We’ve seen the teaser image of Colossus about to put on that big ol’ helmet for a while now, but once Uncanny X-Men #543 rolls around, the cover image will sport the Man of Organic Osmium Steel having officially become the Juggernaut…
… *sigh* bitch.
We’ve seen that Cain Marko has become possessed by one of the Magical Serpent Hammers of Fear and is beating the snot out of everything in his path on his way towards San Francisco and the X-Men’s island of Utopia. Since Marko’s already the avatar of a destroyer like Cytorrak, this new situation apparently only serves to make Cytorrak happier.
“Over on Journey Into Mystery and Thor, I’ve had a lot of experience writing demons and devils of various character,” writer Kieron Gillen says, “but Cyttorak isn’t a demon like Mephisto, all faux-charm and seduction. Cyttorak is a destroyer, a creature of pride and destruction. At the moment, he’s sitting and watching the chaos on Earth with what passes for a smile. The fact that the smile passes becomes right at the heart of the story.”
“With my first arc, ‘Breaking Point,’ I wanted to write something structured to keep the majority of Utopia’s inhabitants off the table. The threat was one man with a knife,” he continues. “With this, I wanted to have a threat which could take the best every single X-Man could throw at it. I wanted to underline the word unstoppable until my pen cut through the paper.”
That’s the threat the X-Men are facing. And that’s the threat that forces Piotr Nikolievitch Rasputin to try and make a life-changing deal with Cytorrak in order to save the lives of all his friends. What is that bargain, exactly?
“It’s the same deal as ever,” Gillen says. “‘Whosoever touches this gem shall possess the power of the Crimson Bands of Cyttorak! Henceforth, you who read these words, shall become forevermore a human juggernaut!’ Though it’s not that Piotr is the sort to actually make that deal.”
What does that mean? How will it work? Well, we’re not sure, exactly, but Gillen’s promising some long-lasting effects if he does indeed pull the trigger on this arrangement. “The reference point I’ve put in the scripts for the artist isn’t anything from the traditional super hero canon, it’s The Exorcist,” he explains. “This is a deal with a devil and trying to live with it.”
“Colossus is a character who’s always leaned towards sacrificial,” he continues. “He’s the sort of person who’ll give up something for someone else, no matter what the cost. And this is that abstractly good character leading him into a very bad place. Traditionally, The Juggernaut has been written primarily like any other super-powered character origin. He finds a magic gem and becomes The Juggernaut! Except Cain, personality-wise, has generally been in line with Cyttorak. Piotr isn’t that guy.”
Nonetheless, he may just become The Unstoppable Colossus. That’d suck for him, but it could be pretty damn cool for fans of Marvel’s Metal Mutant.
