Posted in: Comics | Tagged: marvel, x-men, X-ual Healing - The Weekly X-Men Recap Column

Juggernaut Smashes the Prison-Industrial Complex in Juggernaut #5 [XH]

Published Mon, 11 Jan 2021 15:30:00 -0600

January 6th, 2021 will forever be remembered as the day that Marvel Comics released X-Factor #6, Hellions #8, and Juggernaut #5. Yes, a little invasion of the Capitol and attempt to overthrow the election led by the best friend of Marvel Chairman Ike Perlmutter and funded by money he made from Marvel Comics which he then donated to Donald Trump also happened that day, but I'm sure we'll all forget about that by the Summer. Right?

Sworn to sell comics for Marvel executives who feared and hated the fact that Fox owned their movie rights, The Uncanny X-Men suffered great indignities. Still, thanks to a corporate merger, a line-wide relaunch, and Jonathan Hickman's giant ego, the X-Men can finally get back to doing what they do best: being objectively the best franchise in all of comics for lovers of soap opera drama.

[MULTINAV]

JUGGERNAUT #5 (OF 5)
NOV200513
(W) Fabian Nicieza (A) Ron Garney (CA) Geoff Shaw
IT'S NOT THE END… HE'S UNSTOPPABLE!
The JUGGERNAUT just keeps barreling down the path of righteousness – right into the hands of some very dangerous people. But the question is: for all his personal growth…can Cain Marko save anyone but himself?
Rated T+
In Shops: Jan 06, 2021
SRP: $3.99

Juggernaut #5 Recap

Juggernaut visits (psychically) with Charles Xavier and Black Tom. He asks them to take in D-Cel and help her. They say they will if she really is a mutant and she's willing. Now he just needs to convince D-Cel. Later, Juggernaut and D-Cell smash their way into the Dungeon Max Penitentiary, a for-profit superhuman prison. Inside, they find there are no prisoners. Instead, there's a portal to another dimension, which is where the prisoners must be. Juggernaut goes through the portal (leaving D-Cel behind) and encounters the prison's warden, who attacks him with a bee weapon. (Bees. My God.)

The prison is studying its prisoners in order to exploit their powers for profit and power. They intend to do the same with Juggernaut, but D-Cel comes through the portal and makes the save. Juggernaut grabs her and busts through the roof to make an escape, but it turns out the prison isn't in another dimension, it's on a giant ship flying high above the Earth. They climb back inside. The warden demands they surrender to the custody of The Dungeon, which is contracted by the U.S. Government. Juggernaut says D-Cel is a mutant and requests Asylum on Krakoa, invoking the treaty.

D-Cel isn't pleased. In a flashback, we see that she told Juggernaut her origin story the day before over dinner in a diner. Her powers manifested during a car ride, causing a crash that killed both her parents. She's been lying to herself about not being a mutant because otherwise she's responsible for her parents' deaths. Back at The Dungeon, D-Cel decides to go with it. The warden threatens Juggernaut and all superhumans but lets him leave. Xavier, Black Tom, and Gateway come to pick her up in the desert two days later. Juggernaut and D-Cel share an emotional goodbye and Juggernaut shares a moment with his old friend Black Tom. The next week, Juggernaut forces Arnim Zola and Primus to revive Quicksand. He then suggests that he, Primus, and Quicksand form a new team and try to do some good, teasing a possible new series in the future.

I loved this little mini-series and I hope it does return in some form, though I'd personally rather see more of Juggernaut and D-Cel than D-Cel with Primus and Quicksand.