Warning: This article contains spoilers for Juggernaut #4
Hulk’s clap-attack is one of his most iconic moves, but he’s not the only Marvel character strong enough to pull it off. In fact, Juggernaut #4 proved that Cain Marko, AKA the Juggernaut, can use the thunderclap just as effectively as the Jade Giant.
Marvel’s new Juggernaut series by Fabian Nicieza follows Marko as he attempts to leave his career as a super villain behind him, instead using his bulldozer-esque powers to help Damage Control with demolition. The series’ first issue introduced readers to Juggernaut’s new sidekick, D-cel, a young, social media-savvy teen with the power to sap kinetic energy using deceleration fields – basically, she can slow stuff down, even someone as unstoppable as Juggernaut. In issue #4, D-cel’s unique ability makes her a target of longtime Marvel villain Arnim Zola, a former Nazi scientist who successfully transferred his consciousness into an android body. Zola wants to experiment on D-cel and learn more about her powers, but not if Cain has anything to say about it – and he does.
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After his battle against the mind-controlled Quicksand in issue #3, Juggernaut figures out that Zola was the one behind the attack. With a little help from Damage Control, Juggernaut tracks Zola to an underground bunker in issue #4. There he faces off against Primus, a malleable, Jello-like android whose consistency makes him all but impervious to Cain’s attacks. Together, Primus and Zola manage to subdue Juggernaut and trap him. When D-cel comes to help, Zola captures her, too, but that only makes Cain mad. Enraged, Juggernaut busts out of his holding cell and hits Primus with a Hulk-style thunderclap, splattering the android across the room, then uses a freeze gas to make sure Primus stays down. Banner would be proud.
The actual physics behind Hulk’s clap-attack may be less than realistic, but at this point, the move is an irremovable staple of his character. The idea is that Hulk is so strong, he can clap his hands together with enough force to create a destructive shockwave. In the past, Hulk has taken out the Avengers with a single clap, and he even destroyed an entire universe with the attack in 1970’s Hulk #126 by Roy Thomas. The move has also been used by other famously strong comic book characters, such as Superman. In 2011’s Superman #708 by J. Michael Straczynski, the Man of Steel uses a similar clap-shockwave tactic to dissipate a tornado in Nebraska. While his version of the attack wasn’t quite powerful enough to stop a natural disaster or destroy an entire universe, Juggernaut is still part of the elite company of those strong enough to execute the thunderclap, and that’s no small feat.
2020’s Juggernaut series already confirmed that Hulk is way stronger than Juggernaut, but the two still have their fair share of similarities. Now that the clap-attack is the latest addition to that list, the two may need to have a rematch down the line.
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