Warning: SPOILERS for The Fall of the House of X #3Largely considered to be among Marvel Comics’ strongest beings, the unstoppable Juggernaut usually lives up to his name. Whether it’s testing his might against his former enemies, the X-Men, or going one-on-one with the Incredible Hulk himself, Cain Marko is truly one of the most durable characters in comics. However, the Juggernaut isn’t as unstoppable as he likes to think, and anti-mutant villains Orchis know just how to hurt him.
The Fall of the House of X #3 – by Gerry Duggan, Lucas Werneck, Jethro Morales, Bryan Valenza, and Travis Lanham – finds Juggernaut and what remains of the sentient island Krakoa ambushed by Orchis’ repurposed SHEILD Helicarrier. As Cain pulls Krakoa across the desert, he’s speared in the leg by an adamantium harpoon, as the narration clarifies that Juggernaut is far from unstoppable.
Cain does manage to defend Krakoa until reinforcements arrive, claiming Orchis can’t kill him. Still, this does raise questions regarding his current power levels, and forces fans to wonder just how unstoppable the Juggernaut really is.
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The Juggernaut Is One Of Marvel’s Most Powerful Characters
But Even He Has His Limits
One of Cain’s defining characteristics throughout his entire history has been that he’s literally unstoppable – and Juggernaut having survived battles against the Hulk, Thor, and Wolverine does a lot to cement that claim. However, if a simple adamantium spike can stop him – one forged using one of Logan’s own abandoned skeletons – he’s not entirely invulnerable. This isn’t entirely shocking, as adamantium has been shown to pierce even the Hulk’s skin, but this is the first time that the substance’s effectiveness against Cain has been so prominently highlighted.
In past conflicts, Juggernaut’s armor, specifically his iconic helmet, has withstood attacks from Wolverine’s adamantium claws, but this was at a time when Cain was an avatar for the malicious deity called Cyttorak. Now that his abilities are drawn from the Crimson Bands of Cytorrak without the entity’s permission, Juggernaut’s powers may not be as stable as they once were. Magic is a complicated power source for most heroes, and for someone who charges headfirst as much as Juggernaut does, that instability could cost him everything, as this conflict and his losing battles with Nimrod have shown.
Juggernaut Doesn’t Need To Be An Army Of One Anymore
He’s An X-Man
The Juggernaut remains one of Marvel’s strongest beings, but as The Fall of the House of X #3 made clear, he is not the unstoppable force that many readers once understood him to be. On his own, he may be one of the X-Men’s heaviest hitters, but it’s clear that even Cain needs to find strength in numbers against the forces of Orchis. Whether Marko can ever re-stabilize his power levels remains to be seen. That said, until then, if the Juggernaut truly wants to be unstoppable, he’ll have to fight alongside his fellow X-Men.
