JUGGERNAUT

 

JUGGERNAUT

Real Name: Cain Marko

First Appearance: The Uncanny X-Men (Vol. 1) #12, July 1965

Powers: Cain Marko was originally a baseline human who found the Ruby Gem of Cyttorak and was transformed into its Avatar of Physical Power after being exposed to the gem's mystical crimson bands. This gave him superhuman Class 100 strength, size, heightened reflexes, and an inexhaustible supply of stamina. The Juggernaut does not require sleep, food, drink, or oxygen in order to survive. He has multiple stages of protection giving him the equivalent of invincibility. First, his body is phenomenally dense and massive (he stands just under 7' tall and weighs 900 lbs.) which grants him natural invulnerability to most forms of attack. Even when standing still, he withstand a rocket flying at hundreds of mph to the chest without so much as a flinch. The Juggernaut also projects an inertia-canceling force field of mystical energy around himself at all times. This field bolsters his natural durability by causing projectiles and physical assault to lose some of their momentum as they come in to strike him. The Juggernaut can mentally expand the field's radius and intensify the effect, so much so that he can cause bullets to lose all momentum and drop to the ground a few feet away from him. Finally, he possesses tremendous regenerative powers which deal with any injury that actually manages to get through his protective measures. His armor, specifically his helmet, gives him protection from psychic attacks. Combined, all this serves to enable Cyttorak's decree that nothing can stop the Juggernaut once he is in motion.

The Juggernaut has experienced power losses in the past, such as when his power was halved while in the Ultraverse with the Exiles, and more recently when he fell out of favor with Cyttorak. The exact extent to which his power was depleted is unclear, but it was in direction proportion to Cyttorak's displeasure with him. Cyttorak values shows of strength and personal recognition, and the Juggernaut's time as a moderately humbled hero working privately with the X-Men provided neither. His powers increased again after returning to villainy, but not to their full potential. As a Thunderbolt, the Juggernaut was notably weaker than before, in particular because he now needed to breathe whereas before he walked hundreds of miles on the ocean floor without concern.

Chosen by the Serpent as one of The Worthy, Juggernaut was restored to his full might if not higher. He wielded an indestructible Asgardian hammer and his unstoppability was now magically affirmed by the Serpent's power. His feet formed bridges of magical energy so that he wasn't deterred by chasms, he could not be teleported from his chosen path. He even demonstrated telepathic abilities so that psychic assaults could not stop him either. Ultimately, however, both the Serpent and Cyttorak removed their influence, apparently reverting Cain Marko to a normal human. He’s since regained his abilities.