Family annihilators don't typically think through the end result -- potentially being arrested -- instead focusing on "the immediate need and gain of the moment," Garrett said.

Annihilators are overwhelmingly male (95 percent, he estimates), and mostly white and middle-aged. They feel inadequate as men and have often suffered childhood abuse.

Most so-called family annihilators are men, Berrill said — Websdale estimates that 95 percent of perpetrators are male — though they are so rare there has been no real studies on the subject.

Garrett said while family annihilators premeditate their murders and “are never spontaneous," they also don’t think through how to hide what they did. "Like anybody else that commits some horrible, ...

While the Annihilators haven’t had a major storyline in years, there’s no reason to believe they won’t make a return. As Star-Lord once said, the Annihilators are what the Guardians of the ...

Most so-called family annihilators are men, Berrill said — Websdale estimates that 95 percent of perpetrators are male — though they are so rare there has been no real studies on the subject.