Wrecking Crew (comics)

Wrecking Crew
The Wrecking Crew fights Thor for the first time in Thor #304. Art by Keith Pollard.
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First appearance	(As group) The Defenders #17 (November 1974)
Created by	Len Wein Sal Buscema
In-story information
Member(s)	Bulldozer Piledriver Thunderball Wrecker

The Wrecking Crew is a team of four fictional supervillains—the Wrecker, Bulldozer, Piledriver and Thunderball—appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. While not featured on the cover, the Wrecking Crew's first appearance is in The Defenders #17 (Nov 1974).^[1]

Fictional team history[]

The Wrecking Crew are formed when Dirk Garthwaite—the Wrecker—is approached by Dr. Eliot Franklin in prison and asked to retrieve a gamma bomb Franklin had designed, with the intent of ransoming New York for millions of dollars. The Wrecker had formerly been a violent criminal who demolished crime scenes with his crowbar, but gained his power when he was mistaken for Loki and given mystical powers by Karnilla the Norn Queen. Garthwaite manages to retrieve his enchanted crowbar, and during a lightning storm tells Franklin and fellow prisoners Henry Camp and Brian Calusky to grip the weapon simultaneously. A lightning bolt then strikes the crowbar, increases the Wrecker's power and transforms him and the other three men into the Wrecking Crew. They promptly escape from prison and, in the course of searching for the gamma bomb, are defeated by the Defenders and Luke Cage.^[2][3]

Over the years the Wrecking Crew have followed a very familiar cycle—escape from prison, fight (and subsequently lose to) superheroes, and be returned to prison. The Wrecking Crew have battled the Avengers, the Fantastic Four, Captain America, Iron Fist, the Runaways, Spider-Man, Namor the Sub-Mariner, Doctor Strange, Daredevil, Alpha Flight, the She-Hulk and the X-Men, but their main foe is Thor. When the Wrecking Crew first battle Thor, they are confident that it will be a quick victory. Thor, however, infuriated by the fact that one of the Wrecker's offensives has killed an innocent bystander, defeats them all in moments and critically injures the Wrecker.^[4] Thunderball escapes and, several weeks later, recovers the Wrecker's crowbar, going on to form his own gang before being defeated by Spider-Man.^[5]

The Wrecking Crew is later chosen by the being known as the Beyonder to participate in the Secret Wars against a team of select superheroes.^[6]

The Wrecking Crew's most notorious act was to participate in the near-fatal beating of the hero Hercules during a siege of Avengers Mansion by the fourth incarnation of Masters of Evil. With Thor's assistance, Hercules eventually confronts the Wrecking Crew and defeats them, restoring his confidence in himself.^[7]

The Wrecking Crew was imprisoned in the Raft when Electro freed the inmates in the New Avengers.^[8]

During the Civil War crossover event, the Wrecking Crew is forced to join the Thunderbolts or face additional jail time.^[9]

They later escape to Canada to avoid the Superhuman Registration Act. The Wrecking Crew's most despicable act was murdering nearly everyone inside a Canadian bar all because of an "annoying" cell phone ringtone. They then join forces with the mythical Great Beasts and battle the superhero team Omega Flight.^[10]

After being defeated by Omega Flight, they are imprisoned in a jail in Manitoba, but manage to escape^[11] and return to the United States, where they are recruited to join the Hood's crime syndicate.^[12]

The Wrecking Crew were later hired by Jigsaw to kill the Punisher during Jigsaw's revenge plot against him. However, before the Wrecker can deliver the final blow, he is defeated by the Rhino, who owed the Punisher a favor after he spared the Rhino's life.

During the Secret Invasion storyline, the Wrecking Crew are among the many supervillains who rejoined the Hood's crime syndicate and attacked an invading Skrull force.^[13]

During the "Search for Tony Stark" story arc, the Wrecking Crew rejoin the Hood's gang as they attack Castle Doom.^[14]

Membership[]

Current members[]

• The Wrecker (Dirk Garthwaite) — The team's leader wields an indestructible crowbar with magical properties. He both hates and fears Thor.
• Bulldozer I (Henry Camp) — Bulldozer I has an armored metal helmet and fights by ramming his victims head-first.
• Piledriver (Brian Philip Calusky) — Piledriver fights with his oversized pile-driving fists.
• Thunderball (Dr. Eliot Franklin) — Thunderball is the thinker of the team and wields a huge demolition ball on a chain.

Former members[]

• The Excavator (Ricky Calusky) — The teenage son of Piledriver and a temporary member. The Excavator wielded an enchanted shovel that broke in his very first battle when he smashed it over Molly Hayes' head (which only irritated the young mutant girl).^[15]
• Bulldozer II (Marci Camp) — Marci Camp is the daughter of Henry Camp, the original Bulldozer, who inherited the villain's powers as well as his training. She now works alongside her father.
• The Demolisher (real name unknown) - A female mercenary who filled in for Thunderball as a member of the Wrecking Crew when they were working on a job for the Kingpin. She and the rest of the Crew were defeated by Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur.^[16]

Other versions[]

Marvel Zombies[]

In Marvel Zombies vs. Army of Darkness, Thunderball is seen fighting Daredevil, whom he defeats with the help of Ash Williams (who mistakenly believed Daredevil to be the villain). Later, Thunderball is attempting to fight off several zombies, including infected versions of the Wrecker, Bulldozer and Piledriver. The Punisher comes upon the scene and shoots Thunderball dead, then directs his attention to the zombies. The remaining members of the Wrecking Crew are subsequently among the zombies who attack and infect the Punisher.

Ultimate Marvel[]

The Wrecking Crew initially appear in Ultimate Spider-Man as a clean-up crew for super-human battles, as employees of Damage Control.^[17] They then briefly appear in Ultimate Hulk Annual fighting Zarda after gaining the costumes, weapons and powers of their mainstream counterparts and seizing the Flatiron Building. It is unknown how or why they acquired their costumes, weapons and powers, as well as the change in their behavior.^[18]

JLA/Avengers[]

The Wrecking Crew have a brief appearance in the last issue of JLA/Avengers as a part of Krona's army, being single-handedly taken down by Wonder Woman.

In other media[]

Television[]

• The Wrecking Crew makes their animation debut in The Super Hero Squad Show animated series episode "To Err is Superhuman", with the Wrecker, Bulldozer, Piledriver, and Thunderball voiced by Charlie Adler, Roger Rose, Travis Willingham, and Alimi Ballard respectively.^{[citation needed]}
• The Wrecking Crew appears in The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes animated series, with the Wrecker, Bulldozer, Piledriver, and Thunderball voiced by JB Blanc, James C. Mathis III, Nolan North, and Gary Anthony Williams respectively. In "Thor the Mighty", the Wrecking Crew attack a weapons shipment, but run afoul of Thor. Unbeknownst to the latter, the former were hired by Loki disguised as the Leader to serve as a distraction while Frost Giants invade Asgard. In the two-part episode "Gamma World", the Wrecking Crew join the Leader in turning the world's populace into gamma monsters, including themselves. They defeat Thor and Doc Samson, but are later defeated by Thor and the Black Panther and apprehended by S.H.I.E.L.D. In "Powerless", the Wrecking Crew fight Captain America, Thor, Iron Man, and Hawkeye after the Enchantress weakens the heroes, but are defeated following the Destroyer's arrival.
• The Wrecking Crew appeared in the Ultimate Spider-Man animated series episode "Damage", with the Wrecker, Bulldozer, Piledriver, and Thunderball voiced by John DiMaggio, Kevin Michael Richardson, Cam Clarke, and Chi McBride respectively.^{[citation needed]} They cause havoc in New York City before fighting Spider-Man and his fellow S.H.I.E.L.D. trainees. The heroes later discover the Wrecking Crew had infiltrated Damage Control as a cover for an upcoming bank robbery and join forces with Damage Control CEO Mac Porter to foil the villains' plan.
• The Wrecking Crew appeared in the Avengers Assemble animated series, with John DiMaggio and Cam Clarke reprising their roles as the Wrecker and Piledriver respectively while Bulldozer is voiced by Travis Willingham and Thunderball is voiced by Fred Tatasciore.^{[citation needed]} In the episode "Avengers: Impossible", the villains were in the middle of a bank robbery before they are foiled by the Avengers. However, the Impossible Man frees the Wrecking Crew so Falcon can single-handedly defeat them as part of his show about the hero. While Falcon does so, the Avengers try to stop the Impossible Man. In "Downgraded", the Wrecking Crew raid an abandoned A.I.M. warehouse, but are foiled by the Avengers once again.
• The Wrecking Crew appears in the Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H. animated series, with the Wrecker voiced by Steven Blum in "The Skaar Whisperer" and Fred Tatasciore in "The Big Green Mile", Bulldozer voiced by Benjamin Diskin in "The Skaar Whisperer" and "The Big Green Mile", Piledriver voiced by Jonathan Adams in "The Big Green Mile", and Thunderball voiced by Fred Tatasciore in "The Skaar Whisperer" and Jonathan Adams in "The Big Green Mile".^{[citation needed]} In "The Skaar Whisperer", they assist the Absorbing Man in starting a riot at the Vault, but are defeated by the agents of S.M.A.S.H.^[19] In "The Big Green Mile", the Wrecking Crew become inmates of the Abomination's section of the Vault. After he blasts his section of the prison into space with a gamma bomb and the agents of S.M.A.S.H. disarm it with Absorbing Man and Titania's help, the Wrecking Crew are transferred to another prison facility.
• The Wrecking Crew appear in the Marvel Disk Wars: The Avengers anime series episode "Mutant Girl Awakening".^{[citation needed]} The villain, Joel Murphy, uses them to fight the Avengers, but the Wrecking Crew are easily defeated and captured via DISK technology.

Video games[]

• The Wrecker and Bulldozer appeared as bosses in the 1995 Spider-Man video game for the Sega Genesis. Piledriver and Thunderball do not appear in the game, but are mentioned in the game's ending. The Wrecker was originally going to appear in the SNES version, but was cut for unknown reasons.^[20]
• The Wrecking Crew appear as a collective boss in Marvel: Ultimate Alliance, with the Wrecker voiced by Dave Wittenberg, Bulldozer voiced by James Arnold Taylor, Piledriver voiced by Michael Gough, and Thunderball voiced by Fred Tatasciore. They appear as members of Doctor Doom's Masters of Evil tasked with blocking the Bifrost Bridge to prevent reinforcements from arriving, only to be defeated by the heroes.
• The Wrecking Crew appears as a collective boss in the Facebook game Marvel: Avengers Alliance.

References[]

External links[]

• Wrecking Crew at the Marvel Universe wiki