Garthwaite managed to retrieve his enchanted crowbar, and during a lightning storm, he told Dr. Franklin and two of his fellow prisoners, Henry Camp and Brian Calusky, to grip the crowbar simultaneously. A lightning bolt struck the bar, thus transferring the enchantments of Garthwaite's crowbar to all three of the others and transforming the group into the Wrecking Crew. Dr. Franklin was transformed into the Thunderball; Camp was transformed into the Bulldozer; and Calusky was transformed into the Piledriver.
They promptly escaped from prison, but in the course of their search for Dr. Franklin's gamma bomb, they were defeated by the Defenders and Luke Cage.
In General
Alter Egos: Wrecker (Dirk Garthwaite), Bulldozer I (Henry Camp), Piledriver (Brian Philip Calusky), Thunderball (Dr. Eliot Franklin), Excavator (Ricky Calusky), Bulldozer II (Marci Camp), Demolisher
First Appearance: The Mighty Thor (vol. 1) #148 (Wrecker), The Defenders (vol. 1) #17 (As Group)
Mistakenly given Asgardian powers by the Norn Queen, they are four hardened convicts with enchanted weapons and Super-Strength. Their names are Bulldozer (Henry Camp), Piledriver (Brian Calusky), Thunderball (Eliot Franklin), and Wrecker (Dirk Garthwaite, leader). Originally the Wrecker worked solo until he put his team together.
- Dumb Muscle: Most of the crew. In most stories, they are either henchmen to a more important villain or petty crooks who are stealing anything of value that they can fence for the right price.
- Evil Counterpart: The Wrecker's crowbar is one to Thor's hammer, and has similar properties.
- Meaningful Name: "The Wrecking Crew" refers to their super-strength and the willingness with which they turn it on their surroundings.
- Normal Fish in a Tiny Pond: The Wrecking Crew are often depicted as grunts for heavy-hitting heroes like Thor to take out. But it should not be forgotten that they still have Asgardian-level strength, meaning that they're nigh-unstoppable for street-level heroes. In New Avengers, Wrecker alone was able to give the titular team, which mainly comprised of street-level heroes like Spider-Man, an extremely hard time.
- Person of Mass Destruction: All of them, the Wrecker in particular, are capable of causing massive property damage.
- Powers as Programs: The Wrecker is the one in the group who originally got superpowers. Since they're magic in origin, he's as able to divide it amongst the rest of the Crew, while reducing his power to a fourth. He can take the power back or someone like Loki or Thor can forcibly rob the other three of their powers, at the cost of returning the Wrecker to full power.
- Super-Toughness: They've shrugged off punches from Spider-Woman, Spider-Man, Thor, and the Hulk before.
- Touched by Vorlons: The Wrecker is basically an Asgardian in physiology, as the spell from the Norn Queen made his muscles, bones, and skin several times thicker. While he's still considered a human, his body is no longer made of the same tissue as a regular human anymore. His crowbar's abilities have never been fully explained, but simply, it is hard enough to parry Thor's hammer, can fire energy blasts, and lets him share his power with the rest of the Wrecking Crew,
- The Worf Effect: The Wrecker himself at full power, or the Crew combined, were once a major threat to Thor, the Defenders, and any hero weaker than them. Nowadays, they are mostly throwaway villains who have gotten beaten up by just about everyone, including the Runaways.
Members
Wrecker
Alter Ego: Dirk Garthwaite
Notable Aliases: Crowbar-Man
First Appearance: The Mighty Thor #148 (January, 1968)
Founder of the Wrecking Crew, Dirk Garthwaite was committing a crime with a crowbar, when he unknowingly robbed a hotel room occupied by a power-stripped Loki, where Karnilla then accidentally instilled Wrecker and his crowbar with divine Asgardian powers when she responded to Loki's summons.
- Don't Tell Mama: Wrecker's mother does not know her son is a supervillain.
- Empathic Weapon: The Asgarding magic in his crowbar responds to Wrecker's thoughts, allowing him to shoot energy blasts from it or remote guide it similar to Thor's Mjolnir.
- Secondary Color Nemesis: His outfit is mostly green and purple.
- Villainous Friendship: Wrecker considers the Crew the only family he has, even tolerating Thunderball's Starscream tendencies.
- The Wrecker was the best man to Absorbing Man when he married Titania.
Bulldozer I
Alter Ego: Henry Camp
First Appearance: The Defenders #17 (November, 1974)
An U.S. army sergeant who was discharged and put into jail. He later became one of the strongest members of The Wrecking Crew.
- Logical Weakness: The helmet partially affects his peripheral field-of-vision.
- Signature Headgear: His dome-shaped helmet makes him very easy to identify.
- Undying Loyalty: Unlike Thunderball, Bulldozer has remained steadfast in his loyalty to The Wrecker and has only been separated from The Wrecking Crew through various incarcerations in prison.
- Use Your Head: Similarly to the Juggernaut, Bulldozer's main way of attacking is to ram things with his head. That or he uses his armed shoulder-pads as well.
Bulldozer II
Alter Ego: Marci Camp
First Appearance: Fantastic Four Vol 5 #3 (June, 2014)
Daughter of the original Bulldozer of the Wrecking Crew.
- Cool Helmet: One that shows her face unlike her father's, although it still partially obscures her vision.
- Legacy Character: Received her father's powers and training when she became the new Bulldozer.
- Pint-Sized Powerhouse: She might be a young girl, but she's capable of moving the Thing in a fight and survive the destruction of a building which fell on top of her.
- The Smurfette Principle: She's the only consistent female member of the Wrecking Crew.
Piledriver
Alter Ego: Brian Philip Calusky
Notable Aliases: Ryan Sandusky
First Appearance: The Defenders #17 (November, 1974)
Piledriver is a powerful member of the Wrecking Crew.
- Action Dad: He has a son and is one tough villain.
- Good Old Fisticuffs: Instead of weapons, Piledriver uses his fists to fight.
- Power Fists: The Asgardian magic that gave them their powers enlarged his fists.
Thunderball
Alter Ego: Eliot Augustus Franklin
Notable Aliases: Dr. Eliot Franklin, Black Bruce Banner
First Appearance: The Defenders #17 (November, 1974)
Once a physicist who built a gamma bomb which was then stolen, the man later called the Thunderball was jailed after he tried to recover it. He there met the Wrecker and gained his powers. They joined forces with the Piledriver and the Bulldozer to form the Wrecking Crew.
- Black and Nerdy: While the other three were just common thugs, Thunderball was originally a brilliant physicist who invented a working gamma bomb, something that Bruce freakin' Banner failed to do.
- Empathic Weapon: Like the Wrecker's crowbar, Franklin can remote guide and callback his flail by mental command.
- Epic Flail: A wrecking ball, hence his codename of Thunderball.
- Genius Bruiser: He's considered at one point to be the "Black Bruce Banner" and created a miniature gamma bomb.
- Power Armor: Uses one in place of his powers when not around Wrecker.
- The Starscream: Thunderball is constantly trying to usurp leadership from Wrecker.
- Two First Names: Elliot and Franklin.
Excavator
Alter Ego: Ricky Calusky
Notable Aliases: Captain Shovel
First Appearance: Runaways Vol 2 #1 (April, 2005)
Ricky Calusky is Piledriver's son. He decided to follow in his father's footsteps and became a criminal joining forces with the likes of Baron Zemo.
Demolisher
First Appearance: Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur #34 (October, 2018)
New member of the Wrecking Crew hired to attack Moon Girl.
- Affirmative Action Girl: She's the second female that has been part of the Wrecking Crew.
- Braids of Action: Has her hair in a braided ponytail.
- Distaff Counterpart: Is essentially a younger, female version of Thunderball.
- Epic Flail: Just like Thunderball, she fights with a wrecking ball. Unlike his it's the kind that's on a cable and has a hook.
- Only Known by Their Nickname: Her real name is unknown.
- Remember the New Guy?: Introduced as a full member of the crew with no prior buildup or explanation. If the pattern of the other new recruits holds, she's probably related to one of them.
