James McCullen Destro
Birthplace (Possibly Scotland)
Primary specialty Weapons Manufacturer
Secondary Specialty: Terrorist
Destro is a complex man, with an illustrious past. He is the head of MARS (Military Armaments Research Systems), the largest manufacturer of state-of-the-art weaponry systems in the world. MARS has been a business in his family for generations, with the head of operation traditionally wearing the famed silver Destro mask.
As a youth, he often accompanied his father on business deals in order to learn the family trade. On one such deal, in Vietnam Destro's father discovered a young man killed by Vietnamese. The man was the brother of the Baroness De Cobray, who would mistakenly hold the Joe Snake-Eyes responsible for his death for years. The Baroness would also, ironically, become romantically involved with Destro.
Destro first began working with COBRA during a conflict with the Joes over the Alaskan pipeline. Apparently, he had just assumed his role as the head of MARS -- eventually to become the chief supplier of weapons to the COBRA organisation.
After joining COBRA, he was reunited with the Baroness, whom he credited as being the only person who knew his past. Destro has demonstrated his trust and affection for the Baroness on several occasions, and he has even removed his mask for her.
Since he was a competent and powerful figure, Destro soon gained the distrust of Cobra Commander. At the same time, Destro's affections for the Baroness fuelled his determination to remove Cobra Commander from his position as the head of COBRA, and rule it himself with the Baroness at his side. Perhaps sensing this, Cobra Commander hired an assassin to handle Destro -- Major Bludd. Bludd was to assassinate Destro during a skirmish with the Joes, making it look like an accident. However, as he aimed to kill, the Baroness noticed Destro's endangerment and drove herself between Bludd and her lover. The Baroness was hit by the bullet and apparently killed.
Cobra Commander led Destro to believe that Bludd had acted alone. due to his own hidden feelings for the Baroness. Destro, furious, swore to kill Major Bludd. Bludd had been captured by the Joes, though, along with the not-quite-dead-but severely-injured Baroness, and was being held at their headquarters, the Pit. When COBRA raided the Pit, Bludd escaped with the Baroness.
Shortly thereafter, the Joe Scarlett was captured and held at Destro's mountain castle in Trans-Carpathia. On a daring solo mission, Snake-Eyes went to rescue her and succeeded, even though Destro's fortress was reputedly impregnable. It wasn't long until Bludd returned with the Baroness, having taken her to Switzerland to be healed. The three then conspired to lead COBRA, since Cobra Commander had meanwhile been captured by the Joes.
Destro felt it necessary to dispose of the ninja Storm Shadow because of his loyalty to the Commander. They followed what they believed to be was a signal on a homing device, but it led them to Zartan's shack in the Florida Everglades. Cobra Commander had come there after being freed by Storm Shadow, in order to hire Zartan to work for COBRA. The Joes, however, were also on his trail, and the operative Firefly were left in the swamp to fend for themselves while Cobra Commander escaped.
Stealing a boat from under the Joes' noses, Destro and Firefly escaped and returned to COBRA headquarters, seeking revenge against their august leader. Hoping to gain the Commander's trust, Destro and Firefly accepted a mission to the High-Sierras, where the battled Snake-Eyes, Spirit and Airborne/ although unsuccessful in their attempts to kill the Joes, the two fled and again returned to COBRA.
Upon his return, Destro discovered that the Baroness and Major Bludd had hatched a plot against the Commander. They planned to use the rebellious young Billy to assassinate the Commander. Destro called off the assassination, however, knowing that Billy was actually the Commander's son.
Sometime later, COBRA surmised the whereabouts of the new Pit headquarters of the Joes. They launched an attack, but the Joes had been evacuated for political reasons. The only members left to defend were Hawk, General Hollingsworth and two other high military officers. Destro and Cobra Commander had entered the Pit and were trapped within, when one of the officers set off an explosion, collapsing the Pit. Believed dead, the two escaped the rubble and travelled incognito. They were led to Billy, and Cobra Commander vowed to turn over a new leaf. Destro, meanwhile, headed to his castle in Scotland.
A surprise awaited Destro upon his return home when he found that the castle was usurped by an imposter! The Joes learned of this, however and offered to help Destro recover his home in return for the plans of the COBRA Terrordromes. Storming the castle with Flint and Lady Jaye, Destro tackled the imposter, revealing him to be Major Bludd. Although Destro had the Joes in a compromising situation, he instead opted to keep his word and give up the plans. Destro renewed his commitment as head of MARS, donning a new gold mask in place of the silver one. He planned to outdo COBRA in the international arms market by creating situations and selling weapons to both sides. In his first new business deal, he backed the North American Banana Monopoly when it took over Sierra Gordo, while simultaneously cutting a deal that left him, in effect, running the country.
Soon, civil war erupted on COBRA Island. With the forces of COBRA split and fighting, and the Joes involved, Destro rallied his troops and landed on the island's beaches. With the battle coming to a close and COBRA's supplies nearly depleted, Destro sallied forth and claimed his prime objective -- the Baroness -- without firing a shot.
Meanwhile, at the Pentagon, the secret cabal of generals known as the Jugglers, were dissatisfied with the outcome of the war. They set up Hawk and the Joes to take the fall for it. Appalled by the lack of honor in the higher echelons, Destro acted on the Joes' behalf by exposing the generals' purchase of arms for the civil war from MARS.
Returning with the Baroness to his castle in Scotland, Destro prepared to resume his command of his business. Angered by his success, the forces of COBRA launched an attack against him. Effectively gaining the upper hand on the COBRA troops and threatening to expose the second Cobra Commander as an imposter, Destro briefly assumed control of Cobra. He set up a highly organised system of checks and balances for running the organisation.
While attempting to kill Snake-Eyes for revenge of her brother's death years earlier, the Baroness was stopped by Destro's information that the ninja was innocent. Shaken, she wanted to leave COBRA. Destro, wanting to be with her, left MARS again. He appointed Darklon to run the corporation as he left with the Baroness to live in luxury.
Before long, the original Cobra Commander returned and began running a much more effective and deadly COBRA organisation. Perceiving Destro as a loose end and a threat, the Commander launched an all-out search-and-destroy mission against him. With Castle Destro invaded and the Baroness captured, Destro was forced to enlist the aid of the Joes. The team reached a young operative named Rashid, who set up a computer virus capable of wiping out COBRA's Swiss bank account, Destro persuaded Cobra Commander to release the Baroness and return Castle Destro to him.
However, the Commander had planted a post-hypnotic suggestion in the Baroness to kill Destro. Obviously unaware of this, Destro and the Baroness adjourned to the mountain fortress in Trans-Carpathia, which COBRA had not used since Snake-Eyes infiltrated it to rescue Scarlett. Just as Cobra Commander triggered the Baroness' programming, she and Destro were attacked by Red Ninjas who had taken up residence in the abandoned Castle. Once again assisted by the Joes, Destro and the Baroness fought off the ninjas. Knowing love would cancel out the hypnosis, Destro offered to submit to the Baroness, professing his affection for her. This act helped the Baroness overcome her brainwashing, at last proving her love for him. In a final grand gesture, Destro transformed the old mountain fortress into a larger and more majestic version of his Scottish castle, proclaiming it a home for her.
After many months together in Trans-Carpathia, the Baroness and Destro found themselves becoming bored with their retirement and longed to see some action like the good old days. As if in answer, they found themselves taken hostage by an advance team of COBRA Ninjas, and followed shortly after by the arrival of Cobra Commander and a full troop complement. There, Cobra Commander returned the castle to its trapezoid COBRA fortress form and made it his new headquarters, having abandoned COBRA Island. Destro and the Baroness escaped from the dungeon and tipped the Joes off about COBRA's planned assassination of General Hawk. The Joes faked Hawk's death and flew in and extracted Destro and Baroness.
Hawk, Destro and Baroness rendezvoused with Zartan on the abandoned Cobra Island, where they discovered COBRA's plans to revive Dr Mindbender. Together with Zartan, Destro and the Baroness infiltrated the castle while the Commander was away with most of his forces. There, the three stayed for several months, while political turmoil in the neighbouring nations swept by them and resulted a COBRA backed side in the Borovian civil war winning. Cobra was now the fully legitimate backing of a recognised nation, and the Commander's attention turned towards Destro's nearby castle once again.
The revived Mindbender revealed to the Commander that he had put in place brain implants many years ago, in both Destro and Zartan. Learning this, the Commander paid a house call to Destro, and unveiled his face to both Destro and Zartan, triggering their implants. Both became mindless-zombies, obedient to his will, and the Baroness and Billy, both resident at the time were placed in the dungeon as COBRA once again assumed control of the castle. Mindbender returned Destro and Zartan to their former allegiance to COBRA, and Destro immediately offered his tactical genius by eliminating Darklon in the small neighbouring town of Darklonia.
Finally, Snake-Eyes infiltrated the castle to rescue Storm Shadow, only to discover Dr Mindbender had brainwashed him along with the Baroness and Billy to their former COBRA loyalties. He fled empty handed back to the Joes, with COBRA on his heels. Destro was last seen under the Commander's control. It is not yet known if he broke free of his influence.
Compiled by Rod Hannah