Juggernaut (real name: Cain Marko) is a fictional character in Marvel Comics' universe, a former supervillain of incredible power and durability. He was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in X-Men (volume 1) #12 (1964).

Character history

Cain Marko is the step-brother of Charles Xavier, founder of the X-Men. His father, Curt Marko, married Charles' mother, Sharon, after Brian Xavier died, causing him to both neglect Cain and lead Sharon to alcoholism. Cain took out his frustrations and insecurities on his step-brother, who at one point used his telepathic powers to read Cain's mind and see his psychological damage. In response, Cain became more aggressive toward him.

Cain was sent to a military boarding school due to his lack of discipline, and later served in the army.

When Cain and Charles served together in the Korean War, Cain and Charles stumbled onto the ancient temple of Cyttorak, lost for centuries. On an altar, Cain saw a huge red gem, the Crimson Ruby of Cyttorak, and immediately grabbed it. Upon the gem was an inscription, and he spoke it aloud: "Whosoever touches this gem shall be granted the power of the Crimson Bands of Cyttorak! Henceforth, you who read these words, shall become ... forevermore ... a human juggernaut!"

The cavern collapsed on him, and Charles escaped, but it took Cain weeks to dig himself out. Cain seethed with rage, directed at his step-brother, and after creating his armour, he set out to hurt him as much as possible.

Juggernaut first appeared on-panel in Uncanny X-Men #12, although his presence was sensed by Professor X in the previous issue. He has since fought various heroes of the Marvel Universe, primarily the X-Men but also including Spider-Man, the Avengers and the Incredible Hulk. At one point in his career, he teamed with the mutant mercenary known as Black Tom Cassidy, who became his only friend, and with whom he once tried to share his power.

Later, he was seen on the run from the psychic entity called Onslaught, one of the few foes that managed to physically hurt him, by striking him from Canada all the way to New Jersey at the beginning of the Onslaught crossover, and later physically imprisoned him inside the Crimson Ruby. After the Onslaught debacle, the Juggernaut was kidnapped by the Exemplars, who, like Cain, are living manifestations of various mystical entities. The Juggernaut was saved by the Avengers, who defeated the Exemplars.

Cain has since reconciled with Xavier and joined the X-Men. He befriended a young boy named Sammy and started an intimate relationship with She-Hulk.

More recently, his friendship with Black Tom Cassidy has brought him into allegiance with the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, although it was revealed that he had joined that group as a mole on Xavier's behalf. Sammy stumbled upon the Brotherhood having a meeting, and thinking that Juggernaut had betrayed the X-Men he became angry and started yelling. Annoyed, Black Tom killed the boy. Furious with rage, Juggernaut tried to kill his former friend. When the Brotherhood were sucked into a black hole by Xorn, Juggernaut accompanied them to make sure Nocturne (another mole) would be safe if everyone survived and to make sure the Brotherhood didn't try to attack the mansion again; his current whereabouts are unknown.

Powers and abilities

The Juggernaut possesses untold power that is mystical in origin. He has tremendous physical strength, the upper limit of which is unknown. It is known that the limit is considerably beyond the Class 100 level, being able to lift(military press) in excess of 100 tons. Among all of the opponents the Juggernaut has faced throughout his criminal career, only the Incredible Hulk has been observed to be able to truly match the Juggernaut's almost limitless power.

Aside from his vast strength, the Juggernaut is practically invulnerable to all forms of physical injury. His body has withstood assaults from entire superhero teams, such as the Avengers and the X-Men, without sustaining any damage. He is also able to generate a type of force field around his body that can further protect him. Due to the mystical energies flowing through his body, the Juggernaut no longer needs to eat, breathe, or drink fluids. He is sustained by these energies alone, which also produce no fatigue toxins within his greatly enhanced musculature, granting him limitless physical stamina. Due to the unique nature of his powers, the Juggernaut is literally an unstoppable force. Once he begins walking or running in a certain direction, no physical force has ever been able to stop him. His pace can be slowed by tremendous amounts of force, but nothing has been able to completely stop him.

While the Juggernaut's body is invulnerable, his mind is still vulnerable to telepathic assault. To compensate for this vulnerability, the Juggernaut wears a helmet composed of an unknown extradimensional alloy. Not only is this helmet virtually indestructible, but it is also able to shield his mind from psionic assaults.

Ultimate Juggernaut

In the Ultimate Marvel continuity, Juggernaut was apparently a mutant drafted into the Weapon X Program. He did not appear to be the indestructible, mystically empowered villain from Earth 616, but rather a mutant with superhuman strength comparable to Colossus His real name has not yet been revealed, and he was liberated from servitude when the Weapon X Program was terminated by Nick Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D.

Links