Juggernaut's History
Cain Marko is the son of Dr. Kurt Marko, who was an atomic researcher, and Marjorie Marko. Cain's parents separated and he was eventually sent to boarding schools, which he continued to get expelled from. Cain's mother died shortly after when he was only three. Dr. Marko's wealthy colleague, Dr. Brian Xavier, another atomic researcher, died in an accident, and Dr. Marko eventually married his widow, Sharon Xavier, for her great wealth. On marrying Sharon, Dr. Marko moved into her large Westchester County mansion, and, after yet another expulsion from school, eventually moved Cain in also.
Dr. Marko favored his gentle, smart step-son, Charles Xavier, to his own son, which led to Cain bullying the young Charles and Dr. Marko secretly beating Cain. Cain was abusive to his stepbrother at every opportunity. Charles' telepathic powers began emerging when he was still a boy, around ten, and, on one occasion, he found himself experiencing the anguished thoughts and emotions of Cain, after Cain had been beaten by his father. The inexperienced young Charles could not control or end his contact with Cain's mind at this time. Somehow, Cain sensed that Charles was reading his mind and had discovered his secret shame.
Sharon died shortly thereafter, of a broken heart, leaving Charles to live with his step-father and abusive step-brother. During an argument in Dr. Marko's private laboratory over money, Cain accused him of having a hand in Dr. Xavier's "accidental" death, at the disaster at Alamogordo. Dr. Marko was quick to be steadfast in defending himself, taking Cain by the collar of his coat and yelling at him to "never say that again". Charles was stationed outside the door, however, and overheard the conversation. When Cain realized, he intended to cause a ruckus, by destroying some of his father's chemical experiments, throwing a vial of green liquid that caused similar containers to shatter, spilling the chemicals throughout the laboratory. The collision of the different substances caused a violent explosion that left the lab aflame. Though Dr. Marko managed to rescue both Cain and Charles from the fire, he himself died of smoke inhalation. In his dying words, Dr. Marko begged forgiveness for not saving Dr. Xavier when he had the chance, and telling Charles to keep his powers secret from Cain. Cain was standing over, however, and heard of Charles' gift, which led him to believe that Charles had invaded his thoughts deliberately. From then on, Cain regarded Charles as his enemy.
Cain continued to live in the Xavier mansion, growing increasingly resentful of his step-brother's scholastic and athletic achievements as well as his telepathic powers (which Charles mastered as he grew older), while Charles entered England's Oxford University. Cain even pushed Charles too far one day and the two got into a fight, which Charles easily won. What happened to Marko after he left home was unclear. However, it was known that Cain became a mercenary and was eventually imprisoned in a Third World jail, when the revolutionary forces he was fighting for were defeated. In the jail, Cain became friends with a fellow mercenary, Black Tom Cassidy, who used his mutant powers to help them escape.
Later, Marko and Xavier found themselves serving together in the same U.S. military unit in Korea. Marko deserted under fire and Xavier went after him to bring him back. Xavier followed Marko into a cave, that housed the lost secret Temple of Cyttorak, a powerful mystical entity. Marko impulsively grabbed a glowing ruby from the lap of an idol and read the inscription (which mystically appeared to his mind to be in English): "Whosoever touches this gem shall possess the power of the Crimson Bands of Cyttorak. Henceforth, you who read these words shall become forevermore a human juggernaut." As Xavier watched, the gem's mystical power transformed Marko into a larger, superhuman being. Just then, enemy high explosive bombardment caused a cave-in and Marko was buried under several thousand tons of rock. Xavier survived and returned to his unit.
Juggernaut
Due to the fact that he did not need air or food to survive, Marko, now the Juggernaut, eventually dug himself free with his new-found, immense strength and invulnerability and, after many years, made his way to America, to use his power to kill Xavier, leaving the gem in Korea. As the Juggernaut, Cain had released his soul to the deity Cyttorak, becoming his human avatar. Marko attacked Charles, now a professor and founder of the Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, at their old home and learned that his new helmet protected him from psychic attacks. Professor Xavier and his group of X-Men were helpless to stop him, until Professor Xavier asked for the assistance of the Human Torch, who burned the rivets of Cain's helmet, allowing for the X-Men to removed it. After Professor Xavier sent Cain into a coma, he locked him in a room in the basement of the mansion. While attempting to removed the mystic powers of Cain, Professor Xavier placed the two of them in a device and, due to the intervention of the Factor Three, Cain was revived and temporarily retained Professor X's telepathic powers. After defeating the X-Men, Cain was contacted, by the Factor Three, for membership. While attempting to join Factor Three, Juggernaut was tricked, by the X-Men, and sent to the Crimson Cosmos of the Crimson Gem of Cyttorak.
Prisoner of the Crimson Cosmos
While attempting to find a pathway back to Earth, Cain made his way to Nightmare's Realm/Dream Dimension and aided Dr. Strange in battling Nightmare, to rescue Eternity. After successfully rescuing Eternity, Cain attempted to destroy Eternity and was banished back to the Crimson Cosmos. Due to a number of mystic coincidences, it being Halloween, and his desire for revenge, Cain was briefly returned to Earth, in Rutland, Vermont. The powers that be in the Crimson Cosmos, to teach him an abject lesson, made Cain believe that he was aging rapidly until death. Due to the circumstances of his arrival, Cain was pulled between the Earth dimension and the Crimson Cosmos, while causing chaos in Vermont to regain his youth through hate. Coming to the aid of the citizens of Rutland, the former X-Man Beast, battled Juggernaut, who was winning until he realized that Beast's new beastly appearance was real and not a costume. Due to Cain's hate turning to fear, he began to age again and, before he could perish, another portal appeared, returned Cain to imprisonment, and restored him to life when he was brought back to the realm.
Released from the Cosmos
While attempting to seal away another rampaging beast, the Hulk, Dr. Peter Corbeau sent the Hulk to Cain's mystical dimension and accidentally warped Cain in his place. After Cain attempted to break-out of the Hulk's Hulkbuster Base I cell, Dr. Crobeau attempted to reverse the procedure and resulted in the Hulk and Juggernaut in the cell. Together, the pair broke-out of the prison and made short work of all the military force that Colonel John Armbruster threw at them, but, when Cain began to terrorize civilians, the Hulk and Juggernaut began an epic battle. The pair were very evenly matched, until the Hulk grabbed Cain by the helmet and began to spin him around. The speed and force of Hulk's attack was enough for Cain's helmet to snap loose and send him into a mountain. Before Cain could begin his sneak attack retaliation, the X-Men arrived and Professor Xavier mentally subdued him again.
Partners in Crime
Later, Juggernaut was freed and hired for a job, to kill the X-Men, by Erik the Red. The Shi'ar warrior hired Cain and Black Tom and the two set a trap for the X-Men, at Banshee's Cassidy Keep, where Cain first met the X-Man Colossus. Cain proved to be enough to overpower the mutants, but when Black Tom was thrown into the waves below the castle, Cain withdrew and jumped in after him. Cain and Tom resurfaced in New York, attempting to kidnap Madame Web, hoping her psychic visions could help defeat the X-Men, but were opposed by Spider-Man. Although Spider-Man could not stop Juggernaut from taking Madame Web, he was able to outsmart Cain and leave him in a pool of wet cement on a construction site.
Cain eventually made his way out of the cement and was seen again in a bar in Manhattan. While attempting to forget his defeat, Juggernaut's drinking was interrupted, by Colossus, who accidentally spilled his beer on Cain. Eager to let-out his frustrations, Cain beat-up Colossus, while Wolverine and Nightcrawler watched-on. After asking if they wanted a beating too, the other X-Men said "no" and Cain left, paying for his beer.
Wishing to improve Tom's defenses, Cain had the idea for what would make for a rather unique birthday present and went to Korea, to retrieve the Gem that gave him his powers. After walking through the Korean army, Cain retrieved the gem and gave it to Tom, turning him into a Juggernaut, as well. However, both of them had only half of the original?s powers and Black Tom became enraged, engaging his ally in a brief battle, which was then interrupted by Spider-Man and the X-Men. Rogue leeched-off Cassidy?s Juggernaut powers and, later, Cain reclaimed the full set, when he touched the ruby a second time. Realizing that the ruby was not only the source of his strength, but could also be used to take it away from him, Cain decided to hurl it into space, where nobody could use it. Cain was later seen back in New York, at the First United National Bank, where he was actually conducting a legitimate business transaction, but was attacked, by Nimrod. This time, ironically, Cain was aided by the X-Men, which, after being seen siding with the Juggernaut, it appeared to the public that the X-Men were aiding a felon.
Cain was later seen on Muir Island, by the X-Man Dazzler, who Cain was a huge fan of musically. Cain was attempting to keep the local authorities busy, while Black Tom looted the Bank of Scotland. Dazzler wished to prove her worth, having recently joined the X-Men, but Cain did not wish to harm the beautiful hero, even offering to pay for damages of an accident they had. Dazzler unleashed the full fury of her powers, passing-out from over exertion, leaving Cain mortified at the thought that he had killed her. After mistakenly burying Dazzler alive, the new group of X-Men defeated Cain and handed him over to the authorities.
Cain was sent to the ultra maximum security prison, Crossmoor, in London, until he was freed by the British crimelord Vixen. Vixen offered Cain her help, in exchange for his assistance in her plans. Cain destroyed the prison wall and most of the prisoners escaped, beating up the guards, and also destroyed most of the tanks, while Vixen and her troops flew away with jet packs. Cain was confronted by Captain Britain, who ordered him to give up. Cain over-powered Captain Britain, but was defeated and returned to custody, by Excalibur.
Cain's reputation as an unstoppable force gained the notoriety of the Gods, when Loki had him teleported from Crossmoor to Queens, where Cain began to rampage. Loki's goal, as always, was to have Cain face-off with his brother, Thor, which came shortly after. Surprisingly, Cain was able to beat Thor, but the arrival of the New Warriors gave Thor the time he needed to recover and Cain was covered in molten metal. After the metal cooled, Thor took the temporary prison to an asteroid in space and left Cain.
The gem did not stay in space, due to Nova sending it back to Earth, and a young boy, Stevie, was granted a different set of powers, but still drained Cain's powers. Ironically, while in space, Cain overthrew an alien planet and became absolute ruler. This time, Cain was stopped by the arrival of Thor and Excalibur, where Cain first displayed his force field and Thor used Mjolnir to break it and teleported Cain to another asteroid in deep space. Cain's partner in crime brokered a deal to get him back to Earth and Black Tom had Arianna Jankos build a interdimensional teleporter, in exchange for Black Tom helping Arianna stop a corporate buyout of her company. When activated, the teleporter exploded and out popped Juggernaut. Black Tom planned to aid Arianna, by holding the would-be purchasers hostage in the World Trade Center, but Tom's cousin, Siryn, attacked them. Grateful for being back on Earth, Cain gladly fought Siryn outside, until Warpath of X-Force arrived to aid her. Realizing the odds were against them, Tom detonated bombs, destroying the World Trade Center. Arriving to aid their teammate, Cain then battled X-Force and Spider-Man, while Cable attempted to kill Black Tom inside the ruins of the tower. As Tom lay in his own blood, Deadpool arrived and teleported him and Cain, who was fairing nicely in his battle outside, to Mr. Tolliver, in exchange for their services, but Tolliver was seemingly killed in a helicopter explosion.
After arriving back on Earth, Cain was initially held at bay by Stevie and it was unknown what became of Stevie, but, apparently, Cain encountered the child a second time and successfully reclaimed his power source. This time, the gem was mystically bonded to Marko and merged with his body, making Cain no longer needed his costume to have the full range of his powers, except for the immunity to telepathy granted by his helmet.
Later, Cain was summoned to the Crimson Cosmos, to aide Dr. Strange and Nova from becoming Cyttorak's priest and priestess. Cyttorak's manifestation seemed to be an elf-like figure, who wore a pointed helmet-like hat with a ruby grafted onto it and, greedy for more power and thinking that this new stone would increase his own abilities, Cain battled his benefactor and ripped the stone out. Strangely, though, he felt no difference and, when Dr. Strange and Nova teamed up against him, they made him drop the glowing jewel and it returned to its rightful place.
Over the years the Juggernaut has clashed with Xavier and both the original and new teams of X-Men repeatedly. He has also formed a successful criminal partnership with his old friend Black Tom Cassidy.
Also in intervening years he had clashed several times with Spider-Man, The Hulk (as Merged Hulk and the Horseman War), Spider-Woman and the Avengers.
The sentient psionic being known as Onslaught, actually an amalgamation of the psyches of Xavier and Magneto, would-be world conqueror and mutant Master of Magnetism, ripped the Crimson Gem of Cyttorak from Juggernaut's body and imprisoned him within. Inside the jewel, Cain learned he was an avatar for Cyttorak. As such, the otherworldly entity sought to assume control of Juggernaut's form. But Cain, through sheer force of will, destroyed the evil god and returned to Earth, stronger than ever, but unable to fully control his amplified abilities.
Cyttorak was merely one of a pantheon of eight gods, all with earthbound avatars. These Exemplars enlisted the Juggernaut's aid in constructing a machine that would enslave the human race. As the Exemplars tended to in their final preparations, Cain withdrew deep into himself, where he clashed with Cyttorak. Charles entered his stepbrother's mind to aid him in the battle, but the Exemplar known as Bedlam sensed his presence and expelled him. Still, Charles' short stay in Juggernaut's head had helped Cain regain control of his psyche. After defeating Cyttorak, Juggernaut destroyed the Exemplars' God Machine. He then turned his attention to the avatars themselves, defeating each in turn.
Juggernaut again was cast as a hero when the sentient spaceship Prosh escaped the confines of a Celestial prison, returned to Earth and dispatched a group of disparate beings on a journey through time to uncover the keys to preserving human evolution. Besides Cain, Prosh's task force included Phoenix and Iceman, members of the X-Men; and Mystique and Toad, mutant terrorists. Their mission: Save the human race from a threat that might not manifest itself for millions of years. Juggernaut was shown that for all his physical strength, he long has lacked strength of character. Despite all his yearning for power, he has squandered his supernaturally enhanced abilities. When Prosh reassembled the members of his team in the present, they fought and defeated the enigmatic alien entity known as the Stranger, who sought to control the natural evolution of humans and mutants. If not acquiring a new-found respect for life and human dignity, at least Juggernaut gained a better sense of understanding for the mutant plight.
Joining the X-Men
As the result of an undisclosed battle with Cyttorak, his patron deity, Cain lost most of the power of the Juggernaut. Thereafter, Cain reconciled with Xavier and joined the X-Men. In an unusual turn for someone of Cain's personality he immediately befriended several people at the mansion including a young mutant boy named Sammy Pare, a.k.a. Squidboy, who had a positive influence on him. Cain later allowed himself to be taken into custody and then had a one-night stand with She-Hulk, who as Jennifer Walters was representing him in his trial for all the crimes he had committed as a criminal. It would turn out later that it was, in fact, an ?Earth One? alternate of Ms Walters. Amazingly, Cain was exonerated of all his crimes and allowed to go free despite having numerous outstanding felonies both at home and abroad.
Later, Black Tom Cassidy resurfaced and Juggernaut joined his new Brotherhood of Mutants, with the intention of betraying the group and warning the X-Men when he had the chance. Squidboy stumbled upon the Brotherhood having a meeting, and thinking that Juggernaut had betrayed the X-Men he became angry and started yelling. Annoyed, Black Tom killed the boy. Furious with rage, Juggernaut tried to kill his former friend. When the Brotherhood were sucked into a black hole by the second Xorn, Juggernaut accompanied them to make sure Nocturne (another mole) would be safe if everyone survived and to make sure the Brotherhood didn't try to attack the mansion again.
He ended up in Mojoworld and became the property of Mojo along with Nocturne. To escape, Nocturne took control of Mojo's hench-woman, Spiral, and opened a portal to the X-Men's Danger Room, where they were reunited with the team. This, however, was a trap set by Spiral, who was in more control of her body than thought, leaving a portal open to allow Mojo to cross over as well. Mojo turned the X-Men into X-Babies, but they managed to overpower his forces anyway. Juggernaut still felt extremely guilty about Squidboy's death, and how the boy's last words were that he hated him. He wondered if he should remain a child, this being his chance to start over with a clean slate, but Storm comforted him and convinced him not to. The X-Men were re-aged, and Juggernaut remained with the team.
In the wake of House of M, in which the majority of the mutant population has lost their powers, Juggernaut joined the new Excalibur grouping in London.
More recently, Cain was among the various teams of X-Men attempting to protect Professor Xavier from the wrath of the Incredible Hulk. Though Cain had recently come into possession of the gem of Cyttorak, he was still unable to call forth his full power during his first battle with the Hulk and was quickly defeated. Cyttorak himself appeared before Cain and explained that Cain himself was the cause of his own weakness. Cyttorak intended for Cain to use the powers granted to him to fulfill his own selfish desires and needs and not for heroic purposes. Cain finally accepted his role as Cyttorak's avatar to it's fullest extent and regained his full power. He challenged the Hulk once more and the Hulk was unable to defeat him once again. As Cain continued to push the Hulk back, the Hulk used his cunning to use Cain's own momentum and near-unstoppable movement against him, which briefly removed him from the field of battle long enough for the Hulk to escape.
Shortly afterward, Cain refused all of Xavier's attempts to thank him. Before leaving, he gave Xavier a warning not to send anyone to try to find him.
Cain engaged in a fight with Skaar, the son of the Hulk. He was defeated and launched into orbit.
Cain was later found unconscious by Spider-Man. Spider-Man had no idea who did this and then the government arrive and transported him to a prison. After the Siege event, Cain appears as a member of Luke Cage's Thunderbolts.
Fear Itself
When the Serpent was freed by Skadi, he called seven hammers to Earth. The Juggernaut was transformed by one of these hammers, becoming one of The Worthy; Kuurth, Breaker of Stone. He then heavily damaged the Raft, allowing many prisoners to escape, before flying away.
After this, Cain, now Kuurth, attacked a petrol station 60 miles from San Francisco, gaining an ally who he possessed. As Kuurth continued towards San Francisco, he met with the police force on the highway who arrempted to stop his rampage. After Kuurth's ally gained the influence of the anti mutant protestors, Marko was directly attacked by the first wave of X-Men, Cyclops, Shadowcat,Colossus and Iceman. While Colossus managed to crack Kuurth's helmet, he was unsuccessful in removing the helmet, which needed to be done to allow Emma Frost to telepathically control him. This team was later joined by Magneto, who was unable to stop Kuurth's hammer using his magnetism, being saved from death by an interfering Kitty Pryde. Cain couldn't be stopped by the first team and so was next attacked by an aerial force consisting of Angel, Cannonball, Storm and Dazzler. During this time, Hope Summers had absorbed almost every X-Man's power and battled Marko, managing to remove his helmet before collapsing. Emma Frost then tried to take control of his mind but was overpowered by Kuurth and his ally.
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. After losing his hammer and blessing of Cyttorak, Cain was re-imprisoned in the Raft. He was later confronted by a pair of guards, who taunted him for the loss of his powers. John Walker, the warden appeared, admonishing the guards and dismissing them. He then offered Cain his former spot on the Thunderbolts. Man-Thing managed to use his access to the Nexus of All Realities to teleport to this Earth a Cyttorak from another universe in which Marko was dead, thus becoming Juggernaut once more.
