Wrecker (comics)
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The Wrecker is a Marvel Comics supervillain and was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. The Wrecker's first appearance was in Thor Vol. 1, #148 (January 1968).
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[edit] Fictional character biography
Dirk Garthwaite was a former worker for a demolitions crew who was fired for his violent and anti-social tendencies. Turning to crime, Garthwaite fashioned a costume for himself and began making a series of robberies under the guise of the Wrecker. His calling card was his habit of demolishing looted locations and then leaving a crowbar at the scene of the crime.
The Wrecker's fortunes changed for the better when looting a hotel room that - unknown to him - was currently occupied by Loki, the arch foe of Thor. At the precise moment that the Wrecker entered Loki was trying to contact his accomplice, the Norn Queen Karnilla, for an enchantment that would grant him the strength to defeat Thor. Karnilla arrived and mistook Garthwaite for Loki, granting him the enchantment instead. The Wrecker now lived up to his name, as he possessed superhuman strength, stamina and durability courtesy of a now indestructible and enchanted crowbar.
Revelling in his new-found power, the Wrecker went on a crime spree and even defeated a greatly depleted Thor - who at the time had many of his powers removed by Odin as a punishment for failing to return to Asgard. The Wrecker was eventually defeated by the Destroyer, which Sif had occupied in a bid to save Thor. [1]
Although sent to prison and heavily sedated, the Wrecker developed an immunity to the medication and escaped to confront Thor once again. Thor, however, had been restored to full power and easily defeated the Wrecker. [2] Despite this setback, the Wrecker has returned time and again to challenge Thor and other superheroes, often with the aid of the Wrecking Crew.
[edit] The Wrecking Crew
The Wrecking Crew were formed when Dirk Garthwaite - the Wrecker - was 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 managed to retrieve his enchanted crowbar, and during a lightning storm told Franklin and fellow prisoners Henry Camp and Brian Calusky to grip the weapon simultaneously. A lightning bolt then struck the crowbar and transformed the four men into the Wrecking Crew. They promptly escaped from prison and in the course of searching for the gamma bomb were defeated by the Defenders and Luke Cage. [3] They would return again and again to fight many of the Marvel superheroes.
During the Civil War event, the Wrecking Crew were forced to join the team the Thunderbolts or face additional jail time. [4]
[edit] Powers and abilities
After being magically enchanted, Dirk Garthwaite now has superhuman strength, stamina and durability. The Wrecker can withstand high amounts of concussive force, and is virtually bulletproof. He can destroy a building with a single punch. When first enchanted the Wrecker possessed strength greater than that of an average Asgardian, enabling him to lift/press 40 - 50 tons. It is important to note that this is still far below the strength range of Thor, who is the strongest of the Asgardians. The Wrecker was only capable of matching Thor during their very first battle, when Thor's power was reduced by Odin. Since that time, Thor has always been able to defeat the Wrecker and the rest of the Wrecking Crew within moments.
When the Wrecker first shared his power with the other members of the Wrecking Crew, his abilities were quartered, with his new strength range being in the 10 - 12 ton range. This changed when Ulik, another foe of Thor, taught the Wrecker how to master his Asgardian-based powers. The Wrecker is now capable of retaining his original powers while still empowering the other members of The Wrecking Crew. It is therefore conceivable that should the Wrecker choose to keep the power to himself, his strength would double and enable him to lift in the 80 ton range.
The Wrecker's enchanted crowbar is the key to his power. When stripped of his crowbar, the Wrecker once more becomes Dirk Garthwaite. The Asgardian energy then lies dormant in the crowbar until the Wrecker reactivates it. The Wrecker can also utilise the crowbar in many of the same ways that Thor utilises Mjolnir: examples include deflecting bullets; returning to the Wrecker when thrown; creating force fields; teleporting himself and others and controlling the minds of others who try to possess the crowbar.
Despite this, the Wrecker is still a thug at heart, and thus is not too difficult to outwit.
