#ComicBytes: Do you know about Marvel's cleanup crew, Damage Control?
After every fight in the Marvel Universe, the place of the event faces massive destruction. Case in point, New York, after the first Avengers movie. But, have you ever wondered about who repairs these damages? Meet Marvel's cleanup crew, Damage Control, an engineering and construction company that specializes in handling property damage caused by superhero conflicts. Here is a quick overview of the team.
Founded by Anne Marie Hoag and originally owned by Tony Stark and Wilson Fisk, Damage Control is a team of agents and employees who organize the cleanup after battles, analyze the cost for repairs and find the responsible parties for paying for the damages. The company additionally collects unclaimed and dangerous metahuman machinery and technology that belongs to missing, incapacitated, or deceased individuals.
The team's first adventure was cleaning up the bar destructed by Daredevil and Turk. Since then, they have been instrumental in many events. Apart from fighting alongside X-Men, and meeting cosmic entities like Galactus and the Silver Surfer, Damage Control has also gone against dangerous characters. For example, they once confronted Doctor Doom for an unpaid bill. They were even threatened by the Punisher.
The management part of the group includes founder Hoag, her right-hand woman Robin Chapel, previous 'superhero' insurance agent John Porter, Albert Cleary- the controller who confronted Doctor Doom among others. Lenny Ballinger and Slaying Mantis (Ant-Man) Eric O'Grady are part of the search and rescue division. Superhero Hercules and Trull, the Unhuman (Alien reborn as a steam shovel) are the other famous members.
In MCU, Damage Control is created by S.H.I.E.L.D. Following the Battle of New York, the company is purchased and redesigned by Stark Industries and the government as the United States Department of Damage. The team has appeared in Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Iron Man. Damage Control's government contract also affected companies like Bestman Salvage, which led to the drastic events in Spider-Man: Homecoming.
