Wrecker (comics)
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The Wrecker is a fictional supervillain and appears in the Marvel Universe. The Wrecker was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby and his first appearance was in Thor vol. 1, #148 (January 1968).
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[edit] Fictional character biography
Dirk Garthwaite is a former worker for a demolitions crew who was fired for his violent and anti-social tendencies. Turning to crime, Garthwaite fashions a costume for himself and begins making a series of robberies under the guise of the Wrecker. His calling card is his habit of demolishing looted locations and then leaving a crowbar at the scene of the crime.
The Wrecker's fortunes change for the better when looting a hotel room that - unknown to him - is currently occupied by Loki, the arch foe of the Thunder God Thor. At the precise moment that the Wrecker enters Loki is trying to contact his accomplice, the Norn Queen Karnilla, for an enchantment that will grant him the strength to defeat Thor. Karnilla arrives and mistakes Garthwaite for Loki, granting him the enchantment instead. The Wrecker then possesses superhuman strength, stamina and durability courtesy of a now-indestructible and enchanted crowbar.
Revelling in his new-found power, the Wrecker goes on a crime spree and even defeats 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 is eventually defeated by the Destroyer, which the female Asgardian warrior Sif occupies in a bid to save Thor. [1]
Although sent to prison and heavily sedated, the Wrecker develops an immunity to the medication and escapes to confront Thor once again. Thor, however, has been restored to full power and easily defeats 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 are formed when Dirk Garthwaite - the Wrecker - is 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 manages to retrieve his enchanted crowbar, and during a lightning storm tells Franklin and fellow prisoners Henry Camp and Brian Calusky to grip the weapon simultaneously. A lightning bolt then strikes the crowbar and transforms the four men into the Wrecking Crew. They promptly escape from prison and, in the course of searching for the gamma bomb, are defeated by the Defenders and Luke Cage. [3] They return again and again to battle many of the Marvel superheroes, most notably Thor. [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. 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 level being significantly lower. This changed when Ulik, another foe of Thor, taught the Wrecker how to master his Asgardian-based powers. [5] The Wrecker is now capable of retaining his original powers while still empowering the other members of The Wrecking Crew.
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 utilizes 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.
