Summary
- The Juggernaut and the incredible Hulk have a long history of epic battles across Marvel Comics, however, neither powerhouse consistently comes out as the clear victor.
- Despite the Hulk's seemingly unlimited strength, the Juggernaut's source of power makes their matches much closer than some readers would expect.
- The Juggernaut's mystical powers make him virtually unstoppable, and even the Hulk's immense strength isn't always enough to hold him back.
Even though he's not technically a mutant, Juggernaut was recently called upon to defend the mutant paradise Krakoa from the wrath of the Immortal Hulk. Juggernaut #2 (by Fabian Nicieza and Ron Garney) featured the green Goliath and the unstoppable step-brother of Charles Xavier at each other's throats once again. Although that issue didn't include a fight with a clear victor, it's not the first time these two titans have come to blows.
On the outside, the Hulk seems like a sure bet to effortlessly beat the Juggernaut, since his strength increases with his anger. If the Jade Giant can wipe the floor with the Avengers, it stands to reason that he can surely beat a villain who has been bested several times by the X-Men. However, the Juggernaut and the Hulk are a much closer match than they might seem at first glance, and their history of battles proves it.
Updated on November 1st, 2023 by David Harth: The Hulk has faced off against many powerful foes, and given enough time can defeat any of them. Hulk is often referred to as the most powerful human on the Earth, since his strength has an infinite range and the only thing holding him back is his level of anger. However, some characters have proven to be a match for him, including the classic X-Men villain known as Juggernaut. Their rivalry has long been epic, but recent events have further clarified the difference between the Juggernaut's vaunted strength and the Hulk's famed power.
Juggernaut Got Trashed By Nimrod At The Most Recent Hellfire Gala
This year's Hellfire Gala was a very memorable experience, but in the worst possible way for the Krakoans. The Orchis Initiative, the anti-mutant group that has been the main enemy of the mutant nation since it was founded, finally attacked just as this year's new X-Men team was being announced. Juggernaut was one of the newly announced members of this team. Charles Xavier had originally turned down Juggernaut's request for Krakoan citizenship because of his human status. With time, Juggernaut was eventually allowed to live on the island, joining Nightcrawler and Legion's Legionaries and working with Forget-Me-Not. Joining the Krakoan X-Men wouldn't be the first time that Juggernaut had been an X-Man, but he would've been the first human to join the team in the Krakoa Era.
Alas, it wasn't to be. The new X-Men team was slaughtered when Nimrod dropped from orbit on top of them. Juggernaut survived this attack and immediately went after the Sentinel. However, Nimrod took Juggernaut to the woodshed, beating him in a near flawless fashion. This was quite a shocking moment for longtime X-Men fans. On the one hand, Nimrod is the most powerful Sentinel ever created. Nimrod units have gone toe-to-toe with the most powerful X-Men and lived to tell the tale, but Nimrods also have an advantage in that they have mutant inhibitor fields, which allow them to nerf mutant power. So, a Nimrod unit smacking around someone like Colossus makes sense. Colossus is a physical powerhouse, but Nimrod can mess with his powers. The same can't be said for Juggernaut.
Juggernaut's power is mystical in nature, and while the Orchis Initiative has been experimenting with mystical weapons and agents, magic and robotics don't usually mix. At no point has it been established that Nimrod can inhibit mystical power, especially that given by a god like Cyttorak. So, the only explanation is that somehow, Orchis made the newest Nimrod with a level of power heretofore unseen in Marvel mechanical constructs. According to the most common strength ranking system used in Marvel side content, Juggernaut has always been a Level 100, meaning that he can lift over a hundred tons. Juggernaut has also defeated the Hulk on more than one occasion, so putting his strength level at well over a hundred tons wouldn't be a stretch. Somehow, Nimrod was more powerful than that, and could knock out Juggernaut in a few hits.
The only other explanation is that Juggernaut's power has gotten far weaker than it was before, which also doesn't make much sense. The last Juggernaut miniseries, by Fabian Nicieza, Ron Garney, Matt Milla, and Joe Sabino, seemingly had Juggernaut gain more power than ever. The series even included an issue where Juggernaut battled the Immortal Hulk, one of the Hulk's most powerful forms. Juggernaut should be at the height of his powers, but his battle against Nimrod doesn't line up with that expectation. It's made all the worse by the fact that X-Men (Vol. 6) #27, by Gerry Duggan, Phil Noto, and Clayton Cowles, has Juggernaut beaten again by Nimrod, although this time off-panel. Adding insult to injury, Orchis plans to steal Juggernaut's power after executing him. Of course, the easiest explanation is that Gerry Duggan, who also wrote the Hellfire Gala comic, just needed a way to take a powerful character like Juggernaut off the table and didn't really care about what powerscalers think. However, this does set a precedent for creators to make Juggernaut much weaker than he was before in future comics.
The Hulk Is At An Apex Right Now While Juggernaut's Power Appears To Fade
The Hulk has always been ridiculously powerful, but the last few years have brought him to a scary new apex of might never before seen in Marvel Comics. The Immortal Hulk introduced readers to an incredibly powerful incarnation of the Jade Giant, one that could survive even dismemberment. The Immortal Hulk even revealed the Hulk's final form, a titanic spacefaring monster that many called the "Entropy Hulk," a creature so powerful it could destroy worlds with a single punch. Hulk (Vol. 5) introduced readers to Starship Hulk, a new and powerful form of Hulk who traveled the Multiverse and was able to defeat a Thor who had been upgraded with gamma power. The Incredible Hulk (Vol. 4) is all about the Hulk battling a Lovecraftian monster awakened by the Eldest, a monster with ties to the One Below All, The Immortal Hulk's central antagonist.
The Hulk has been at an apex of power for a while now. The Juggernaut miniseries from 2020 seemingly made Juggernaut more powerful than ever. During the run, Juggernaut took the power of Cyttorak to new heights by forging the most powerful Juggernaut armor with Cyttorak powered artifacts. This should've established Juggernaut as one of Marvel's ultimate powerhouses, but this sadly wasn't the case. While Nimrod is certainly powerful, the way Cain Marko has been portrayed recently paints him as a much less powerful Juggernaut, one that Marvel's current Hulk would have no problem defeating in a rematch.
The Hulk is One of Marvel's Strongest Characters
When looking at the Hulk's power, it's apparent that his strength is nearly unlimited. Bruce Banner becomes more powerful as his anger increases, making him potentially unstoppable. This became abundantly clear during World War Hulk, wherein the powerful monster unleashed his righteous rage upon the Marvel Universe. The raging Jade Giant demolished almost anything or anyone who dared to stand in his way, carving a path of destruction in his wake.
In some ways, the Hulk is more of a threat than the Juggernaut, due to how resistant he is to both physical and psychic attacks. The X-Men villain is frequently defeated by psychic attacks. By contrast, the Hulk stood against Professor X's mental abilities during World War Hulk. This is most likely due to the fact that there are so many separate alters inside Hulk's brain that no one persona can dominate them all. This makes the Hulk nearly impossible to control. However, while the Hulk has nearly unlimited power, he still doesn't have truly unstoppable cosmic power.
The Juggernaut is Virtually Unstoppable
The Juggernaut's sheer strength is hard to measure. Much like the Hulk, it's almost impossible to calculate, since nothing seems too heavy for him to lift, and his punches can cause earthquakes and tectonic plate shifts. However, as previously mentioned, the Juggernaut is vulnerable to psychic attacks, particularly when stripped of his protective helmet.
One of the elements that makes the Juggernaut truly dangerous is that he isn't a mutant. Cain Marko is a human, chosen to be the avatar of Cyttorak, who determines how strong his avatar can be. Cyttorak has the option of granting his avatar all the power at his disposal, increasing Juggernaut's already impressive strength and power to near-cosmic levels. At full power, Juggernaut nearly killed Thor in 1999's Thor #17 (by Dan Jurgens, John Romita, Jr., Klaus Janson, Gregory Wright, Matt Hicks, and Wes Abbott).
The Juggernaut is physically indestructible and massively powerful, but his greatest power is his unstoppability. Once Cain Marko starts moving, nothing can stop him. Heroes like Spider-Man have only managed to slow down the Juggernaut, and once the villain charges, even the incredible Hulk's immense strength can't hold him back.
When enhanced by the mystical field granted to avatars of Cyttorak, Juggernaut is virtually impervious to harm. While that field can be removed by Cyttorak, no damage can befall the Juggernaut when he is bestowed with the full power of Cyttorak's avatar. This makes the Hulk's strength a non-factor in a battle against Juggernaut.
Juggernaut Faced the Jade Giant in World War Hulk
During World War Hulk, the Emerald Avenger launched an attack against Professor X. While many powerful X-Men crumbled under the Hulk's might, the Juggernaut endured it all, never falling to the Green Goliath during the event. However, Cain Marko's strength wasn't enough to match his opponent, so he fully gave himself over to Cyttorak, becoming his pure avatar.
Once that happened, the fight became more balanced. In an epic display of raw power, the World-Breaker Hulk and Juggernaut traded earth-shattering blows. However, the Hulk was still able to secure a victory by employing a clever strategy. World-Breaker Hulk let the Juggernaut build up momentum, only to move out of his path and avoid contact. However, this victory offered no clear conclusion as to which combatant was the most powerful.
Juggernaut Nearly Killed the Hulk
In Incredible Hulk #402 (by Peter David, Jan Duursema, Mark Farmer, Steve Buccellato, and Joe Rosen), the Juggernaut almost beat the Hulk to death. The issue featured the two powerhouses trading blows again and again. In a shocking turn of events, the Juggernaut eventually beat the Hulk into unconsciousness with his bare fists.
If not for the intervention of the Red Skull, it stands to reason that Juggernaut could have succeeded in killing his opponent. The Hulk is then transformed into a raging weapon, working with Juggernaut to take down the Avengers. However, the Jade Giant eventually regained control of himself and quickly defeated Juggernaut. However, Cain Marko wasn't so much beaten as taken by surprise with a sucker-punch.
The two brawlers have fought beyond these two encounters, but these two fights establish a few hard facts: the Hulk can be overpowered by the Juggernaut; the Hulk cannot consistently stop the Juggernaut; and most importantly, the Hulk's strength, even at maximum, cannot harm the Juggernaut at his maximum power. Given all of these factors, it would seem that nothing can truly stop the Juggernaut, not even the incredible Hulk.