Spider-Man has achieved many glorious victories over the years, but none are quite like the time he stopped the Juggernaut.
During almost sixty years in comics, Spider-Man has made many significant achievements. There’s no telling how many lives Peter Parker has saved, or how many foes he’s beaten.
Despite his countless heroic deeds, Spider-Man’s greatest accomplishment is still stopping the unstoppable Juggernaut.
Although it’s been nearly forty years since its publication in the Amazing Spider-Man #229-230 by Roger Stern and John Romita Jr., “Nothing Can Stop the Juggernaut” remains one of the Web-Slinger’s most memorable tales. This story began as Madame Web foresaw her death at the hands of Cain Marko, aka the Juggernaut. With this deadly premonition in mind, Web called Spider-Man and begged him to help her the next time she called him.
Meanwhile, Juggernaut was indeed planning to pay Madame Web a visit. Marko and his partner, Black Tom Cassidy, decided to kidnap Web so they could use her clairvoyance as an edge against the X-Men. Tasked with capturing the old woman, Juggernaut made his way through the bottom of the harbor and out onto New York’s streets. Sensing the Juggernaut’s approach, Web contacted Peter, who quickly swung out to save her.
Spider-Man tried everything in his power to stop the rampaging Juggernaut. Punching, kicking, webbing and even trapping the Juggernaut underground all met with dismal failure. When Marko reached Web’s home, the wall-crawler tried to electrocute the Juggernaut but failed. Helplessly trapped beneath a wall, Spider-Man was forced to watch as the Juggernaut ripped Madame Web from her life support system. Discovering that Web was useless to him outside of her chair, Juggernaut tossed her aside, leaving the web-head with barely enough time to call an ambulance.
Upon her arrival at the hospital, Madame Web experienced severe brain damage and memory loss. Fueled by guilt over his failure, Spider-Man mustered up the fighting strength to pursue the Juggernaut to the bitter end. Peter fired steel girders, wrecking balls and even an exploding oil truck at Marko to try to stop him.
Still, nothing even fazed the Juggernaut. In a last-ditch effort, Spider-Man grabbed onto Marko’s helmet, but it wouldn’t budge. Peter managed to blind the Juggernaut, grabbing onto his head for dear life as Marko mercilessly punched the web-slinger from behind. Fortunately, Spider-Man accomplished his goal, leading the Juggernaut into a foundation of wet cement. Watching his foe sink into the Earth, Peter realized that he finally stopped the Juggernaut.
One major reason why this stands as Spider-Man’s greatest accomplishment is that the story demonstrates Peter’s indomitable will, especially when it comes to protecting others. Even after he failed Madame Web, Spider-Man felt a responsibility to fight for her — the same sense of responsibility that echoes from his failure to save Uncle Ben or Gwen Stacy.
Moreover, this story shows that even when he’s way out of his league, Spider-Man still fights for what’s right. Clearly, Juggernaut is not one of Spider-Man’s regular foes. The Juggernaut punches way above the level of Sandman or Mysterio. Yet, when all of the heavy-hitters like the Avengers or Fantastic Four were gone, Spider-Man stood his ground, doing all he could to stop the Juggernaut’s careless rampage.
Most importantly, “Nothing Can Stop the Juggernaut” showed Spider-Man salvaging a victory from the jaws of defeat. Stories like “The Final Chapter” in Amazing Spider-Man #33 by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, illustrate Peter Parker’s indomitable will perfectly. Yet this particular battle also saw Peter fail in his mission, with Juggernaut reaching Madame Web and hospitalizing her.
The important part of this story, however, is how Spider-Man got back up and kept after the Juggernaut, refusing to let him get away with this heinous act. Later on, Madame Web would recover her memories and return to her place as Spider-Man’s resident clairvoyant. Spider-Man wasn’t aware that Web would recover, choosing to fight in order to avenge her and carry out what seemed like Madame Web’s dying mission. It took a lot of inner strength for Peter to pursue the Juggernaut, especially since all seemed lost.
There are so many great Spider-Man victories, but none can quite compare to Peter Parker’s victory over the Juggernaut.
Related: Spider-Punk: Who Is the Spider-Verse’s Most Metal Spider-Man?
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