Warning! Spoiler to Juggernaut #5, in stores now!
As their adventures get more and more dangerous, the Juggernaut had to consider the life of D-Cel, his sarcastic yet powerful mutant sidekick, as she wasn’t as unstoppable as he was. Before they attacked the Dungeon, a secret for-profit supervillain prison, Cain reached out to Krakoa and his step-brother Charles Xavier to appeal on her behalf to join the other mutants on Krakoa. While D-Cel’s unique abilities certainly interest Xavier, Cain is assured of D-Cel’s safe passage by none other than Black Tom Cassidy, a former X-Men villain and Cain’s old partner in crime and friend.
Created by Chris Claremont and Dave Cockrum, Black Tom Cassidy appeared in X-Men #101 where his rivalry with his cousin Sean Cassidy made him a villain of the X-Men. Having met the Juggernaut in prison, they chose to work together against them mutual enemies. After their first few attempts failed to permanently defeat Charles Xavier and his X-Men, the dangerous duo tried to gain the assistance and powers of Madame Webb, which saw the Juggernaut famously battle Spider-Man and get himself stuck in a block of concrete for a period of a time. After he escaped, Cain trusted Tom enough to temporarily endow him with half of his powers from the Ruby of Cyttorak, a serious upgrade that helped them fight both Spider-Man and the X-Men.
After surviving a near-fatal wound from a battle with Cable and X-Force, Tom experienced a secondary mutation that transformed his body to be able to manipulate and control anything of plant matter although it cost him his sanity. Tom and Juggernaut joined the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants with the latter tasked to infiltrate the X-Men but hit a snag when Marko chose to side with the X-Men instead. Angered by his friend’s betrayal, Black Tom killed a young mutant that Cain was close with, causing the Juggernaut to attack and dismember his former friend. Although Tom’s new powers allowed him to live, he was partially depowered by the Scarlet Witch following the events of House of M and came across Juggernaut when the Brotherhood fought his team Excalibur. It was there that Cain convinced Tom to turn himself in, blaming his secondary mutation for his insanity but showing genuine remorse for the senseless murder. They eventually made up and were last seen together in X-Men: Blue #1 where the time-displaced X-Men team stopped their robbery of a luxury yacht.
In Juggernaut #5 by Fabian Nicieza and Ron Garney, Cain telepathically speaks to both Xavier and Tom about D-Cel, where Tom assures him not only of their help but that he’s doing the right nay a good thing. Black Tom was among the many former X-Men villains that were given a pardon for their former crimes. Since his arrival, Tom’s role in internal/external security helped him strengthen his powers by creating a psychological bond with Krakoa itself. Commenting on Juggernaut’s penchant for always finding trouble, he is among the welcoming party when D-Cel admits her mutant status and requests asylum. While D-Cel is welcomed to Krakoa, Cain and Tom have a brief but encouraging chat that shows their friendship has not been forgotten, seeing that the young mutant will keep Tom Cassidy on his toes like Cain once did.
Although the rules of the X-Men and mutants have been rewritten within the last year or two, its a shame that a matter of genetics is keeping these two long-time friends apart. But with Tom’s obligations to Krakoa and Cain’s assembly of a new team to battle the Dungeon and other’s like them, their lives seem to be going in opposite directions with little chance of intersection. But at least Juggernaut knows that while he may not be welcome on Krakoa, he’s still got a good friend looking out for him there.
