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The Destroyers are a fictional New York City gang in 1979 and the main rivals of the Warriors. The Destroyers were the original Coney Island gang based in East Coney, and were once known to being a pretty heavy set, putting up some solid opposition in their turf war with the Warriors.

Description[]

The Destroyers consisted of African-American and Caucasian members. All of their members wore blue denim waistcoats with the Destroyers logo emblazoned on the back. Their main hangout was a large building in East Coney Island with a mural of Virgil painted on the side. Their main business was drug dealing and they had a business-only relationship with the Jones Street Boys. They were also involved in illegal gambling, pimping, and extortion.

History[]

The Destroyers formed sometime before April 16th, 1978. Prior to 1979, they were the toughest and most powerful gang in Coney Island. Ash recalled admiring them a lot when he was growing up. Although it is implied the gang changed years later, it's not entirely clear what the Destroyers were like before 1978, although a lot of dialogue implies they may have been more honorable and disciplined like the Warriors, before Virgil and others within the gang became dependent on drugs and alcohol. Some Destroyers can be found under influence of alcohol and/or drugs in the Coney chapters of the game. Some are even knocked out on the ground in a few scenarios, like in Payback. When the player attacks the knocked out Destroyer, he will mumble, puke and then go back to unconsciousness. This is also seen in the last cutscene in that particular mission. This might be one of the main reasons why they lost their grip on their turf, and had faded away into history.

Their downfall began when founder and Warlord, Virgil, became a paranoid, cocaine-addicted alcoholic. In the spring of 1978, Virgil attempted to get Cleon - his ex-Warchief - and Vermin killed in a set-up drug deal with the Satan's Mothers, after Virgil convinced himself that Cleon was "making moves behind his back" (possibly believing Cleon intended to kill him and replace him as Warlord). After surviving the assault that was planned by Virgil, they left and established their own gang, the Warriors, along with former Destroyers, Swan and Cowboy. On May 6, 1978, the newly formed gang invaded Destroyers turf in West Coney and forced local businesses to pay the Warriors instead; before they stormed a warehouse once used by The Destroyers such as L.C., to transform into their own permanent hangout. In the following months, it would appear that many of the former members of the Destroyers would join Cleon as being the new recruits of The Warriors; due to the fact that Virgil's selfish actions along with his poor decisions had made the ex-members make a decision to defect from the Destroyers, and therefore aligning themselves with The Warriors instead. Among them were Ajax and Snow who had to battle through their turf after having their vests stolen; much to Cleon's annoyance. By the spring of 1979, the Warriors were at least equal to the Destroyers in terms of strength, if not stronger than them.

After a year-long turf war, Virgil was eventually killed by being burned to death with a Molotov cocktail at the hands of both, Cleon & Vermin. As his hangout now completely trashed by The Warriors, and his entire gang left in ruins as a strike of vengeance by The Warriors; in retaliation for the murder of Ash, one of the Warriors' New Bloods. Shortly after Virgil's gruesome death, the D.J. announces over the radio that the Warriors had annihilated the Destroyers in the war for Coney and jokingly apologizes to the Destroyers before she dedicates a song to them, adding that "nothing lasts forever". While it's never explicitly shown whether the Destroyers had continued on, it is unlikely the gang could sustain itself to keep on going with their Warlord dead, and having lost all of their turf, influence, and respect in Coney Island. The Destroyers also do not appear at Cyrus' meeting; hinting that they actually did disband after all. It is possible that some of the ex-members of the Destroyers chose to join the Warriors themselves; given the fact that the Warriors have taken full control of Coney Island and all of its fronts. As stated by Swan in a conversation with Cochise after the events of Destroyed, all of the gangs around NYC had read the headlines on the newspapers of the eradication of The Destroyers, and The Warriors being a far better gang than The Destroyers once were.

Members[]

  • Beansie (Lieutenant)
  • Bull (Soldier)
  • Cal (Soldier)
  • Chase (Lieutenant)
  • Cleon (Former Main Lieutenant; Deceased)
  • Cowboy (Former Soldier)
  • Crusty (Lieutenant)
  • Devon (Lieutenant)
  • Freak (Lieutenant)
  • Geek (Lieutenant)
  • Gnat (Soldier)
  • Gopher (Soldier)
  • Jake (Soldier)
  • LC (Soldier)
  • Les (Soldier)
  • Lemmy (Warlord; Former Main Lieutenant)
  • Maggot (Soldier)
  • Mainline (Soldier)
  • Maurie (Soldier)
  • Rat (Lieutenant)
  • Roach (Soldier)
  • Skooly (Lieutenant)
  • Snake (Soldier)
  • Steamy (Soldier)
  • Stumpy (Soldier)
  • Swan (Former Lieutenant/Soldier)
  • Sweats (Soldier)
  • Toad (Soldier)
  • Vermin (Former Soldier)
  • Weasel (Soldier)
  • Virgil (Former Warlord; Deceased)
  • Zak (Soldier)
  • Fillmore/Galaxy (Associate)
  • Maurie (Former Pitboss; Deceased)
  • Mary Janny (Associate)
  • Tara (Associate)
  • Tonia (Associate)

In the Film[]

The Destroyers do not appear in the movie, and are exclusive to the game.

In the Game[]

In Roots, Cleon and Vermin walk through East Coney discussing about how the Destroyers gang is becoming "real old" and how Virgil is "starting to become un-glued". Lemmy stops them and tells them that Virgil wants to see them at the hangout. Once they get to the hangout, Virgil tells Cleon to go to LC to get the goods for a drug deal with the Satan's Mothers motorcycle gang. He also says that he'll be there to meet Cleon at midnight. They get to LC's, but LC doesn't want to give them the drugs just yet because there are cops all over their turf, watching for suspicious activity. They get rid of the cops and return to LC's and pick up the drugs, but LC refuses to come with them to the deal. At the agreed meeting spot with the Satan's Mothers, Virgil doesn't show up as Cleon and Vermin attempt to conduct the deal themselves. The deal goes sour when the bikers discover the drugs are fake, and Cleon and Vermin end up fighting for survival, which ends when they battle with the Satan's Mothers' Warlords, Spider and Tiny. After wrecking Spider and Tiny they head back to East Coney. Upon arrival, Cleon accuses Virgil of setting them up to be killed. Virgil doesn't deny Cleon's accusation; instead he accuses Cleon of plotting against him behind his back to get rid of him. Enraged by Virgil's betrayal, Cleon and Vermin then walk away in complete disgust quitting the Destroyers for good; but not before Cleon declares war on Virgil by creating his own gang: The Warriors.

In The Best, the Destroyers find out that their stores are getting destroyed in Coney Island, so they begin to battle against former Destroyers Swan and Cowboy in this mission. The mission ends with the Warriors taking control of West Coney and the Destroyers losing half of their turf in the process.

In Heavy Muscle, Ajax takes Snow to pick up some girls at an ice cream shop up in East Coney, and they wear their Warriors vests despite Snow's initial reluctance. The Destroyers ambush Ajax and Snow from behind with bricks and beer bottles for stepping foot on East Coney wearing the Warriors colors. While Ajax and Snow are dazed, Lemmy and LC steal their vests. Three members of the Destroyers are around the corner and they begin to fight Ajax and Snow after a bit of smack talk. The Destroyers are now in a donut shop where Beansie is interrogated by Ajax. They bust up a few more Destroyers and eventually come across Lemmy telling his tale of how he stole the vests. He spots Ajax and Snow and fights them with his fellow Destroyers while wearing Snow's vest. Lemmy is interrogated and says that LC has Ajax's vest. LC turns out to be visiting a lady friend at her apartment above the pawnshop. LC gets wrecked, and the girl gives Ajax his vest back after they have sex. There are now a bunch of Destroyers gathered outside talking, and they hear the girl when she yells out for Ajax to call her sometime. They see Ajax and Snow, and chase them all the way back to West Coney where they find the rest of the Warriors coming. Rather than cross over to West Coney, the Destroyers back off and go home.

In Real Live Bunch, the Destroyers attack the Warriors' hangout with a Molotov cocktail and run off. After organizing, the Warriors eventually catch up to, and defeat them in a brawl. But when the Warriors return to their hangout, they discover the earlier attack was just a distraction to get them away long enough for the Destroyers to paint a large tag on the side of the building.

In Payback, a couple of Destroyers are seen puking on the sidewalk after drinking too much alcohol, they then get knocked out and have all of their tags in East Coney covered over by the Warriors. Destroyer scouts are seen outside protecting their hangout, but are fooled by the noises made by beer bottles. A big tag is placed on the side of the Destroyers' hangout, and Virgil wakes up the following morning, after he was knocked out the night before from drinking and possibly drug use. He sees that his master Destroyer tag has been sprayed over by the Warriors. As his back is turned to the screen, it's revealed that Ajax has tagged over the Destroyers logo on the back of his vest. Virgil goes into a drug and alcohol fueled tantrum and swears revenge against Cleon and the Warriors.

The Destroyers aren't seen again until Payin' The Cost. In this mission, the Destroyers launch their boldest assault against the Warriors, in a plot to kill Cleon once and for all. The Destroyers start by trashing Charlie's Plumbing Store, and attacking and destroying Hot Dog Jimmy's hotdog stand. The Destroyers proceed to attack Stefano's Meat Market, Twiggy's Little Buddha smoke shop/record store, and Skinny Pete's Voodoo Motors car dealership, but thanks to Warrior intervention, all businesses were saved apart from Jimmy's hotdog stand, which was destroyed instantly. Meanwhile, Virgil has Ash ambushed, beaten to death, and his corpse used as bait in a trap intended to kill Cleon. Virgil speaks to Cleon and declares that the war is over and that the Warriors have lost, and leaves the Destroyers to attack Cleon and Swan with Molotov cocktails. But they failed, and Cleon and Swan escape.

In Destroyed, Cleon declares that Virgil and his Destroyers have gone too far this time, and that it's time for retribution. They attack a Destroyers member and spray over his tag. Three more Destroyers are attacked and have their stores destroyed by the Warriors. Once the Destroyers find out that the Pharmacy is damaged, they come running, but fail to protect the store. After the Pharmacy, the Destroyers find out that their Liquor Store is being attacked, but again fail to protect their stores. The Destroyers had stolen some goods, which are then destroyed by the Warriors. Some Destroyers are hanging out in the Gambling House and are attacked by the Warriors. Virgil is now seen inside his hangout sitting on the couch and is informed that the Warriors are tearing down their stores. Beansie is impressed with Cleon's resolve by commenting on how Virgil "never thought Cleon would get so heavy". Virgil snaps upon hearing this and savagely beats Beansie unconscious with his pool stick, in another one of his drug and alcohol fueled rage. After four Destroyer lieutenants are killed, LC hurries into the hangout, yelling to Virgil that the Warriors are everywhere and that they're doing it with full force. Virgil gets really angry again and tells Lemmy to protect the hangout with his Destroyer soldiers and tells LC that he'll be in the shack and that LC will also be staying to protect the hangout. Every Destroyer protecting the outside is eliminated, including Lemmy. The Destroyers inside are all eliminated as well, but LC runs off to the shack to tell Virgil. LC is at the shack and starts knocking on the door, but there is no answer. Cleon comes up behind LC and smashes his face into the door. Virgil is now seen inside the shack, drunk and/or high, and fights Cleon and Vermin in a final battle that he ends up losing. Broken and defeated, Virgil calls Cleon a "copperhead" and laments on how Cleon was "nothing before him". But Cleon tells Virgil to "open his eyes", and that he "ain't nothing but ashes". Cleon then sets Virgil on fire with a Molotov cocktail which kills him; avenging Ash, and thus ending the turf war for Coney Island by wiping out The Destroyers once and for all.

In the Novel[]

The Destroyers are similar to the Lords, a gang from the novel. Like the Destroyers, The Colonial Lords are the rivals of the main gang in the story and control parts of Coney Island. Yurick's novel describes The Lords as a gang filled with "junkies and psychos." Similarly, The Destroyers' rampant drug use and sadism is one of their defining characteristics.

In the novel, the Lords were never defeated and still control half of Coney at the time of the meeting. However, in the epilogue of the novel, none of their soldiers are seen or heard from after the meeting, and their hangout gets paint-bombed by the Dominators, which serves as inspiration for Payback.

Appearances[]

Trivia[]

  • In the beta version, the Destroyers looked slightly different. They had blue jackets with red sleeves, the Lieutenants had yellow sleeves and some of their faces looked different.
  • The Destroyers are one of the handful of gangs in the series which have members come from multiple racial/ethnic backgrounds.
  • The name "Destroyers" comes from the original film script, where they were named as one of the many gangs, though they played no role in the film. Rockstar used the name and expanded on it.
  • If you do the full army in Rumble Mode, LC will have two copies of himself among the gang for some reason.
  • It's implied that Ajax and Snow are also former members of the Destroyers as Ajax still had a girlfriend or booty call in East Coney despite joining the Warriors. He and Snow also appear to be familiar with the gang's Lieutenants Beansie, Lemmy and LC.

Gallery[]

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