warning: this article contains spoilers for guardians of the galaxy #150 by gerry duggan, aaron kuder and marcus to, in stores now.

ever since marvel comics' legacy relaunch, the guardians of the galaxy have had their work cut out for them. the publisher's most cosmic team infiltrated the newly-rebuilt nova corps to help weasel out spies and saboteurs; they've dealt with surprise attacks from ultron bots in the far reaches of space; they've been trying to contain an uprising of treelike creatures much like groot; and, on top of all that, they've been tasked with finding the infinity stones.

now, the nova corps' headquarters are under attack, and it couldn't have come at a worst possible time. the guardians are stretched more than thin, and their ranks just got even thinner. as of the most recent (and final) issue of the series, drax the destroyer has quit the team.

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for a very, very long time, drax lived up to his destroyer moniker. he is, after all, one of the deadliest and most dangerous warriors in the entire galaxy. but as of late, the green killing machine has lost his taste for killing. for a while now, it's been apparent that drax is no longer the man he once was. he's lost the will to destroy, and prefers a quieter existence.

this isn't to say that the character has been useless as a guardian. even with his new pledge to not kill, drax has proven to be a formidable presence among the nova corps' ranks. he single-handedly took down a group of renegade novas without breaking a sweat, and he still protected his friends when both trees and raptor soldiers attacked.

though drax tried his best to be a non-lethal combatant, he did accidentally kill some of his enemies. in guardians of the galaxy #150, such an event takes place when drax faces off against the fraternity of raptors. accidentally killing one of these soldiers was the last straw for the green-skinned pacifist. after the battle is won, the guardians have no time to catch their breath -- it's on to the next mission, and the next. but that is exactly when drax realizes that he can't keep doing this -- he can't risk taking another life. "i quit," he solemnly declares. and, the guardians being the strong family unit that they are, they respect the tattooed giant's wishes.

even better, it just so happens that peter quill has found the perfect place for drax to live in peace and tranquility while still helping to protect the universe: the planet xitaung, aka the secret location of the building-sized power stone. drax accepts his new mission gracefully, looking forward to some peace.

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but what he doesn't know -- what no one knows -- is that the location of the power stone has leaked. now, all manner of alien species are heading straight for it -- nd drax, the former destroyer, will be all that stands between the powerful infinity stone, and those who would claim it for themselves.