Who the Clix? is a series of articles featuring information on comic book characters that have been made into figures for the popular tabletop game Heroclix. These articles are meant to help Heroclix players learn more about the characters behind their favorite pieces.
Today we look at the galaxy hopping kung-fu mistress Moondragon!
Appearances in Heroclix: Avengers Infinity, Avengers/Defenders War, Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), Hammer of Thor, Clobberin’ Time
First Appearance: Iron Man #54 (Vol. 1)
Team Affiliations: Infinity Watch, Defenders, Avengers, Guardians of the Galaxy
Created by: Bill Everett, Mike Friedrich, and George Tuska
Heather Douglas was born in Los Angeles, California, daughter of Arthur and Yvette Steckley Douglas. When Heather was still a girl, her father was driving her and her mother through the desert when they accidentally happened to see the spaceship of Thanos land; the space villain didn’t want any witnesses, so he blew up their car. Heather was thrown clear and survived, but her parents were killed. (She would later discover that her father’s soul was bound into a new body, becoming Drax the Destroyer.) She was found by Thanos’ father, Mentor, who took her to his home world, Titan, to be raised by the monks of Shao-Lom.
From the monks, Heather developed her physical body to its full potential, becoming a formidable martial artist. They taught Heather various scientific disciplines such as chemistry and genetic engineering; but most significantly, they helped Heather tap into her latent psionic powers, present within all humans. Heather was able to develop her mental powers far beyond even those of her teachers, so much so that she eventually mentally contacted a powerful entity called the Dragon of the Moon. The Dragon immediately tried to corrupt and take her over, but she fought back, driving it away. In observance of her victory, she took the name Moondragon. She did not know at the time that the Dragon was not driven off and instead continued to influence her for some time.
She eventually fled to earth when Thanos returned and destroyed the monastery along with all the monks.
Upon her return to Earth, she was both a villain and hero. However, all that she accomplished was to further her goal of defeating Thanos and avenging her family and teachers. She went on to spend some time as a member of the Avengers.
After some time, Drax returned to Earth and revealed his true identity. Father and daughter, reunited, went into space and came across a war torn planet. After all her adventures and the horrors she had seen, Moondragon used her mental powers to take over every living soul on the planet and force them to live in peace. Horrified, Drax summoned the Avengers for help and in the resulting battling, Moondragon seemingly killed her father with her mental abilities.
Thor brought Moondragon to Odin for judgment. Odin suppressed her powers and forced her to journey with Valkyrie. As a result, Moondragon joined the reformed Defenders for a time. At first, she attempted to summon villains to restore her to her full power. Eventually, however, she sought redemption and gained it by turning down the Dragon of the Moon and Frost Giants’ offer to restore her to her full power.
After an incident with infectious spores, Moondragon succumbed to the temptation of the Dragon and became its host. Luckily, the Defenders were able to defeat the Dragon and destroy her mangled body, which allowed the free spirit of Moondragon to find a cloned host body on Titan. She went on to adventure in space for some time.
During this time, Moondragon tried to form a relationship with Quasar, was guardian of the Infinity Mind Gem, and eventually had a dalliance with Rick Jones’ wife before becoming the traveling partner of Phyla-Vell.
Thanos takes Moondragon hostage during the Annihilation story to draw out Drax. As a result, Thanos accidentally reveals Annihilus’ plan to conquer the universe and is able to bring Drax and the Silver Surfer together, who ultimately help defeat the Annihilation Wave with the help of an awakened Galactus.
Moondragon, Drax, and Phyla through many twists and turns are brought to the rampaging Phalanx, led by Ultron, by the Kree Supreme Intelligence. As they are attempting to stop the Phalanx, Moondragon sacrifices her life to save the life of Phyla. After the threat of the Phalanx is defeated, Drax and Phyla journey to the land of the dead and retrieve Moondragon from the gullet of the Dragon of the Mon.
After her resurrection, Moondragon joined Phyla back at Knowhere and was accepted as an unofficial member of the Guardians of the Galaxy. She assisted Cosmo and Mantis as part of the telepathic support team. Her resurrection left her mind more open than it had been before her death, as she was able to detect things before either Mantis or Cosmo did. Her increased sensitivity also left her more vulnerable to psychic manipulation by Starhawk, who had her released from her confinement.
The Magus eventually kills Phyla-Vell, leaving Moondragon alone once more. Unfortunately, Moondragon was infected with a xenomorph parasite which made her a target for the Luminals, Universal Church of Truth, and others. Eventually, Knowhere’s medical staff are able to remove the parasite safely. After this procedure, Moondragon has a vision of a cocoon (like Adam Warlock’s) with Phyla emerging from it, alive.