@slimj87d: 1960s
Cain Marko is the son of Kurt Marko, who became Charles Xavier's stepfather when he married Sharon Xavier after the death of her husband Brian, for which Kurt was partially responsible. Kurt Marko starts to favor Charles, and abuses his own son, Cain. Cain begins to resent Charles and bullies him frequently. When 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. Upon 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, with the character buried and presumably killed, not being heard from again until a sudden assault on the X-Men's headquarters.
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 clearly seen 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 generating 'pulses' of flame that essentially hypnotize the Juggernaut, distracting him long enough for the Angel to remove his helmet, making Marko susceptible to a telepathic attack by Xavier.[5]
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.[6] 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.[7]
1970s
Juggernaut reappeared on Earth through sheer force of will, although the alien dimension caused him to age rapidly. The panicking villain battled former X-Man the Beast before being drawn back to the same dimension.[8] An entity from his prison dimension reversed the aging process and removed the mystical powers on the proviso that the villain never return. The Juggernaut was accidentally pulled back to Earth at the Hulkbuster base by an interdimensional device designed to banish the Hulk. The Hulk aided the Juggernaut in escaping from the base, but attacked when the Juggernaut threatened a civilian. During the battle his helmet was removed, and he was surprised and defeated by Professor X, Cyclops, and Marvel Girl.[9]
The Juggernaut befriended Black Tom Cassidy, the cousin of X-Man Banshee, and battled the first generation of new X-Men. When Tom fell off the battlements of Cassidy Keep after a sword duel with Banshee, Juggernaut jumped after him into the sea.[10]
1980s
Black Tom used his niece Siryn - who possesses the same powers as her father Banshee - to steal a shipment of the metal vibranium. The Juggernaut battled Spider-Woman and the X-Men, and was the only one of the criminal trio to escape capture.[11] After freeing him from prison, Black Tom decided the psychic Madame Web could be useful in his criminal pursuits. On arriving in New York City, Tom sent the Juggernaut to capture Madame Web, with the villain destroying several city blocks and ignoring Spider-Man's best efforts to stop him. The Juggernaut almost killed Web by accident when he removed her from a life support device, and decided to abandon her. A frustrated Spider-Man eventually lured the Juggernaut into setting concrete, poured for the foundation of an office high-rise, into which he sank without a trace;[12] he took over a month to dig his way out.[13]
The Juggernaut, in civilian guise, had a bar fight with the X-Man Colossus, who was at first unaware of the villain's true identity.[14] After another battle against Spider-Man and the X-Men,[15] the Juggernaut encountered the futuristic Sentinel Nimrod, who humiliated and defeated him.[16] The Juggernaut was one of the villains assembled to battle the cosmic entity the Beyonder.[17] The Juggernaut battled an all-new generation of X-Men,[18] appears in a flashback story with the original X-Men,[19] and had a humorous encounter with Captain Britain.[20]
The Juggernaut also participated in the Acts of Vengeance, battling the Thunder God Thor and teen superteam the New Warriors.[21]
1990s
The Juggernaut continues to feature prominently in Marvel titles, starring in an alternate universe adventure,[22] battling Thor once again [23] and starring opposite other characters such as the mutant team X-Force,[24] Doctor Strange,[25] 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),[26] mercenary Deadpool,[27] the villain turned antihero Venom,[28] and multiple battles with the X-Men.[29] 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, eventually manages to escape.[30]
The Juggernaut also stars in a solo story[31] 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.[32] 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.[33]
2000s
The Juggernaut, courtesy of a ruse engineered by Black Tom Cassidy, eventually allies with and joins the X-Men, the plan being to destroy the team from within. When Cassidy openly betrays the Juggernaut, Marko decides to remain with the X-Men and attempt to change his ways.[34] The Juggernaut befriends a young mutant boy called Sammy Paré, who helps Marko reform,[35] despite setbacks such as a battle with the Canadian superhero team Alpha Flight.[36] When Paré, however, discovers that Black Tom Cassidy is preparing to attack the X-Men's headquarters, he is killed. An enraged Juggernaut attacks Cassidy and his allies, with the battle stranding all participants in the alternate dimension the Mojoverse.[37]
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, with each battling a challenger to the death for the right to retain the entity's power.[38] 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 is able to restore the link with Cyttorak, becoming powerful enough to hold his own against the Hulk.[39] Despite an attempt by Xavier to reform Marko, he concedes that redemption is impossible.[40]
2010s
While training his son Skaar, Bruce Banner bombs Juggernaut's house to initiate a confrontation between Skaar and the Juggernaut.[41] Skaar manages to win his first fight by throwing the Juggernaut into open space, proving to his father that he has the ability to use cunning and strategy in combat, and not simply physical strength.[42]
During The Gauntlet storyline, Spider-Man finds the Juggernaut unconscious. The government comes along and transports the Juggernaut to a secure facility. Spider-Man sneaks into the facility to ask the Juggernaut who did this to him. Then, a new Captain Universe breaks into the room and claims he's there to slay the Juggernaut.[43] Spider-Man learns that Captain Universe is a man named William Nguyen who wants revenge on Juggernaut for ruining his life during his previous fight with Spider-Man over Madame Web.[13] When he insists on trying to kill Juggernaut instead of fixing the tectonic plates beneath New York City, the Uni-Power leaves Nguyen and enters the Juggernaut. The Juggernaut, as Captain Universe, repairs the damage to the tectonic plates that was caused by him during the same rampage that ruined Nguyen's life.[44]
Following the Siege storyline, Juggernaut is shown at The Raft at the start of the Heroic Age storyline - weakened, since Cyttorak apparently took his temporary empowerment by the Uni-Power as an affront, and withheld part of his "blessing". Following Luke Cage's appointment as leader of the Thunderbolts, Cain is brought up for suggestion for the program. While Cage is initially against him joining, Professor X telepathically contacts Luke and asks him to reconsider, believing he has a chance at redemption despite what he previously told Cain. Juggernaut agrees to do whatever Luke says, partly because he is now suffused with nanomachines which can affect him in his weakened state.[45]
During the Fear Itself storyline, one of the seven Hammers of the Worthy lands near Juggernaut. Juggernaut is able to lift it and becomes Kuurth, Breaker of Stone. His transformation was enough to level the Raft.[46] Kuurth makes his way to California and fights the X-Men. Magik, Colossus and Shadowcat go to Cyttorak's dimension and inform it that the Serpent has control over Juggernaut. Magik strikes a deal with Cyttorak who chooses her to become the new host of the Juggernaut's powers, however the entity ends up transferring the Juggernaut's powers to Colossus instead. Colossus was able to turn the tide on Kuurth before Kuurth is teleported away by the Serpent.[47] During the last battle between the Avengers and the Worthy, Kuurth was defeated by Wolverine using his Uru armor, and lost his hammer when the Serpent was killed by Thor.[48]
Cain Marko, apparently having been incarcerated after the events of 'Fear Itself', having lost the power of both Kuurth and Cytorakk (but retaining his enormous physique) is released into military custody. Subsequently, he is taken to the borders of the country of Sharzhad just as the Thunderbolts return from their tumultuous tumble through time, and Satana aids Man-Thing in opening a gateway to the Crimson Cosmos (or possibly an alternate universe where Cain Marko had died while still the Juggernaut). Pushing his hand through, Marko is re-empowered, becoming the Juggernaut once more - just in time to thunder forth and smash through the otherwise unbreakable force field surrounding the country. This allowed the Thunderbolts to resolve an otherwise deadly threat to the planet - as had been orchestrated by the Ghost, who had sent the request for Marko's release back through time.[49] He soon lost these borrowed powers again, and went to live in solitude in the desert, still, it seems, super-strong, although not mystically-empowered.[50] Likewise, around this same time Magik purged the Juggernaut powers from Colossus with her Soulsword.[51]
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