Warning: Spoilers for The Amazing Spider-Man #70!Nothing can stop theJuggernaut, as the saying goes, but that quote only accounts for physical threats to Cain Marko. Physically, unless someone uses a strategic loophole, it is true that nothing can stop the avatar of Cyttorak. With magic coursing through his veins, he makes for a difficult challenge for anyone to overpower. That’s whybeating Juggernautdoesn’t just boil to brawn or even brain, but emotion.
More often than not, the only thing that can stop the Juggernaut is the Juggernaut himself, as illustrated best by Peter Parker inThe Amazing Spider-Man#70 by Joe Kelly and Ed McGuinness. WhenSpider-Man becomes the new Juggernaut, Spider-Naut, Peter talks about all the things that can stop the Spider-Naut - namely"The pain of loss. The feeling that life is meaningless. Good old-fashioned fear."
But the sentiment canalso apply to the original Juggernaut, whose emotions make him more vulnerable than anything else.
Nothing Can Stop the Juggernaut - Except the Juggernaut’s Own Emotions
The Amazing Spider-Man#70 by Joe Kelly, Ed McGuinness, Mark Farmer, Cliff Rathburn, Alex Sinclair, Marcio Menyz, and Joe Caramagna
Fear, the pain of loss, depression, and even pride have spelled the end of the Juggernaut on more than one occasion. Readers shouldn’t let the size and menacing demeanor of the Juggernaut fool them, as Juggernaut is someone who wears his emotions on his sleeves. It’s made him easier to defeat in battle and for opponents to scope him out. It’sa trait that, largely, has come to define Juggernaut, hence why he has a reputation as someone who doesn’t think too deeply.
Marvel’s Original Juggernaut Is Ready to Embark On Their Greatest Marvel Team-Up Yet
Marvel Comics has introduced a number of Juggernauts who aren’t Cain Marko, but its newest one isn’t going to replace Marko, but team up with him!
The Juggernaut has been known to charge headfirst into most situations, literally and figuratively. It’s not because Juggernaut is unintelligent, as he’s often been mistaken to be. Juggernaut is actually deceptively smart, especially as a tactical thinker, something thatCyclops has praised him for being. He’s prone to charge in without thinking because hefights and acts with his emotions. When he’s frustrated or insecure, he’ll charge into his opponents like a battering ram without realizing he’s been goaded into running into a brick wall.
The fear and frustration that comes with Peter ambushing Marko, clawing at his back like a backpack inThe Amazing Spider-Man#70 prevents Cain from realizing he’s standing in wet cement, leading to his defeat. He’s a smart and capable fighter, but one too many times he has been defeated just because someone usedJuggernaut’s emotions against him. Other times, Juggernaut’s own emotions have led to Cain Marko defeating himself before he ever steps foot on the battlefield, and that is how the pain of loss can affect him just as greatly as any physical blow.
The Juggernaut Experienced the Pain of Loss When He Lost His Best Friend
Losing Sammy Crushed Cain Marko
Pain of loss can be traced back to a once fast-tracked mutant namedSammy the Squid Boy, who befriends Juggernaut. The soft spot that Marko develops for the boy proves to be an essential step to solidifyingJuggernaut’s permanent hero turn. Unfortunately, Sammy would prove to be a plot device, as his death served a purpose in progressing Juggernaut’s redemption, further cementing his hero status. This would create a long road for the Juggernaut’s hero journey, since due to a misunderstanding, Sammy died hating the Juggernaut.
10-year-old Samuel Paré dies inX-Men#162 by Chuck Austen, Salvador Larroca, Danny Miki, Udon, and Rus Wooton. He’s killed by Juggernaut’s former best friend, Black Tom Cassidy.
While it would prove a motivating factor for Juggernaut to fully commit to heroism - and one that motivates him to this day - the road to being the hero he is today was a long one. Wracked with guilt, his confidence and his pride were shaken. This wasn’t the same over-confident, arrogant Juggernaut he once was. Marko became a regretful and borderline depressed individual. Marko never fully came close to the Juggernaut of old until joining the X-Men, and even then, it can’t be denied that Sammy’s death had an effect on him.
Is Juggernaut’s Arrogance Counter-Productive?
Arrogance is Yet Another Emotion That Has Cost Juggernaut
Spider-Man’s sentiment about being overcome with and by his emotions as Spider-Naut applies to Juggernaut, but it also calls into question the defining traits of the Juggernaut. As a supervillain especially, Juggernaut was all-consumed by the arrogance he held as the all-powerful avatar of Cyttorak. It made him all too cocky for his own good, and oftentimes,even cockiness would cause the defeat of the Juggernaut. Cain becoming far too arrogant against antagonists would almost always lead to him making a costly mistake in a fight.
Juggernaut’s emotions have made Juggernaut surprisingly relatable, but they’ve also made him weaker in many ways.
While Juggernaut has grown out of traits like arrogance for the most part, more demoralizing traits like suffering from pain are still prevalent. Juggernaut’s emotions have made Juggernaut surprisingly relatable, but they’ve alsomade him weakerin many ways. Much of this Spider-Man arc has reiterated how Juggernaut leaning into his emotions and endearing himself to the X-Men has made him a better hero, at the cost of losing his powers when he’s not focused on being a force of destruction. It’s another reminder that nothing can stop theJuggernautexcept himself.
