Piledriver (comics)

Piledriver (Brian Philip Calusky) is a fictional supervillain in the Marvel Comics universe. He is a member of the Wrecker's Wrecking Crew. The character was created by Len Wein and Sal Buscema and first appeared in Defenders #17 (November 1974).

Fictional character biography

Brian Philip Calusky, though born in Brooklyn, NY, was raised on a farm and eventually became a farmhand. Life on the farm was too slow for Calusky and he decided to enter a life of crime for excitement. His criminal activities eventually landed him in prison, where he met and became cellmates with Dirk Garthwaite, who was known as The Wrecker.

Garthwaite, together with Calusky and two other inmates at Ryker's Island Prison, Dr. Eliot Franklin and Henry Camp, made a successful jailbreak and managed to locate his crowbar. Willing to share his power with his allies, The Wrecker had the three other convicts join him in holding onto the crowbar outside during an electrical storm. Lightning struck the crowbar, magically distributing the enchanted strength bestowed upon The Wrecker among the four of them. The Wrecker's three allies then adopted costumes and aliases as well: Franklin became Thunderball, Camp became Bulldozer, and Brian Philip Calusky became Piledriver. As a result of his new-found powers, his hands became over-sized in proportion to his body. Together the four superhumanly strong criminals became known as The Wrecking Crew, who were led by The Wrecker himself.

Piledriver has the demeanor of a "good ol' country boy" (despite being born in the very urban Brooklyn, NY.) He has fought many of Marvel's superheroes over the years, including Spider-Man, The Avengers, The Defenders, and most often, Thor. He, as part of the Wrecking Crew threatens the lives of the innocent civillains of Damage Control. Thunderball, who as a soft spot for man in charge, John Porter, actually attacks Piledriver and the others, via trickery, allowing the D.C. employees to escape.

Unlike Thunderball, Piledriver has remained loyal to The Wrecker and has only been separated from The Wrecking Crew through various incarcerations in prison. While Piledriver and the rest of The Wrecking Crew have faced defeat on many occasions, they always come back for more, making them one of the most enduring supervillain teams in Marvel's history.

Excavator

Piledriver discovers that he has a son named Ricky Calusky. The boy lived with his grandparents, but when he discovered who his father was, he ran away and joined the Wrecking Crew (to the pride of his father) under the name Excavator. Ricky even gains a mystically charged shovel. However, he and the rest of the Crew were defeated by the Runaways during a bank robbery.

The Hood

The Hood has hired him as part of his criminal organization to take advantage of the split in the superhero community caused by the Superhuman Registration Act. He helps them fight the New Avengers but is taken down by Dr. Strange.

As part of the Hood's gang, he later joins the fight against the Skrull invading force in New York City.

Powers and abilities

Piledriver possesses superhuman strength and a high degree of imperviousness to harm. He can withstand high amounts of concussive force, and is virtually bulletproof. Piledriver's power augmented his entire body, strengthening his bone, muscle, and flesh. Because of this, he's capable of withstanding the impact of high caliber bullets. Piledriver is also superhumanly strong, though because of his particular talent, he has over-sized hands which are more powerful than the other members of The Wrecking Crew, save The Wrecker himself.

In other media

Video games

Piledriver (alongside the other Wrecking Crew members) appeared in the video game Marvel: Ultimate Alliance. He and the Wrecking Crew are seen guarding the gates at Bifrost Bridge. A VS simulation disk has the heroes fighting Piledriver in Asgard.

References