| THE INVISIBLE DESTROYER | BIOGRAPHY |
| Created by John Broome and Gil Kane |
Art by Gil Kane
 |
PERSONAL DATA
Full Name: The unconscious mind of Dr. Martin Phillips
Occupation: Professional criminal
Marital Status: Inapplicable
Known Relatives: Inapplicable
Base of Operation: Coast City, California
Group Affiliation(s): None
Height: 6'0"
Weight: 0 lbs
Eyes: None
Hair: None
First Appearance: Showcase #23 (November-December 1959): "The Invisible Destroyer!"
Creators: John Broome and Gil Kane
HISTORY
Coast City physicist Dr. Martin Phillips found himself sketching a costumed figure without a face. Three days later, this figure came to life. Coast City newspapers dubbed the costumed criminal the Invisible Destroyer.
Green Lantern Hal Jordan patrolled Coast City looking for the Destroyer. The villain had broken into a series of nuclear facilities, and no one could catch him.
Finally facing the criminal, Green Lantern was surprised his power ring had no effect. The Invisible Destroyer had great strength, threatening to crush the life out of the ring wielder before he suddenly disappeared. The hero was left with only questions.
Green Lantern later met Dr. Phillips, who claimed responsibility for the villain. He believed some part of his mind gave life to the Invisible Destroyer each time he was unconscious. The physicist was troubled by his part in the Destroyer's villainy. Green Lantern probed Dr. Phillips' mind, which released the Invisible Destroyer. The villain planned to feed on atomic radiation, each dose he absorbed made him stronger. The Invisible Destroyer stole nuclear material from the nearby Vanemos Base Proving Grounds to set off an atomic blast which would devastate Coast City.
The emerald warrior contained the blast, infuriating the Destroyer. His enemy tried to kill him with powerful energy blasts from his fingertips. Green Lantern willed his ring to create an "anti-energy" blast which finally defeated the Invisible Destroyer. The explosion disintegrated the villain. Green Lantern scanned the physicist's mind. The part of Dr. Phillips' brain which created the Invisible Destroyer was gone.
Years later, after Hal Jordan became known as Parallax, another Earthman, Kyle Rayner, was given the power ring. Parallax had repeatedly tried to gain enough power to change reality. He took the mystic power battery of Alan Scott, the Golden Age Green Lantern, and the battery of Guy Gardner, another former Green Lantern.
Parallax stationed himself between the two batteries to draw upon their power. At that same moment, Kyle Rayner recharged his power ring. A massive energy discharge sent them both, apparently, through time. In actuality, the were in thrown into realities created by the Batteries.
Rayner appeared in Coast City, back at the moment Jordan had contained the nuclear explosion of the Invisible Destroyer. He was surprised by the change of costume and ring and became the target of the Invisible Destroyer. The two fought, and the battle ended when Rayner blasted the Destroyer with a ring created energy weapon. The Invisible Destroyer materialized, as he had absorbed enough energy to become real. This did not concern Rayner, he realized that he had become stuck in Hal Jordan's life and wanted to return to his own. The Invisible Destroyer was left immobilized in a power ring created framework.
Jordan, meanwhile, was reliving Rayner's life shortly before Alexandra De Witt was killed. He was able to stop Major Force from repeating his action in this timeline. Though Jordan wanted to return to his life to correct what he thought was wrong, he decided to stay in Rayner's life, his second chance at being a hero.
Tracing back his actions, Rayner found the power battery at Ferris Aircraft. He thought by charging his ring he could return to his real life. Believing he had made the right choice, Jordan recharged his ring. As his ring touched the lantern, both he and Rayner were returned to the present time. Alexandra DeWitt was still dead, it appeared they had entered a different reality through the emerald energy blast. Presumably, the Invisible Destroyer's fate had not changed since Jordan's battle with him many years before.
CHRONOLOGY
For a definitive list of appearances of The Invisible Destroyer in chronological order click here
PROFILE REFERENCES
Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe #11 (January 1986)
GLCWP NOTE
The Invisible Destroyer was the first super-villain Hal Jordan encountered. Who's Who states the Destroyer was created once or twice afterwards, but I've yet to find any references to back that up.
The 1995 Annuals featured a "YEAR ONE" theme, showcasing a story from the title character's first year. As 1995 was Kyle Rayner's first year, a different spin had to be put on the book. Hal from Showcase #23 changed places with Kyle from Green Lantern Vol. 3 #54.