Nothing Stops the Juggernaut!

As Cain Marko, the man is known as the Juggernaut, walks the street of New York, Spider-Man has narrowly avoided falling to his death thanks to a hastily spun web-net.[1] The wall-crawler is embarassed as a group of children has gathered to gawk at him. Fighting off lingering vertigo, Spider-Man pulls himself free from the webbing so he can try and stop Robin Vega from harming Paul Stacy.[2] It's then that Spider-Man recognizes one of the children as Devon Lewis, whose mother owns the Daily Grind.[3] That's when Cain Marko walks into his webbing and is unimpressed that his trip to New York has led to a run in with one of its many heroes. He had come to recover a sword that he had recently earned that he hopes that he can use to help his friend Black Tom Cassidy.[4]

When Spider-Man doesn't recognize Marko, he uses his mystical connection to the Crimson Gem of Cyttorak to transform his street clothes into his Juggernaut costume. As the Juggernaut breaks free from the webbing, Spider-Man tries to convince the villain to talk this out. However, the wall-crawler does nothing but anger the Juggernaut, who thinks Spider-Man is calling him an idiot. As the Juggernaut attacks Spider-Man, all the children flee, except for Devon Lewis who thinks there is something that he can do to help the wall-crawler. At first, Spider-Man is able to dodge the Juggernaut's blows until his vertigo starts coming back. Seeing Spider-Man in danger, Devon leaps onto the Juggernaut's back to try and stop him. This only causes the sword in the Juggernaut's possession to snap free. Not wanting Devon to get hurt, Spider-Man tries to strike the Juggernaut as hard as he can, but it does little to phase the villain. As Devon runs off with the sword, Spider-Man continues to try and stop the Juggernaut, but to no avail. The Juggernaut insists that he doesn't want to hurt anyone, but Spider-Man doesn't believe it due to their past encounter.[5] The wall-crawler tries to slow the Juggernaut down by shooting webbing into his mask. As Cain tries to rip away the webbing, he tries to explain how he needs to sell the sword to get the money he needs to save his friend after he was injured during a recent battle.[6]

This allows Spider-Man to catch up with Devon, leaving the NYPD to deal with the Juggernaut. Devon tells Spider-Man that he hid the sword somewhere that the Juggernaut can't find it. Still trying to fight off his vertigo, the wall-crawler tells the boy to bring him to the sword. However, the Lewis boy refuses to get the sword, insisting that they can't give it to a bad guy. With the police unable to keep the Juggernaut at bay, Spider-Man insists that giving the villain the sword will prevent more people from getting hurt. Seeing that police officers are risking their lives to try and stop the Juggernaut convinces Devon to recover the sword. Spider-Man distracts the Juggernaut and confirms that Marko is sincere about wanting to help his friend. This delays the rampage long enough for Devon to return with the sword. Once he has his possession back, the Juggernaut mystically sends away his costume and walks off without further incident. To thank Devon for his help, he decides to pay a visit to Devon's friends to prove that the boy knows Spider-Man. When another wave of vertigo strikes, one of the boys mentions how his mother is a doctor and offers to get her to help the web-slinger get better.

When Peter Parker returns home to wife, Mary Jane, he tells her that he was suffering from an inner ear infection.[7] Peter admits that the side effect of being bitten by Morbius was bizarre, he is glad that he finally has the medication needed to finally get better. After hearing about Peter's day, Mary Jane reminds Peter how Ben Reilly was a large part of Devon Lewis' life, and that perhaps they owe it to Ben's memory to be a more active part of the boy's life.

Recurring Characters

Spider-Man, Juggernaut, Mary Jane Watson, Devon Lewis, Jack Brennan

Continuity Notes

1. The narrative of this story briefly glosses over the Juggernaut's family history. This was first explored in X-Men #12.

2. Spider-Man has been suffering from vertigo since being bitten by Morbius the Living Vampire in Spider-Man #77. Spider-Man is unaware that Robin and Paul resolved their differences last issue.

3. Spider-Man is about to say that he knew someone who worked there. This was his clone, Ben Reilly, who worked at the Grind from Sensational Spider-Man #0 until his death in Spider-Man #75.

4. The Juggernaut mentions that the sword was payment for a job he did in the Middle East, at the time he was working for the New World Order in Incredible Hulk #457.

5. The narrative of this story specifically cites Spider-Man's battle with the Juggernaut in Marvel Team-Up #150. Spider-Man also fought the Juggernaut in Amazing Spider-Man #229-230 and Spider-Man #16.

6. Black Tom was recently injured during a battle against Generation X in Generation X #25.

7. Peter and Mary Jane are referred to as husband and wife here. However, years later, their marriage is erased from existence by Mephisto in Amazing Spider-Man #545. As such they should be considered a common-law couple here.