BIOGRAPHY - Page 2
Although the Crimson Cosmos is a dimension without time, for Cain being stuck there seemed like an eternity. Though he managed to pick up some magical skills and spells during his stay, 
it didn’t do him much good and he remained unable to escape. Unexpected help arrived in the form of Doctor Strange, who, months after the Juggernaut’s disappearance, traveled to a dimension where Nightmare had imprisoned Eternity himself and was leeching off his powers. Dr. Strange was unable to defeat him but, sensing the Juggernaut in a nearby dimension, he pulled him over to the place. Instantly, the two fought each other and the Juggernaut demonstrated the new tricks he had learned. Mystic spells emanated from his hands and caused the gigantic Nightmare to shrink down to the Juggernaut’s size. As Nightmare and Juggernaut started to battle back and forth, they accidentally released the imprisoned Eternity, who then banished the Juggernaut to Oblivion, yet another strange realm. [Dr. Strange (1st series) #182]
In this dimension, time moved at an accelerated rate and Juggernaut spent many years there. The only antidote to the place’s aging effect was pure hatred and Cain kept himself alive by focusing on his need for revenge. Eventually, he got his chance during Halloween. A year before, Dr. Strange had been at the town of Rutland, Vermont for a special ceremony, and now the X-Men’s Beast was visiting there. The aura of one of his hated foes, plus the past emanations of the Sorcerer, added up with the nights’ special vibrations, allowed the Juggernaut to cross over for several minutes at a time. Each time, he stayed longer and, by midnight, he would have been permanently back on Earth. However, during their inevitable fight, the Beast managed to remove the Juggernaut’s helmet and his hatred gave away to fear of being defeated again. Instantly, Cain began to age rapidly to the point that he wanted his life to end as quickly as possible. He returned to Oblivion to speed up his remaining lifespan. [Amazing Adventures (2nd series) #16]
This desperate, suicidal move turned out to be his blessing, for the dimension’s consciousness considered him a bacteria of which it wanted to rid itself. Having enough of his constant dis- and reappearing, it offered the Juggernaut a deal: in exchange for the magical knowledge he had acquired while in the Crimson Cosmos, it would restore his youth and send him back home. The Juggernaut accepted and soon found himself rematerialized in the middle of a conflict between the U.S. Army and the Hulk. Both of them considered monsters by the soldiers, the Juggernaut and Hulk at first teamed up. However, when the Hulk witnessed the Juggernaut endangering some innocent civilians in the wake of their escape, he turned against him. Unlimited strength versus an unstoppable foe, the battle was more or less a stalemate, until the X-Men showed up and Xavier once more knocked out his stepbrother, who had lost his shielding-helmet during the fight. [Incredible Hulk (2nd series) #172] Turned over to the local authorities, the Juggernaut had only accomplished the feat of exchanging an other-dimensional prison with an Earthen one.
Over the next few months, Cain Marko befriended a fellow inmate, Black Tom Cassidy. The two villains found that they had something in common – their hatred for the X-Men, for in the meantime Black Tom’s cousin and rival, the Banshee, had joined the team of mutants. Eventually, they were given the chance to exact revenge upon the X-Men by the mysterious being known as Eric the Red. Wanting to distract the X-Men from his own schemes, Eric the Red busted the unlikely pair out of prison, from where they directly went to Cassidy Keep in Ireland. The 
leprechauns maintaining the castle could put up little resistance against the Juggernaut’s physical might and, before long, the X-Men went to Ireland after Banshee received a letter that he had inherited the family castle. The new, somewhat inexperienced X-Men were taken by surprise and nearly defeated, especially as the Juggernaut rampaged through the mutants’ ranks. The battle only came to an end when Black Tom fell from the battlements of the keep and the Juggernaut jumped after him to save his only friend. [X-Men (1st series) #101-103]
Evidently, he succeeded in rescuing Tom and, not much later, they hired Arcade to deal permanently with the hated X-Men. Cain was somewhat against this decision, preferring to defeat the mutants himself, but Cassidy convinced him otherwise. Still, Arcade didn’t fare any better than they themselves had. [X-Men (1st series) #122] The two crooks lay low for a while, until they decided to make themselves a fortune by robbing the San Francisco mint, together with Tom’s niece, Siryn, who up till then had been staying in boarding school. However, this new companion registered on Xavier’s scanning device, Cerebro, and once more they had to deal with the X-Men opposing them, along with the local super-heroine, Spider-Woman. The fight ended on a freighter in San Francisco’s harbor. While his accomplices were caught, the Juggernaut disappeared when the ship exploded. [Spider-Woman (1st series) #37-38]
With Siryn lost to them, her having been reunited with her father Banshee, Black Tom thought they’d need another ally if they ever wanted to be able to overpower the X-Men, and who better than a precog to foretell their opponents’ every move? Therefore, Tom sent the Juggernaut to New York City to acquire the mysterious Madame Web. While the old woman anticipated the villain coming for her and asked Spider-Man to protect her, 
there was nothing the wall-crawler could do to stop Cain Marko from reaching his goal. However, somewhat overeager, he pulled the woman out of her life-supporting chair, almost killing her. Thinking her useless now, the Juggernaut proceeded back towards his and Tom’s hideout, Spider-Man hot on his trail after calling an ambulance for the injured woman. Eventually, Spider-Man lured Marko to a construction site, where he covered the helmet’s eyeholes with his webbing. Temporarily blinded, Cain Marko stumbled into a recently poured foundation of wet cement and sank in – forty feet down. From a safe distance, Black Tom had watched the fight and waited for his friend to break free. Minutes passed, turning into hours and eventually days. When it seemed clear that Cain was not breaking free, Tom left. [Amazing Spider-Man (1st series) #229-230]
Due to his no longer needing to breathe, eat or drink, the Juggernaut of course survived. However, encased in the block of concrete, he was unable to move and smash his way out. He remained trapped until he reached the bottom of the pit and, touching ground, was able to gain traction and press himself forward, ever so slightly. Once in motion, the Juggernaut could not be stopped, but neither could he speed up. For over a month he slowly but consistently forced his way through solid concrete, earth and bedrock before finally reaching open water around Manhattan. [Amazing Spider-Man (1st series) #629]
One of the first things he did back in the world of the living was to enter his favorite bar and have a drink. While doing so, Cain was approached by a lovely, dark-haired female, who heavily flirted with him. Cain was unaware that she was the lifeforce-drinking Selene, who had picked the strong-built man to be her next victim. Before she could lure him away to finish her act, though, the pair were 
disturbed by Colossus, who coincidentally was in the same bar and accidentally spilled his drink on Cain. The two entered a fight, wrecking most of the bar while they were at it. The Juggernaut won and, seeing Colossus’ teammates standing close by, he tossed them some money to cover for the damages before leaving, as he didn’t want any further trouble. [Uncanny X-Men (1st series) #183]
Shortly before Black Tom’s birthday, the Juggernaut had an idea for a rather unique present and he went to Korea to retrieve the Gem that gave him his powers. He entered the temple with ease and got what he came for, the Korean Army not even slowing him down. 
When Tom opened the gift and touched the glowing gem, he was transformed into another Juggernaut, though both of them had only half of the original’s powers. Black Tom didn’t like this one bit and engaged his ally in a brief battle, which was then interrupted by Spider-Man and the X-Men. Rogue leeched off Cassidy’s Juggernaut powers and, later, Cain Marko reclaimed the full set when he touched the ruby a second time. Realizing that the ruby was not only the source of his strength but could also be used to take it away from him, the Juggernaut decided to hurl it into space, where nobody could pick it up. [Marvel Team-Up (1st series) #150]
Soon after, the X-Men and Cain Marko found themselves targeted by the same opponent. In his civvies, the Juggernaut visited the First United National Bank of New York to do ordinary business, and the X-Men, having heard reports of him being in town, were spying on him. Suddenly, the future Sentinel, Nimrod, appeared on the scene and, recognizing both the Juggernaut and the mutants as criminals, the advanced robot effectively fought them all. It quickly disposed of the Juggernaut’s helmet and knocked him out with an ultra-sonic frequency pitch. Only Rogue managed to somewhat confuse the artificial opponent by absorbing all her teammates powers. In the wake of Nimrod’s rushed departure, Rogue let Cain Marko go, both of them too exhausted to battle each other. [Uncanny X-Men (1st series) #194]
Several weeks later, as time and again their plans were thwarted by the American based heroes, Black Tom and Juggernaut decided to try their luck in Scotland instead. As it happened, however, 
the X-Men were currently staying on nearby Muir Island and, on his way to a job, Cain Marko passed by the team’s newest member, Dazzler, who was discouraged and eager to prove her worth to the team she had recently joined. As she recognized Cain’s face from the X-Men’s files, Dazzler picked a fight with him, thinking that he was just another “strong guy” whom she could defeat with her light powers. When the Juggernaut recognized who his opponent was, he revealed himself to be one of the songstress’ most loyal fans, having bought her albums and seen perform her life on stage, but this didn’t stop Dazzler from attacking. Whatever she threw at the Juggernaut, though, didn’t bother him one bit and Dazzler eventually overtaxed her limits and passed out. Cain incorrectly thought she was dead and gave her a decent burial (fortunately, the X-Men managed to locate her in time and dig her out) and went on a rampage in Edinburgh. Using teamwork, the X-Men managed to detain him, only to learn that he served just as a distraction for Black Tom to rob the Bank of Edinburgh. [Uncanny X-Men (1st series) #217-218]