The Hulk has declared war on the human world and the only chance of stopping him lies in a classic X-Men villain. Marvel's strongest hero has gained a terrifying new form, the Devil Hulk, who is both intelligent and keenly aware of the darkness and greed of the souls of mankind. The newest and most driven incarnation of the Jade Giant is facing competition from alien monsters, but none of them are physically powerful enough to be a match in direct combat. But in Juggernaut #2, the unstoppable man will charge into battle against the Devil Hulk, and he just might overpower the strongest there is.
The Juggernaut defending humanity from the Hulk will come as an unexpected turn for readers who haven't been following the helmet-wearing bruiser recently. Cain Marko has had heroic turns in the past but has failed due to terms imposed on him by other people, like when he was transformed into a god of destruction in Fear Itself or when Cytorrak, the magical being who makes him invulnerable and super-strong, decided he wasn't being destructive enough and withdrew the Juggernaut's power. Juggernaut even joined the X-Men temporarily, as a way to bury the hatchet with his brother Charles Xavier, but Juggernaut doesn't have a place on the new mutant nation Krakoa because he isn't actually a mutant.
In the new Juggernaut series, written by Fabian Nicieza (Deadpool, New Mutants) and illustrated by Ron Garney (Hulk, Uncanny X-Force), Juggernaut is striking out on his own as an antihero with a partner whose deceleration powers can sap his unstoppable momentum. The Juggernaut #2 solicit suggests that he's going to target other destructive heavyweights, starting with the most powerful and dangerous one of all. In the pages of The Immortal Hulk, the Devil Hulk has begun a war on human civilization, focused on the perpetrators of climate change. The Hulk's war on humanity is polarizing civilians in the Marvel Universe on the question of whether the war is just or not, but it looks like Juggernaut has taken the side of the Avengers on this one. (The Avengers, by the way, already tried to stop the Hulk and were utterly crushed.)
Can Juggernaut beat the Hulk? That's a loaded question, and CBR has weighed in on the matchup. As their article details, the duo has a history of battling, and the matchup comes down to the unpredictable variance of their respective power sets. The Juggernaut is impervious to physical harm and has unfathomable cosmic power, but is dependent on Cytorrak for it. The Hulk's power is innate, but each version has different power levels, levels of intelligence, and other traits. Juggernaut has lost to the World-Breaker Hulk before thanks to the latter's strategic prowess, an asset Devil Hulk shares. Devil Hulk also has a connection to the One-Below-All, an archetypal demonic force bent on destroying existence. Can Juggernaut rely on his patron to fuel him enough to beat the Devil, or will Cytorrak forsake him in the presence of a being that can see into his soul? Either way, if the Juggernaut can't stop the Hulk, nobody can.
Here's the full solicit:
- JUGGERNAUT #2 (OF 5)
- FABIAN NICIEZA (W) • RON GARNEY (A) • Cover by GEOFF SHAW
- VARIANT COVER BY TBA
- SMASH OR BE SMASHED!
- Juggernaut isn’t the only one who’s left destruction in his wake, and he thinks it’s about time for the IMMORTAL HULK to take responsibility for his actions!
You can preorder Juggernaut #2 before it releases in local shops and on digital providers in June 2020.