The Unstoppable Juggernaut gets his very first series as he encounters a young woman who may change his life forever, from X-Men legends Fabian Nicieza, Ron Garney, Matt Milla, and Joe Sabino!
Tony Thornley: Welcome everyone to the first edition of our column covering the life and times of comics’ greatest character, Archie’s Jughead Jones! He’s one of comics longest lived- wait, I’m sorry. Hang on… Oh. Juggernaut. In his first solo series. Got it…
It’s the unstoppable Juggernaut as we’ve never seen him before!
Justin Partridge: He big. He also kinda sad and disconnected from his own existence. Whomst among us, right? But YES, Juggernaut #1 makes its way to shelves finally and us, being the dedicated Scholars of X that we are, are tasked to read it.
And the final result is, it’s Fine™️? I guess. I dunno. It’s been a weird week/month/last dozen years, so what do I know? LET’S GET INTO IT, NERDS.
He Cain In Like A Wrecking Ball!
TT: It’s been almost eighteen months since we last saw Cain Marko, when he was a short lived member of Matthew Rosenberg’s Uncanny X-Men. That series left him banished to Limbo with the Crimson Gem yanked free by the Darkchylde. Here he’s… literally a human wrecking ball.
He’s taking down condemned buildings for the city of New York. It’s kind of an interesting spot for Cain. I’ve always thought of him as an opportunist- doing the thing that will give him the greatest reward at that time. Well, this certainly fits that, giving Cain an interesting new status quo right off the bat. What did you think Justin?
JP: I’m into it, I think! At least in the broader strokes.
I am myself fairly disconnected from the Rosenberg run, mainly because I haven’t read it yet and didn’t get a chance to jump on it at my Day Job, but the stuff at play here in this #1 is engaging enough. At least on the surface level.
As Tony so smartly and handsomely mentioned, we see Cain working civil service. By CHOICE for once. Playing demo for Damage Control, Cain is turning his power toward good, putting him slightly apart from the current Krakoan paradigm and living arrangements. I think it’s fun, honestly. It’s nice seeing a slice of mutant life that is slightly apart from the main DOX titles. It’s ALSO nice seeing the return of Marko, who is always a fun and endearing presence in X-Books, or at least is when used properly.
I don’t know, I feel like I’m under selling it or maybe not being as deferent as I should be being, but it’s a fun slice-of-life comic of a mutant [Ed. note: Not a mutant] that isn’t completely bound to the island based teams and casts. Is this just me projecting or did you pick up/respond to this at all, Tony?
TT: Here’s my thing. I don’t think this is that great as a story. But as a character profile, and slice of life, this is great. Here’s Cain jobbing, he think he’s doing good. It’s a change of pace from superhero stuff and Krakoa, which you can tell he’s fed up with.
Then he runs into something interesting. A force that virtually stops him in his tracks.
This is a really interesting power. The first time Cain (literally) runs into it, he thinks that it’s kinetic force. But as he chases it does he realizes it’s a “de-acceleration field” and we meet our secondary protagonist. I really thought this power was interesting. Can you ever think of it having been used at Marvel before?
JP: I actually don’t think so either! I’m sure there are some kind of variant of time slowing or time manipulation somewhere, but D-Cel’s powers seem to be too specific not to be brand new.
TT: The closest I can think of is maybe Tempus? [Ed. note: Eva Bell, of The Five]
JP: You’re right, D-Cel stands as a neat foil to Cain, both in terms of temperament and abilities so that’s really fun and I’m curious to see how that plays out. But at the same time, I can’t help but feel like, I dunno, this reads a bit pedestrian compared to the rest of the line? Especially since a lot of those books come to the table with some pretty clear “elevator pitches” beyond the name recognition of the titles. Like you know what you are getting into with stuff like Factor and Excalibur, because you know what those team books can read like.
I feel like Juggernaut is working somewhat at a disadvantage in the facts that 1. It’s a solo book and 2. It’s just largely like a “hang out” comic, with readers just going through some average days in the life of Cain in the wake of his Uncanny resurrection. It’s a double-edged sword in that I LIKE that it’s largely apart from Krakoa but also DON’T LIKE that it reads so separated from what I’m responding to in the line overall. Is this weird?
TT: Very much so. There was some speculation when it was announced that this series seemed to not be coming out of the X-Office. Even though it is, it doesn’t have a Dawn of X feel. It’s a little more like X-Men/Fantastic Four in that regard.
Decellerate
TT: And that continues with D-Cel’s intro. I really like that Cain keeps assuming she’s a mutant, and the moment she’s on panel she says, “nope and screw you!” That’s very throwback Fabian! As the two sort of duke it out we get what I think is the issue’s best moment, both writing and art. As D-Cel keeps blasting him with her powers she asks why he won’t stop. As the POV zooms in on his eyes Cain’s response is wonderful!
JP: Yeah, this is objectively GREAT stuff and I think this is when the comic really starts to cook, both script and artwise.
Honestly, now that you mention it, it does sort of feel like a lot of this stuff was built AROUND the conception and execution of D-Cel. Like you said, we don’t get much real texture as to if she actually IS a mutant, or just a superpowered citizen, but the whole idea of her runs in opposition of Cain so this is probably been a large part of this story from the pitching level.
And it ABSOLUTELY is Very Fabian. He mines some fun pathos out of their meeting and D-Cel’s subsequent convalescence in a nearby hospital (which allows her the fun jab at mutantkind’s newfound riches) and finds a neat working dynamic with Ron Garney, who I always like as his style is one I really respond to.
But then, as it starts to ramp up, it just kinda…stops. Moving over into the issue’s gamma-irradiated cliffhanger.
TT: I really loved that hospital scene. We never get this sort of thing after a super-fight. These two aren’t enemies. Their animosity is entirely because the unstoppable force and immovable object ran into each other, and the latter wasn’t magically enhanced. It shows Cain’s compassionate side, which is something I’ve always liked seeing with him. He’s a jobber that feels guilty when a misguided kid gets hurt.
This is what made me say “this is a fantastic slice of life.” We don’t see this sort of thing enough in superhero stories. I can actually feel Cain and how his nervous pacing (how do you think that felt on the floor beneath them?) is authentic and anxious.
But like you said, then it just ends with the promise of Juggernaut, YouTube star, and a throwdown with the Hulk.
Character Limbo
JP: This brisk main action could also be the product of Limbo flashbacks though, because we haven’t even mentioned, there are LIMBO FLASHBACKS too! Tony, you might have to explain some of this stuff, because I’m out of the loop on Uncanny.
TT: So in Uncanny X-Men #21, Juggernaut was depowered and thrown into Limbo. It was meant to be horrific but it was just the latest in the misery parade of Rosenberg’s run. However, unlike the other deaths in that run, Juggernaut isn’t a mutant, so the resurrection protocols aren’t in effect for him.
So this creates a possibility for an interesting subplot. How did Juggs get repowered? In this issue it’s just a few pages. He gets dumped into a barren part of Limbo, powerless. He stumbles through Limbo dragging his armor for… at least weeks given the beard he grows. Then he reaches a crossroads demon and barters his helmet for passage.
This is interesting to me for a few reasons. First of all, if I remember correctly Cain’s been rendered powerless and shown back up repowered before. Then we get dialogue references to things being different. Lastly, clearly this new look isn’t JUST a cool redesign. When he stomps through the building trying to find D-Cel, he’s wearing a variation of his classic outfit (minus helmet), not the full helmet and glowing accents get-up. When she attacks him, he powers up at a thought. I don’t remember that being a part of his powerset at all, but the helmet magically appearing in particular is new. What do you think happened in all that time in Limbo?
JP: Oh, MAN, well the really cool thing is that like, honestly ANYTHING could have happened! And you’re right, having Cain depowered and then re-powered and reintroduced into the larger Marvel universe isn’t a new thing, but this seems like at least an attempt at a new angle on it.
I also REALLY liked too the idea of him having to lug around his armor like a bag of his own bad memories like so much literal emotional baggage so I am into that idea. But again, there isn’t REALLY much to hang onto, especially here in the opening. Though the flashbacks are scattered throughout the main action, they don’t really reveal too terribly much beyond the bigger strokes of him being there for a while and having to be tied to the broken pieces of his armor. I am REALLY into the prospect of more “mutant magic”, but I wish there was maybe just TOUCH MORE actual development in these bits.
TT: Agreed. I’ll be interested to see where these flashbacks go. I have a feeling we’re going to see the story zig where we expect it to zag.
Overall, I liked this issue. Garney’s art was spectacular, and Milla’s colors gave it this very moody feel. It wasn’t really gritty or noir-ish, but it was dark. It’ll be interesting to see where we go from here.
JP: No, absolutely and I generally like both Garney and Milla’s work so it’s nice to see them providing more solid work, especially on the X-line. I just…maybe wish it was in a more noteworthy book? Or at least one that made more of an impression on me as a reader.
X-Traneous Thoughts
- I REALLY like the new costume design for Cain here. It’s got really striking lines and a clean profile that Garney really makes a meal out of, even when the helmet is retracted and it’s just Marko’s normal head in shots. It’s nice to see him back with a super fit look.
- Also cool to see Fabian back on the X-Books. I know a lot of people are very into his X-Force and the like so it’s nice to see an older hand coming back and not totally flaming out. I bet Rob is SEETHING right now, huh?
- There definitely weren’t enough references to Black Tom in this issue.
- Like we said, the next issue looks to be a Hulk showdown. Genuinely curious to see what the Immortal Hulk thinks about the now seemingly Immortal Cain Marko.
Tony Thornley is a geek dad, blogger, Spider-Man and Superman aficionado, X-Men guru, autism daddy, amateur novelist, and all around awesome guy. He’s also very humble.
