The Destroyer (novel series)

The Destroyer is a paperback series created by Warren Murphy and Richard Sapir. The first novel was published in 1971, although the manuscript was written in 1963. Along with Don Pendleton's The Executioner series, The Destroyer is one of the original and longest lasting men's adventure series. Unlike The Executioner though, The Destroyer cannot be called strictly an adventure series. The series, although action based, has several elements of fantasy, science fiction, espionage and mystery; however, not necessarily all in the same novel. The main characteristic that sets The Destroyer series apart from other adventure series is the political and social satire in almost every novel. The series has lampooned almost every subject, including itself, over the years.

The series was originally written by both Warren Murphy and Richard Sapir. Once in a while early in the series, only one of them would write a book alone. However, the usual process was for one of them to begin the book and for the other to finish it. In the late 1970s, the relationship between the two men became tense and Richard Sapir left the series. Warren Murphy continued to write the books after the departure. In the early 1980s, he began hiring ghostwriters to help with the series. One of the ghostwriters included his wife, Molly Cochran. By the mid-1980s, Richard Sapir returned to the series to write some more books. In the late 1980s, Will Murray took over the responsiblity of writing the series alone, after writing several of the books with either Warren Murphy or Richard Sapir. After Richard Sapir died, Will Murray continued the series until the late 1990s. Shortly after Will Murray left, after novel #107, there were three novels (#108-#110) without a steady ghostwriter and which most fans prefer to forget (#108 & #110 by Mike Newton; #109 by Alan Philipson). Jim Mullaney took over for novels #111-#131, followed by two more by Mike Newton that most would prefer to forget. Tim Somheil started ghostwriting from #134 and continues until the present. The series is currently up to #141.

Story Background

The series is about Remo Williams, a Newark cop, who is framed for a crime and sentenced to death. His death is faked by the government so he can be trained as an assassin for CURE, a secret organization set up by President Kennedy to defend the constitution by working outside the bounds of the Constitution. The sitting US President and the head of CURE are the only other people that know about the organization (although over the years it has increased slightly). Remo's trainer is Chiun, a deadly assassin and the last Master of Sinanju. Over the years, Remo and Chiun's relationship has transformed from student-teacher to son-father. It's also been discovered over the years that Remo is the avatar of Shiva, as prophesied in the legends of Sinanju.

Other Media

In 1985, The Destroyer concept was adapted as the theatrical movie "Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins", starring Fred Ward as Williams and Joel Grey as Chiun. In 1988, an American television pilot, Remo Williams, aired but did not lead to a series. It starred Jeffrey Meek as Williams and Roddy McDowall as Chiun.

There have been several comic book and magazine series published by Marvel based on The Destroyer series.

Series Listing (up to October, 2005)

001 - Created, The Destroyer
002 - Death Check
003 - Chinese Puzzle
004 - Mafia Fix
005 - Dr. Quake
006 - Death Therapy
007 - Union Bust
008 - Summit Chase
009 - Murder's Shield
010 - Terror Squad
011 - Kill or CURE
012 - Slave Safari
013 - Acid Rock
014 - Judgment Day
015 - Murder Ward
016 - Oil Slick
017 - Last War Dance
018 - Funny Money
019 - Holy Terror
020 - Assassin's Play-Off
021 - Deadly Seeds
022 - Brain Drain
023 - Child's Play
024 - King's Curse
025 - Sweet Dreams
026 - In Enemy Hands
027 - The Last Temple
028 - Ship of Death
029 - The Final Death
030 - Mugger Blood
031 - The Head Men
032 - Killer Chromosomes
033 - Voodoo Die
034 - Chained Reaction
035 - Last Call
036 - Power Play
037 - Bottom Line
038 - Bay City Blast
039 - Missing Link
040 - Dangerous Games
041 - Firing Line
042 - Timber Line
043 - Midnight Man
044 - Balance of Power
045 - Spoils of War
046 - Next of Kin
047 - Dying Space
048 - Profit Motive
049 - Skin Deep
050 - Killing Time
051 - Shock Value
052 - Fool's Gold
053 - Time Trial
054 - Last Drop
055 - Master's Challenge
056 - Encounter Group
057 - Date With Death
058 - Total Recall
059 - The Arms of Kali
060 - The End of the Game
061 - Lords of the Earth
062 - The Seventh Stone
063 - The Sky Is Falling
064 - The Last Alchemist
065 - Lost Yesterday
066 - Sue Me
067 - Look Into My Eyes
068 - An Old-Fashioned War
069 - Blood Ties
070 - The Eleventh Hour
071 - Return Engagement
072 - Sole Survivor
073 - Line of Succession
074 - Walking Wounded
075 - Rain of Terror
076 - The Final Crusade
077 - Coin of the Realm
078 - Blue Smoke And Mirrors
079 - Shooting Schedule
080 - Death Sentence
081 - Hostile Takeover
082 - Survival Course
083 - Skull Duggery
084 - Ground Zero
085 - Blood Lust
086 - Arabian Nightmare
087 - Mob Psychology
088 - The Ultimate Death
089 - Dark Horse
090 - Ghost in the Machine
091 - Cold Warrior
092 - The Last Dragon
093 - Terminal Transmission
094 - Feeding Frenzy
095 - High Priestess
096 - Infernal Revenue
097 - Identity Crisis
098 - Target of Opportunity
099 - The Color of Fear
100 - Last Rites
101 - Bidding War
102 - Unite and Conquer
103 - Engines Of Destruction
104 - Angry White Mailmen
105 - Scorched Earth
106 - White Water
107 - Feast or Famine
108 - Bamboo Dragon
109 - American Obsession
110 - Never Say Die
111 - Prophet of Doom
112 - Brain Storm
113 - The Empire Dreams
114 - Failing Marks
115 - Misfortune Teller
116 - The Final Reel
117 - Deadly Genes
118 - Killer Watts
119 - Fade To Black
120 - The Last Monarch
121 - A Pound of Prevention
122 - Syndication Rites
123 - Disloyal Opposition
124 - By Eminent Domain
125 - The Wrong Stuff
126 - Air Raid
127 - Market Force
128 - The End of the Beginning
129 - Father To Son
130 - Waste Not, Want Not
131 - Unnatural Selection
132 - Wolf's Bane
133 - Troubled Waters
134 - Bloody Tourists
135 - Political Pressure
136 - Unpopular Science
137 - Industrial Evolution
138 - No Contest
139 - Dream Thing
140 - Dark Ages
141 - Frightening Strikes