One of the first enemies of the X-Men, the Unstoppable Juggernaut, has a 60-year history of being defeated by surprising heroes. Cain Marko, who is the stepbrother of the X-Men’s founder Professor Xavier, is empowered by the eldritch being called Cyttorak after touching the Crimson Gem many years ago.
While Juggernaut has been an outright hero for several years, working alongside the X-Men on Krakoa even though he is genetically not a mutant himself, he has spent much of his career battling the X-Men and other heroes alongside his partner Black Tom. Starting in his first appearance in 1965’s The X-Men #12, Cain established himself as a determined and powerful enemy of the X-Men, forcing the mutants to battle him countless times. Once in motion, the Juggernaut is nearly impossible to stop. He has an impressive healing factor and doesn’t need to rest, eat, or drink water, making him practically immortal.
15 Professor Xavier
The Juggernaut’s first defeat came at the hands of his stepbrother. When the Juggernaut first debuted, Marko wore a massive helmet that prevented psychic attacks, meaning Xavier had very little in his arsenal he could use against the unstoppable monstrosity. Cain’s brother was finally able to defeat Juggernaut in The X-Men #13 after The Fantastic Four distracted him and Angel removed his helmet, allowing Professor X to stop him telepathically. While Xavier may be physically weaker than Cain, he has the benefit of many allies, allowing him to rely on their strength and strategy to help him defeat his errant brother.
14 Cyclops
Similarly, Cyclops, one of Xavier’s original five X-Men members, was able to defeat the Juggernaut not using his mutant abilities, but his extensive strategic knowledge. Scott Summers may have powerful optic blasts, but his real strength is his tactical mind, which he has used to defeat many foes. In 2001’s Cyclops limited series, Scott uses his tactical prowess to trick Cain onto a frozen lake, blasting the ice out from beneath him and giving him time to kidnap Black Tom and stave off a further attack from Juggernaut.
13 Banshee
There are some X-Men who have not defeated the Juggernaut directly but have shown they could if push came to shove. One of these mutant heroes is Sean Cassidy, the X-Man known as Banshee, who is also the cousin of Black Tom. In Uncanny X-Men #194, the future sentinel Nimrod is able to defeat the Juggernaut using a deafening sonic blast. This is essentially Sean’s mutant ability, showing that if Banshee needed to beat Juggernaut quickly, he most likely could because of Cain’s vulnerability to sonic attacks.
12 Miranda (Worst X-Man Ever)
Juggernaut, like most characters at Marvel, is also incredibly vulnerable to reality manipulation, which can change his environment without a moment’s notice, altering his trajectory or stopping his momentum. In the alternate universe of Worst X-Man Ever, the young mutant Miranda debuts, whom Beast reveals to be an “Omicron-level mutant,” the only one in existence. When Juggernaut attacks Bailey Hoskins, the main character and Miranda’s friend, she uses her vast reality-warping powers to make a well appear underneath Cain, causing him to fall in, defeated.
11 Time-Displaced Beast
When the original five X-Men time traveled to the present day, due to the manipulations of the adult Beast, their origins were irreparably shifted. One of the biggest changes was the time-displaced Beast learning how to use magic, something his older self never deigned to do, as he was so focused on scientific progress. In X-Men: Blue #1, as the Juggernaut is relentlessly attacking a cruise ship, Hank uses a horrific magical spell to send Cain to Siberia, but not without first sending him through Hell, much like how Magik’s Limbo teleportation disks work.
10 Mister Sinister
Even though the Juggernaut is known to be unstoppable and has gone head-to-head against major Marvel brawlers like Hulk and Colossus, he sometimes comes up against an enemy that is simply so strong he doesn’t stand a chance. Surprisingly, Mister Sinister was able to easily defeat Cain with a simple slap in 2019’s Uncanny X-Men #18, when Juggernaut was operating as a hero alongside the X-Men. Sinister is known for sending his lapdogs after his enemies, like the Marauders or even clones of himself, so it was shocking to see him send Cain flying into the atmosphere with a simple hit.
9 Iceman
Another original X-Man, Bobby Drake, has battled the Juggernaut countless times, and his ice powers are typically not strong enough to defeat him. However, in 2017’s Iceman #5, Bobby was able to single-handedly beat Juggernaut without much effort. Iceman traveled to Central Park to battle a rampaging Juggernaut, who was incredibly confident he could beat Bobby because of their past history. Although at first, Cain broke free of his ice prison, Iceman eventually used the power of his ice golems to hold Juggernaut in place, flying him directly into SHIELD custody.
8 Lost
When the mutant “Skinjacker” Switch began possessing random citizens of Krakoa in Legion of X, the Juggernaut fell victim to his possession, briefly becoming an unstoppable weapon that Devon Alomar used against his fellow mutants. Just like other times when seemingly “weak” heroes stopped Juggernaut, Cain was not defeated by brute strength but instead by a mutant’s ability to stop his momentum. The new mutant Lost, who has the powerful ability to affect the surrounding gravity, was easily able to stop the possessed Juggernaut in his tracks by greatly reducing the gravity surrounding him, causing him to float and not be able to touch the ground.
7 Thunderbird
Another alternate universe version of the Juggernaut, who appears to have the same strength and unstoppable rampaging of Earth-616’s Cain, is defeated in Exiles #2. In this battle, the Juggernaut is defeated with brute strength, by an alternate version of John Proudstar’s Thunderbird, who was enhanced through experimentation by Mister Sinister. John and Cain engage in a brutal fistfight, with Thunderbird forcing Juggernaut to stand down or else be killed by him, something John does not want to do.
6 Wolverine
One of Juggernaut’s most fascinating, and embarrassing, defeats comes at the hands of Wolverine and the Cosmic Ghost Rider in Wolverine: Black, White & Blood #3. Cosmic Ghost Rider reveals to Logan that in the future he is from he has killed the Elder God Cyttorak who empowers Cain and used his bones to create an indestructible chain. Wolverine then uses the Chains of Cyttorak against Juggernaut, turning his own powers against him, ripping his helmet off and beating him up senseless before leaving him for SHIELD agents. It’s a truly brutal defeat for the practically unstoppable Juggernaut.
5 Deadpool
Another embarrassing defeat for Cain Marko came at the hands of Deadpool, whose status as a mutant was canonically confirmed during the Krakoa Age. In Despicable Deadpool #298, the two mercenaries are battling before Wade drives a cement truck into Cain, crushing the Juggernaut against a wall. Cain laughs at Deadpool, asking how a truck is supposed to stop him, before Deadpool reminds him that he still needs to breathe, pushing the pour towards him and trapping the Juggernaut in cement.
4 Isca the Unbeaten
There are countless mutants who have not directly battled the Juggernaut, but given the opportunity would be able to single-handedly take Cain Marko down, regardless of his unstoppable nature. One of these powerful mutants is the Arakko-born Isca the Unbeaten, sister of Genesis and one of the most powerful warriors in existence. Isca’s mutant ability is that she is literally unable to lose, meaning in any contest or battle she will always win, either through skill or through reality-warping improbability. This means that no matter what Juggernaut threw at Isca, he could simply never defeat her, no matter how hard he came at her.
3 Magneto
Much like other mutants who are not physically strong but are capable of great physical feats, the Omega-level Master of Magnetism could defeat the Juggernaut in any number of ways. From melting the metal beneath the Juggernaut’s feet to erecting countless barriers in front of Cain, Magneto could stop the Juggernaut’s forward momentum in a way that would render Cain vulnerable. In fact, the armor that the Juggernaut wears is most likely made out of metal, meaning Magneto could lift Cain into the air at any given point, defeating him almost immediately.
2 Manifold
Juggernaut is often defeated by simply removing him from the equation, just like Beast did when he teleported him to Siberia. Similarly, the powerful mutant Manifold would easily remove Cain from a battle scenario. While Manifold is mistaken for being a mutant teleporter, his actual ability is the power to communicate with the universe itself, asking it to bend and twist and allowing him to “teleport” himself or others across impossible distances. In a battle against the Juggernaut, Eden could easily utilize his relationship with the known universe to send Juggernaut thousands of miles away, defeating him without laying a single finger on Cain.
1 Synch
Finally, there is the Generation X member Synch, who could defeat Juggernaut using the abilities of any other mutant. Synch has a version of Rogue’s power, allowing him to absorb the abilities of X-Men around him, or even the powers of those he has previously absorbed, without the negative consequences that Rogue experiences. That means that in a battle against Juggernaut, Synch could use the powers of Magneto, Iceman, or Lost to defeat Cain Marko, handing the Juggernaut another defeat at the hands of a mutant without intense physical prowess.
While Cain Marko is not the most powerful villain that the X-Men ever faced, the Juggernaut has proved himself to be a formidable foe countless times in battle, often only being defeated by trickery or removing his ability to be an “unstoppable force.” Mutant heroes like Lost, Xavier, Cyclops, and Beast have all defeated Cain using surprising means, proving that just because he is unstoppable, does not mean the Juggernaut cannot be beaten.
