First Look: Destro from 'G.I. Joe'

Note: The original photo was removed at the studio's request

We've seen character photos and watched a quick Superbowl trailer, but we still haven't got a good feel for this summer's G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra. One missing ingredient thus far has been the masked leader of M.A.R.S. Destro, played in the movie by Christopher Eccleston -- and while we've seen an image of Eccleston, we haven't seen him in full Destro mode. Now, Topless Robot brings us a screencap (from a new full-length trailer?) of Destro, and it's our first full look at the live-action version of the classic Joe villain. (See image above of Destro in mask and without mask.)

Here's some juice on Destro via Wiki: "He wears a mask forged from Beryllium Steel, a tradition dating back to the English Civil War, when an ancestor of his was caught selling weapons to both sides. Forced to wear a steel mask for his crimes (neither side wanted to execute the ancestor because they still wanted the weapons he sold), the Destro clan has since turned it into a symbol of pride, passing it down from father to son for over 20 generations. Destro's key characteristics are his sense of honor, a calm demeanor, and love for COBRA's second-in-command, the Baroness. As a businessman, Destro is cutthroat and unyielding. He uses his own troops, the Iron Grenadiers, and hires mercenaries to stir up conflict in dangerous regions, then sells weapons to those armies. Continuing a tradition started by the first masked Destro, he will even sell to both sides of the same war."

Keep in mind this isn't the best look, but it's something. An image of the Destro toy was also released online this past week (see gallery below), and that may give you a better idea of what to expect from the baddie. Hopefully they'll make him look pretty cool -- what do you think? G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra hits theaters on August 7.