Warning: Contains SPOILERS for The Amazing Spider-Man #64! THE JuggernautJohn’s personal lore in Marvel Comics is shockingly deep, especially for a character many consider to be nothing more than a mindless brute. Cain Marko may have made his debut as a rather two-dimensional villain-of-the-week, but that’s far from who he’s become, especially in terms of the extensive mythos surrounding and surrounding him. And now, Juggernaut the tradition is undergoing its biggest change since the 1990s.
Marvel Comics released the official solicitation for The Amazing Spider-Man #64 by Justina Ireland and Gleb Melnikov, and while this may seem unrelated to Juggernaut, the issue synopsis quickly proves otherwise. Included in the solicitation is the synopsis along with cover art by Ed McGuinness, both referencing a character widely associated with Juggernaut: Cyttorak.
SPIDER-MAN’S 8 DEATHS CONTINUE! Cytorrak’s most dangerous descendant, CALLIX, and his deadly CRIMSON CANINES take turns inflicting physical pain on Spider-Man. Spidey doesn’t have many kills to spare…
This comic will continue the story arc that will begin in The Amazing Spider-Man #61: Spider-Man’s 8 deaths. This story will detail how Doctor Doom – who became the Sorcerer Supreme in Marvel’s latest universe-wide event, Blood Hunt – grants Spider-Man a new costume complete with magical abilities. Included in this costume are 8 extra lives, which apparently means Spider-Man can die 8 times and immediately resurrect as if he were a video game character, all done through Doctor Doom’s unparalleled magic.
Why would Doctor Doom give Spider-Man a magical suit with extra lives? Well, in the synopsis of The Amazing Spider-Man #61, it is revealed that Doom does this because he wants Spider-Man to fight.”an evil god and his descendants”, as well as the annual Sorcerer Supreme task. It seems that Doom would prefer someone else to take on this annual task, and he chose Spider-Man to do it. And now, this ‘evil god’ has been revealed to be Cyttorak, with the added revelation that Cyttorak has Scions capable of world domination.
Who are Cyttorak’s descendants? New Spider-Man Villains and Juggernaut Brothers, Explained
At this point, little is known about the Scions of Cyttorak other than the fact that they exist (which is honestly the main takeaway from this lore expansion). What fans know is what was revealed in the request for The Amazing Spider-Man #64, this being the name and threat level of one of Cyttorak’s Scions, Callix, who is apparently the most dangerous. This Scion commands beasts called Crimson Canines, and it looks like they will be deadly enough to cost Spider-Man most of his 8 lives.
The title ‘Scion’ implies that these new characters are descendants of Cyttorak, all of whom operate under the demon god’s command. This makes the Scions similar to the Juggernaut, back when Cain Marko was the ‘Example’ of Cyttorak on Earth. So these Scions are like the Juggernaut’s brothers, except the Scions are desperately trying to take over the world while the Juggernaut can operate freely in it.
It’s interesting to consider that Cyttorak has a legion of descendants who have apparently been ordered to attempt to take over Earth once a year, with only the Sorcerer Supreme able to stop them. Cyttorak has never been so bold before, as he seemed happy enough to drain the chaos created by his Exemplar from Earth, feeding on it from his own dimension. Except there was another moment when Cyttorak made a move for the mortal realm, which is why this new storyline is the biggest change since 1999, when Marvel launched a Juggernaut-focused event: The eighth day.
The eighth day is the last time Cyttorak obtained such an important expansion of knowledge
Eighth day Cross event bindings: Iron Man Vol. 3 #21, Thor Vol. 2#17, Iron Man Vol. 3 #22, Peter Parker: Spider-Man #11, and Juggernaut Vol. 2#1
Cyttorak’s newly introduced Scions are a really cool expansion of the demon god’s lore, as it shows him connected to other god-like beings capable of unleashing immense destruction and chaos. But interestingly, this isn’t the first time Cyttorak has belonged to a larger “family” of demonic deities. In 1999 Eighth day crossover event, it is revealed that Cyttorak is just one of many demonic gods who collectively act as the power source behind the vast majority of magic in the Marvel Universe.
Whenever a sorcerer (including Strange and Doom) casts certain spells or incantations, most of the time they turn to Cyttorak and his ‘family’, who are god-level interdimensional beings in the Marvel Universe who are collectively known as the Octessence. These beings are: Farallah, Balthakk, Ikonn, Raggadorr, Watoomb, Valtorr, Krakkan and Cyttorak.
In The eighth dayEach member of the Octessence summons their respective Exemplar to combine their power on Earth and create a rift through which the demonic gods can access the mortal realm and take it upon themselves. Although his plans were thwarted (largely thanks to Cyttorak’s Exemplar the Juggernaut), this storyline still introduced the Marvel Universe to a horrific threat that had always been lurking beneath the surface. And now, it appears that Cyttorak has found a way to bypass Octessence and use his own Scions to try to conquer Earth in Spider-Man’s 8 deaths.
Marvel has been steadily growing Juggernaut lore recently (sans Cyttorak)
While Spider-Man’s 8 deaths will be the biggest expansion of Cyttorak lore since The eighth day (and by extension, the Juggernaut), Marvel Comics has been steadily adding to the Juggernaut lore recently, and it’s been doing so without Cyttorak.
During the Krakoan Era, Cain Marko actually broke free from Cyttorak’s control, maintaining the power of the Juggernaut by isolating and anchoring that power on Earth, away from Cyttorak’s influence. Now, the Juggernaut is a prominent member of the X-Men in the new ‘From the Ashes’ era, carving a new path for himself as a legitimate hero.
At the same time, Marvel introduced a new Juggernaut (aka Kid Juggernaut) with Justin Jin, who is the blood descendant of the man who was the Juggernaut just before Cain Marko. Although Cyttorak still has some claim on Justin, Kid Juggernaut has also decided to use his powers for good and is currently learning how to be a hero at the Avengers Academy.
The title Juggernaut used to be synonymous with brutal villainy and demonic evil, but with the recent efforts of Cain Marko and Justin Jin, that title has become decidedly heroic. Without Cyttorak, the Juggernaut is expanding his own lore as a hero in Marvel Comics, while the mythos of Cyttorak himself also continues to grow. In fact, the next 8 Spider-Man deaths It’s the biggest change to Cyttorak’s lore since 1999 Eighth dayand Juggernaut fans should be very excited to see where this leads.
The Amazing Spider-Man #64 from Marvel Comics will be available on December 25, 2024.