The evolution and development of the Juggernaut’s character is one of the most captivating in Marvel Comics history, despite his reputation as being little more than a brutish X-Men villain. The Juggernaut certainly started out a major antagonist of the mutant heroes, but since then, the Juggernaut has traveled the cosmos, gone toe-to-toe with god-tier enemies, undergone major redesigns, and ultimately finds redemption.

Cain Marko’s personal lore in Marvel Comics is shockingly vast, and the storylines in which he’s featured (including his very debut) are utterly enthralling. The Juggernaut is a character that had every chance to be a generic, boring bad guy who would show up to cause a bit of destruction before ultimately being beaten by whichever hero was taking him on. Instead, Marvel Comics challenged itself to push the Juggernaut beyond the limits of fan expectations, and the results speak for themselves. Here are the 10 best Juggernaut stories in Marvel Comics, ranked!

10

Juggernaut Gets an Ultimate Redesign When He’s Reintroduced as a Mutant

Ultimate X-Men #7 by Mark Miller and Adam Kubert

Cain Marko is famously not a mutant in Marvel Comics canon, but rather a human who was imbued with the power of Cyttorak through the Crimson Gem. However, upon the relaunch of the Marvel Universe in the form of the Ultimate Universe, the Juggernaut’s origin story was streamlined, and he was reintroduced as a proper mutant. Not only that, but due to his newfound mutation, the Juggernaut was weaponized by Weapon X, and even attacked the X-Men alongside the likes of Sabretooth, Nightcrawler, and Rogue upon his debut.

The Ultimate Universe’s Juggernaut is an awesome and totally unexpected expansion of his wider lore in Marvel Comics, as it made him a mutant and altered his iconic design. However, while interesting, this is an alternate reality version of the Juggernaut, and therefore adds little to the development of the Earth-616 version, making this story one of the Juggernaut’s most unimportant (despite being one of his best).

9

The Juggernaut Takes a New Form, as Colossus Becomes Cyttorak’s Avatar

Uncanny X-Men #543 by Kieron Gillen and Greg Land

When Cyttorak decides Cain Marko is no longer worthy of wielding his power, he chooses a new avatar to become the Unstoppable Juggernaut: Colossus. Colossus takes on this power to challenge the original Juggernaut, Cain Marko, who was the host of Kuurth at that time during the Fear Itself storyline. This gave rise to a new era in the Juggernaut’s Marvel Comics history, with the iconic X-Men hero, Colossus, taking up the mantle for a time, and even tapping into a level of Cyttorak’s raw power that Marko never had – indeed, Colossus Juggernaut could mutate into a demonic, hulking creature for an added power-boost.

Colossus becoming the Juggernaut is one of the coolest ‘Juggernaut’ stories in Marvel history, but like with the Juggernaut’s Ultimate counterpart, this storyline doesn’t contribute much to the personal lore of Cain Marko, making some of the Juggernaut’s other storylines decidedly more interesting.

8

The Juggernaut’s Debut in Marvel Comics is a Masterclass in Building Suspense

X-Men #12 by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby

Before the Juggernaut made his first appearance, Charles Xavier knew he was on his way to the X-Mansion, and the X-Men prepared for his arrival while Xavier told them everything he knew about the Juggernaut. This comic reveals that Cain Marko was Xavier’s step-brother, and that he always hated Charles throughout their entire lives. And now that Marko was powered by demonic, otherworldly forces, he was strong enough to crush Xavier, and destroy everything he built.

As Xavier tells his X-Men how dangerous the Juggernaut is, the comic cuts to the Juggernaut marching ever-closer to his targets, half-drenched in shadow throughout. Marko easily overcomes the traps the X-Men set for him before breaking through a wall of the X-Mansion, downing a number of the X-Men with that initial attack alone. The buildup to the Juggernaut’s debut is nail-biting, and the payoff is totally worth the anticipation.

7

The Juggernaut Got His Own ‘World War Hulk’ After Battling Thor

Thor #412 by Tom DeFalco and Ron Frenz

In a breakout storyline for the Juggernaut that showed him as more than just an X-Men villain, Cain Marko is battling Thor in a fight that proves how utterly god-tier the Juggernaut truly is. The Juggernaut withstands an attack meant to down Celestials, and even takes on Thor along with the New Warriors without hardly breaking a sweat. In fact, the Juggernaut is such a threat that Thor decides he’s too dangerous to leave on Earth, so the God of Thunder maroons Marko on an asteroid in the middle of outer space.

The next time readers see the Juggernaut is in Thor #429, revealing that he made it off the asteroid and conquered an entire alien planet. This storyline is one of the first that shows the Juggernaut reaching a level of power fans didn’t know was possible, and it elevated him to a threat-level equal to that of a rampaging Hulk.

6

The Juggernaut Has a Hidden God-Tier Power: Sorcery

Doctor Strange #182 by Roy Thomas and Gene Colan

When Doctor Strange is fighting Nightmare in a battle that spans abstract interdimensional space, the two run into the Juggernaut, who had previously been banished to the Crimson Cosmos. During his time trapped in this otherworldly plane, the Juggernaut learned magic in order to survive, which made him quite a powerful sorcerer. Indeed, Nightmare himself tells the Juggernaut that he’s strong enough to conquer an entire universe with the level of power he’s exhibiting, and Juggernaut proves it by holding his own against the Sorcerer Supreme himself, Doctor Strange.

The Juggernaut has always been portrayed as an absolute powerhouse in terms of physical strength and durability, which is why this story is an obvious standout. The Juggernaut isn’t just unstoppable, he’s an accomplished, god-tier sorcerer.

5

The Juggernaut Reaches Untold Levels of Power in His Trion Form

X-Men #88 by Alan Davis and Joe Casey

When an otherworldly entity embeds itself within the Juggernaut’s body, it grants him the power of Trion, which makes the Juggernaut strong enough to literally punch through the fabric of reality. With the power of Trion, the Juggernaut becomes the greatest threat the Marvel Universe has ever seen, as he threatens to utterly destroy all reality by doing little more than walking through dimensions. The Juggernaut even battles an interdimensional beast that exists in the space between universes during this story arc, holding his own against a creature of untold power.

Trion Juggernaut isn’t even physically stopped, the X-Men have to travel into the Juggernaut’s psyche to take him down, which is like a heightened version of the psychic attacks that seem to be the only true way to stop this unstoppable villain. Everything about the Juggernaut is cranked up to max power in this storyline, showing readers how terrifyingly powerful the Juggernaut can be.

4

Juggernaut Learns His True Role as an Avatar of Cyttorak in “The Eighth Day”

Juggernaut Vol. 2 #1 by Joe Casey and Terry Shoemaker

The Juggernaut always believed his role as the avatar of Cyttorak was to spread as much chaos and destruction in the demon-god’s name as possible. However, he learns in The Eighth Day crossover event (which concludes in Juggernaut Vol. 2 #1) that he’s but a small piece in a larger game being played by otherworldly forces. Cyttorak is one of eight cosmic beings that made a wager a millennia ago over which among them was the most powerful. And now, the Juggernaut is put to the test on behalf of his ruler to prove the true might of Cyttorak.

The Eighth Day storyline is one of epic proportions, as it requires a number of classic Marvel heroes to team up to stop a potentially world-ending threat. However, it’s also immensely significant for the Juggernaut’s personal character arc, as it highlights how much of a pawn he truly is – a realization that eventually leads to the Juggernaut’s ultimate redemption.

3

The Juggernaut’s Horrific Backstory is Fully Revealed, Marking His Road to Redemption

New Excalibur #15 by Frank Tieri and Jim Calafiore

The Juggernaut briefly decides to leave his life of villainy behind him to join an X-Men-affiliated team, New Excalibur. However, on one of their missions, Cyttorak reaches out to the Juggernaut to remind him that this isn’t why the demon-god offered Cain Marko his power. Cyttorak then forces the Juggernaut to relive the moment he first became the Juggernaut, including the horrific thing Cyttorak made Marko do to prove his loyalty: wipe out an entire village, including men, women, and children.

The Juggernaut faces his worst moment, which arguably makes his eventual redemption laughable given how truly atrocious his actions were. However, it could also be argued that this is the moment the Juggernaut’s redemption actually began. He was trying to be a hero, and in the process, faced the worst act of evil he ever committed. Afterward, Juggernaut was ready to come out of this experience a better person – making this storyline absolutely essential in Juggernaut lore.

2

Juggernaut Breaks Free from Cyttorak’s Influence While Keeping His Unstoppable Power

Juggernaut Vol. 3 #1-5 by Fabian Nicieza and Ron Garney

The Juggernaut’s latest solo-series is the prelude to his time as a hero alongside the X-Men on Krakoa, and is a must-read for fans of the character. This Juggernaut story details how Cain Marko was able to isolate the power of the Juggernaut on Earth, which severed his connection to Cyttorak permanently. No longer would the Juggernaut be plagued with visions of his cruelest moments while on his hero’s journey. He became free to pursue the life of a hero he’d been trying to attain for years now, all without giving up the power that makes him unstoppable.

This moment might be the single most significant in the Juggernaut’s history, as it wasn’t just an exciting story, but it’s also one that paves the way for the rest of his Marvel Comics career. The Juggernaut breaking free of Cyttorak’s influence is a new beginning for the character, and allows him to make the historic jump from X-Men villain to X-Men hero.

1

The Juggernaut Officially Joins the X-Men, Reshaping His Marvel Comics Destiny Forever

X-Men: Hellfire Gala 2023 #1 by Gerry Duggan, Adam Kubert, Luciano Vecchio, Matteo Lolli, Russell Dauterman, Javier Pina, R.B. Silva, Joshua Cassara, Kris Anka, and Pepe Larraz

During 2023’s Hellfire Gala, the mutants of Krakoa vote for the new members of their flagship X-Men team, and this year, the Juggernaut makes the cut. This moment marked the true new beginning for the Juggernaut, as he was now free from Cyttorak’s control and had earned the trust and respect of all mutantkind. While this particular lineup didn’t last long (as Nimrod and Orchis decimated the mutants immediately following the new X-Men announcement), it did ensure the Juggernaut would be included in the X-Men in the franchise’s next era, ‘From the Ashes’.

On top of this story being the moment the Juggernaut is changed forever as a Marvel Comics character, it also has some absolutely breathtaking action scenes between Marko and Nimrod, as Marvel didn’t forget why readers fell in love with the Juggernaut in the first place – and that’s why this is the best Juggernaut story in Marvel Comics history.