X-Men Black: New Details About the Juggernaut's One-Shot

As the Juggernaut, Cain Marko possess a seemingly limitless amount of physical might. Over the years he's used his mystical power to gain revenge on his step brother, X-Men founder Charles Xavier (and make a profit as a professional criminal, of course). For a short time, he even used his abilities for good as a member of Excalibur, but this fall, he'll step into the spotlight, and into the role of villain, for a solo tale as part of Marvel's X-Men Black one-shots.

In October's X-Men: Black: Juggernaut writer Robbie Thompson and artist Shawn Crystal will give readers a one-shot full of their title character's signature brand of destruction and rare moments of introspection into what makes Cain Marko tick. CBR spoke with the creators about the story, their sense of the Juggernaut, and the characters and forces they're pitting him against.

CBR: The Juggernaut has been a number of different things over the years, from a revenge crazed brother to professional criminal -- he was even a hero for a brief time. So what's your sense of the character? Which of his qualities do you find most intriguing?

Shawn Crystal's sketch of the Juggernaut

Shawn Crystal: For me, he’s a living breathing wrecking ball. When I first encountered him as a kid, i was hooked. He showed up in a small arc of Excalibur, the cover of which was burned into my brain. Captain Britain pummeled into the earth with a giant food print in his chest, the Juggernaut walking away in the distance. I loved that story. I love Alan Davis. I would draw the Juggernaut over and over, trying to capture that size, that weight, that force. He is pure, simple, and focused. I could dive deeper into his character, but the truth is, I just LOVE drawing him destroying stuff. I love drawing the size of him in contrast to the characters he fights with, lets say, for example, just pulling this out of thin air… the X Men. It’s like a bunch of apes going against King Kong. Fun stuff!

I constantly think about his size, weight, and sense of force when I draw him. The simple act of walking around would be a destructive act for him. Every time he steps he leaves cracked floor boards, broken tiles, sunken earth. I want the reader to feel his pure force, even when not fighting.

Robbie Thompson: I think Shawn hit the nail on the head: when I think of Juggernaut, I think of a wrecking ball. He's unstoppable! And yet, as you pointed out, he's also had a fascinating history. Going back and re-reading his first appearance, I was struck by the journey he's been on. He's a bully when we first meet him, picking on Charles. He's been a villain. He's been a hero. And now he's a villain again. What fascinates me about him is this rage that drives him, the rage that Cyttorak saw in him has been with him his whole life. It helps him thrive and in some ways holds him back. Where does that anger come from? And what happens when Juggernaut stops? When he's forced to look inward?

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The characters and creative teams chosen for the X-Men Black books suggests to me that each one will have a specific tone and feel. So what can you tell us about the tone and feel of your Juggernaut story?

Crystal: I don’t know much about the other books. I've spoken to Nick Bradshaw a bit about his Mojo book with Scott Auckerman. That book sounds crazy fun! I’d expect some comedy from that one. I've spoken to Dalibor Talajić a bit as well, and Magneto seems like classic Claremont X-stuff. Ours is really a story of an internal struggle and external destruction. The bulk of the story is him fighting and wrecking shit while something very strange is going on around him.

Thompson: Internal exploration with external destruction is exactly right. We start off with a ton of awesome action from Shawn, and then we shift into a bit of mystery as Juggernaut starts to realize that something isn't quite right, and he's not sure if it's what he's fighting that's off, or himself. Shawn does such a great job with the action and character moments, which gives us the ability to really pack a lot into these pages!

The Juggernaut is a normal guy given "unstoppable" mystical might. What does that mean for you as storytellers with a book where you're given the chance to focus the action specifically on him?

Crystal: I think the Juggernaut needed a solo story. He needed some creators to step in and center the character a bit. To give him some gravity in the realm of the Marvel Universe, so more stories could be told about him. Something that gets deeper into his character, while still being everything we’d want from a Juggernaut book!

J. Scott Campbell's cover for X-Men Black: Juggernaut

Thompson: Yeah, just building on what Shawn said, we wanted to deliver what folks would expect from a Juggernaut book, which is the scale and action that a character like him demands. But at the same time, we wanted to start to peel back some layers to this character and drill down to where the seeds of his rage come from. Why does Cyttorak keep coming back to this guy for his champion? It's a one-shot, obviously, but we viewed it as a pilot, so to speak, a contained story that also works as an opening for more of an exploration of this character. I love Cain for the exact reason you mentioned in your question: he's a normal guy who was given crazy powers, that classic Marvel Character mold that allows for creators to dig deeper with each iteration.

Cain Marko is a guy who's had some pretty interesting dynamics over the years. What can you tell us about the cast of characters you're bouncing him off of in this story? Which of his interactions were especially fun to write? Shaun, are there any other characters you can talk about that have proven especially fun to draw?

Crystal: There’s a lot of X men literally bouncing off of him page after page. I’ve had two dreams since i was a kid. 1) Drawing Spider-Man. 2) Drawing the Original X Men fighting the Juggernaut. I'm currently drawing dream number 2 and it’s truly amazing. I feel so happy, so lucky and full of gratitude. Robbie and Darren are awesome to work with.

Thompson: In our first call about the book, Darren Shan had such a strong sense of what he wanted from this issue, as well the dynamics that needed to be present in a story about Juggernaut. While he's not a mutant, Juggernaut is a huge part of the X-Universe, and so Darren wanted to make sure he was pitted against some iconic X-Men. How and why Juggernaut is fighting these particular X-Men is a bit of a spoiler, but you can expect to see some marquee names in this book and Shawn's work with these characters is really special. Again, can't wait for folks to see what he's being doing!

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Speaking of that, Shawn, some of my favorite work that you've done was on the fantastic, but sadly short lived Illuminati series. So I'm happy to see you drawing a Marvel villain again. How does your work here compare to that and some of your recent work like Mother Panic for DC?

Crystal: Thank you for saying that! The work I’m doing here is by far my best work to date. I have a unique love for these characters. The only other time I felt like this was when I worked on Arkham Manor. Batman is one of those characters that i will never get tired of drawing. There’s a deep love there, a bottomless well of inspiration. This book is the same.

That's a great set up for my final question. If fans respond to your tale do you have more Juggernaut stories you'd like to tell? Do you have an idea of where you'd want to take Cain next?

Crystal: The story does end on a note that will allow for more. I would love nothing more than to continue drawing the Juggernaut. I feel like I’m eating the appetizer right now, and what would I give to get my hands on that Tomahawk Ribeye! I'm starving for more!

Thompson: Absolutely! I'd love a chance to work again with this team on this character. Darren, Chris Robinson and Shawn are the best and Juggernaut has a ton of stories to tell. Even only working on these twenty pages, it's clear he's a rich character that deserves a run on his own.

If you're like us and want to see more Juggernaut, the book is available for pre-order now.

Crystal: Yes, Please pre-order the book! Get everyone you know to do that as well! VIVA EL JUGGERNAUT!