The Destroyer in the 1940s
Posted: Mon May 03, 2021 2:16 pm
Several Golden Age appearances of the Destroyer are currently incorrectly listed under Brian Falsworth or Roger Aubrey, rather than under Keen Marlow, who does not even have a character list.
Keen Marlow's first appearance as the Destroyer was in Mystic Comics #6 (1941). When Brian Falsworth first appeared as the Destroyer in The Invaders #18 (1977), he implied to Captain America that "Keen Marlow" was a fictitious identity he had adopted, and the Angel's narration in The Marvels Project #7 follows this. However, The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Golden Age (2004) and The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A–Z (2009–10) confirm that there were two Destroyers: the American Marlow and the British Falsworth, both of whom received a variant super-soldier serum from Eric Schmitt. They agreed to maintain the same identity to sow confusion among their enemies.
The entry for Destroyer in OHotMU A–Z #3 says that Falsworth "acquired a variant sample of Schmitt's formula from a fellow prisoner", but Union Jack's entry in OHotMU A–Z #12 states that Falsworth, Marlow and Schmitt were all imprisoned together: the fellow prisoner was Schmitt himself. This means that Falsworth was present off-panel when Marlow received the serum in Mystic Comics #6, while Marlow was likewise present off-panel when Falsworth received it in Marvels Project #7. OHotMU A–Z #12 suggests that Falsworth and Marlow started out as the Destroyer simultaneously, but #3 says that Falsworth only took on the identity for the first time during Marlow's absence in England following the events of All Winners Comics #3. Falsworth gave up the identity on becoming the second Union Jack in Invaders #19, and Roger Aubrey stepped into Falsworth's bucket boots to become the third Destroyer in Invaders #26.
OHotMU A–Z #12 gives Mystic Comics #8 as the first appearance of Falsworth as Destroyer, but he only actually appears on the cover fighting the Terror Den goblins; the second story inside with the Destroyer battling von Maus the Manhunter is confirmed as an appearance of Marlow.
OHotMU A–Z #3 describes which of the other Golden Age appearances were Marlow and which were Aubrey. In the listings below I've added a short description to aid identification with the narrative in OHotMU A–Z. Several appearances of Marlow are not described there, but can be identified as such either due to the presence of his girlfriend Florence von Banger or by being set in the Pacific; Aubrey remained in Europe for the duration of the war.
All Winners Comics #6 is listed twice: OHotMU A–Z #3 confirms that it was Aubrey who fought the Stone Man, but Marlow also briefly appears in his own identity as a reporter.
DESTROYER I/Kevin "Keen" Marlow/"Louis Kramer"
{MYSC 6} ~ M/PROJECT 7-BTS - given serum by Eric Schmitt
ALLWC 2/3 - Herman Berg
MYSC 6/2 - The Scar
MYSC 7
ALLWC 3/5 - Dr Dragon
MYSC 8/3 - von Maus the Manhunter
ALLWC 4/5
MYSC 9
ALLWC 5/7 - Inga von Leche
MYSC 10
ALLWC 6/2
USAC 6/3 - Brander
USAC 10/2 - Frank Craben
ALLWC 10/5 - Frank Piraud
USAC 13/2 - Jerry Crane
MYSC2 1/3 - Juggernaut
AMAZINGC 1/4 - The Face
MYSC2 2/4 - Mount Fuji
USAC 14/4
MYSC2 3/4 - Mother Ting
CMPLTC 2/3
ALLSC 6/3 - Captain Suicide
MYSC2 4/2 - Los Angeles
DARC 11/3
USAC 16/2 - Bloody Baron
KIDK 9/3 - robot planes
USAC 17/4 - Pineapple Gang
DARC 12/5 - Numbers Bellman
KIDK 10/2 - Ken Houdin
ALLSC 10/3 - Rocky Scarpulla
OHotMU A–Z #3 says that "Marlow's subsequent postwar activities remain unrecorded, his ultimate fate a mystery to this day." He appears as an old man in Destroyer #1–5 (2009).
DESTROYER II/Brian Falsworth/"Keen Marlow"
INV 19-FB
M/PROJECT 7 ~ MYSC 6-BTS - given serum by Eric Schmitt
MYSC 6/2
ALLWC 2/3
MYSC 7
{MYSC 8/cover} - Terror Den goblins
USAC70A
ALLWC 3/5
M/PROJECT 7
MYSC 8/3
ALLWC 4/5
MYSC 9
INV 18
INV 19 (1-15)
INV 21-FB
See Union Jack II
I've left USA Comics 70th Anniversary Special as an appearance of Falsworth, but it could just as easily be Marlow. One German soldier says the Destroyer is American, while another tells him he is British – their confusion tactic was working.
DESTROYER III/Roger Aubrey (does he ever use the Marlow name?)
From Dyna-Mite
INV 26 - assumes Destroyer identity
INV 34 - Master Man
MYSC 10
ALLWC 5/7
ALLWC 6/3 - Sculpture
ALLWC 7/5 - Switzerland
ALLWC 8/5 - Madam Satan
USAC 8/2 - chemically simulated deaths
ALLWC 9/5 - Gloria Delacroix
USAC 9/2 - Louis Frankel
KIDK 4/2 - force field machine
ALLWC 11/5 - Hitler clones
USAC 11/2 - British commandos
ALLWC 12/5 - French resistance
M/CP 156/2 <--moved here
KIDK 6/2 - giant magnet
MSU 9
TWELVE:SH
TWELVE 1
M/CP 156/2
CV 1-FB
...etc.
Some appearances could be of either Marlow or Aubrey. USA Comics #12/2 and Kid Komics #5/2 are both set in Berlin, and were both published before Marlow left Europe as described in Mystic Comics vol 2 #1.
Marvel Comics Presents #156/2 is mostly in German, but when the Destroyer does speak in English I get the impression it's with an English accent, so I've left it under Aubrey. I've moved its placement earlier, though, as it seems to fit more with the heavy RAF bombing raids on Berlin in early 1944 than with the final stages of the Battle of Berlin as shown in Twelve.
I would have thought the final page of Marvels #1 would be sometime after the invasion of Germany from the west in Spring 1945, which would mean this is an appearance of Aubrey, but other characters' listings seem to place it much earlier in the war, which means it could be Marlow. Is there a previous thread that discusses this placement?
Keen Marlow's first appearance as the Destroyer was in Mystic Comics #6 (1941). When Brian Falsworth first appeared as the Destroyer in The Invaders #18 (1977), he implied to Captain America that "Keen Marlow" was a fictitious identity he had adopted, and the Angel's narration in The Marvels Project #7 follows this. However, The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Golden Age (2004) and The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A–Z (2009–10) confirm that there were two Destroyers: the American Marlow and the British Falsworth, both of whom received a variant super-soldier serum from Eric Schmitt. They agreed to maintain the same identity to sow confusion among their enemies.
The entry for Destroyer in OHotMU A–Z #3 says that Falsworth "acquired a variant sample of Schmitt's formula from a fellow prisoner", but Union Jack's entry in OHotMU A–Z #12 states that Falsworth, Marlow and Schmitt were all imprisoned together: the fellow prisoner was Schmitt himself. This means that Falsworth was present off-panel when Marlow received the serum in Mystic Comics #6, while Marlow was likewise present off-panel when Falsworth received it in Marvels Project #7. OHotMU A–Z #12 suggests that Falsworth and Marlow started out as the Destroyer simultaneously, but #3 says that Falsworth only took on the identity for the first time during Marlow's absence in England following the events of All Winners Comics #3. Falsworth gave up the identity on becoming the second Union Jack in Invaders #19, and Roger Aubrey stepped into Falsworth's bucket boots to become the third Destroyer in Invaders #26.
OHotMU A–Z #12 gives Mystic Comics #8 as the first appearance of Falsworth as Destroyer, but he only actually appears on the cover fighting the Terror Den goblins; the second story inside with the Destroyer battling von Maus the Manhunter is confirmed as an appearance of Marlow.
OHotMU A–Z #3 describes which of the other Golden Age appearances were Marlow and which were Aubrey. In the listings below I've added a short description to aid identification with the narrative in OHotMU A–Z. Several appearances of Marlow are not described there, but can be identified as such either due to the presence of his girlfriend Florence von Banger or by being set in the Pacific; Aubrey remained in Europe for the duration of the war.
All Winners Comics #6 is listed twice: OHotMU A–Z #3 confirms that it was Aubrey who fought the Stone Man, but Marlow also briefly appears in his own identity as a reporter.
DESTROYER I/Kevin "Keen" Marlow/"Louis Kramer"
{MYSC 6} ~ M/PROJECT 7-BTS - given serum by Eric Schmitt
ALLWC 2/3 - Herman Berg
MYSC 6/2 - The Scar
MYSC 7
ALLWC 3/5 - Dr Dragon
MYSC 8/3 - von Maus the Manhunter
ALLWC 4/5
MYSC 9
ALLWC 5/7 - Inga von Leche
MYSC 10
ALLWC 6/2
USAC 6/3 - Brander
USAC 10/2 - Frank Craben
ALLWC 10/5 - Frank Piraud
USAC 13/2 - Jerry Crane
MYSC2 1/3 - Juggernaut
AMAZINGC 1/4 - The Face
MYSC2 2/4 - Mount Fuji
USAC 14/4
MYSC2 3/4 - Mother Ting
CMPLTC 2/3
ALLSC 6/3 - Captain Suicide
MYSC2 4/2 - Los Angeles
DARC 11/3
USAC 16/2 - Bloody Baron
KIDK 9/3 - robot planes
USAC 17/4 - Pineapple Gang
DARC 12/5 - Numbers Bellman
KIDK 10/2 - Ken Houdin
ALLSC 10/3 - Rocky Scarpulla
OHotMU A–Z #3 says that "Marlow's subsequent postwar activities remain unrecorded, his ultimate fate a mystery to this day." He appears as an old man in Destroyer #1–5 (2009).
DESTROYER II/Brian Falsworth/"Keen Marlow"
INV 19-FB
M/PROJECT 7 ~ MYSC 6-BTS - given serum by Eric Schmitt
MYSC 6/2
ALLWC 2/3
MYSC 7
{MYSC 8/cover} - Terror Den goblins
USAC70A
ALLWC 3/5
M/PROJECT 7
MYSC 8/3
ALLWC 4/5
MYSC 9
INV 18
INV 19 (1-15)
INV 21-FB
See Union Jack II
I've left USA Comics 70th Anniversary Special as an appearance of Falsworth, but it could just as easily be Marlow. One German soldier says the Destroyer is American, while another tells him he is British – their confusion tactic was working.
DESTROYER III/Roger Aubrey (does he ever use the Marlow name?)
From Dyna-Mite
INV 26 - assumes Destroyer identity
INV 34 - Master Man
MYSC 10
ALLWC 5/7
ALLWC 6/3 - Sculpture
ALLWC 7/5 - Switzerland
ALLWC 8/5 - Madam Satan
USAC 8/2 - chemically simulated deaths
ALLWC 9/5 - Gloria Delacroix
USAC 9/2 - Louis Frankel
KIDK 4/2 - force field machine
ALLWC 11/5 - Hitler clones
USAC 11/2 - British commandos
ALLWC 12/5 - French resistance
M/CP 156/2 <--moved here
KIDK 6/2 - giant magnet
MSU 9
TWELVE:SH
TWELVE 1
M/CP 156/2
CV 1-FB
...etc.
Some appearances could be of either Marlow or Aubrey. USA Comics #12/2 and Kid Komics #5/2 are both set in Berlin, and were both published before Marlow left Europe as described in Mystic Comics vol 2 #1.
Marvel Comics Presents #156/2 is mostly in German, but when the Destroyer does speak in English I get the impression it's with an English accent, so I've left it under Aubrey. I've moved its placement earlier, though, as it seems to fit more with the heavy RAF bombing raids on Berlin in early 1944 than with the final stages of the Battle of Berlin as shown in Twelve.
I would have thought the final page of Marvels #1 would be sometime after the invasion of Germany from the west in Spring 1945, which would mean this is an appearance of Aubrey, but other characters' listings seem to place it much earlier in the war, which means it could be Marlow. Is there a previous thread that discusses this placement?