Amazing Spider-Man #627
Something Can Stop the Juggernaut?!?
A bright flash of light in the sky causes Peter Parker’s spider-sense to go off so suddenly and so hard that it causes him pain. He is out with Carlie Cooper who is concerned when Peter audibly yells in pain. Even though Peter is reluctant to break off another date with her, Carlie insists that Peter go home as she assumes that he is suffering from the same sort of painful cluster headaches that her father used to suffer. As Peter rushes off to a nearby alley to change into Spider-Man, he thinks about how great it is that Carlie will make up excuses for him and wishes she was around when he was in high school as the two of them would have gotten along well together. By the time he is in costume and on a nearby rooftop, Spider-Man watches as the light in the sky crash lands in Central Park. Arriving in the park, Spider-Man follows the path of destruction and is shocked to discover that the object that fell out of the sky is none other than the Juggernaut. He can hardly believe that there is something powerful enough to do this to the virtually unstoppable villain and shatter his armor in the process. Which raises the question, who or what could stop the Juggernaut?
As he checks for signs of life, Spider-Man can’t help but think about all of the different times he clashed with the Juggernaut in the past and how powerful an enemy he was.[1] He eventually finds a pulse and after remarking how he once dislocated his shoulder trying to pull off the Juggernaut’s helmet in the past, he wonders how strong one has to be to shred it like it is. Spider-Man then retreats to the trees when he hears police officers arriving on the scene. Soon the park is cordoned off by the authorities. Changing back into his civilian clothes, Peter Parker approaches one of the officers, telling them that he is a photographer for the Front Line and asks what’s going on. He is told that the super-human tactical response team, Code: Blue has been dispatched to help with removing the Juggernaut — who is still unconscious — out of the park. The police also have the same questions that Peter had earlier, what could have done this to the Juggernaut.
Later, Spider-Man tries contacting Doctor Strange and the phone is answered by his servant, Wong. Wong tells Spider-Man that his master is busy on another matter but passed along a message telling Spider-Man that he has confidence that he can resolve this on his own.[2] This is bad news for Spider-Man since he also hasn’t been able to get ahold of Professor X of the X-Men, Cain Marko’s stepbrother.[2] On his own again, Spider-Man swings around the city, stopping petty crimes trying to puzzle over who was responsible for trashing the Juggernaut. That’s when he spots a car on top of the arch in Washington Square Park and goes to investigate why. He finds the drunk driver inside and he tells Spider-Man that a guy in a blue and white costume put his car up there. As the police arrive on the scene, Spider-Man decides to leave the drunk for them to deal with. Peter returns to his apartment just after dawn and discovers he left his radio playing and hopes his roommate wasn’t around to hear it. Deciding his costume needs a wash, Peter goes down to do some laundry, which also gives him a chance to surf the internet to try and find leads on the Juggernaut story, but he finds nothing.[4] That’s when he remembers that he had a make-up date with Carlie Cooper. He meets up with her at a diner where they compare notes on the Juggernaut story. She tells him that Cain Marko has been slipping in and out of consciousness, but refuses to talk to anyone. She also notes that the Juggernaut is being kept at the Inwood Armory while the FBI and NYPD butt heads over who has jurisdiction over him.
That evening, Spider-Man slips past the tight security at the armory and slips into the ventilation system in the Juggernaut’s holding cell. There he wires his camera into the security system so he can play a constant loop of video footage so he can question the Juggernaut unseen and uninterrupted. He reminds Cain about how he and the Avengers helped him the last time they met and asks who did this to him.[5] Cain doesn’t know who attacked him but says it was a guy in a blue and white costume. Remembering the drunk driver from earlier, Spider-Man realizes that there is much more going on than he thought. Suddenly, the current host for Captain Universe comes crashing through the wall. He tells Spider-Man to move aside because it is his destiny to destroy the Juggernaut.
Recurring Characters
Spider-Man, Juggernaut, Captain Universe (Nguyen), Carlie Cooper, Wong, Code: Blue (Lieutenant Stone, Mad Dog Rassitano, Rigger Ruiz)
Continuity Notes
You better believe that Spider-Man recounts all the times he fought the Juggernaut in the past. These encounters include:
The first time he fought the Juggernaut on his own in Amazing Spider-Man #229-230. Per the Sliding Timescale, this battle took place roughly seven years prior to this story.
His second encounter with the Juggernaut when he fought the foe alongside the X-Men in Marvel Team-Up #150. That happened a few months after their last encounter.
A second solo clash which ended with the pair making a truce of sorts in Spider-Man #84. This encounter happened about four years prior to this story.
Spider-Man mentions how Doctor Strange is going through “some changes” recently. That’s putting it mildly. At the time of this story, Stephen Strange was still recovering from having his hands crushed in World War Hulk #3 and subsequently was stripped of the title of Sorcerer Supreme in Doctor Voodoo: Avenger of the Supernatural #1. At the time of this story, Strange is attempting to reinvent himself as seen in Strange (vol. 2) #1-4. He will be restored as Sorcerer Supreme in New Avengers (vol. 2) #6.
The reason why Professor X is not answering his phone is that he is pre-occupied assisting the rest of the X-Men to establish their new home on Utopia Island during the Nation X story arc (see X-Men: Legacy # 228-230, Annual #1, Uncanny X-Men #515-522, Nation X #1-4, and Nation X:-Factor #1)
Peter wishes he could access the Avengers old files. That’s because at the time of this story, Norman Osborn now controls Stark Tower, the former headquarters of the New Avengers. This happened after Osborn killed the leader of a Skrull invasion of Earth and was given the role of America’s top cop putting him in charge of SHIELD (which he renamed HAMMER) and the Avengers. That happened in Secret Invasion #8.
Spider-Man reminds Cain how he and the Avengers helped him against the Exemplars. This story refers to Avengers (vol. 3) #24-25, but there is more to it than that. Prior to that Spider-Man helped Juggernaut with the Exemplars in Peter Parker: Spider-Man #11, Iron Man (vol. 3) #22, and Thor (vol. 2) #17 and Juggernaut (vol. 2) #1.
Topical References
Spider-Man is depicted using a digital camera that stores information on SD Cards that hold 4 and 8 gigabytes of memory. This should be considered topical. Although this technology is still somewhat current as I write this (September 2020) it will eventually become obsolete.
