- Name: Cain Marko
- Code Names: Juggernaut, Kuurth: Breaker of Stone
- First Appearance: X-Men #12 (July ‘65)
- Powers: Strength, Nothing can stop him
- Teams Affiliation: Exiles, X-Men, The Brotherhood, Excalibur, Thunderbolts
About
I was never close to my step-brothers (well, ex-step-brothers now – long story). It isn’t that we openly disliked each other, or even that we couldn’t find some common ground every other weekend. We just never got close probably because blended families are tough under the best circumstances. You are thrown into a household and told to treat people you may not be that close with like your own flesh and blood. It ain’t easy. What it is, is a wellspring of drama, the perfect situation to throw a couple characters into and watch until tensions come to a boil.
Cain Marko was forced into a family with Charles Xavier. His father married Xavier’s mother and the two boys couldn’t be more different. Xavier was nearly perfect, he always had all the answers and knew the right moves to make. Cain, well, he was a bit of a screw-up, and his father took that out on him with his fists. Anger begat anger and Cain took out his rage on Charles. This lasted for years until Cain, in an argument with dear old dad, accidentally started a fire in his father’s laboratory, burning it to the ground and leading to Dr. Kurt Marko’s death.
One would think the boys would vow never to see each other again, but fate would intertwine the boys for the rest of their lives. They were both drafted into the Korean conflict and served in the same unit. In Korea, they found a temple and in it, a glowing ruby. It sat on a pedestal adorned with the words “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!” Xavier protested by Cain reached out, his thirst for power nearly unbearable. As he grabbed the Crimson Gem, the temple crashed down around him. Xavier escaped, thinking Cain dead from the carnage, but Marko was still alive. Trapped under tons of rubble, miles below the Earth, Cain Marko felt the strength of Cyttorak flow through him. He needed no food, no air, he only needed escape.
It took time but the immense might of Cyttorak allowed the Juggernaut to escape, and he made a beeline towards Westchester. Xavier thought he was prepared for anything, but nothing could stop the Juggernaut. None of Xavier’s defenses even made Cain flinch, his X-Men were nearly powerless against the force of nature. In a desperate cry for help, Xavier called on the Human Torch of the Fantastic Four to assist the X-Men. He was able to loosen the Juggernaut’s helmet and Angel swooped in to remove it. Using the mighty power of his mind, Xavier was able to strike his brother comatose. Maybe it was guilt or a familial sense of responsibility but Xavier did not turn Marko into the authorities, he stored him in the basement of the X-Mansion. Hoping beyond hope to cure his brother of the curse.
That plan didn’t even work a little bit as Juggernaut woke up, beat the X-Men, and was only stopped by accidentally getting sucked into the Crimson Cosmos of the Crimson Gem of Cyttorak. That would start a surprisingly long and storied history of Juggernaut getting stuck in alternate dimensions. He escaped by teaming up with Dr. Strange to rescue and then punch the universal concept of Eternity, which ended about as well as you would expect. Eventually, Super Dr. Astronaut Peter Corbeau tried to get rid of the Hulk by sending him to the Crimson Cosmos, not realizing that it would replace Hulk with Juggernaut (which is only marginally better). It got worse when Hulk almost immediately came back and the two strongest people in the Marvel universe teamed up to escape. It worked until the two of them started fighting, like, five minutes later. The fight just sorta ended when the X-Men showed up out of nowhere (in the middle of one of their story arcs) to knock out Juggernaut while Hulk’s back was turned. Instead of doing literally anything responsible, they just left Juggernaut there to take a nap.
In the years that passed, Cain, finally free of alternate dimensions, decided to attempt the herculean task of making friends as an adult. He found a kindred soul in Black Tom Cassidy, an Irish mutant who liked crimes and hanging out. The two were soon inseparable and decided to do crimes together. They tried capturing Madame Web but Spider-Man got in his way. He tried everything, dropping a building on him, exploding tankers on him, throwing wrecking balls at him, but nothing could stop the Juggernaut. The webhead was finally able to stop Juggernaut by tricking him into sinking into cement. He was stuck in it for a month. When he escaped he decided there was only one thing to do. Drink.
All the dude wanted was a drink but Colossus just happened to keep bumping into him. Cain was reasonably annoyed and took the opportunity to take his rage out on the metal X-Man. He literally dropped to bar on him before paying for his drink and damages and walking away. He then tried to do something nice for Tom’s birthday by sharing his Juggernaut powers with him, but those dumb X-Men had to stop that fun. He tried to get money out of his checking account and guess who stopped him? The X-Men. Tried talking to his favorite pop star Dazzler and the X-Men stop him. At every turn, the X-Men were there to ruin Cain’s day.
Juggy and Black Tom were fine just being working class criminals (with the exception of that time they knocked down the World Trade Center in the early 90s). Thanks to corporate synergy, Juggernaut was transported to the Malibu Ultraverse to be on the Exiles for a hot second before getting beat up by Onslaught. He would continue to show up doing crimes and battling pretty much anyone who wanted to fight.
Anyway, Juggernaut and Black Tom got into a domestic dispute and the X-Men got in the middle of it. Somehow, Juggy was knocked into the ocean by Tom only to be rescued by a young, fish-looking, boy. His name was Sammy and he liked Cain for some reason. Maybe it was Sammy, maybe it was the break up with Tom, or maybe it was his brother offering to help, but Juggernaut wanted a second chance at life. He joined the X-Men and became a mentor to Sammy the Squid-Boy. He was torn apart when Canadian officials determined that Sammy needed to move back home with his abusive father, and Cain didn’t take that lightly. He went to Canada, beat Sammy’s dad to a pulp, and was arrested by Alpha Flight.
Somehow Juggernaut was declared innocent and returned to the X-Men, but something sinister was afoot. Squid-Boy saw Cain talking to Black Tom Cassidy and his Brotherhood of Mutants. Juggernaut’s heroic turn was all a ruse, or so it seemed. Squid-Boy confronted Cain but Tom, who had mutated passed the point of sanity was having none of it and murdered the boy. His last words telling Juggernaut that he hated him. This sent Cain into a fury as he betrayed the Brotherhood and helped take them out by sucking them into one of Xorn’s black holes.
They ended up in yet another alternate dimension, Mojo World. With the help of the X-Men, Juggernaut escaped and decided he needed a change. He joined a new version of Excalibur but Sammy’s death still haunted him. When Hulk came back from being a gladiator and wanted to take over Earth, Cain went to battle him, but Cyttorak had other plans. He tired of his avatar of destruction playing hero and significantly diminished his strength. He gave Cain a bargain, Cyttorak would give him the strength he needed if Cain would become a brutish villain again. And like that, the Juggernaut was reborn.
Juggernaut returned to being a brute, battling Spider-Man and getting Captain Universe powers before joining Luke Cage’s team of Thunderbolts. It was there that the Serpent sent his hammers to The Worthy, turning Juggernaut into the Asgardian Kuurth: Breaker of Stone. He set his sights towards the X-Men in San Francisco and nothing stood in his way. In a desperate plea, Magik bargained with Cyttorak, saying that Cain Marko had chosen a different deity. She offered to be the new Juggernaut but her brother Colossus took the curse in her place. He was able to stop Kuurth and soon, Cain Marko was left powerless.
Soon the curse of Colossus was broken and Cyttorak made the call for a new avatar. Cain answered, returning himself to a position of power (now with a bunch of weird tubes on his back). Since then, Juggernaut has gone back to being a blue-collar criminal in a world filled with gods. He teamed back up with Black Tom and has been a pain in the tuchus for the X-Men, Avengers, and even Deadpool. As a good villain to punch, it really seems like nothing can stop the Juggernaut.
Must Read
The run that digs the deepest into Juggernaut’s psyche is written by Chuck Austen. Since I don’t hate my readers I won’t recommend it. Instead, check out this rare non-X-Men recommendation. Nothing Can Stop The Juggernaut (Amazing Spider-Man #229–230) tells a definitive story for both Juggy and Spidey. It is two issues of Spider-Man trying to stop the Juggernaut and failing because nothing can stop the Juggernaut. Then (SPOILER ALERT) something does. It is a very good Roger Stern and JRJR joint and y’all should branch out from X-Men every once and a while anyway.
Ranking
The Juggernaut is a ton of fun to read. He presents a unique challenge because you can’t just punch him unless you are incredibly strong, and then the punching is a blast to watch. His development in Austen’s run is one of the few parts of that run that is only mediocre, not offensively bad. He isn’t a particularly complex character, but he is an enjoyable one. He is a better villain than Apocalypse at 33 but isn’t as good as Mister Sinister at 21. I probably enjoy seeing Goldballs show up more than him, but I think he edges out Tempus for to become the new number 30 in the Xavier Files.
Juggernaut was requested by Patreon supporter Max Dweck. Thank you for your support! If you have a request for how about you send it below? If you want to cut to the front of the two-year long line, we have a Patreon you can support Xavier Files for just $1 to get a line cutting reward.
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Next week we run away with Molly Hayes! See you then!
Zachary Jenkins co-hosts the podcast Battle of the Atom and is the former editor-in-chief of ComicsXF. Shocking everyone, he has a full and vibrant life outside all this.
