In the third episode of She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, the Marvel Cinematic Universe series currently being released for streaming on Disney+, “The People vs. Emil Blonsky,” the eponymous jade giantess is confronted by a team of four antagonists near the conclusion of the story. While their origins may be somewhat different in the comics than in the MCU, this team is notorious for punching above their weight class… not to mention the enchanted weapons they wield!
In the panels of Marvel Comics, the Wrecking Crew was first introduced on the final page of Defenders #17, “Power Play” by Len Wein, Sal Buscema, Dan Green, Glynis Wein, and A. Kawecki, published in November 1974. The destructive team comprises the Wrecker, Thunderball, Pile-Driver, and Bulldozer.
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Defenders #18 by Wein, Buscema, Green, Wein, and Dave Hunt explained that the Wrecking Crew got their superpowers in the comics from a complex set of circumstances. These included those that arose in the Wrecker’s first appearance in Thor #148 (1968), “Let There Be… Chaos!” by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Vince Colletta, and Sam Rosen. In this issue, Dirk Garthwaite is a normal human calling himself “the Wrecker.” He is dressed in a costume and armed only with a crowbar and is committing robberies in New York City.
When he comes upon Loki’s apartment, Loki is summoning the Queen of the Norns. The arrival of the Wrecker causes Loki to flee, and the Wrecker puts on his abandoned helmet. The Queen of the Norns subsequently arrives and confuses the Wrecker for Loki (it’s the hat). As a result, the evil power she owes Loki is instead transferred to the Wrecker.
In Defenders #17, the Wrecker explains that he was subsequently arrested and incarcerated alongside the other three members of the Wrecking Crew. After escaping and being reunited with his crowbar, Garthwaite and the other three members hold the weapon as it is struck by lightning. This causes the Wrecker to be further powered-up and the other three men to become Thunderball, Pile-Driver, and Bulldozer, respectively.
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Who’s the Wrecking Crew on She-Hulk: Attorney at Law?
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In She-Hulk, it seems as though the Wrecking Crew possess their abilities (or is that just their weapons) due to somewhat different circumstances. According to the dialogue in “The People vs. Emil Blonsky,” the four antagonists simply lifted the enchanted Asgardian tools from a construction site.
The live-action incarnation of the team features Nick Gomez as Wrecker and Justin Eaton as Thunderball. Although the team quickly exited stage left in the third episode of She-Hulk, it’s impossible to ignore their long history in Marvel Comics (not to mention a cliffhanger phone call conducted by the Wrecking Crew before the episode’s end). We’ll likely see more of all four characters before the conclusion of She-Hulk season one.
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