Marvel Legends BAF Juggernaut

Marvel Legends BAF Juggernaut

Presenting the Build an Action Figure (BAF) Juggernaut from the 2016 Marvel Legends X-Men line.

To the uninitiated, Cain Marko is NOT a mutant, though he has been both one of the most formidable opponents of the X-Men and a one time member of Xavier's merry band of mutants.

The Juggernaut is powered by the Crimson Gem of Cyttorak - an other-dimensional being of immense power - a power which can be drawn upon by magic-users on Earth.

The Crimson Gem of Cyttorak comes with an instruction manual of sorts: "Whosoever touches this gem shall be granted the power of the Crimson Gem of Cyttorak! Henceforth, you who read these words, shall become ... forevermore ... a human juggernaut!"

The bearer becomes the avatar of Cyttorak who gets his high on destruction. As the Juggernaut, Cain Marko is a near immortal with the strength to shatter mountains, regeneration, and a mystical force-field that grants him invulnerability, particularly when he's in motion. He doesn't tire, and can survive without food, water, or oxygen.

You might also want to check out the Juggerlossus. Click here if you do.

MORE AFTER THE JUMP

Ironically the "Bands of Cytorrak" spell used by Doctor Strange and other magic-users that draws on the power of Cytorrak, is a binding spell and has nothing to do with charging like a bull through a china shop.

The only being to have actually stopped the Juggernaut while he was in motion was the Hulk, when he was War, a Celestially enhanced Horseman of Apocalypse (Incredible Hulk #456-457, 1997).



The two had several re-matches. We'll talk about that later.

As he's a build-an-action-figure (BAF), he doesn't come with an individual blister pack or a description

To complete the Juggernaut you need the Marvel Legends BAF X-Men series Wolverine for his head; Kitty Pryde for his right-arm; Iceman for his left-arm; Havok for his right leg; Rogue for his left-leg, Phoenix for his upper torso, and; Cable for his lower-torso.

Marvel Legends BAF Juggernaut

WHAT'S NOT TO LIKE ABOUT THE MARVEL LEGENDS BAF JUGGERNAUT?

Yes, we're starting with what we didn't like about this figure. We think suffice to say, we've definitely seen better Juggernauts, both in the form of the original Marvel Legends Juggernaut, and in the form of the Marvel Select Juggernaut.
So what didn't we like?

FIRST: The low articulation. We think it's rather funny that the bigger the character gets, the lower his articulation gets.

There really isn't much he can do and what he can do becomes a balancing act. He's also soooo top heavy that balancing him is an issue in itself.

So it's his sheer size that holds him back. No he cannot kneel - not that the Juggernaut ever should kneel.

SECOND: Unlike his original Marvel Legends version, the Marvel Legends BAF X-Men Series Juggernaut has lost the ability to open his hands.

Here's the full extent of his articulation:

Marvel Legends BAF Juggernaut

Marvel Legends BAF Juggernaut

THIRD: He's short. The Juggernaut should stand 9'5" tall. We cited how much we loved the Marvel Legends Kitty Pryde because she fit in perfectly with Marvel Legends BAF Puck Wolverine and the Marvel Select Colossus, but when you put Colossus next to the Juggernaut - same height. So the Marvel Legends BAF Juggernaut is short a foot and a half.

Which shouldn't really matter since he still looks great tearing through the X-Men:

The Uncanny X-Men

WHAT'S TO LIKE ABOUT THE MARVEL LEGENDS BAF JUGGERNAUT?

FIRST: His size. The Juggernaut loses size, strength and invulnerability the more he ceases to obey the mandate of Cytorrak.

So his smaller stature more or less fits the time that Cain Marko served with the Uncanny X-Men under the leadership of Havok - no one else wanted him.

You'll have to repaint him though as that particular Juggernaut had a gray uniform.

It was also during this time that the mighty Juggernaut scored with the Sensational She-Hulk - we refuse to accept that she was an alternate dimension She-Hulk.

It was also at this time that the Juggernaut was dealt another blow at the hands of the Hulk. This time, the Hulk stood in defense of Illuminati member Charles Xavier when the War-Hulk came a calling to the Xavier School to determine whether or not Xavier had a hand in sending the Hulk into space.

Initially the depowered Juggernaut was beaten to a pulp by the War Hulk, but, fueled by the need to fight the Hulk (Not save his step-brother), Cytorrak grants Cain Marko the full power of the Juggernaut and he goes to town on the Hulk.

The ending is anti-climatic though as the Hulk eventually decides to use Cain's momentum against him and the Juggernaut goes head first into a lake.

The Hulk didn't beat him per-se.

And while the Hulk has been able to beat the Juggernaut in the past - mostly in the same manner, using his momentum against him - the Juggernaut has also beaten the Hulk.

 SECOND: We're quite big fans of his facial sculpt We love that the helmet is bigger than his face and smaller figures can actually grasp these openings to keep a hold of the Juggernaut. We're also quite fond of the chipped tooth - it tells us that he's a fighter.

This particular Marvel Legends X-Men Series Juggernaut is from a private collection. The full collection of eight (including Deadpool) Marvel Legends characters can be purchased from Amazon for US$ 207.45 (Roughly PhP 9,750 plus shipping). On the Philippine black market, the complete BAF Juggernaut is being sold alone for PhP 2, 500 (Roughly US$53.20 plus shipping).

The Marvel Select Juggernaut might be a better option.

Marvel Legends BAF Juggernaut

We close with the Juggernaut version of the X-Men patented "Fastball special":