In the world of comics, there is always room for stories about the children of superheroes and villains. One of the more prominent characters in Marvel Comics 2, an alternate universe dealing with such characters, is Zane Yama, or J2, a heroic son of the Juggernaut, also known as Cain Marko, a famous X-Men villain.
Generally appearing to have his powers less developed than his father's, Zane is still shown to be a powerful force on whatever team he's on. In addition to appearing in his own miniseries, over the years, he's also appeared in different Marvel spin-offs, like the Spider-Girl series.
10 He's Younger Than He Looks (When Transformed)
Unlike his father, who always seems pretty large, Zane is visibly much smaller and thinner than his transformed state. He also loses his glasses during his transformation, suggesting his eyesight even improves in his superpowered state.
Presumably, this gives him quite an advantage at hiding his alter-ego. In his earlier appearances, he keeps the fact that he's literally the son of the Juggernaut secret.
9 His First Transformation Was Awkward
Prior to his first transformation, Zane had nightmares about a hulking figure chasing him. His powers first awakened when he was hiding from a bully. Unfortunately, not only was he inexperienced with having power, he was completely naked during his initial transformation.
The shock of what happened to him caused him to run through the school without clothes on and cause considerable damage with his newfound strength. Luckily, he was able to use his new powers to get revenge on his bully by destroying his motorcycle.
8 He Has Eurasian Ancestry
Zane is the son of Cain Marko, the original Juggernaut, and a woman named Sachi Yama, whose family name Zane uses in his everyday life.
His mother was a lawyer, eventually an assistant district attorney, who helped his father in court cases before they fell in love. Although she was developed for the alternate reality where Zane was born, Sachi has appeared in other Marvel stories, such as the X-Men Forever miniseries.
7 He Grew Up Without His Father
Zane was raised by his mother mostly as a single parent, as his father, Cain Marko, was believed to have gone missing during a mission with the X-Men. It was eventually expanded on that he was being held prisoner by a villain called Nemesus in a parallel reality.
Although he grew up without him, Sachi appeared to raise Zane to have a high opinion of his son, telling him his father would never harm him after hearing about his nightmares, and still referring to Cain as her husband, although she admits it is not common knowledge and keeping items of his in storage, believing that he would somehow return to him.
6 His Costume Homages His Father In Different Ways
For the most part, J2's costume is simply a silver version of his father's original costume. Just like Cain's, his helmet also gives him protection against psychic powers, which was known to be Cain's biggest weakness.
Added to that, in his transformed state, Zane normally wore a plaid, flannel shirt of his father's around his waist. The shirt was sentimental to Zane, claiming Cain wore it when he took him to Central Park or the movies when he was younger.
5 He Has A Bit In Common With Peter Parker
At first glance, Zane somewhat resembles one of the biggest stars of Marvel Comics: Peter Parker, most notably early incarnations who wore glasses in his civilian form.
His school life also seems lifted from Peter Parker's school days. His bully Miller bears more than a passing resemblance to Flash Thompson, not to mention idolizing Zane's alter-ego, even going so far to take credit for his actions, while picking on Zane. Like Peter, Zane also gets involved with various love-triangles. One such crush, "ice queen" Talia, somewhat resembles Liz Allan, for example.
4 He Once Fought The Hulk
Of course, with Zane becoming noticeably bigger and stronger in his alter-ego, another famous Marvel character he brings to mind is the Incredible Hulk, a character he fights in the third issue of his original mini-series.
Exactly why J2 has to fight the Hulk is explicitly kept from readers, beyond the implication they were on opposing teams at the time. The Hulk acted nobly during the fight, saving J2 when he fell in some water and almost drowned, but he claims this was done so he could be the one to beat him, not circumstance. The fight doesn't have a clear winner. The Sub-Mariner appears and tells the two to give up the fight.
3 He Got His Powers By Accident
It initially seems that Zane inherited his powers from his father, this was eventually explained not to be the case. In the final issue of his original mini-series, Zane reunites with Cain, who is surprised to see his son with powers.
It's explained that Nemesus attempted to steal Juggernaut's powers for himself, but a miscalculation accidentally transformed Cain into a new Juggernaut.
2 He's Popular With Recruiters
During his run, J2 had different groups interested in him. First was the Uncanny X-People, which was run by Jubilee. Although he eventually turned down their offer, he would be seen on good terms with the group and later assist them on missions.
After this, he joined a group called A-Next, who, like him, were the kids of various heroes, notably the Avengers, hence their name. In addition to these hero groups, he was also once offered a spot on a team run by the villainous Magneta, although he once again turned down the offer.
1 He's Had Quite A Few Love Interests
In the original miniseries, Zane's friend Montana Gold might have secretly had an interest in him, and he might have taken an interest in the icy Talia, but, after joining a new version of the Avengers, a few of his teammates became his love interests.
Blue Kelso, also known as Bluestreak, has been seen taking an interest in J2, although he seemed oblivious to her true feelings. He would later develop feelings for Thor's daughter Thena, with him even receiving a kiss from the Asgardian princess in the final issue of Avengers Next.