Brian Calusky was a drifter and a wanderer, often drifting into crime. While in prison at Ryer’s Island, he met and befriended Dirk Garthwaite, a.k.a. the Wrecker. The Wrecker told his friends of the power he received by Karnilla, the Norn Queen, power enough to take on the thunder god Thor, and they orchestrated an escape. With fellow convicts Dr. Eliot Franklin and Henry Camp, the four managed to retrieve the crowbar that housed the powers that had been drained from the Wrecker. Grasping the bar in an electrical storm, the Wrecker was restored, Franklin became Thunderball, Camp became Bulldozer, and Calusky became Piledriver. Together, they became known as the Wrecking Crew.

After their first foray against the Defenders, Piledriver and the Wrecking Crew were inseparable, appearing with them in all their endeavors, including their abduction to Battleworld by the Beyonder and joining with Doctor Doom's army of super-villains. The Crew also joined Baron Zemo's Masters of Evil and Piledriver was instrumental in helping bring down Hercules. After this, Thor used his hammer to draw the Wrecker’s away from the others who divided it, and Piledriver was left powerless.

Months later, the Wrecker freed his Crew and restored their power once more. As before, wherever the Wrecking Crew was to be found, Piledriver was among their number. They performed many other acts of villainy, although they had to deal often with the treachery of Thunderball, who craved the Wrecker’s power all for himself. Eventually, the Crew reconciled, seeking out Hercules once more. But battling them helped Hercules overcome the fear of combat he had suffered since the beating at their hands, and they were defeated.

Once, their powers began fading when many of Asgard's links to Earth were separated. The entire Crew received a power boost when hired by Arnim Zola to battle the Thunderbolts (unaware that the Thunderbolts included many of their former allies in the Masters of Evil).

The Wrecking Crew appeared together for various endeavors: hired by the likes of the Doomsday Man, battling heroes such as the Avengers and the Warriors Three, used as lackeys by Morgan le Fay, among others. When the Crew was imprisoned in the Raft, they joined the massive breakout and escaped.

When Brian recently discovered he had a long-lost son, Ricky, he and the Crew traveled to Los Angeles to induct him into the Wrecking Crew as the Excavator. This brought them to the attention of the Runaways, who had taken it upon themselves to liberate any child of a super-criminal legacy. They defeated the Crew and presumably allowed Excavator to be reunited with his family guardians.