Drax the Destroyer is a comic book character in the
Marvel Comics universe. He was originally Arthur Douglas, your basic
Earthman. He and his family were returning from
Las Vegas when their car was destroyed by
Thanos.
Thanos was returning from a reconnaissance mission, and couldn't leave any witnesses. Arthur and his wife were killed, although their daughter Heather survived. (Heather would later become
Moondragon.) When
Thanos attempted to take over the universe using the
Cosmic Cube, Kronos, the god of Titan brought Arthur Douglas back to life as
Drax the Destroyer.
While Drax never destroyed Thanos as he was created to do, he did help the heroes. When Moondragon took over a small planet, the Avengers and Drax went to stop her. Moondragon used her mental powers to kill Drax. Realizing that she had just killed her own father, she surrendered.
When Thanos once more threatened the universe, this time with the Infinity Gauntlet, Kronos brought Drax back to life. What he didn't take into account was the fact that Drax had died due to severe brain damage. Thus, the current incarnation of Drax is an idiot. However, his massive strength makes up for his lack of brainpower. He was the guardian of the power gem as a member of the Infinity Watch until it disbanded.
I know he was involved in a storyline early on in the current Captain Marvel series, but I didn't read it. If anybody knows any details of the encounter, please /msg me.