fictional character
In fiction, a character (or speaker, in poetry) is a person or other being in a narrative (such as a novel, Play (theatre), play, Radio series, radio or television series, music, film, or video game). The character may be entirely fictional or b ...
s, a team of mercenaries in the
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery.
DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with their f ...
universe
The universe is all of space and time and their contents, including planets, stars, galaxies, and all other forms of matter and energy. The Big Bang theory is the prevailing cosmological description of the development of the universe. A ...
. They first appeared in ''
Green Lantern
Green Lantern is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. They fight evil with the aid of rings that grant them a variety of extraordinary powers, all of which come from imagination, fearlessness ...
'' #176 (May 1984) and were created by
Len Wein
Leonard Norman Wein (; June 12, 1948 – September 10, 2017) was an American comic book writer and editor best known for co-creating DC Comics' Swamp Thing and Marvel Comics' Wolverine, and for helping revive the Marvel superhero team the X-Men ...
and
Dave Gibbons
David Chester Gibbons (born 14 April 1949) is an English comics artist, writer and sometimes letterer. He is best known for his collaborations with writer Alan Moore, which include the miniseries '' Watchmen'' and the Superman story " For th ...
.
Fictional character history
In their initial appearance, the Demolition Team were hired by
Congressman
A Member of Congress (MOC) is a person who has been appointed or elected and inducted into an official body called a congress, typically to represent a particular constituency in a legislature. The term member of parliament (MP) is an equivale ...
Jason Bloch to destroy the
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...
branch of Ferris Aircraft. The Ferris employees were virtually defenseless against the team and their state-of-the-art weaponry provided by the Monitor. Help finally arrived in the form of the mysterious
Predator
Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill ...
who defeated the entire team unaided. It is assumed the Demolition Team were sent to prison soon after the incident.
The Demolition Team returned several years later with updated technology only to be handily defeated by the Blood Pack after attacking a nuclear power plant in
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...
. Hardhat later appeared committing crimes in
Opal City
Opal is a hydrated amorphous form of silica (SiO2·''n''H2O); its water content may range from 3 to 21% by weight, but is usually between 6 and 10%. Due to its amorphous property, it is classified as a mineraloid, unlike crystalline forms of ...
.
Rosie, together with several other scientific geniuses and cybernetic beings (Automan, Brainstorm,
Doctor Cyber
Doctor Cyber is a fictional character appearing in DC Comics publications and related media, commonly as a recurring adversary of the superhero Wonder Woman. She first appeared late in the Silver Age of Comics in 1968's ''Wonder Woman'' (volume ...
, Ford, and
Emil Hamilton
Professor Emil Hamilton is a fictional comic book character appearing in books published by DC Comics, usually as a supporting character in stories featuring Superman.
The character was portrayed by Richard Schiff in '' Man of Steel''.
Publicati ...
), was for a brief period part of the composite cybernetic being known as Enginehead. However (if this story is still canon), the being seems to have been divided into the individual personalities again shortly after the events of the series ''Enginehead'' #1-6 (2004).
Most of the team met their end at the hands of the OMACs during the events of '' The OMAC Project'', but Hardhat was seen alive in ''
Infinite Crisis
"Infinite Crisis" is a 2005–2006 comic book storyline published by DC Comics, consisting of an eponymous, seven-issue comic book limited series written by Geoff Johns and illustrated by Phil Jimenez, George Pérez, Ivan Reis, and Jerry Ordwa ...
'' #7. He is participating in the 'Battle of Metropolis', which was a supervillain first step to conquer the world.
Still later, Hardhat was seen among the "forgotten characters" of
Limbo
In Catholic theology, Limbo (Latin ''limbus'', edge or boundary, referring to the edge of Hell) is the afterlife condition of those who die in original sin without being assigned to the Hell of the Damned. Medieval theologians of Western Europ ...
Geist
''Geist'' () is a German noun with a significant degree of importance in German philosophy. Its semantic field corresponds to English ghost, spirit, mind, intellect. Some English translators resort to using "spirit/mind" or "spirit (mind)" to he ...
, Gunfire and Merryman of the Inferior Five. As Merryman explains, Hardhat and all the other inhabitants came here to a realm of 'no stories' because they were forgotten about in the real world. They all are rescued by Superman and assist in the battle against the cosmic threat of Mandrakk.''Final Crisis Superman Beyond 3D'' #1-2 (October 2008)
Members
* Hardhat - A former heavyweight
boxing
Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermine ...
palooka from
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...
. His powered helmet and harness made him into a human
juggernaut
A juggernaut (), in current English usage, is a literal or metaphorical force regarded as merciless, destructive, and unstoppable. This English usage originated in the mid-nineteenth century and was adapted from the Sanskrit word Jagannath. ...
, currently a resident of
Limbo
In Catholic theology, Limbo (Latin ''limbus'', edge or boundary, referring to the edge of Hell) is the afterlife condition of those who die in original sin without being assigned to the Hell of the Damned. Medieval theologians of Western Europ ...
.
* Jackhammer - A former
oil rig
{{about, , the mnemonic OIL RIG, Redox
An oil rig is any kind of apparatus constructed for oil drilling.
Kinds of oil rig include:
* Drilling rig, an apparatus for on-land oil drilling
* Drillship, a floating apparatus for offshore oil drilling
* ...
worker from
Houston
Houston (; ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in Texas, the Southern United States#Major cities, most populous city in the Southern United States, the List of United States cities by population, fourth-most pop ...
. He carried a larger, more powerful version of a
jackhammer
A jackhammer (pneumatic drill or demolition hammer in British English) is a pneumatic or electro-mechanical tool that combines a hammer directly with a chisel. It was invented by William Mcreavy, who then sold the patent to Charles Brady K ...
capable of untold destruction. He is not to be confused with a similarly named character (real name Jackson Hammersmith) who employed an armor suit with two hydraulically charged hammer pistons against Superman while he had been weakened by
Lord Satanus
Blaze and Satanus are fictional human/demon siblings appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. They are the children of Shazam. Blaze debuted in '' Action Comics'' #655 (July 1990) and she was created by Roger Stern and Brett Bree ...
and Syren for a time.
* Rosie - Leader of the Demolition Team. A former, no-nonsense bar owner in
rivet
A rivet is a permanent mechanical fastener. Before being installed, a rivet consists of a smooth cylindrical shaft with a head on one end. The end opposite to the head is called the ''tail''. On installation, the rivet is placed in a punched ...
gun.
* Scoopshovel - A former professional jai-alai player from
San Diego
San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...
. His
hydraulic
Hydraulics (from Greek: Υδραυλική) is a technology and applied science using engineering, chemistry, and other sciences involving the mechanical properties and use of liquids. At a very basic level, hydraulics is the liquid counter ...
power-arm allowed him to dig up almost anything.
* Steamroller - A former
motorcycle
A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle steered by a handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: long-distance travel, commuting, cruisin ...
stunt rider from
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...
. He rode a compact version of a
steamroller
A steamroller (or steam roller) is a form of road roller – a type of heavy construction machinery used for leveling surfaces, such as roads or airfields – that is powered by a steam engine. The leveling/flattening action is achieved throug ...
that could flatten buildings.
In other media
Television
* Steamroller makes non-speaking appearances in ''
Teen Titans
The Teen Titans are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, frequently in eponymous monthly series. As the group's name indicates, the members are teenage superheroes, many of whom have acted as sidekicks to ...
''. This version is a namesake/construction equipment-themed android who initially appears as a member of
H.I.V.E.
The H.I.V.E., which stands for the Hierarchy of International Vengeance and Extermination, is a fictional terrorist organization appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics.
The H.I.V.E. organization appeared on the fourth season of ...
before joining the
Brotherhood of Evil
The Brotherhood of Evil is a group of DC Comics supervillains, archenemies of the original Doom Patrol and the Teen Titans and enemies of the Justice League.
The Brotherhood of Evil appears in the third season of the HBO Max series '' Doom ...
.
* The Demolition Team appear in the ''
Arrow
An arrow is a fin-stabilized projectile launched by a bow. A typical arrow usually consists of a long, stiff, straight shaft with a weighty (and usually sharp and pointed) arrowhead attached to the front end, multiple fin-like stabilizers ...
'' episode "Code of Silence", consisting of Rosie (portrayed by Rachel Luttrell), Hardhat (portrayed by Marc Trottier), and Jackhammer portrayed by
Daniel Cudmore
Daniel Cudmore (born January 20, 1981) is a Canadian actor and stuntman. He is perhaps best known for his roles as the superhero Peter Rasputin / Colossus in the ''X-Men'' film series, and as the Volturi Felix in ''The Twilight Saga'' film ser ...
). This version of the group are mercenaries who specialize in destroying buildings and wield regular equipment.
Miscellaneous
The Demolition Team appear in issue #43 of the ''
Justice League Unlimited
''Justice League Unlimited'' (''JLU'') is a 2004–2006 United States, American superhero fiction, superhero List of animated television series, animated television series that was produced by Warner Bros. Animation and aired on Cartoon Network. ...