Crimson Gem of Cyttorak
The Crimson Gem of Cyttorak are artifacts that feature in Marvel Comics.
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History
After being banished to the Crimson Cosmos, Cyttorak wanted to keep his influence on earth. He created the Crimson Gem of Cyttorak. He transported it to a Korean village. When a villager touched it he became the first Juggernaut. There would be a series of Korean Juggernauts until the village that worshiped him began to worship another. After this Cain Marko killed the previous holder of the power and destroyed the village.
One thousand years ago a gathering of eight great beings took place. These being were Balthakk, Krakkan, Farallah, Ikonn, Valtorr, Raggadorr, Watoomb, and Cyttorak. When gathered they disagreed as to who had the greatest power among them so to resolve the matter they settled on the Wager of Octessence. In this wager, each being created an artifact with a fraction of their respective power, in the case of Cyttorak the Crimson Gem.
According to rules of the wager, the first mortal being to make physical contact with the relics would become an Exemplar, a living personification of the relic's power and whoever was the first would trigger a spell that would draw other mortals to the remaining artifacts, creating a total of eight Exemplars. Cyttorak had obviously cheated in this regard since there have been many mortal Juggernauts. Then would come the Ceremony of the Octessence where all the Exemplars would gather to construct a great magical engine, which would overwhelm the wills of all human beings. After the enslavement of humanity each Exemplar would rule an eighth of humanity and a war would break out between each Exemplar and their armies. Thus, the patron of the last Exemplar left standing would be declared the most powerful. Each being arranged the construction of a temple in which to house their relic: Cyttorak's temple was built in a Southeast Asian country with a thrall demon named Xorak designated to protect it.
Centuries ago, the power of the gem was unleashed where it left a path o death and destruction across the Asian continent. (X-Men Unlimited v1 #12)
Seeking a new champion, Cyttorak sent out a mystical call to those that desired his power with many going to his temple to claim the power of the gem. (Amazing X-Men v2 #16)
Overview
It had also been referred to as the Mystic Ruby of Cyttorak. (Avengers West Coast v1 #64)
It contained within it a corrupted aspect of the other-dimensional deity Cyttorak. (X-Men Unlimited v1 #12) Those that became followers of the entity were empowered magically by the being. (X-Men v1 #12)
Within the ruby was an other dimensional plane that resembled a volcanic landscape of fiery mystical energy. (X-Men Unlimited v1 #12)
Users
- Jin Moon-Ho : Jin Moon-Ho was a farmer growing up in South Korea, where he battled poverty, hunger, and bandits. After a brutal defeat, Moon-Ho accidental found the hidden Temple of Cyttorak while he was retreating. Inside the temple, he found the Crimson Gem of Cyttorak and became the Juggernaut. Under the control of Cyttorak, Moon-Ho was ordered to align himself with the Japanese Imperialist forces occupying Korea. Because of this alignment, he was forced to forsake his Korean name and adopt the name Taiko, a nickname from the Japanese soldiers meaning 'The Drum'. When Cyttorak ordered Taiko to destroy his own village, he finally refused Cyttorak's commands. Because Taiko refused, Cyttorak sought out another avatar and chose Cain Marko as his replacement. The pair fought and Cain came out victorious, killing Jin. (Kid Juggernaut v1 #1)
- Cain Marko :
- Black Tom Cassidy :
- Stevie : Unlike Cain, the 2nd Exemplar, Stevie, a spoiled little boy from the Midwest, used the Cyttorak Ruby to spectacular effects unimagined by Cain Marko. He first used it to blast Marko. Beyond that he used it to monitor events far away with his computer (Presumably utilizing the ruby to enable him to access the feed off security cameras) as well as using the ruby to relay a message to the East Coast using a non-operational computer on the West Coast. Furthermore, he could alter mirrors so that the original Human Torch's flame was reflected back at him at a much more powerful degree. Stevie could also animate inanimate objects, which could also be turned intangible. These objects included wax statues, some which resembled monsters and others that resembled other Marvel characters such as Spider-Man and Doctor Doom. However, the animated statues tended only to have diluted copies of the originals abilities of those copied and also tended to move slowly. Beyond these other powers, he possessed all the same powers as the Juggernaut did at his peak.
- Hongdo Park :
- Piotr Rasputin :
- Ahmet Abdol :
- Spider-Man : after the Scion of Cyttorak Callix became corrupted by the Blight, the demon looked to turn against his own family and destroy the world. To stop his child, Cyttorak came to directly empower the superhero alongside Cain Marko. This transformed Spider-Man into a champion who was known as the Spider-Naut who used his power to help defeat the Blight. (Amazing Spider-Man v6 #70)
- Justin Jin : Jin Joon-Sung was the son of Hae-Ran Jin and Jung-Woo Jin where he grew up with his mother in Canada. Justin Jin was actually the grandson of former Juggernaut Jin Moon-Ho with his father Jung-Woo Jin having the remains of the gem of Cyttorak in his possession. This was until the gem was sent for safekeeping to Justin Jin where it empowered the boy into becoming Kid Juggernaut. (Kid Juggernaut v1 #1)
Notes
- The Crimson Gem of Cyttorak was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby where it made its first appearance in X-Men v1 #12 (July, 1965).
Alternate Versions
- In What If v2 #13 (1990), an alternate version of the gem appeared in the What If? reality that was designated as Earth-905 in the Multiverse. Charles Xavier accompanied his step-brother Cain Marko to the temple of Cyttorak where he accidently touches the gem becoming the Juggernaut. Xavier thus never forms the X-Men and instead took over the world until he was banished into space.
- In Ultimate X-Men Annual v1 #1 (2005), an alternate version of the gem appeared in the Ultimate Marvel reality that was designated as Earth-1610 in the Multiverse. This version was a cylindrical rod-shaped crystal stolen from the collection of the Fenris Twins by Gambit and Rogue. As the two made their escape they had the bad fortune to run into the Mutant Juggernaut. Juggernaut had come looking for his old teammate, Rogue. During the fight, Gambit, having had no effect on Juggernaut with his cards, charges the Gem of Cyttorak with energy and throws it at Juggernaut. It was absorbed into his body without harming him. Juggernaut immediately announces that he has not felt anything like that since his power activated and that he feels stronger than he was before. Gambit then proceeded to drop a building on him. Juggernaut survives this event, and returns during the events of the Ultimatum Wave.
- In Cosmic Ghost Rider v1 #3 (2018), an alternate version of the Crimson Gem appeared in a reality that was designated as Earth-18138 in the Multiverse. The gem was acquired by Howard the Duck transforming him into the Juggerduck where he became a member of the Guardians of the Galaxy. He would be a member of the team that was led by a version of Cable who sought to eliminate the baby Thanos only to be killed by Galactus.
- In Heroes Reborn v2 #1 (2021), an alternate version of the Crimson Gem appeared in the new Heroes Reborn reality that was designated as Earth-21798 in the Multiverse. Doom was formerly the king of Latveria until the Squadron Supreme of America intervened and ensured fair elections were held. Doom attempted to run for political office in the elections, but he came in last place. He was later banished to a prison in the Negative Zone. However, he eventually escaped and returned to Earth. Blaming the Squadron Supreme for losing power, he decided to conquer the United States. After retrieving the Crimson Gem of Cyttorak, he attacked the White House and used the gem to transform into Doctor Juggernaut while his team the Masters of Doom attacked other locations in Washington, D.C. His attack was thwarted by Hyperion who did battle with Doom. Hyperion eventually defeated Doom and once again banished him to the Negative Zone.
In other media
Television
- In X-Men: The Animated Series, the ruby made an appearance where it was referred to as the sacred Gem of Cyttorak in the episode "The Juggernaut Returns". It was said to give the power of Cyttorak to those that found the gem and called upon its power. Archaeologist Eugene Turbot Weiderspan learnt of the mystical relic and sought its power where he tracked it to the Cave of Cyttorak in Korea. Once at the temple, he found the Tablet of Cytorrak and later found the Gem of Cytorrak where he invoked its power by saying, "Whosoever possesses the sacred gem, shall prepare himself to receive the power of the Crimson Bands of Cyttorak. Read these words and go from this place a human Juggernaut." This led to Cain Marko being depowered and turned normal where he was comatose whilst the power of Cytorrak left him to go to Eugene Turbot Weiderspan. Professor Charles Xavier learnt his step-brother was dying without the Juggernaut power and sought to save him where he dispatched his X-Men to recover the gem. Cyclops and Wolverine managed to find Weiderspan where they managed to escape with the ruby. They placed it into the unconscious Marko's hands where Xavier used his telepathy to help his step-brother Cain in calling upon the power of the Juggernaut once more with Weiderspan being returned to normal. To prevent his powers from being taken again, Marko now as the Juggernaut threw the ruby into space.
- In X-Men: Evolution, the Gem makes an appearance though with a non-mystical origin and no connection to Cain Marko. Within this continuity, the ruby gems of Cyttorak were red jewels that were rare fabled jewels that were claimed to hold magical properties though in actual fact they emitted a unique form of radiation. Magneto managed to acquire them and use them to power his genetic enhancer on Asteroid M designed to evolve Mutants to their peak. This process was used to evolve Scott Summers, Alex Summers and Victor Creed.
Video games
Novels
- In X-Men: The Jewels of Cyttorak, the Ruby of Cyttorak was shown to have had a counterpart known as the Emerald of Cyttorak. By combining the two, the user gained ultimate power and became a vessel for Cyttorak to inhabit. The Emerald was splintered into three parts that were spread across the world.
Appearances
- X-Men v1: (1965)
- Thor:
- Marvel Tales:
- Avengers West Coast:
- X-Men Unlimited:
- New Excalibur:
- World War Hulk:
- Uncanny X-Men:
- Amazing X-Men:
- Kid Juggernaut v1:
- Amazing Spider-Man v6:
External Links
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