They’re big, they’re bad and after nearly a year we have them in figure form finally (well not all of them, but the original members at least). They are the Wrecking Crew and while some will call them the loser legion of the Marvel Universe they are a force to be reckoned with even if they cannot score a victory.  

The Crew are thugs, but very powerful ones, last time I checked they were all in the 50 ton lifting range. While characters like Hulk, Iron Man, and Thor (to name a few) are twice that much power the fact that there are four of them make them have an edge on a single opponent.  

My first exposure to the Wrecking Crew came through The Mighty Thor. It was so long ago I cannot remember the exact story, but I remember the fight being a power-fest. Wrecker, Piledriver, Bulldozer and Thunderball all appeared first in the Defenders way back in 1974 and have been wrecking the Marvel Universe ever since.  

When GI Joe premered the Dreadnoks, the obvious homage to the Wrecking Crew jumped out at me. The team was a bunch of thugs with an academic (Buzzer for ‘Noks and Thunderball for the Crew) being defacto second in command, the team was dumb as rocks (with the exception of the leaders and second in command) and both teams generally were out for destruction. Keeping in mind that the first 12 issues of GI Joe were a treatment for a new S.H.I.E.L.D. comic, the idea isn't too big a stretch.  

First up the leader of the pack who warranted his own single pack release, Wrecker. Wrecker got his power from a spell meant to give Loki the power to face Thor. The power instead passed to the Wrecker’s Crowbar and thus into him.  

As you can see in the picture there is a minor paint issue with Wrecker’s laces. To be honest though I am so happy to get this character in this form I don’t mind the minor paint flaw except on the level that Hasbro’s quality control should be better (But after a flawed Spider-Man, Iron Fist, ect, I have begun to just accept it, if they will bring the price down anyway).  

Wrecker is awesome though, he has a great sneer on his face and of course his signature crowbar. He also has the “new” articulation at the hips just like Juggernaught and Colossus. He also has the distinction of being an original mold unlike the rest of the Wrecking Crew (more on that in a moment). The mold is reminiscent of the AIM/Ghost Rider mold in some places, but the stature of the figure reveals that it is not the same mold.

The rest of the Crew share the same mold with some alteration. My one knock to this idea is that Piledriver does not do as good a job hideing this fact as Thunderball and Bulldozer. While Thunderball’s gloves help a great deal the design of Piledriver’s costume cannot help but reveal the shared properties of the molds. Bulldozer gets new attachments to go over the mold (and match his costume in the comics). These are moveable but easy to place back into the proper spots.

Of course none of these guys were released in single packs but instead in comic 2-packs. Thunderball was first with yet another Spider-Man, Piledriver came with Hawkeye (at least that was two new characters), and Bulldozer came with a retooled Thing (which the Thing still lacked hip articulation. Even though the figures come with other (and in at least one case overdone) characters, the construction of a full Wrecking Crew makes the whole thing worthwhile. I do think Hasbro could have been merciful on collectors and released Thunderball and Bulldozer together and probably Piledriver as is (to help avoid the repetitive characters) but again the Hasbro logic of “popular” characters driving the less popular ones wins out so we have extra an extra Spider-Man and Thing. Wouldn’t be so bad if they had just fixed Thing’s hip articulation though.

Even though in the comics the Wrecking Crew never wins, they still possess enough power to be a credible threat. In a line that has been very short on bad guys this group stands out as the foes that can take a beating and dish one out as well. If like me you feel hero-heavy with the Marvel Universe line then these figures are well worth acquiring (despite the extras you get).