The Destroyer

The Destroyer, as he appeared in Battlefield

**The Destroyer**, also known as **Lord of Darkness** and **Eater of Worlds**, was a horned demon (TV: *Battlefield*) from the "darkest corners of another multiverse", according to the Eighth Doctor. (TV: *The Herald*) The Seventh Doctor believed him to be "one of the 7,405,926 demons on the Talmudic table", more precisely a member of "what Ace would call the Top Ten". (PROSE: *Battlefield*)

## Biography

The Destroyer was a highly dangerous entity, and even Morgaine was hesitant to release him on the second occasion she did so. He was bound in silver, to which he had a vulnerability. He was able to destroy matter with a green energy and could also teleport.

The Destroyer was considered by the court at Camelot to be one of the most dangerous weapons at Morgaine's disposal. Despite this, the Eighth Doctor, posing as Merlin in King Arthur's court, knew that he would have to be summoned at some point during the Battle of Camlann. He attempted to postpone this summoning by meeting Morgaine in person, only for Morgaine to refuse to heed the Doctor's words and imprison him in the Ice Caves.

Upon the start of the Battle of Camlann, Morgaine managed to find a safe area to summon the Destroyer. Upon being summoned, the Destroyer planned out a method to defeat Arthur and help Morgaine consume Earth. He disguised himself as the Doctor so as to infiltrate enemy ranks, convincing Guinevere that Mordred wished to kill her and deceiving her into killing her husband. He managed to wreak havoc on the battlefield, until the Doctor, freed from his ice prison, distracted him, giving his companion Raine enough time to lock him in manacles that weakened his power. When the Doctor gave Raine the signal through sign language, she fired a S'rax blaster at the Destroyer, generating enough instability for him to be banished back to his domain. At his defeat, the S'rax retreated. (TV: *The Herald*)

The Destroyer was later summoned by Morgaine to aid in her conquest of Earth.

During the final battle for Excalibur, Morgaine attempted to threaten Ace and Shou Yuing with the Destroyer, claiming they would become his handmaidens. Though he wanted to break through the chalk barrier, Morgaine didn't want to release him, allowing him access to his full powers. Despite this weakness, he was still able to destroy the hotel, allowing Morgaine to escape with the sword and then teleporting away. The Destroyer let the Seventh Doctor and the Brigadier follow them since Morgaine would need to release him. When the Doctor gained the upper hand, Morgaine was forced to unchain the Destroyer and escaped.

The Destroyer planned to devour Earth, though the Brigadier did apparently kill him by shooting him with silver bullets. The Destroyer exploded with a green fire, destroying Morgaine's castle and knocking out the Brigadier. (TV: *Battlefield*)

## Behind the scenes

* Before scheduling changes were made, the Destroyer originally had a very different design done by Mike Tucker, who was reassigned to work on *The Curse of Fenric* instead of *Battlefield.* The new visual effects designer assigned to the story chose not to use this design, but it was retained by the BBC Visual Effects Department and later formed the basis for a monster in the *Red Dwarf* episode Terrorform.
* According to Susan Moore and Stephen Mansfield, the Destroyer was initially intended to transform from a human to a demon by removing his chains, and his talons would burst through the skin of his hands. This was abandoned due to being too complex, and the Destroyer only appeared in his demon form in the story.
* Moore and Mansfield also had to redesign the Destroyer's mask from the original maquette to add lips, so Marek Anton could deliver his lines while wearing it.
* "The Destroyer" is a common translation of the name of the biblical entity Abaddon (used in the Torah to refer to a place, but as a personified demon in the Book of Revelation of the New Testament).