Destro
- Destro is an affiliate of Cobra in the Generation 1 continuity family.
James McCullen Destro XXIV, Laird of Castle Destro, is an international arms dealer. He wears a metal mask that has been passed down from generation to generation; it is a symbol of his heritage. It's also shiny. Like, REALLY shiny.
Destro runs a weapons organization called M.A.R.S., and will often sell to either side of a conflict. As such, he is not an official member of Cobra, but he has a thing for the Baroness, and vainly tries to talk the Cobra Commander out of his crazier ideas. What distinguishes him from his Cobra allies is that he actually has a sense of honor (albeit a skewed one), which has occasionally conflicted with Cobra's more ruthless agendas. Not much, mind you.
Occasionally he dresses in leopard-prints for no purpose other than to look awesome.
Fiction
Marvel Comics continuity
After disgustedly watching Serpentor and the Baroness flirt, Destro witnessed Doctor Mindbender seizing control of Power Station Alpha. Power Struggle
Much, much later, while Megatron was busy closing a deal with Cobra Commander, Destro and the Baroness were busy being snuck by G.I. Joe out of his own castle, ultimately leaving Scarlett (pretending to have defected to Cobra at the time) seriously wounded. Unfoldings! Destro tried, awkwardly, to empathize with Snake-Eyes, who had stabbed Scarlett himself to keep up appearances. Shortly thereafter he and Baroness reunited with Zartan. Realignments
Transformers/G.I. Joe
Destro and Starscream plotted together to overthrow Cobra Commander using the mighty Bruticus. When Bruticus was unleashed, Destro came close to success, but had it snatched from his hands by the timely arrival of Snake-Eyes. The Iron Fist
Destro had Flight Pods. Targets of Opportunity
G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers
After learning of a crashed alien spaceship, Destro passed the information on to Cobra. G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers #1 He then acted as financier and distribution manager for Cobra's development of the S.N.A.K.E.s and their hotwiring of Transformers, and later went to Cobra Island in person to check up on their progress. G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers #2 Destro was so impressed by Soundwave that he decided he would lead Cobra's attack on the SPS Research Facility. This display of self-assertion even impressed the mighty Megatron, but it irked Cobra Commander. Despite unexpected resistance from the newly formed G.I. Joe team, the mission was a success. G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers #3 Shortly afterwards, Soundwave was released from his reprogramming and sent out Rumble to kill Destro and Zartan, but they were saved by the Baroness and her S.N.A.K.E. squad. G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers #4
The creation of G.I. Joe heavily compromised Destro's illegal activities, which made him even snarkier towards Cobra Commander when they met in Portugal two years later. By showing that he had Starscream under his control, the commander tried to convince Destro to fund his attempts to hack the Cybertronian supercomputer Teletran 3. Realizing that the computer's teleportation technology would be invaluable to his arms dealing, Destro agreed and oversaw the process in Boston. Unfortunately, G.I. Joe struck down on them, damaging the computer and teleporting everyone present to Cybertron. After learning that their mucking-about with Teletran 3 had put Earth in severe danger, the Joes offered to travel through time and fix the damage, and Destro had Cobra troops help them out just in case. When Cobra Commander protested, Destro told him to shut up, since it was all the commander's fault to begin with. G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers II #1
When Shockwave attacked and took control of Teletran 3, Destro and the others hid in the crambed catacombs of Cybertron. They made a plan to save the day by sneaking back and accessing Teletran 3, but Destro wasn't up for the mission since his mask made it impossible to avoid metal detectors. Instead, he stayed behind and told Stalker that he had always expected to die in Scotland instead of another planet. The plan was a success, and Destro returned to Earth after arguing with Cobra Commander some more. G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers II #4
Several months later, Destro attempted to sell some spare S.N.A.K.E.s to Mr. Calandero in Cuba, but Eject destroyed all the Cobra machines on his own and Destro retreated. This was part of a larger scheme, sponsored by Cobra-La. The S.N.A.K.E.s were just the bait, and while on the boat, the Autobots were infected with an organic homing beacon that the Pretender Monsters used to track the Autobots back to their base.
Dealing with the serpents made Destro feel somewhat uneasy, but at least he had Mistress Armada to keep him company and make him feel so very good. Black Horizon Part 1
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