Destro #5: Those Who Would Do Me Wrong

Destro #5 concludes the final miniseries in the buildup to G.I Joe, showing the rise to power of this universe’s greatest earth based villains. With Destro’s company taken away from him, and all of his enemies seemingly content with his demise, Destro makes one final power play, using the few allies he has left to strike back against those who thought they had ended him. Destro has been one of the most action packed series in The Energon Universe depiction of G.I Joe, with Destro #5 providing to be, quite literally, an explosive finale.

Destro is one of those characters that this series proves easy to love to hate. He is so clearly full of himself and self centered; however, he is also very smart, and knows exactly what to do in almost any scenario. Destro #5 shows him reclaiming his empire, but doing so in a manner that is not simply out of anger and frustration (although he does let a lot of that out in the process). This highlights how tactful this character is, forcing enemies into his corner despite how much wrong they have done. This series isn’t necessarily about the rise of Destro and his power, but more so a manifesto of what makes Destro such a formidable threat in the grand scheme of the universe.

Andrei Bressan kills it with the action here with explosions on practically every page as Destro reassumes control of his empire through force. Bressan also depicts a gorgeous fight between Destro, Tomax,and Xamot. These three going blow for blow really showcases how Destro is perfectly adept at getting what he wants, even if it requires him to get his hands dirty. Overall, this series has looked gorgeous from the beginning, and this issue is no different.