Warning: spoilers ahead for Legion of X #2!
Cain Marko is the Unstoppable Juggernaut, but one of his new teammates is a mutant who is stripping him of that title. After finally being granted a place on Krakoa by Nightcrawler, Juggernaut is part of Kurt’s fledgling team of Legionaires. But during a mission gone awry, an unlikely mutant’s gift turns out to be the perfect solution to save Krakoa from a mind-controlled Juggernaut rampage.
Marko, who has played both friend and foe to the X-Men, has been left in a strange limbo in the Krakoan era. While Professor X is his stepbrother and Black Tom Cassidy is his longtime partner, Juggernaut’s nigh-unstoppable strength has nothing to do with an X-gene. Cain is no longer beholden to Cyttorak’s will, but his non-mutant status means he still uses the Crimson Bands of Cyttorak and fragments of the Crimson Gem of Cyttorak to fuel his magic momentum. Now, through a vote by the Quiet Council, Juggernaut has been granted access to Krakoa in exchange for joining Nightcrawler’s new squad.
Juggernaut is a powerful asset to the peacekeeping Legionaires, but their current adversary Skinjacker makes anyone they possess into a potential weapon against Krakoa. In Legion of X #2, by Si Spurrier, Jan Bazaldua, Federico Blee, and Clayton Cowles, the Legionaires catch up to the mysterious Skinjacker only for the possessor to hop from Banshee into Juggernaut. Cain Marko is called the Unstoppable Juggernaut for a reason, so time is short before the situation rises to the level of a national crisis. Working on the fly and short on immovable objects to throw in Cain’s way, the Legionaires discover one of their own teammates already has a mutant gift uniquely qualified to negate Juggernaut’s powers entirely. This is Marinette, otherwise known as the gravity-manipulating mutant Lost.
No momentum means no power for the Juggernaut. Trapped weightless in an empty space, it turns out that physics and Marinette’s ability to influence them are the keys to erasing a Juggernaut’s usually unbeatable advantage. Lost is still a relatively unknown mutant, as Marinette did not even fully know herself until after the events of Way of X. But with such an interesting design and versatile power set, this Legionaire just showed she’s capable of something even the Hulk has struggled to do: stopping the Juggernaut.
Cain’s reinvention as an antihero has tapped into his humanity, but he’s still an incredibly fragile person who deals poorly with being challenged. The fact that Lost can so easily depower him will likely be relevant in future, as a former villain who has downed entire teams of X-Men now has to live alongside his personal kryptonite.
Nightcrawler’s team of Legionaires is meant to help Krakoan culture to grow into embracing a system of transformative justice as opposed to one defined by prison and policing. Having a strong and durable teammate such as Juggernaut helps round out the squad’s ability to respond to any threat, but this makes Marinette’s presence all the more essential. To be different from police forces that oppress their nation’s people, the peacekeepers must be able to hold each other accountable. God forbid Juggernaut ever steps out of line from the Legionaire’ mission, but if so Lost’s powers will be able to keep him in check.
Legion of X #2 is on sale now from Marvel Comics.
