Marvel Database
Register
Advertisement

Quote1 So you call yourselves the New X-Men, do you? Well, among the lot of you -- Who will stop the Juggernaut? Quote2
Juggernaut

Appearing in "Who Will Stop the Juggernaut?"

Featured Characters:

Supporting Characters:

Antagonists:

Other Characters:

  • Lilandra (Vision or hallucination) (Cameo)
  • N'Daré Munroe (Death) (Only in flashback)
  • David Munroe (First appearance; dies) (Only in flashback)
  • Achmed El Gibár (First appearance) (Only in flashback)
  • Numerous unnamed Harlemites (Only in flashback)
  • Numerous unnamed Egyptians (Only in flashback)

Races and Species:

Locations:

Items:

Vehicles:

  • French fighter jets

Synopsis for "Who Will Stop the Juggernaut?"

The X-Men (minus Cyclops) have fallen into a trap set by Banshee’s villainous cousin Black Tom and his ally, the Juggernaut. Banshee launches into a fight with his cousin and Wolverine, Nightcrawler and Colossus take on the Juggernaut, all while Storm is paralyzed by a claustrophobic episode. The leaderless group are at a loss with how to deal with the two villains. When Wolverine and Colossus are knocked away, Nightcrawler tries to lure their massive foe away from a powerless Storm.

During the melee, Storm’s mind reels back to her childhood: how her parents moved out of their home in Harlem in 1951 to return to her mother’s native country and how, while fleeing the first air raid strikes of the Suez War of 1956, Ororo's parents were killed by falling debris and Ororo was being buried alive -- a trauma that would scar her forever. Orphaned on the streets of Cairo, Ororo would become a street thief to survive until her 12th birthday when she felt the call to her mother’s homeland, Kenya. It was there that her mutant powers manifested and she lived in relative peace, being worshipped as a goddess until the day Professor X came to recruit her into the X-Men.

Storm's recollection and anguish reaches Professor Xavier, whose telepathic powers alert him to the X-Men's plight even though he is half a world away in New York, visiting with the recovering Jean Grey. He excuses himself from the room and calls Scott aside.

After Xavier leaves, Jean and her roommate Misty Knight discuss Jean's near brush with death.

Charles tells Scott to go to Ireland to help the X-Men, but he refuses to leave Jean's side. The Professor argues with him when he's suddenly struck with another vision from space. This time, he sees the face of the alien that has been trying to contact him… It is a woman’s face.

In Ireland, the X-Men battle as best they can, even though the Juggernaut is too powerful for them. Wolverine is the first to be knocked out. Nightcrawler is swatted aside and knocked out. Curiously, the portion of his body that lands in the shadows of the castle suddenly become invisible.

Just then, a secret panel in the wall slides open and a bunch of little people are amazed by Nightcrawler's unique ability. They drag him away, closing the secret passage behind them.

Even though their powers are ineffective against each other, Black Tom manages to overpower Banshee, knocking the wind out of him. Meanwhile, when Colossus engages Juggernaut one-on-one, he is brought down when his foe causes the roof to cave in on both of them. Upon seeing this, Storm snaps out of her episode and attempts to strike the Juggernaut down with a lightning bolt, however Cain only redirects it back at her knocking her out as well. The X-Men have all been defeated. Juggernaut and Black Tom plan to hold them hostage in order to lure Charles Xavier into a trap.

Notes

  • This story is continued into the next issue.
  • The reference to the Suez War (which ravaged Egypt between October 1956 to March 1957) as part of Storm's origins should be considered topical as per the sliding time scale of the Earth-616 universe.
  • Nightcrawler learns that he has the ability to turn near invisible in shadows. This is by far his least-used power; Bizarre Adventures #27 is among the few other times he uses it.
  • Misty Knight's chronologically first appearance as Jean's roommate is Classic X-Men #2.
  • In her private conversation with Misty, Jean (actually the Phoenix Force's duplicate of her) first alludes to the idea that she died on the spacecraft in X-Men #100-101, then came back to life; the narration in X-Men #125 confirms this.
  • The flame motif around "Jean" as she talks to Misty foreshadows an ominous side to her new powers. The motif will be used numerous times in this way, and even retroactively before Jean meets the Phoenix Force for the first time, such as in Classic X-Men #6.

See Also

Recommended Reading

Links and References

References

Advertisement