DESTROYER

Real Name: Charles Stanton

Identity/Class: Human

Occupation: Former publisher of The Glenville (Long Island) Gazette and Daily Chronicle newspapers, former Communist agent

Group Membership: None

Affiliations: Communist submarine crew

Enemies: Human Torch (Johnny Storm)

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Glenville, New York, USA

First Appearance: Strange Tales I#101/1 (October, 1962)

Powers/Abilities: Wearing coveralls and some form of a gas mask, Stanton was armed with a conventional handgun. He used unspecified tools to sabotage amusement park rides, and had the means to rig a trap using flame-retardant foam.

Height: 5'8"
Weight: 130 lbs.
Eyes: Dark brown
Hair: Black, with mustache and receding hairline

History:
(Strange Tales I#101/1 (fb) - BTS) - Charles Stanton's past is unrevealed, but at some point, he settled in Glenville, where he lived in a home on his secluded private beach. He was employed as the publisher of the town's newspaper; but Stanton was secretly leading a double-life as a Communist agent for the government of the USSR (see comments), and he smuggled secret information to a Soviet submarine when it arrived off the shore of his beach-front property. However, when a nearby beach-side amusement park began to build taller rides, Stanton feared that the sub would be spotted by the people on those rides, so he began a scheme to prevent any further construction.

(Strange Tales I#101/1) - After designing an identity-concealing costume, Stanton sent a threatening note to his own newspaper (to divert suspicion from himself), demanding that all construction at the amusement park had to be stopped--the note was simply signed "THE DESTROYER".

   The Destroyer first sabotaged the park's roller coaster by cutting its track; when a safety inspector was testing the new ride, the cars slipped off the broken track when he reached the top, and he was nearly killed when he plummeted down--luckily,  the Human Torch arrived in time to save him. Afterward, the park's owner wrote the whole incident off as an accident, probably due to faulty construction.

   The following day, Stanton claimed to have received another threatening note from the Destroyer, so he brought it to the attention of the amusement park's owner; the owner saw no connection between yesterday's "accident" and the "crank" who called himself the Destroyer, so he ignored the threat.

   A few days later, the Destroyer sabotaged the park's parachute jump, and the tower began to collapse as other inspectors were testing it; but once again, the Torch was on hand to quickly weld the steel girders back together and prevented the tower from falling.

(Strange Tales I#101/1 - BTS) - Frustrated by the the Human Torch's interference in his plans, Stanton published a challenge from the Destroyer in his newspaper, daring the young hero to face him alone that night in a cabin on the outskirts of town. Stanton then set up a trap inside the cabin--using a dummy as bait, he rigged a flame-retardant foam that would be released when the Torch tripped an electric eye beam.

(Strange Tales I#101/1) - After reading the paper, the Human Torch accepted the challenge, then flew to the cabin and went inside; but while he believed he was confronting the Destroyer, he found himself with a mannequin, and his flame was suddenly doused by the foam. Outside, the Destroyer drew his handgun and was about to shoot the now-helpless Torch... but when two teenagers (who were curious to see if the Torch would show up) walked by, the Destroyer fled.

   Later, after he recovered, the Human Torch figured out that only the tall rides were being sabotaged, so he flew back to the amusement park to investigate further. Landing atop the roller coaster to get a better vantage point, the Torch spotted the Commie submarine in the ocean, so he used his flames to boil the water and forced the sub to the surface, where it was captured by the U.S. Coast Guard.

   Accompanied by armed members of the Coast Guard, the Human Torch flew to Charles Stanton's home, where he burned his way through a wall and found the Destroyer pointing a handgun at him; but a fireball thrown by the Torch quickly melted the gun. The Destroyer was subsequently unmasked as Stanton, who was then taken into custody, along with the submarine crew.

   Charles Stanton's subsequent fate remains unrevealed.

Comments: Created by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber, and Jack Kirby.

Communists were big in the 1960s. The Destroyer might have had better luck had he just moved his meeting place with the Commies a few hundred yards away. Also, removing the prominent hammer-and-sickle emblem from the sub might have decreased suspicion.

I believe this story was usurped from the plot of an episode of Scooby Doo...

...and I would have gotten away with it, if it weren't for those meddling kids!

Destroyer has an entry in Marvel Legacy: The 1960s Handbook.

Profile by Snood. Expansion by Ron Fredricks.

CLARIFICATIONS:
The Destroyer (Charles Stanton) should be distinguished from:

Communist submarine crew

Numbering at least six (none identified), they piloted their submarine to Charles Stanton's private beach, where Stanton would smuggle secret information to them.

But they were eventually spotted by the Human Torch (Johnny Storm); they immediately submerged and tried to get away, but the Torch used his flames to boil the surrounding water, and the intense heat forced them to return to the surface, where they were captured by the U.S. Coast Guard.

The submarine crew was taken into custody along with Stanton, but their eventual fates are unrevealed.

--Strange Tales I#101/1

images: (without ads)
Strange Tales I#101/1, p11, pan2 (main image - Destroyer, outside cabin)
Strange Tales I#101/1, p4, pan3 (headshot - Charles Stanton tosses away threatening note from Destroyer)
Strange Tales I#101/1, p3, pan10 (Destroyer at amusement park)
Strange Tales I#101/1, p13, pan3 (Destroyer unmasked as Charles Stanton)
Strange Tales I#101/1, p12, pan3 (Commie submarine by Charles Stanton's private beach, spotted by Human Torch)
Strange Tales I#101/1, p13, pan6 (Commie submarine crew and Charles Stanton, taken into custody by Coast Guard)

Appearances:
Strange Tales I#101/1 (October, 1962) - Stan Lee (plot/editor), Larry Lieber (script), Jack Kirby (pencils), Dick Ayers (inks)

First posted: 09/03/2001
Last updated: 12/13/2025

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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