She-Hulk: Attorney at Law Episode 3 saw Jennifer Walters (Tatiana Maslany) finally come to understand what her cousin Bruce Banner tried to warn her about: being a Hulk puts a target on your back. SPOILERS: As Jen is heading home after a long day, she gets “jumped” by a squad of losers in “W” tee-shirts, carrying some advanced/mystical weaponry. This was the Marvel Cinematic Universe debut of The Wrecking Crew, a team of villains that (many? Some? A few?) Marvel fans have been waiting to see onscreen.
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Ignoring the reactions to this… “comedic” version of the Wrecking Crew, here’s a bit more about the villain team and their Marvel Comics history:
Who Are The Wrecking Crew?
In Marvel Comics, the Wrecking Crew started with Dirk Garthwaite, a demolition worker whose violent upbringing made him equally unstable and violent. Dirk got himself a mask and costume and took on the criminal persona of “Wrecker,” using a crowbar to cause mayhem at the scenes of his crimes. One day, Wrecker’s crime spree brought him Loki, who was summoning his ally the Norn Queen in order to restore his magical power. After stealing Loki’s helmet and putting it on, Dirk was mistaken for Loki by and granted magical power in the form of superhuman strength and endurance.
Wrecker used his new power to fulfill Loki’s will: battling Thor. After several attempts to kill Thor, Wrecker was defeated by The Destroyer armor (inhabited by Sif), de-powered by Thor’s hammer, and imprisoned. Wrecker eventually overcome captivity and escaped along with three other inmates – Dr. Eliot Franklin, Henry Camp, and Brian Calusky. The villain tracked down his crowbar (which held the enchanted powers he’d possessed) and decided to share his power with his new crew of escapees. One thunderbolt later with all four men holding the crowbar, the Wrecking Crew was born.
The Wrecking Crew (Wrecker, Bulldozer, Demolisher, Excavator – and others) straddle a unique line between cosmic mysticism and street-level criminality in the Marvel Universe. As such, they’ve been used in everything from major villain cabals or team-ups (Masters of Evil, The Hood), to heists stealing superpowered objects and artifacts, or even kidnapping or killing targets. Their power levels make them a legitimate threat to Thor, Hulk, Fantastic Four’s Thing, Wolverine, and others among the most powerful heroes in Marvel. They are also wonderfully uncomplicated lunk-heads, which often makes them fun.
Who Are The MCU Wrecking Crew?
She-Hulk Episode 3 only gives us a taste, but already we know that this version of the Wrecking Crew is working for a boss, and that they have access to high-grade alien and/or mystical tech. There’s already a lot of speculation that this low-rent look of the Wrecking Crew is just the starting point; the crew were attacking She-Hulk to try and extract some of her blood – blood that could be the very power-up that turns them into swole supervillains.
Fan theories say that Samuel Sterns/The Leader (Tim Blake Nelson) is the one running the Wrecking Crew. If anyone was trying to use Jen’s blood to create new monsters, it would be him.
She-Hulk: Attorney at Law streams new episodes Thursdays on Disney+.
