8th Day Juggernaut
Jennifer Kovachick
In the early 14th century, Franciscan missionary Friar Odoric brought to Europe the story of an enormous carriage that carried an image of the Hindu god Vishnu (whose title was Jagannath, literally, "lord of the world") through the streets of India in religious processions. Odoric reported that some worshippers deliberately allowed themselves to be crushed beneath the vehicle's wheels as a sacrifice to Vishnu. That story was likely an exaggeration or misinterpretation of actual events, but it spread throughout Europe. The tale caught the imagination of English listeners, and they began using juggernaut to refer to any massive vehicle (such as a steam locomotive) and to any other enormous entity with powerful crushing capabilities.
Juggernaut (Cain Marko) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.[3] Created by writer Stan Lee and artist/co-writer Jack Kirby, he first appeared in X-Men #12 (July 1965) as an adversary of the eponymous superhero team.[4] Since then, he has come into conflict with other heroes, primarily Spider-Man and the Hulk.
Cain Marko is a regular human who was empowered by a gem belonging to the deity Cyttorak, becoming a literal human juggernaut. He possesses superhuman strength and durability, and is virtually immune to most physical attacks; his helmet also protects him from mental attacks. Although not a mutant, Juggernaut has been featured as a prominent member of the Brotherhood of Mutants. He is also the stepbrother of Professor X.
Since his debut during the Silver Age of Comic Books, the character has appeared in over five decades of Marvel publications, featuring prominently in the X-Men titles and starring in two one-shot solo publications. The character has also been associated with Marvel merchandise including clothing, toys, trading cards, animated television series, video games. Vinnie Jones played Juggernaut in the 2006 film X-Men: The Last Stand, while Ryan Reynolds provided motion capture and voice acting for the CGI character in the 2018 film Deadpool 2. In some reinterpretations (most notably the X-Men film series), Marko is a mutant who was born with his powers, while in others they simply come from his costume.
In 2008, Juggernaut was ranked 188th on Wizard's list of Top 200 Comic Book Characters.[5] In 2009, Juggernaut was ranked 19th on IGN's list of Top 100 Comic Book Villains.[6] IGN also ranked him as Spider-Man's 22nd greatest enemy.[7]
The character was based on the Hindu deity, Jagannath, whose worshippers threw themselves on the ground and allowed themselves to be crushed by the idol of Jagannath, as it was wheeled forward on a tower sixty feet high.[8]
Juggernaut had a solo comic in 2020, by Fabian Nicieza and Ron Garney. Despite being a character from the X-Men franchise, it has plots of its own that do not crossover with the ongoing Dawn of X.[11]
Cain Marko is the son of Kurt Marko, who becomes Charles Xavier's stepfather when he marries Sharon Xavier after the death of her husband Brian, for which Kurt is partially responsible. Kurt Marko favors Charles and abuses his own son, Cain. Cain resents Charles and bullies him frequently. Cain Marko and his step-brother Charles serve in the US Army and are stationed in Korea. Marko finds a hidden temple dedicated to the entity Cyttorak. On entering, Marko finds and holds a huge ruby and reads the inscription on the stone aloud: "Whosoever touches this gem shall be granted the power of the Crimson Gem of Cyttorak! Henceforth, you who read these words, shall become ... forevermore ... a human juggernaut!" The gem channels Cyttorak's power into Marko. The transformation causes a cave-in, and the character is buried and presumably killed, not being heard from again until a sudden assault on the X-Men's headquarters.[12]
Xavier recounts the Juggernaut's origin to the X-Men, and after shrugging off the mansion's defenses and brushing aside the X-Men, Marko is seen clearly in the final panel as he confronts Xavier. The X-Men regroup and attack, while Xavier summons Fantastic Four member the Human Torch to aid the mutants; the Torch generates 'pulses' of flame that essentially hypnotize the Juggernaut, distracting him long enough for Angel to remove his helmet, making Marko susceptible to a telepathic attack by Xavier.[13]
The Juggernaut returns seeking revenge and is delayed by three of the X-Men while Cyclops and Marvel Girl, aided by the astral form of mystic Doctor Strange, find and use another jewel of Cyttorak, which banishes the Juggernaut to the "Crimson Cosmos", the home dimension of Cyttorak.[14] When the Juggernaut reappears, the character has gained mystical abilities and briefly battles the mystic Doctor Strange before being banished to an alternate universe by the cosmic entity Eternity.[15]
Juggernaut reappears on Earth through sheer force of will, although the alien dimension caused him to age rapidly. The panicking villain battles former X-Man the Beast before being drawn back to the same dimension.[16] An entity from his prison dimension reverses the aging process and removes the mystical powers on the proviso that the villain never return. The Juggernaut is accidentally pulled back to Earth at the Hulkbuster base by an interdimensional device designed to banish the Hulk. The Hulk aids the Juggernaut in escaping from the base but attacks him when the Juggernaut threatens a civilian. During the battle, the Juggernaut's helmet is removed, and he is surprised and defeated by Professor X, Cyclops, and Marvel Girl.[17]
The Juggernaut befriends Black Tom Cassidy, the cousin of X-Man Banshee, and battles the first generation of new X-Men. When Tom falls off the battlements of Cassidy Keep after a sword duel with Banshee, Juggernaut jumps after him into the sea.[18]
Black Tom uses his niece Siryn, who possesses the same powers as her father Banshee, to steal a shipment of the metal vibranium. The Juggernaut battles Spider-Woman and the X-Men and is the only one of the criminal trio to escape capture.[19] After freeing him from prison, Black Tom decides that the psychic Madame Web could be useful in his criminal pursuits. On arriving in New York City, Tom sends the Juggernaut to capture Madame Web; Juggernaut destroys several city blocks in the process, and ignores Spider-Man's best efforts to stop him. He almost kills Web by accident when he removes her from a life support device, and abandons her. A frustrated Spider-Man lures the Juggernaut into setting concrete, poured for the foundation of an office high-rise, into which he sinks without a trace;[20] he takes over a month to dig his way out.[21]
The Juggernaut, in civilian guise, has a bar fight with the X-Man Colossus, who is at first unaware of the villain's true identity.[22] After another battle against Spider-Man and the X-Men,[23] the Juggernaut encounters the futuristic Sentinel Nimrod, who humiliates and defeats him.[24] The Juggernaut is one of the villains assembled by Mephisto to battle the cosmic entity the Beyonder.[25] The Juggernaut battles an all-new generation of X-Men,[26] appears in a flashback story with the original X-Men,[27] and has a humorous encounter with Captain Britain.[28]
The Juggernaut continues to feature prominently in Marvel titles battling Thor once again[30] and starring opposite other characters such as the mutant team X-Force,[31] Doctor Strange,[32] the Hulk (allied at the time with master villain the Red Skull and tricking and capturing the Hulk with the same "civilian" guise used against Colossus),[33] mercenary Deadpool,[34] the villain turned antihero Venom,[35] and multiple battles with the X-Men.[36] Briefly, he traveled to the Ultraverse and joined the superhero team Exiles.[37] After his return to the Marvel Universe, the Juggernaut suffers a major setback during the Onslaught storyline, being defeated and then humiliated by the entity when imprisoned in the Gem of Cyttorak. The Juggernaut, however, escapes.[38]
The Juggernaut also stars in a solo story[39] and the "Eighth Day" storyline, which introduces the entities the Exemplars. The Juggernaut and seven other humans are revealed to have all been empowered and corrupted by mystical entities, and as avatars enforce their will on Earth.[40] The Juggernaut resists the influence of Cyttorak and when captured by other Exemplars is aided by the superhero team the Avengers. Leader Captain America convinces the other Exemplars that they have been manipulated by the mystical entities, who then decide to leave Earth.[41]
The Juggernaut, courtesy of a ruse engineered by Black Tom Cassidy, allies with and joins the X-Men; the plan is to destroy the team from within. When Cassidy openly betrays the Juggernaut, Marko attempts to change his ways and joins the X-Men.[42][43] The Juggernaut befriends a young mutant boy called Sammy Par, who helps Marko reform,[44] despite setbacks such as a battle with the Canadian superhero team Alpha Flight.[45] However, when Par discovers that Exodus' Brotherhood of Mutants is preparing to attack the X-Men's headquarters while unaware that Juggernaut is the mole in their group, he is killed by Black Tom Cassidy. An enraged Juggernaut attacks Cassidy and his allies, and the battle strands all participants in the Mojoverse.[46]
The Juggernaut reappears and joins the team New Excalibur for a brief period. One storyline expands on the Juggernaut's origin and reveals that Marko is only the most recent of a series of incarnations of Cyttorak's avatar; each battles a challenger to the death for the right to retain the entity's power.[47]
During the World War Hulk storyline, the Juggernaut's power begins to wane, but by shunning his stepbrother Xavier and returning to his villainous nature, he is able to restore the link with Cyttorak, becoming powerful enough to hold his own against the Hulk.[48] Despite an attempt by Xavier to reform Marko, he concedes that redemption is impossible.[49]
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