Wrecking Crew (comics)

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imagesize=
caption=The Wrecking Crew fights Thor for the first time in "Thor" (vol. 1) #304. Art by Keith Pollard.
team_name= Wrecking Crew
publisher=Marvel Comics
debut= (As group) "Defenders" vol. 1, #17 (November 1974)
creators=Len Wein
base=
members=Bulldozer
Piledriver
Thunderball
Wrecker
memberlist=
subcat=Marvel Comics
hero=
villain=y
sortkey=Wrecking Crew| The Wrecking Crew is a team of four fictional supervillains — Bulldozer, Piledriver, Thunderball, and the Wrecker — that appears in the Marvel Universe. While not featured on the cover, the Wrecking Crew's first appearance is in "Defenders" vol. 1, #17 in November 1974.

Fictional biography

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 Eliot had designed, with the intent of ransoming New York for millions of dollars. 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 and transforms the four 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. ["Defenders" vol. 1, #17 - 19]

Over the years the Wrecking Crew have perpetuated a very familiar cycle - escape prison, fight and subsequently lose to superheroes, and return to prison. The Wrecking Crew have battled the Avengers, Captain America, Iron Fist, the Runaways, Spider-Man, the Sub-Mariner, the Thing, and their main foe - Thor. When the Wrecking Crew first battle Thor, they are confident that it will be a quick victory. Thor, however, defeats them all in moments and critically injures the Wrecker - infuriated by the fact that one of the Wrecker's offensives has killed an innocent bystander. ["Thor" vol. 1, #304] Thunderball escapes and several weeks later recovers the Wrecker's crowbar, and goes on to form his own gang before being defeated by Spider-Man. ["Amazing Spider-Man" vol. 1, #248]

The team is later chosen by the being known as the Beyonder to participate in the Secret Wars against a team of select superheroes. ["Secret Wars" #1 - 12 (1984 - 1985)]

The Wrecking Crew's most despicable act was to participate in the near-fatal beating of the hero Hercules during a siege of Avengers Mansion by the supervillain team the Masters of Evil. With Thor's assistance, Hercules eventually confronts the Wrecking Crew and defeats them, restoring his confidence in himself. ["Thor" vol. 1, #418]

Civil War and Beyond

During the Civil War event, the Wrecking Crew is forced to join the team the Thunderbolts or face additional jail time. ["Civil War" #1 - 7 (2006 - 2007)]

They later escape to Canada to avoid the Superhuman Registration Act. Upon arriving in Canada, the Crew, minus Thunderball, murders nearly everyone inside a Canadian bar, due to an "annoying" cell phone ringtone. They then join forces with the mythical Great Beasts and battle the superhero team Omega Flight. ["Omega Flight" #1 - 5 (2007)]

After Omega Flight defeats the Crew in battle, they are imprisoned in a jail in Manitoba but manage to escape ["Marvel Comics Presents" #5 (2008)] and return to the United States where they are recruited to join The Hood's crime syndicate. ["New Avengers" #32 - 37 (2007)]

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

Membership

* Bulldozer (Henry Camp) - Bulldozer has an armored metal helmet and fights by ramming his victims head-first.

* Excavator (Ricky Calusky) - The teenage son of Piledriver and a temporary member. Excavator wielded an enchanted shovel that broke in his very first battle when he smashed it over Molly Hayes head. ["Runaways" vol. 4, #1]

* Piledriver (Brian Philip Calusky) - Piledriver fights with his over-sized pile-driving fists.

* Thunderball (Dr. Eliot Franklin) - Thunderball is the thinker on the team and wields a huge demolition ball on a chain.

* Wrecker (Dirk Garthwaite) - The team's leader wields an indestructible crowbar with magical properties. He both fears and hates the Thunder God, Thor.

Other versions

Ultimate Wrecking Crew

The Wrecking Crew appear as a clean-up crew for super-human battles, as employees of Damage Control.

In other media

Televison

The cartoon Dexter's Laboratory parodied the Wrecking Crew in the show-within-a-show "Action Hank", which featured a team of bad guys with the same name, two of whom wielded a crowbar and wrecking ball, like Wrecker and Thunderball.

Video games

* The Wrecking Crew appeared in the "Spider-Man: The Animated Series" games for Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo.

* The Wrecking Crew appears in the video game "". They have special dialogue with Luke Cage and Elektra.

References

External links

* [http://www.marvel.com/universe/Wrecking_Crew Marvel's profile on the Wrecking Crew]