Marvel’s Juggernaut and Charles Xavier are usually at odds, but the X-Men villain just went out of his way to follow his brother’s example.
WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Juggernaut #1, by Fabian Nicieza, Ron Garney, Matt Milla, and VC’s Joe Sabino, on sale now.
Cain Marko usually isn’t described as a hero. He’s the unstoppable Juggernaut, and no matter whose side he’s on, he’s one of the most powerful characters in the Marvel Universe. Despite Juggernaut’s track record as a villain, he has also fought alongside the X-Men at various points. In the new series starring Marko, it seems that he’s once again leaning toward his more heroic side.
Marko doesn’t usually line up with his half-brother Charles Xavier’s philosophy. But in Juggernaut #1, Marko follows Professor X’s footsteps when he goes out of his way to help a fellow mutant.
When Juggernaut clashes with a group of squatters in a building he’s trying to help Damage Control vacate, one of the kids hits him with some energy blasts. Marko immediately recognizes the young mutant’s power and wants to help them. For someone with Marko’s villainous background, this reaction is a notable shift, as it speaks to the integrity of his heart. As he wanders through the decrepit building, Marko repeats that he just wants to aid the mutant. The kids continue to fight Juggernaut by throwing rocks at him, and with a few more energy blasts, Marko realizes that he’s dealing with someone even stronger than he initially thought.
Juggernaut comes face-to-face with his opponent, D-Cel, who has the ability to slow down kinetic energy. To further escalate the conflict, she angrily blasts Marko again when he calls her a mutant. Juggernaut perseveres through the blasts and continues to charge D-Cel, despite her best efforts to slow him down. Even with her immense power, Juggernaut is like a runaway train once he starts moving, and the inexperienced teen doesn’t stand a chance. During the fight, D-Cel overexerts herself collapses. Marko inadvertently buries her in some rubble, but he quickly digs her out.
Marko accompanies an unconscious D-Cel to the hospital, where he stays with her, even after a doctor tells him he can leave. D-Cel ends up with two fractured ribs, but these injuries pale in comparison to what could have happened in her fight with Juggernaut. Marko offers to help her get to Krakoa so she can be with her kind, but D-Cel repeatedly denies that she’s a mutant. The conversation changes gears when D-Cel tells Marko that, rather than being the guy who got stuck in concrete, he can be so much more.
While it’s way to soon to call Marko the next Professor X, his stepbrother’s influence is obvious. Marko clearly cares about D-Cel and sympathizes with her. He makes sure she’s taken care of and offers to facilitate her journey to Krakoa.
Just as Xavier would, Marko actively helps a mutant in distress, and his attempt to bring her to the X-Men’s haven suggests that he at least somewhat agrees with his stepbrother after all.
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