original Guardians of the Galaxy movie in 2014. Played by Dave Bautista, Drax became a vital Guardians of the Galaxy member and a fan-favorite character. However, the story of MCU’s Drax is quite different than the one in the comics, although there are some common points, like the murder of his family. In this article, we will examine that, and let’s start by answering who killed Drax’s family in the comics and the MCU.

In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Drax’s wife, Ovette, and daughter Kamaria were killed by Ronan the Accuser when he invaded their planet Kylos on Thanos’ orders. However, Drax the Destroyer was an Earthling previously known as Arthur Douglas in the comics. His family car was attacked by Thanos’ spaceship. His wife, Ovette, died in a crash, but his daughter, who is called Heather in the comics, survived and was adopted by Mentor, Thanos’ father. She was trained and raised on Titan to become Moondragon eventually.

Although he was a vital Guardians of the Galaxy member, Drax was always a supporting character in the MCU movies he appeared in. His character arc was built on his desire for vengeance against Ronan the Accuser, the main villain of the original Guardians of the Galaxy movie. Following Ronan’s defeat, Drax said his next goal was to kill Thanos, but he didn’t have any vital role in defeating the Mad Titan apart from the fact that he was present during the Battle on Titan and the Battle of Earth. Drax’s story in the comics, however, is quite different, and we will tell you how in the following paragraphs.

How did Drax lose his family?

Guardians of the Galaxy weren’t known to the fans unfamiliar with the source material before debuting on the silver screen in 2014. Today we have James Gunn to thank for introducing us to one of the most beloved MCU teams. Of course, when you’re making a movie adaptation, some changes need to be made to adjust the story and characters to the live-action adaptation. Drax’s story has endured numerous changes compared to the source material.

We have never seen with our own eyes how Drax lost his family in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. We only know that this incarnation of Drax met his wife, Ovette, at a war rally, and they eventually had a daughter Kamaria on the planet Kylos. In the original Guardians of the Galaxy movie, we meet Drax as one of the prisoners at Kyln.

Long before the movie’s events, Thanos ordered Ronan the Accuser to invade Kylos and kill half of its population. Both Ovette and Kamaria were killed, while Drax survived. The only detail we know is that Ronan laughed after Ovette and Kamaria’s murder, while Drax decided to go on a killing spree, seeking vengeance, which eventually brought him to Kyln, where he met other members of what would eventually become the Guardians of the Galaxy team.

However, Drax’s origin story is very different from the source material. He was born on Earth as Arthur Douglas in Burbank, California. Arthur was a real estate agent and a regular family man with his wife Ovette and daughter Heather until Thanos’ spaceship landed on Earth. Wishing to keep his existence a secret from humans, Thanos destroys Arthur’s car. Mentor, Thanos’ father, saw what happened and discovered that Heather survived the crash, so he took her to Titan to be raised.

Realizing that his son’s threat can no longer be ignored, Mentor and his father, Kronos, created a humanoid body of Earth’s soil. Arthur’s consciousness was transferred into that new body, creating the Destroyer, a sworn nemesis of Thanos. Mentor blocked all the memories of Arthur’s old life and installed only hatred towards Thanos inside his mind. Drax’s sole purpose was to destroy Thanos, but after he failed to prevent him from obtaining a Cosmic Cube, Drax asked Avengers for help.

Drax is a much more powerful being than his live-action incarnation, created by the Mad Titan’s father and grandfather to destroy the Mad Titan. While his live-action incarnation is also driven by hatred towards Thanos and a wish for revenge, the live-action Drax was written as a supporting member of the team and the occasional comic relief, which didn’t sit well with some fans of the source material.

Jim Starlin created Drax the Destroyer, and the character first appeared in The Invincible Iron Man #55 in February 1973. The original version of the character looked very much different from his modern-day look, on which his look in the Marvel Cinematic Universe was based. Dave Bautista has been playing Drax the Destroyer in the MCU since 2014. Bautista announced his retirement after the release of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, which is now playing in theaters worldwide.