One might think that getting into the full-body makeup that adorns Drax the Destroyer’s torso would be what Dave Bautista finds really annoying, and it might be at least one annoyance that he has to deal with. But the fact that the MCU has never given Drax his full backstory is even worse since as a character, Drax is far more than just comic relief and big, bulging muscles. The story that goes with Drax, initially, is that he used to be human and when he and his family were supposedly killed, his daughter actually survived and was raised on Titan by Thanos’ father, the Mentor. Drax was given a new body to place his soul into, and an intense hatred for Thanos that has never died since, apart from when it appears that someone else has taken Thanos down a few pegs, which makes Drax feel rather depressed and rudderless. His intellect was also sacrificed during the process of creating a new body and inserting his soul into it, which is why he sounds like kind of a dullard at times. But as the MCU has shown us, his backstory is a bit different since he still hates Thanos with a passion but is not quite the same person that people have seen in the comics. We’ve only been given tiny tidbits of this however since much of Drax’s story has been ignored in order to make way for the development of other characters that in some cases are older than Drax in terms of the comics, or came in after he did and were seen to be more popular with the fans. But the thing is that he does have an interesting backstory if only we’d been given the chance to see it. Sadly this is what happens when a movie ends up having several stars that need to be accounted for, a few things that are deemed inconsequential get lost.
The sad part about this is that Dave Bautista has already said that Guardians of the Galaxy 3 is going to be his last movie as Drax. That’s a big announcement to be certain since he’s already been featured in several movies as the destroyer, and thinking of not having him around any longer to explain is bound to disappoint several fans. There’s a thought that he might be recast, but after this long, it’s hard to think of seeing anyone else as the big guy since he’s played the part so well that trying to find someone that can do the same is bound to be difficult. But having to sacrifice the development of certain characters in order push a story that has many big-name characters is necessary unfortunately since, in order to get everyone into the Infinity Saga, it was necessary to push as many big heroes as possible and focus on various things that would move the stories forward, rather than developing the characters around them. That’s the sacrifice for a story this big though, character development kind of goes out the window unless it becomes a TV series, and Disney is too interested in making the most it can for its productions when it comes down to the bottom line.
It would be great to see a series made of Drax’s life, but it won’t be Bautista most likely who will be taking on the main role. The former wrestler apparently wants to broaden his horizons and it’s hard to blame him really since he’ll be starring in Zack Snyder’s Army of the Dead eventually and he’s been taking on a lot of other projects over the years, which is impressive really since he’s shown a great deal of range in his career since he started out. But Drax has always been labeled as a goofball, and not necessarily one that can always fight smart or that hard. In the early days when he was created, Drax was a powerhouse and had a few abilities that made him really special. Bringing him to the MCU was a chance to make him into someone that could really shine and become a big part of a team, but instead, it was to make him a big, less than intelligent individual who had a grudge against Thanos, the intellect of a child, an arrogant streak that was astounding, and an inability to hurt anyone or anything that wasn’t seriously weaker than he was. If anyone’s doubting that last one they might want to watch the movies he’s been in and take a look at what happens when Drax hops on the back of Cull Obsidian and starts stabbing away with wild abandon. Then think of the moment when Doctor Strange commanded his cape to tie him up and Drax couldn’t get free until he was cornered. His backstory isn’t the only issue to be certain, Drax was just another character that was manhandled by the MCU.
Follow Us
