Juggernaut (Marvel)

Latest revision as of 04:14, 17 May 2024

The Juggernaut in X-Men: Black - Juggernaut v1 #1.

Juggernaut is a male comic character who features in Marvel Comics.

Biography

Origin

Juggernaut in X-Men v1 #12.

Cain Marko was a male human who was the son of Dr. Kurt Marko from his former marriage. (X-Men v1 #12) When Cain was around 3 years old, his mother died and Kurt Marko had to raise the boy all by himself. (X-Men Unlimited v1 #12) Cain served as a constant reminder of his wife’s death or himself having had an abusive upbringing, Kurt Marko resorted to violence. Whenever Cain disobeyed him or asked too many questions, he was beaten by his father. Later, when Kurt Marko married the widow of his colleague Dr. Brian Xavier, he did not consider Cain’s feelings at all. The boy did not want to move into the Xavier mansion, for it would have meant leaving all his friends behind. After beating on his son again, Kurt Marko had Cain being sent away to boarding school. (Uncanny X-Men v1 #416) Feeling alone and unwanted, Cain Marko responded with the only thing he had been taught – violence. In boarding school, he was a troublemaker, bullying the other kids. Eventually, he was expelled and sent back to live with his father, which is when he first met his stepbrother, Charles Xavier. (X-Men Forever v1 #4)

Father and son did not get along and Cain tried to blackmail his father for money, hinting at the death of Brian Xavier having been no accident. Kurt Marko yelled at Cain never to accuse him of such a thing, but it was already too late. Charles overheard the conversation and confronted his stepfather. The argument turned into a fight, during which some lab equipment exploded. Though mortally injured himself, Kurt Marko carried the two teenagers to safety. Sharon Xavier-Marko having passed away earlier on, the two unlikely brothers were left with each other. In the following years, Charles developed his telepathic mutant powers and, using them, he excelled in everything. In school, he read the teachers’ minds and at sports he could anticipate the other athletes’ tactics. Cain watched and hated Charles for it, his jealous heart filled with an almost uncontrollable envy. One day, he smashed Xavier’s many trophies and attacked him directly, though Charles’ telepathy once more gave him the needed advantage. In the years afterwards, the stepbrothers came to lose touch with one another. (X-Men v1 #12)

Cain later came to serve in the Korean War where he was deployed in Asia where he worked alongside Charles in some engagements. During one such battle, their unit came under fire and Cain seemingly deserted his position where he fled into a cave. Whilst there, he came upon the lost temple of Cyttorak where people had been warned to stay away from it for centuries. Inside, he found a statue containing the Crimson Gem of Cyttorak. Despite the warnings from Charles, Marko read the inscriptions and became empowered by the gem where he was turned into the Juggernaut. (X-Men v1 #12) Before he could claim his vengeance, however, Cain needed to officially claim the title of Juggernaut. Touching the ruby only gave him power. To fully become the Juggernaut, he had to kill the current avatar of Cyttorak, Jin Taiko. Cyttorak had sought out a new avatar when Taiko's village started worshipping a deity other than him, and Taiko refused to punish his own people for this slight. Marko killed his predecessor in single combat and then fulfilled Cyttorak's wishes by murdering Taiko's entire village. (New Excalibur v1 #15)

X-Men

After making it back to the United States, the Juggernaut went straight for the mansion in Westchester to attack Xavier. None of the mansion’s security systems were able to halt the unstoppable foe and not even the team of mutants that Xavier had organized in the meantime, the X-Men, were able to slow him down much. When the telepath tried to use his mental powers on his stepbrother, it turned out that the helmet of the Juggernaut’s armor shielded him from such attacks. Only after the X-Men managed to remove the helmet could the misguided Cain Marko be telepathically knocked out. (X-Men v1 #13) Unbeknownst to his X-Men, Xavier had his stepbrother locked up in a special chamber of the mansion’s basement, where he tried to find a way to rid him of the Juggernaut powers. During the experiment, though, Charles Xavier was hit by an energy feedback and rendered comatose. At the same time, some of Xavier’s mental might was transferred to Cain Marko, who broke free and escaped. Due to his power being of magical origin, the X-Men asked for help from Dr. Strange, who directed them to travel to the temple in Korea. There, they had to retrieve the so-called prototype gem from the Crimson Cosmos within the gem of Cyttorak that had transformed Cain Marko years ago. First, the team used this second gem to cure Xavier and it proved crucial in defeating the Juggernaut once more. When he saw the ruby that looked similar to the one that had given him his powers, the Juggernaut wanted it for himself. However, when he touched it, he and the prototype gem were both sucked into the Crimson Cosmos. (X-Men v1 #33)

Excalibur

Marko was later detained in a stasis-cage at Her Majesty's Ultra Maximum Security Prison Crossmoor in London. This was until he was freed by a British crime lord called the Vixen where she freed him in exchange for his help in her plans. After being freed, Cain broke the prison walls allowing scores of prisoners to escape with Juggernaut easily destroying the armed response from the military sent against him. He was the confronted by Captain Britain Brian Braddock who tried to arrest Marko but Juggernaut refused and overpowered the British hero. This saw Excalibur arriving at the scene who were unable to fight Cain physically but then they had Phoenix Rachel Summers use her telepathy to render Marko unconscious allowing him to be taken in by the authorities. (Excalibur v1 #3)

He was in London with Excalibur when he received a telepathic call for help from the Stepford Cuckoos when the recently returned Hulk had returned from his banishment in space. The arrival of the Hulk triggered the events of World War Hulk where he sought revenge against the members of the Illuminati with Xavier being among their ranks. Cain then went to the Crimson Gem in order to speak to Cyttorak where he made a bargain with the demon. He would resume his position as Cyttorak's champion and bring about destruction in exchange for his full power and to be transported to the scene of the Hulk in order to save his step-brother. He arrived on the scene but was not granted the full power of the Juggernaut leading to him being easily bested by the Hulk. (World War Hulk: X-Men v1 #2) It was then that Cyttorak spoke to him stating that Cain had denied his role as a avatar of destruction for the demon and told the human to embrace his dark nature. This allowed Cain to become the Juggernaut once again where he battled the Hulk again after the X-Men failed to stop their foe. In their fight, the Hulk used the Juggernauts momentum to send Cain flying into the nearby ocean. The Jade Giant ultimately decided not to kill Xavier as he deemed the Professor to already be living in a hell over all the Mutant lives that had been lost leading to him departing the scene. Afterwards, Xavier met up with his step-brother Cain to thank him for his aid but the Juggernaut having now embraced his evil nature departed where he warned the X-Men to not search for him as they would not like what they found. (World War Hulk: X-Men v1 #3)

Joining the X-Men

After his arrest, he was kept detained in a prison in Vancouver, Canada where Jennifer Walters became his defense attorney. In this time, the Rhino came to break free and looking to escape he attacked the guards where a stray shot accidentally freed Marko. Rather than escape, he helped defeat and capture the Rhino but did not escape the prison with him instead surrendering himself into custody. (Uncanny X-Men v1 #435)

Fear Itself

Juggernaut was at the Raft when it was struck by one of the Serpent's enchanted hammers that damaged the prison. Cain came to hear a voice calling him to the hammer which transformed him into one of the Worthy where he became Kuurth, Breaker of Stone. He then devastated the facility which allowed a prison break from those kept at the Raft. (Fear Itself v1 #2)

After this, Cain, now Kuurth, attacked a petrol station 60 miles from San Francisco, gaining an ally who he possessed. As Kuurth continued towards San Francisco, he met with the police force on the highway who attempted to stop his rampage. After Kuurth's ally gained the influence of the anti-mutant protesters, Marko was directly attacked by the first wave of X-Men, Cyclops, Shadowcat, Colossus, and Iceman. While Colossus managed to crack Kuurth's helmet, he was unsuccessful in removing the helmet, which needed to be done to allow Emma Frost to telepathically control him. This team was later joined by Magneto, who was unable to stop Kuurth's hammer using his magnetism but was saved from death by an interfering Kitty Pryde. Cain couldn't be stopped by the first team and so was next attacked by an aerial force consisting of Angel, Cannonball, Storm, and Dazzler. During this time, Hope Summers had absorbed almost every X-Man's power and battled Marko, managing to remove his helmet before collapsing. Emma Frost then tried to take control of his mind but was overpowered by Kuurth and his ally. (Uncanny X-Men v1 #543)

During the last battle between the Avengers and the Worthy, Kuurth was defeated by Wolverine using his Uru armor, and lost his hammer when the Serpent was killed by Thor. After losing his hammer and blessing of Cyttorak, Cain was re-imprisoned in the Raft. He was later confronted by a pair of guards, who taunted him for the loss of his powers. John Walker the warden appeared, admonishing the guards and dismissing them. He then offered Cain his former spot on the Thunderbolts. Man-Thing managed to use his access to the Nexus of All Realities to teleport to Earth-616 a Cyttorak from another universe in which Marko was dead, thus becoming Juggernaut once more. (Dark Avengers v1 #180) This power was revealed to be temporary however, and Cain soon lost the blessing. Fellow Thunderbolt Man-Thing offered to send Cain and the other Thunderbolts to a location of their choice. Cain chose a place with a lot of open landscape for him to roam in before the powers of the Juggernaut left him completely. (Dark Avengers v1 #181)

Return

Whilst being transported to a prison facility, the Juggernaut was accidently freed when Brother Voodoo summoned Cyttora to aid him. As they were servants of Cyttorak, the spell accidently teleported the Juggernaut to the location of the Unity Division where he battled them. He was only defeated when Jericho had the Cyttora seal the Juggernaut in his armour and had them take Marko to their dimension. (Uncanny Avengers v3 #29)

Becoming Cyttorak's champion on Earth again, Juggernaut joined the cannibalistic Disciples of Cyttorak at the Temple of Cyttorak in Thailand. When Thor invaded their temple to reclaim the Warlock's Eye, an ancient weapon of mind control that fell to Earth following Asgardia's destruction, the Juggernaut opposed him, for the cult wanted to use the weapon to conquer the whole world for their master. It took all of Thor's newly created enchanted hammers to put the Juggernaut down. (Thor v5 #1) The Juggernaut's defeat at the hands of Thor made Cyttorak question whether or not he was still worthy of being his avatar. Thus, Cyttorak decided to test him in an illusory world created by his other disciples. With the help of a younger version of himself manifested by his mind, Cain let go of the restraints he subconsciously held onto for years and unleashed his full power at Cyttorak, finally passing the test. However, Cain didn't like Cyttorak messing with his head, and decided to search for the other seven Gems of Cyttorak to make his master pay for what he had done. (X-Men: Black - Juggernaut v1 #1)

However, he came to remain on Earth where he resided at his home in New York when it came under threat from the War in the Realms. After the conflict, Marko came to find himself captured by Frost Giants who took him to Jotunheim and conducted magics on him to steal the Gem of Cyttorak from him. Their attempts were interrupted by the Punisher who was looking for information on the Frost Giant Kasyckla in order to avenge the death of the parents of orphans on Earth from the war. The act freed the Juggernaut who took his revenge on the Frost Giants and decided to aid Frank Castle on his quest. (Punisher Kill Krew v1 #3)

As a member of a new incarnation of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants led by Magneto, the Juggernaut attacked an Air Force base in East Transia. The X-Men soon showed up to stop them and both groups battled until Magneto's helmet was knocked off his head, revealing to everyone that he was actually Joseph in disguise. This made Juggernaut so mad he ended up knocking Joseph to the ground as Pyro shot his flamethrower at him to brand him a traitor. The battle was over after Cyclops knocked Pyro out. Juggernaut held Joseph in place while telling Cyclops that he was doing this for mutants and wanted to become an X-Man again. (Uncanny X-Men v5 #16)

House of X

Wearing the Crimson Bands of Cyttorak in Juggernaut v3 #3.

Ending up in Limbo, Cain had no powers and was forced to discard much of his armour as he looked for a way back home which led him to the Crossroads. Ultimately, he was able to make his way back to Earth from that dimension. (Juggernaut v3 #1) At a hospital, Charles visited a recovering Cain via a telepathic projection, wanting to know if he was alright, but sadly was forced to deny Cain from becoming a citizen of Krakoa. After fully recovering, Cain was determined to regain his powers as Juggernaut. He then travelled to a forgotten shrine dedicated to Cyttorak located in Budapest where he sought for more information to gain his power. (Juggernaut v3 #2) Months ago, he made his way to North Korea as he made a search for regaining his lost power. Thus, he travelled to the Forge of Cyttorak located at a cold mountaintop. The forge keeper had bargained for mystical relics in order to draw out a physical manifestation of the Crimson Bands of Cyttorak that he had stabilised in this dimension. He intended to wear it himself and make him the champion of Cyttorak leading to him attacking Marko. During the fighting, the Crimson Bands accidentally bonded to Marko leading to him becoming the Juggernaut once again. (Juggernaut v3 #3) Marko then vowed to no longer work for gods or madmen. (Juggernaut v3 #4)

Some months later, he got a job working for Damage Control by helping remove rubble and bringing down buildings needing demolishing. During this time, he befriended a homeless teenager named D-Cel, who had the power to slow down kinetic forces, after rescuing her. Marko thought she was a mutant, but D-Cel claimed that she was not a mutant; instead, she got her powers from an unspecified accident. (Juggernaut v3 #1) After a failed attempt to apprehend Hulk, Marko was sued for twenty-five million dollars due to causing the bankruptcy of a construction company. (Juggernaut v3 #2) During the court proceedings, they were assaulted by Quicksand. After Cain defeated Quicksand, Cain's lawyer Bernie Rosenthal was able to convince the person suing him to settle the case out of court. Cain then learned that Quicksand had been mind-controlled by Arnim Zola who went after D-Cel for experimentation and who worked for the company Absolution Solutions to experiment on superhuman prisoners. (Juggernaut v3 #3) Juggernaut was then responsible in helping to thwart Zola's operations. (Juggernaut v3 #4) Cain took his fight to Absolution Solutions with help from D-Cel. Their attack was for naught as they learned Absolution Solutions were backed by the government and thus Juggernaut couldn't legally take them out. To protect D-Cel from imprisonment and experimentation, he convinced her to openly admit that she was a mutant and ask for asylum on the mutant-only nation of Krakoa. Days later, Juggernaut forced Zola to restore Quicksand using remains of her recovered by Damage Control. Juggernaut convinced Quicksand not to attack Zola and instead help him ensure that superhuman prisoners were not mistreated. (Juggernaut v3 #5)

Juggernaut was eventually granted citizenship on Krakoa after the Quiet Council of Krakoa put the matter to a vote. In exchange, he was made to join Nightcrawler's Legionaries where he believed this was all by Xavier's design. However, Nightcrawler revealed to him his brother had voted against him and it was him who had worked out this arrangement. As part of the team, he was partnered with ForgetMeNot, although he believed he did not have a partner. ForgetMeNot was seen interrogating Paulie "The Pall" DiCosta at the Green Lagoon about his wife Lisa, who he was accused of murdering. When Paulie got aggressive, he had Cain burst in and apprehend him so they could take him to the Station. (Legion of X v1 #1)

Overview

Personality and attributes

In appearance, Cain Marko was a human who was notable for his red hair. After being empowered by Cyttorak, he came to be being's champion and took the name Juggernaut. (X-Men v1 #12) He was also regarded as being the Ultimate Juggernaut. (Thor v5 #1)

Such was his reputation that he was considered one of the most notorious supervillains in Earth's history. (Uncanny X-Men v1 #435)

His father was Dr. Kurt Marko where he had his son Cain from his previous marriage. Afterwards, his father married Sharon Xavier following the death of her husband and as a result Cain became the stepbrother of Charles Xavier. (X-Men v1 #12)

Marko's powers were tied to Cyttorak who was the most mysterious of all the deities of black magic. (X-Men v1 #12)

Powers and abilities

Originally, Marko was an ordinary human where he grew up to be a soldier in the military. It was during this time that he came upon a lost temple to Cyttorak where he found the Crimson Gem of Cyttorak. Upon reading the inscription there, he was filled with incredible power as he became the Juggernaut. (X-Men v1 #12) Cyttorak was capable of taking away some of the power of his champion if he did not bring about death and destruction. Through the gem, Cain was able to commune with the demon Cyttorak. (World War Hulk: X-Men v1 #2) Whilst empowered, he was registered as being a Thor-class threat. (Uncanny X-Men v1 #541) According to Prosh, his Comparative Mutagenic Power Register was of 8.9. (X-Men Forever v1 #1)

Another change following his increased power was a secondary helmet located beneath the first one which kept him immune to assaults on his mind. (Uncanny Avengers v3 #29)

He later gained a new version of the Juggernaut armour that was actually a physical manifestation of the Crimson Bands of Cyttorak. Juggernaut could summon his specialized armor at any time he wanted. (Juggernaut v3 #3) While it was originally believed that he summoned his armor from another dimension he revealed that his armor was actually stored inside of his body. (X-Men Unlimited Infinity Comic v1 #18) His armor further enhanced his durability and it was completely bulletproof. (X-Men Unlimited Infinity Comic v1 #17) It allowed him to be strong enough to easily tear down buildings and cause shockwaves by hitting the ground. (Juggernaut v3 #1) With a handclap, he was shown to be able to disperse the body of foes that were more liquid-shaped. (Juggernaut v3 #4) Cain's great strength extends to his legs and can use it to make incredible jumps. (Juggernaut v3 #5) Unlike his previous armor, this new one allowed for Cain to engage in telepathic communication with others. (X-Men Unlimited Infinity Comic v1 #19)

Notes

• The Juggernaut was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby where he made his first appearance in X-Men v1 #12 (July, 1965).

Alternate Versions

In other media

Television

• In Pryde of the X-Men, the Juggernaut appeared in the 1989 animated pilot episode where he was voiced by actor Ron Gans. He was stated to be Charles Xavier's stepbrother and a member of the Brotherhood of Mutant Terrorists.
• In X-Men, the Juggernaut made multiple appearances in the 1990s animated series where he was voiced by actor Rick Bennett.
• In X-Men: Evolution, the Juggernaut made multiple appearances in the animated television series where he was voiced by actor Paul Dobson.
• In Wolverine and the X-Men, the Juggernaut made multiple appearances in the animated television series where he was voiced by actor Fred Tatasciore.
• In Ultimate Spider-Man, the Juggernaut appeared in the animated television series where he was voiced by actor Kevin Michael Richardson.
• In Marvel Disk Wars: The Avengers, the Juggernaut appeared in the setting of the anime series where he was voiced by actor Shota Yamamoto.

Films

• In X-Men: The Last Stand, the Juggernaut appeared in the live-action film where he was portrayed by actor Vinnie Jones.
• In Deadpool 2, the Juggernaut appeared as an antagonist as an entirely computer generated character in the live-action film where the motion capture and voice was provided by actor Ryan Reynolds. The characters backstory was referred to when he stated that he wore a helmet to protect himself from his brothers telepathic attacks and said that his sibling could not use his legs thus hinting at Xavier's connection to him. He was at some point captured and imprisoned at the mountain based Ice Box facility that was run by the Department of Mutant Control (DMC) where he was kept at the deepest level of the facility in the basement. The Mutant prisoners referred to him as the biggest monster in the facility.

Video games

• In X2: Wolverine's Revenge, Juggeraut appeared as a boss level antagonist in the setting of the video game where he was voiced again by actor Fred Tatasciore.
• In X-Men Legends, Juggernaut appeared in the setting of the video game where he was voiced by actor John DiMaggio.
• In X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse, the Juggernaut appeared as a playable character in the video game where he was voiced again by actor John DiMaggio.
• In Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions, Juggernaut appeared in the setting of the video game where he was voiced by actor Matt Willig.
• In X-Men: Destiny, the Juggernaut appeared in the video game where he was portrayed by actor Fred Tatasciore.
• In Marvel Heroes, the Juggernaut appeared as a boss level character and as a playable character where he was voiced by actor Fred Tatasciore.
• In Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order, Juggernaut appeared in the setting of the Switch video game where he was voiced by actor Peter Lurie.

Appearances

• X-Men v1: (1965)
• Uncanny X-Men v1:
• Excalibur v1:
• X-Men v2:
• World War Hulk: X-Men v1:
• Uncanny Avengers v3:
• Thor:
• Uncanny X-Men:
• Punisher Kill Krew v1:
• Juggernaut v3: (2020)
• Legion of X v1: (2022)

External Links

• Marvel Database Entry
• Comicvine Entry
• Wikipedia Entry

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