A Key Member of the X-Men Might Just Be Spider-Man’s Salvation

The most unstoppable member of the X-Men could very well be the key to saving the entire Marvel Universe.

Amazing Spider-Man #68.Deaths opens to find Cain Marko, better known as the Juggernaut, in the midst of a harrowing battle against the combined might of his fellow X-Men. With his teammates possessed by the reality-consuming Blight, there is nothing for the Juggernaut to do but push back as hard as he can and hope that no one gets killed because of it. Fortunately for him, that is the only reason the Juggernaut has to hold back, as the mystic might of the demonic Cyttorak has made him what might be the only person on Earth who is immune to the Blight's touch, which in turn might make him the only one capable of sending it back where it came from.

Amazing Spider-Man #68.Deaths

• Written by CHRISTOS GAGE
• Art by MARK BUCKINGHAM
• Colors by MATTIA IACONO
• Letters by VC's JOE CARAMAGNA
• Main cover art by MARK BUCKINGHAM & RICHARD ISANOVE
• Variant cover art by FEDERICO VICENTINI & RICHARD ISANOVE

The human stepbrother of none other than Charles Xavier, Cain Marko was often beaten and berated by the same father who doted over his adopted son. This alone was enough to instill a deep-seated hatred for Charles within Cain, a feeling he could never truly embrace until after the two served alongside one another in the United States Army. While stationed in Korea, the pair stumbled into an ancient temple built to worship the demonic god Cyttorak. There, Cain took hold of a sacred gem that opened the door to Cyttorak becoming his patron god and Cain himself becoming the unstoppable Juggernaut.

In the years that followed, the Juggernaut became an iconic Marvel supervillain, often facing off against the likes of Professor X and the rest of the X-Men. The Juggernaut wasn't simply relegated to mutantkind's corner of the Marvel Universe, however, and soon enough he was regularly staring down everyone from Spider-Man to the Incredible Hulk. Surprisingly, these battles slowly transformed into less overt confrontations and more unlikely partnerships, each of which further cemented the Juggernaut's true place in the Marvel Universe not as an abject villain, but an unlikely hero instead.

When the current Sorcerer Supreme, Doctor Doom, chose Spider-Man to serve as his champion in a gauntlet of battles against the Scions of Cyttorak, the Juggernaut almost immediately felt the shift in the status quo of reality itself. Through his innate connection to Cyttorak, the Juggernaut became acutely aware of the threat at hand as a whole, if not the details of it. Since the Scion of Cyttorak known as Callix became the herald of the ancient force known as the Blight, however, it has become painfully clear exactly what the Juggernat and the rest of the world are up against, even if they have no real idea of how they are supposed to fight against it.

Amazing Spider-Man #68.Deaths is available now from Marvel Comics.

Source: Marvel Comics