Bulldozer

Origin

Henry Camp was born in Topeka, Kansas. He was a Master Sergeant in United States Army before being dishonorably discharged. Soon after he entered a life of crime and was later caught and sent to Ryker’s Island Prison. He then became cellmates with Dirk Garthwaite, also known as The Wrecker.

Garthwaite, together with Camp and two other inmates at Ryker’s Island Prison, Dr. Eliot Franklin and Brian Phillip Calusky, 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, Calusky became Piledriver, and Henry Camp became Bulldozer, constructing a special metal helmet for the occasion. Together the four superhumanly strong criminals became known as The Wrecking Crew, who were led by The Wrecker himself. The Wrecking Crew broke out of prison, and battled the Defenders while attempting to locate the Gamma Bomb.

With the Wrecking Crew, Bulldozer next battled Captain America and Iron Fist while trying to lure Thor into battle. The Wrecking Crew then did battle Thor. The Wrecking Crew were among the various criminals taken to the Beyonder’s Battleworld, including a number of super-powered criminals and superheroes. Bulldozer got the opportunity to face off against the Avengers, X-Men, Fantastic Four, and other superheroes. However, he and the rest of the Crew were soundly outmatched by the She-Hulk on one occasion. The Wrecking Crew next battled Spider-Man and Spider-Woman II. Along with the Wrecking Crew, Bulldozer next joined the fourth Masters of Evil, which attacked and took over Avengers Mansion. Bulldozer helped defeat the god Hercules in combat, but was drained of his superhuman powers by Thor. He was freed from prison by the Wrecker, but without his superhuman powers he was defeated by Spider-Man and Spider-Woman. With the Wrecking Crew, Camp freed the Wrecker and Ulik from prison from police custody. He regained his powers, and battled Hercules, Thor, Excalibur, Code: Blue, and Ghost Rider II. His powers were then again drained by Loki.

One of Bulldozer’s more recent defeats came at the hands of the group known as the Runaways. This was during a rare bank job in Los Angeles, usually avoided by all supervillains as the Pride controlled that area for a time.

Unlike Thunderball, Bulldozer has remained steadfast in his loyalty to The Wrecker and has only been separated from The Wrecking Crew through various incarcerations in prison.

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 Doctor Strange. Bulldozer later helps the Hood in fighting against the Skrulls. He joins with the Hood’s gang in an attack on the New Avengers, who were expecting the Dark Avengers instead.

Creation

Bulldozer was created by Len Wein and Sal Buscema in 1974 and first appeared in The Defenders # 17.

Powers & Abilities

Due to exposure from the Asgardian magic in the Wrecker’s crowbar, Bulldozer possesses superhuman strength and a high degree of imperviousness to harm. He can withstand high amounts of concussive force, and is virtually bulletproof. Bulldozer’s power augmented his entire body, strengthening his bone, muscle, and flesh. Because of his particular talent (head-butting and ramming), he has greater strength in his neck, shoulders, and legs than the other members of the Wrecking Crew. His superhuman abilities are currently four times greater than when he originally shared the Wrecker’s power, making him somewhat stronger than an average well-trained Asgardian male.

Bulldozer has a specially-made armored helmet, neck and shoulder apparatus that gives him added protection and invulnerability when ramming an opponent. The helmet partially affects his peripheral field-of-vision. He appears to have used several different versions of the helmet, varying from a simple skullcap to something akin to the Juggernaut‘s helm.

Bulldozer has basic U.S. Army training in hand-to-hand combat, though now he usually relies on butting with his helmeted head.

Video Games

Television

• Piledriver appeared in The Super Hero Squad Show, voiced by Roger Rose.
• Piledriver appeared in The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, voiced by James C. Mathis III.
• Piledriver appeared in Ultimate Spider-Man, voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson.
• Piledriver appeared in Avengers Assemble, voiced by Travis Willingham.
• Piledriver appeared in Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H., voiced by Ben Diskin.
• Piledriver appeared in Marvel Disk Wars: The Avengers, voiced by Toshitsugu Takashina.

Video Games

• Bulldozer (alongside his fellow Wrecking Crew members) appeared as a boss in Marvel Ultimate Alliance, voiced by James Arnold Taylor. He and the Wrecking Crew are seen guarding the gates at Bifrost Bridge. He is also a villain on Mr Fantastic‘s simulation disk which takes place at Murderworld.
• Bulldozer appeared as a boss character in Marvel Avengers Alliance.

Merchandise

• Bowen Designs produced a Bulldozer bust.
• Piledriver was featured in Hasbro’s Marvel Legends line as part of the Ultron Build-a-Figure wave for the live-action Ant-Man movie.
• Piledriver was featured in Hasbro’s Marvel Universe line as part of a Comics Pack set with the Thing. The pack came with a reprint of Secret Wars #12
• Piledriver was featured in the HeroClix figure game.