Wrecker (comics)

The Wrecker (Dirk Garthwaite) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.

The character made his live-action debut in the Marvel Cinematic Universe television series She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, portrayed by Nick Gomez.

Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the Wrecker made his first appearance in The Mighty Thor #148 (January 1968).

Dirk Garthwaite, a.k.a. the Wrecker, first appeared in Thor, and is depicted as a former manual laborer for a demolitions crew who is fired for his violent and anti-social tendencies. Garthwaite created a costume for himself and called himself the Wrecker, committing a series of robberies, demolishing looted locations and leaving a crowbar at the scene of the crime. The Wrecker entered a hotel room occupied by Asgardian god Loki, the adopted brother and archenemy of the Thunder God Thor. Upon knocking out the de-powered Loki, the Wrecker put on his helmet and received an enchantment from Loki's ally, Karnilla the Norn Queen, who assumed he was Loki because the Wrecker was wearing his helmet and she only saw him from the back. Therefore, Karnilla was the source of his newfound enchanted powers. Reveling in his power, the Wrecker embarked on a crime spree and defeated Thor who, at the time, had had his power severely reduced by his father Odin (ruler of the Norse gods) as punishment for choosing to remain on Earth. A building collapsed onto the Thunder God, nearly killing him. The Wrecker was defeated by the Asgardian goddess Sif, who animated the armor of the Asgardian Destroyer to save Thor. The Wrecker's crowbar was shattered.

The Wrecker returned and battled Thor again, although a fully restored Thor easily defeated him.

The Wrecker returned in The Defenders, and this time appeared with three superpowered partners in crime: Bulldozer, Piledriver and Thunderball. Empowered when holding the crowbar as it is struck by lightning, the villains joined the Wrecker to become the Wrecking Crew. While searching for a gamma bomb built by Thunderball with which they hope to extort New York City, the Wrecking Crew battled several members of the Defenders: Doctor Strange; Nighthawk and the Hulk. Aided by Power Man, the heroes defeated the villains.

After an appearance in Fantastic Four as the pawns of the Puppet Master, the Wrecker and the rest of the Wrecking Crew were featured in Iron Fist in a battle against Iron Fist and Captain America. The Wrecking Crew reappeared in Thor against the Thunder God, but were quickly defeated.

The Wrecker appeared with the rest of the Wrecking Crew and other villains in the limited series Secret Wars; battled Spider-Man and teammate Thunderball over control of the Norn power in the title Spectacular Spider-Man; and joined the fourth incarnation of the Masters of Evil in a raid on Avengers Mansion. With the rest of the Wrecking Crew and other villains, the Wrecker savagely beat the Avenger Hercules before being captured by the remaining Avengers. The Wrecker was featured in Iron Man during the Acts of Vengeance storyline; and, in Thor, had several battles alongside the rest of the Wrecking Crew against Thor, Hercules, the superhero team Excalibur, and the Ghost Rider before being defeated. The Wrecker also received instruction from another enemy of Thor, the Asgardian Rock Troll Ulik, as to how to utilize the full power of the enchanted crowbar.