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The last episode of She-Hulk: Lawyer dropped the Thunderball name, but the series quietly introduced one of the most dangerous teams of villains in the Marvel Universe: youhe Demolition Crew. Ok, maybe they didn’t seem so dangerous in She-Hulkbut the Wrecking Crew has been there for many major Marvel events, including Love at first sight and Secret Warsthe final film on the MCU’s Phase 6 slate.
Thunderball is the scientist member of the Wrecking Crew, one of the most trusted gangs of villain buddies for Marvel villains, mostly because they keep breaking out of prison.
She-Hulk the introduction of the Wrecking Crew did something particularly interesting with the group. When they were in the back of their van after being finally defeated by She-Hulk, someone said, “The boss is going to be crazy.” So there is a mysterious benefactor behind this funny little group of construction workers. In fact, there might be someone behind everything that happens in She-Hulk.
During recent post-MCU projectsEnd of Game, we’ve been briefed on a few Marvel villains working behind the scenes in the current phase. And if the Wrecking Crew were hired to get She-Hulk’s blood, then there’s more going on in this Hulk-Lawyer show than meets the eye.
Who is the Wrecking Crew?
The Wrecking Crew are a group of fairly regular guys who have been given superhuman powers via an enchanted crowbar. In the MCU, She-Hulk snidely remarks on how it looks like the group robbed an Asgardian construction worker when in reality, that’s probably not too far from the truth. The crew was gifted with Asgardian-level strength when the Wrecker’s crowbar was struck by lightning while all four were holding it.
Judging by the fight scene in She-Hulk, it doesn’t look like that has happened yet. But in the comics, the Wrecking Crew regularly attacks the Avengers (mainly Thor) and other superheroes. Their first appearance, however, was in a fight against The Defenders, which may provide a tie-in for the Daredevil cameo that we know will come later in She-Hulk.
The Members of the Wrecking Crew depict a band of ordinary humans who were found to have superhuman powers. Thunderball, who wields the ball and chain we saw in She-Hulk, is Dr. Eliot Franklin, a former physicist who studied gamma radiation and may know something about Hulk’s blood. Bulldozer, the one with the helmet, is former Army Master Sergeant Henry Camp. The glove man is Brian Calusky, who was a farmhand until he became a Piledriver. Finally, you have The Wrecker, aka Dirk Garthwaite, holding the magic crowbar.
When they gained their superior strength in the comics, they battled The Defenders while searching for a small gamma bomb that Thunderball had misplaced. Eventually they were defeated and Bruce Banner managed to disarm the gamma bomb. As they continued their career as wreckers, they became involved with two teams of notorious villains: Baron Zemo’s Masters of Evil and Hood’s Gang.
While on either team, they fought The Punisher, Deadpool, and The Thunderbolts, all of whom are in or will be added to the MCU. So if the Wrecking Crew is in Marvel now, you can expect one of those fights based on comic book canon.
The Kingpin Plot
After trying to jump She-Hulk for her blood, the Wrecking Crew retreated to their van, where we saw a panicked group of men trying to recover from being completely beaten. When The Wrecker asked Thunderball if he had “that”, we saw Thunderball holding a broken hypodermic needle. He gives the excuse that he couldn’t pierce She-Hulk’s “evil green skin”, which just seems offensive. But after one of them says, “The boss is going to be crazy,” you start to wonder: Who exactly is behind this clumsy bunch of bad guys?
Hulk blood would be a rare commodity in the MCU. Ordinary people could use it to give themselves superpowers. There are a few people who might want it, but given what we know about Wrecking Crew facing Defenders and all She-Hulk set in New York, Vincent D’Onofrio’s Kingpin is the most likely culprit.
Of course, he couldn’t try to get it from Jen Walters himself. In fact, he might be behind a whole conspiracy, providing the funds for GLK&H to hire Walters so she can exonerate the likes of Abomination. She-Hulk might end up freeing half of those imprisoned villains and being “reformed” simply because she was tricked by a mysterious hand moving in the shadows.
The Wrecking Crew may not have stolen this construction equipment but are getting weapons by a benefactor in order to transmit Hulk blood to him. If Daredevil appears later in the series, it could be to warn She-Hulk that she’s actually been working for Kingpin this whole time.
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