X-Men: The Last Stand had a lot of issues, with one of the biggest problems being its version of Juggernaut, who was played by Vinnie Jones and became notorious for shouting what became his signature catchphrase, "I'm the Juggernaut, bitch!" 12 years later, Deadpool 2 surprised audiences by bringing in a more faithful version of Juggernaut as the sequel's secret antagonist, who was voiced by Ryan Reynolds. Deadpool 2's Juggernaut certainly looked much closer to his comic book counterpart than Jones' did, but a newly-released piece of concept art shows us an earlier version of Cain Marko who looks even more like he'd been ripped directly from the printed page.
Design-wise, Juggernaut's armor is on point in Deadpool 2, but it went with gray coloring, whereas the above character design artwork from Alexander Lozano opted for the traditional brown-colored armor that the mutant baddie usually wears in the comics. In the grand scheme of things, this color difference doesn't make that much of a difference, but it's nice to have a taste of what might have been. This illustrated Juggernaut also looks like he's been through the ringer, but thanks to his superhuman strength, durability and unstoppable momentum, he can take a beating better than most superheroes and super villains can.
Having been kept secret (for the most part) from the Deadpool 2 marketing, Juggernaut showed up in the movie as the most powerful prisoner locked in the Icebox, the same mutant prison that Russell Collins and Wade Wilson were thrown into. Determined to exact revenge on the staff of the Essex Home for Mutant Rehabilitation, Russell befriended Juggernaut and convinced him to help attack the orphanage after they escaped custody. It took the combined efforts of Colossus, Negasonic Teenage Warhead and Yukio to bring him down, which involved a lot of electrocution. Deadpool 2 also threw in a clever reference to Cain Marko's familial connection with Charles Xavier when he explained that he wore that helmet to ward off the telepathic powers of his wheelchair-bound brother. It's doubtful we'll ever see the Juggernaut/Professor X relationship (dysfunctional as it is) adapted properly on the big screen, but perhaps Deapool 3 might bring Juggernaut back for another round of action.
Deadpool 2 is now available on Digital HD, and you can pick up your Blu-ray/DVD copies starting next Tuesday, August 21. The Merc with the Mouth is next expected to appear alongside Cable and Dominio in the Drew Goddard-written and directed X-Force, which begins production later this year. For everything else the X-Men film franchise has in development, check out our handy guide.
