Intro:
When
I first bought my Marvel Universe Hulk figure, which itself is a quite imposing
figure, I have always wanted to pair him up with another figure with the same
stature.
At
first I thought my Ghost Rider would be his perfect match. But then again, even
though in the comic continuity, Ghost Rider might be one of the few characters
to be able to defeat the green behemoth, his actual figure that I got is just
too skinny for comfort.
Then
comes Colossus. While his size may allow him to somewhat look eye-to-eye with
the Hulk, and provided a somewhat equal footing, in theory, it just doesn’t
work. Colossus, on its own, without any sort of enhancement is no match for the
green guy.
Then
I thought of Thor, but I just couldn’t find him anywhere. The next best thing
was Beta Ray Bill, which I really didn’t quite fancy. Though Thor is one of
Marvel Universe toughest heavy-hitters, he has been repeatedly defeated by the
green behemoth, even in his insane Berserker mode.
So
who else can we turn to in order to provide Hulk with a substantial challenge?
For that, we need to find someone who is immovable; someone who has an equally
inexhaustible source of power; someone who has equal durability and size to go
toe-to-toe with the Incredible Hulk; someone who is unstoppable…
Unstoppable…
Wait,
we might have something there.
In
the comics, there has been one character that fits all those descriptions, gone
toe-to-toe with the Hulk more than a couple of times and emerged victorious
more than once. In fact, I can’t even remember Hulk has ever beaten this guy
before!
Well,
just in case if you’ve been wondering, wonder no longer. He is none other than
the Unstoppable Juggernaut!
While
Colossus has always been my favorite X-Men, Magneto and Juggernaut have always
been my favorite X-Men villains. In Juggernaut, here we have a virtually
unstoppable character. With the Juggernaut facing Hulk in a head-to-head duel,
it is truly the case of Unstoppable Force versus Immovable Object.
Instantly,
I knew that I just had to get this Juggernaut figure, but unfortunately, this
figure have proven to be quite elusive. I have scoured the entire Kuala Lumpur
and Malacca market; I’ve been to every single shopping malls, Toys “R” Us,
collector shops and toy shops in Kuala Lumpur and Malacca, and it has remained
quite elusive. When all else fails, I could only turn to one source as the last
resort—eBay.
Yep,
it’s been a long time since I’ve shopped on eBay, and it has always been a last
resort for me. Then lo and behold, I have finally found him – the Juggernaut!
Real
name, Cain Marko, son of Kurt Marko and stepbrother of Charles Xavier. Powered by
the Crimson Gem of Cyttorak, it is said that once Juggernaut is in motion, no
forces on Earth can stop him in his tracks. When the character was first
conceived, he has been a frequent adversary for the X-Men. Though packed with a
lot of power, Juggernaut was nothing more than a petty criminal endowed with
extremely unlimited power, who sometimes faced off with other characters such
as Spider Man
It
wasn’t until later in the late 80’s and 90’s that his characterization became
more complex and his origins explored. He was later revealed to be an avatar of
the mystical entity Cyttorak, who is one of the 8 beings of his kind that
possessed unimaginable powers. Each of these beings then creates an artifact
that contains their powers, and when it is touched by a potential human host,
he or she will be transformed into an Exemplar – the personification of that
power.
He
has also been, occasionally, a reluctant, yet sometimes willing hero. In fact,
he was at some point, an official member of the X-Men.
Juggernaut,
in his full form has virtually no known weaknesses and technically unlimited
powers, which puts him as the only logical opponent for Hulk.
His
only weakness is that without his helmet, he is susceptible to mental attacks,
but as have been seen before, separating that helmet from Juggernaut is easier
said than done.
So
yeah, I am pretty darn excited about his figure. I have been wanting this
figure for quite some time, and finally, after quite some effort put in, I’ve
finally got him!
Juggernaut
is released under Series 2, number 014.
So
here it is, without further ado… the review for the Unstoppable Juggernaut.
Figure:
The
first thing that you will notice about this figure is how big he actually is. In
the world of Marvel Universe 4-inch scale action figures, there are many big
sized guys out there – Blaastar, Hulk and Apocalypse, just to name a few. Apocalypse
– I am still looking for him, but Blaastar isn’t exactly my cup of tea.
 |
| Hulk and Juggernaut |
Of
all the big guys that I have mentioned so far, the Hulk and Juggernaut are
potentially the strongest characters. Juggernaut is so big that he actually
feels slightly heavier than even the Hulk, which I think is kind of accurate to
the actual depiction of the characters in the comics.
When
you do an actually physical comparison between the two figures like I did, you
will noticed that although Hulk is slightly taller than Juggernaut (yep, Juggy
still has to look up), the latter is actually have a wider built and shoulder
span than Hulk!
I’ve
said it before and I am gonna say it again, the Hulk figure has tremendous
details on him, not found anywhere else in the series… very, very unusual for a
figure in this scale. Juggernaut, unfortunately couldn’t follow suit on that.
 |
| Detailed Helmet Sculpt |
At
least, the head sculpt, or specifically the helmet is very, very detailed.
There are numerous dents, blemishes and scratches on it. There is even a
three-claw mark on the back of the helmet, which I reckoned is the courtesy of
Wolverine.
 |
| Wolverine left his mark? |
As for the rest of the body, although the sculpting is there, there
are not much minute details to be found here. He’s just so clean! I would
expect that an monster such as Juggernaut would have faced various tough
opponents and adventures, and I expected that to show on his body, but
unfortunately nothing. Finishing is just too clean for Juggernaut.
The
helmet, unfortunately, is irremovable. While there are facial details that can
be seen, there is actually no head underneath that helmet. Only a piece of PVC
with face sculpts on it. I was kinda hoping that there is an actual head
underneath, and the helmet is removable, but unfortunately, it was not to be.
Anyways,
Juggy is overall brown and red in colors – a perfect contrast against the Hulk.
Articulation-wise,
he has similar movements compared to any typical Marvel Universe figures of his
size such as the Hulk, so I won’t repeat myself, but I will do point out to
certain points. First of which is the head. Due to its design, the head has
really limited movements. Juggy’s head can only rotate 360° and tilt slightly,
and I do mean slightly down. That’s it.
Unlike
most figures, whose hands actually rotate at the wrist, Juggy’s hands rotate
slightly below the elbows and above the lower arm bands. The upper arm bands
are actually not fixed, so sometimes when you fiddle with Juggy, they might
fall. I have no idea why they don’t just fix them up, because I really don’t
see the point really.
The
abs crunch is very limited, so Juggy tends to end up with 2 waist joints
instead. The feet actually rotate not at the ankles, but above the red boots.
The ankles only tilt downward and back up.
Everything
about this figure feels massive and durable. He is huge and really does match
up evenly with the Hulk, and definitely dwarfs Colossus, in terms of overall
size though not really in the height department.
 |
| Hulk, Colossus and Juggernaut |
Accessories:
Juggernaut
comes with several accessories. The stand, though I would normally welcome it
to be a suitable addition in most cases, but this time, I really think that it
is pointless. Mostly due to the fact that big characters like Apocalypse, Hulk
and himself really doesn’t need a stand to assist them to stand for display. Their
feet are big enough to offer a stable base. These type of bases are more
suitable for smaller characters such as Ghost Rider, Psylocke, Jubilee and many
more.
 |
| Base too small |
Plus,
due to the standard positioning of the pegs on the stand, Juggernaut can’t
really use it with both feet.
Juggernaut also
comes with the Top Secret HAMMER files, that contains a Superhuman Registration
Act profile card; a piece of card containing the Fury Files Code (which can no
longer be used); as well as the letter from Juggernaut telling Norman Osborn
that he doesn’t want to have anything to do with him and that he should just
stay away.
Overall,
still a nice set of accessories to have.
Summary:
What
can I say, I love Juggernaut. I love the size; I love the character and
especially the fact that apart from having physical equal footing with the
Hulk, Juggy have enough juice to go toe-to-toe with the Big Green Man and are
evenly matched.
It’s
a fantastic figure, and is an absolute must for fans of the character. This is
definitely a fan favorite and it took me ages and a lot of effort for me to get
hold of him. In the end, the wait and effort was all worth it.
I
love Juggernaut.
Final
verdict, 10/10.
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