X-Men Movies Keep Messing Up Everyone’s Favorite Villain

With a supernatural origin, Juggernaut stands apart from the X-Men’s other villains who fight with technology or mutant powers. He gets his powers from the god Cyttorak, serving as the deity’s avatar of destruction, sometimes against his will. The Gem of Cyttorak gives him super strength, speed, immortality, unstoppable momentum, and a special helmet that renders him immune to psychic attacks, making him a major threat. 

Cain Marko, the man who became The Juggernaut, has a personal vendetta against his step-brother Charles Xavier, blaming him for the abuse he suffered as a child. This gives him a deep personal connection to the X-Men and further separates him from other X-Men villains, who tend to be ideological opponents. It also makes his eventual turn from villainy more believable and gives him one of the best redemption arcs in Marvel history. 

Unfortunately, The Juggernaut’s origin story has been completely ignored in his film adaptations. The only film that gave him an origin was X-Men: The Last Stand, which simplified him by making him a mutant criminal Magneto recruits. In addition to removing his connection to Xavier and mythical origins, Vinnie Jones plays him as a simple thug. 

The next appearance of The Juggernaut came in Deadpool 2, which presented him as a simple-minded behemoth, mostly there for slapstick purposes. While his fight with Deadpool and Colossus showed off his strength and invulnerability, he has little personality, and his only defining character trait is how stupid he is. Sadly, his appearance in that movie is his strongest showing, despite reducing him to a one-note joke. 

The most recent attempt to adapt Juggernaut was in Deadpool and Wolverine. Played by Aaron W. Reed, his appearance isn’t significant enough to get a feel for his personality or explore his past, yet the movie still managed to butcher him, quite literally this time. In a pivotal fight, he is decapitated to get his helmet, a feat that shouldn’t be possible since invulnerability is one of his key powers. 

The Juggernaut is a major powerhouse in the comics, capable of going toe to toe with The Hulk and Thor. As X-Men characters come into the MCU, he could be a great asset, working as a villain or anti-hero with enough power to challenge the universe’s heavy hitters. His supernatural origins would also help to connect the X-Men to the larger MCU, giving writers the perfect excuse for a Dr. Strange cameo.

The Fox movies did a great job with many X-Men characters, but Juggernaut wasn’t one of them. Hopefully, the MCU can finally bring the avatar of destruction to the big screen without making him a dumbed-down thug or generic mutant criminal. If his comic origins don’t work with their plans, I’d rather see a universe without him than watch another botched adaptation.