The Wrecking Crew from ‘She-Hulk’ explained

The Wrecking Crew was recently unveiled in the new She-Hulk trailer so for those who want to know more about them, look no further.

The newest She-Hulk trailer debuted to mixed responses but one thing the trailer did have was a lot of new characters to process and take in for fans. One such group was the Wrecking Crew, a team of four mystically powered humans who appeared briefly in the trailer while She-Hulk gave them the business.

Some fans weren’t happy with how the Wrecking Crew was being portrayed in the trailer so we wanted to give an overview of the team to clear up any misconceptions:

Origins

The powers and abilities of the entire team come from the individual Dirk Garthwaite who in turn, got his power from Nornheim magician Karnilla. While looking for a potential hit, Garthwaite broke into the hotel room of an at-the-time depowered Loki. Loki was in the middle of summoning Karnilla to get revenge on Thor but Dirk was able to overpower Loki and take his helmet before she arrived. Mistaking the thief for Loki, Karnilla bestowed upon him superhuman strength nearly equivalent to the power of an Asgardian God.

Garthwaite was eventually depowered in a later battle with Thor and imprisoned in Rykers, where he formulated an escape plan with three other prisoners (Franklin, Camp, and Calusky) in order to retrieve his crowbar, which he believed held his old powers. When their plan came to fruition the four of them each grabbed onto the crowbar as lighting struck it, magically quartering Dirk’s original strength into the four of them.

They would then become the Wrecking Crew, a team who worked together to demand ransoms in exchange for not destroying buildings and other structures.

Dirk Garthwaite (Wrecker)

Dirk Garthwaite came from a home where abuse regularly happened to him. He eventually worked in construction until he was fired for misconduct. After gaining his powers from Loki he battled with a slightly depowered Thor for hours on end before besting him in one-on-one combat.

After his battle with Thor, the Destroyer, a nearly invincible Asgardian automaton, defeated Dirk in battle. He was then put under heavy sedation in a New York hospital to suppress his powers but it wouldn’t last. Eventually, he built up an immunity to the sedatives and broke out to battle Thor once again.

This time, Thor was fully powered and wanted to show Dirk his true strength. This leads us up until the moment when Thor defeated The Wrecker in battle and depowered him with a discharge of energy from his hammer.

Powers:

Wrecker is endowed with superhuman strength, stamina, and durability nearly on par with Thor, and can use various mystical powers with his crowbar.

These abilities include projecting shields onto people, the ability to recall his crowbar similar to Mjolnir, the ability to take mental possession of anyone who touches it, the ability to find Wrecking Crew Members through concentration, and a mental link with the weapon itself.

His powers were quartered when he shared them with his fellow teammates.

Dr. Elliot Franklin (Thunderball)

Elliot Franklin was a genius physicist who was able to create a miniature gamma-ray bomb, something even Bruce Banner was incapable of doing at the time. Unfortunately, he did not always have the money needed to fund his scientific endeavors and would often procure such funds through means of theft. Franklin was eventually imprisoned and there met Dirk Garthwaite.

Powers:

Thunderball possesses superhuman strength, stamina, and durability equal to a quarter of the Wrecker’s original powers. In addition, he is a super-genius, with his intellect surpassing that of even Bruce Banner.

Thunderball uses a highly durable ball and chain that can project energy bolts, change direction midair, and will return to him at his call similar to Thor’s hammer.

Henry Camp (Bulldozer)

Two days after Henry Camp was born, his mother left him in a garbage heap to die. He then grew up in an orphanage before joining the U.S. Army. He climbed the ladder all the way up to Master Sergeant but was dishonorably discharged after speaking out over an incident in which his friends were, “blown to pieces for a lie, for oil, for billionaires.”

He was then pushed to a life of survival and was eventually imprisoned in Ryker’s where he became cellmates with Dirk Garthwaite.

Powers:

Bulldozer has all of the same powers as the rest of the Wrecking Crew in addition to superhuman speed. Camp can reach speeds of up to 60 mph. He is also especially adept in hand-to-hand combat owing to his background in the army. Bulldozer donned a special helmet, neck, and shoulder armor that would allow him to use a headbutt move with little to no repercussions.

Brian Calusky (Piledriver)

Brain Calusky was born in Brooklyn, NY but was raised on a farm that was too slow for his lifestyle. Calusky was a farmhand and a drifter for many years before turning to a life of crime in which he found more excitement. He was eventually imprisoned in Rykers where he became cellmates with Garthwaite.

Powers:

Piledriver kind of got the short end of the stick when it comes to powers, as he only received superhuman strength and durability. Although, he did have especially large and strong hands in comparison to the other members which is due to his background as a farm hand.

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