Destro issue 4

« Destro #4 »
Publisher	Image Comics Skybound Entertainment
First published	September 18, 2024
Cover date	September 2024
Written by	Dan Watters
Art by	Andrei Bressan
Colors by	Adriano Lucas
Letters by	Rus Wooton
Editors	Ben Abernathy
Continuity	Energon Universe

Destro discovers the truth behind the recent attacks against him, while Tomax and Xamot make moves with a powerful new ally.

Synopsis

Having not been seen for eight days following Chameleon's attack, Destro has been presumed dead and Tomax and Xamot are ready to seize M.A.R.S. for themselves, meeting with Darklon - now the acting CEO of his cousin's company - in Darklonia. While Darklon initially balks at the idea of selling his family's company, the Crimson Twins present him with a very generous check. Darklon reluctantly accepts and orders Mercer to prepare a demonstration of the Battle Android Troopers. The Twins are impressed with the B.A.T.'s offensive capabilities, wondering why Destro hadn’t unveiled them before, though they soon get their answer as the B.A.T.s turn on each other after eliminating their targets. Upon seeing their flaw, the Twins call them utterly unmarketable.

Meanwhile, Destro has been pouring through the files he received from General Flagg, learning all sorts of secrets about military operations, including one involving Conrad "Duke" Hauser encountering an an intelligent plane. As he learns, this report led to further investigation of who could be behind such technology, leading the CIA to infiltrate various American companies. On a list of infiltrated companies, one stands out to Destro: Hybrid Technologies.

Destro ends up crashing the party of Astoria Carlton-Ritz, who is shocked to see him alive. She invites him to a meeting room upstairs, but flees out the back door. Destro alerts Scrap-Iron to her position, and as Astoria exits the building, the M.A.R.S. weaponsmith fires a rocket at her. However, Astoria turns around and neutralizes the missile with an EMP blast... one that appears to come from her own body! Destro reveals that he had deduced the truth: her father had always dreamed of what robotic enhancements could do for humanity, experimenting with them on Astoria. She was Chameleon the entire time, using a blonde wig and goggles to disguise herself. Destro also believes her to be behind the attack on the Darklonia arms fair, but she reveals that she was only responsible for attacking him in the Scottish Highlands, only doing so out of the (incorrect) belief that he was aware of Project: Overkill.

Project: Overkill was her and her father’s pet project: a "peacekeeping" artificial intelligence that could learn about and neutralize potential threats before they happen on a global scale. Astoria believed it to be a path to world peace, but Destro sees it for what it is: the ultimate weapon. She then reveals that the Overkill AI woke up before it was ready and, while still working with Astoria, has begun making its own decisions; Overkill attacked the arms fair against her orders because it perceived it to be a threat. And Astoria is afraid of what it might do next. When Destro asks where the AI is, she reveals it to be watching them from a satellite in orbit.

Now acting as the heads of M.A.R.S. Industries, Tomax and Xamot dig through Destro’s files, discovering one of his recent contacts. Believing their goals more mutually aligned than that of Destro, the Crimson Twins arrange a meeting… with Cobra Commander!

Featured characters

Characters in italic text appear only in photos.
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

M.A.R.S.	Cobra	Extensive Enterprises	Others
Mercer (3) Darklon (4) Battle Android Troopers (5) Destro (6) Scrap-Iron (10)	Astoria Carlton-Ritz/Chameleon (9) Cobra Commander (11)	Tomax and Xamot (1 & 2)	General Flagg (7) Private Dana Ferrez (8)

Quotes

“Listen. James McCullen Destro is —was— my cousin. M.A.R.S. Industries has been owned by our clan for centuries.”
“Yes. But look at this really big check.”

—Darklon and Xamot

"Destro. I-It’s wonderful to see you. I heard you were dead."
“I was. But Hell couldn’t afford my consultation fee, so I came back.”

—Astoria and Destro

Notes

Continuity notes

• Darklon has been ruling Darklonia since he and Destro aided the revolution back in issue #1.
• Through the files he gained from General Flagg, Destro learns of the circumstances that brought Duke to his door in the Duke miniseries. While Duke had briefly alluded to it in Duke #5, Destro appears to now have the full story concerning Hauser’s encounter with Starscream back in Transformers #2.
• While the fact that the apparently dud missile was working perfectly well was discovered by Scrap-Iron last issue, this issue reveals why it didn’t work: Astoria’s cyborg implants.
• Scrap-Iron’s comment last issue of weapons thinking for themselves proves to be foreshadowing for the revelations about the Overkill AI this issue.

G.I. Joe references

• As stated previously, Overkill is traditionally the name of Cobra's robotic/cyborg agent that serves as commander of the Battle Android Troopers. Here, Overkill has been reimagined as an artificial intelligence.
  • Overkill's satellite features a green, gold, and red color scheme, evoking the colors of the original Overkill action figure.
• It’s also worth noting that Astoria is depicted here as having cybernetic implants, in a distinct echo of the second incarnation of Overkill.

Transformers references

• Astoria demanding her employees party echoes a similar scene from her debut episode of the Generation 1 cartoon, “The Girl Who Loved Powerglide”, with the quote “It’s my party and I’ll get us all blacked out if I want to” even paraphrasing her G1 counterpart’s line of “It’s my party and I’ll cry if I want to.”
  • Astoria also had an inexplicable ability to jinx any machine she touches in her debut episode. Here, it's explained to be a personal EMP burst provided by her robotic implants. It may also explain the superhuman durability and strength she had in that episode as well.

Real-life references

• The above-referenced line also serves as a paraphrasing of the chorus to Leslie Gore’s classic 1963 pop song “It's My Party”.

Errors

• Private Ferrez’s uniform should be displaying her Armed Forces branch on her left breast, not her first name.

Other notes

• In this issue, Destro gives a name to Astoria’s late father: Desmond.

Covers (6)

• Cover A: Destro and Chameleon attacked by drone, by Andrei Bressan & Adriano Lucas.
• Cover B: Destro rocking that drip, by Siya Oum.
• Cover C (1:10 Copy Incentive): Connecting cover, by Nikola Čižmešija.
• Cover D (1:25 Copy Incentive): Scrap-Iron on explosion background, by Travis Moore & Adriano Lucas.
• Cover E (1:50 Copy Incentive): Chameleon takes aim, by Homare.

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Reprints

• Destro Volume 1: The Enemy (December 4, 2024) ISBN 1534357688 / ISBN 978-1534357686
  • Collects issues #1–5.
  • Trade paperback format.

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  Volume 1: The Enemy – cover art by Andrei Bressan and Adriano Lucas