| Crimson Gem of Cyttorak | |
|---|---|
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| In story information | |
| Type | Jewels, Mystic item/artifact |
| Element of stories featuring | X-Men, Juggernaut |
The Crimson Gem of Cyttorak (also referred to as the Ruby of the Crimson Bands or the Crimson Crystal of Cyttorak) is a fictional artifact created by the mystical entity known as Cyttorak in the Marvel Comics Universe. It serves as the source of the Juggernaut's power.
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After being banished to the Crimson Cosmos, Cyttorak wanted to keep his influence on earth. He created the Crimson Gem of Cyttorak. He transported it to a Korean village. When a villager touched it he became the first Juggernaut. There would be a series of Korean Juggernauts until the village that worshiped him began to worship another. After this Cain Marko killed the previous holder of the power and destroyed the village.
One thousand years ago a gathering of eight great beings took place. These being were Balthakk, Krakkan, Farallah, Ikonn, Valtorr, Raggadorr, Watoomb, and Cyttorak. When gathered they disagreed as to who had the greatest power among them so to resolve the matter they settled on the Wager of Octessence. In this wager, each being created an artifact with a fraction of their respective power, in the case of Cyttorak the Crimson Gem.
According to rules of the wager, the first mortal being to make physical contact with the relics would become an Exemplar, a living personification of the relic's power and whoever was the first would trigger a spell that would draw other mortals to the remaining artifacts, creating a total of eight Exemplars. Cyttorak had obviously cheated in this regard since there have been many mortal Juggernauts. Then would come the Ceremony of the Octessence where all the Exemplars would gather to construct a great magical engine, which would overwhelm the wills of all human beings. After the enslavement of humanity each Exemplar would rule an eighth of humanity and a war would break out between each Exemplar and their armies. Thus, the patron of the last Exemplar left standing would be declared the most powerful. Each being arranged the construction of a temple in which to house their relic: Cyttorak's temple was built in a Southeast Asian country with a thrall demon named Xorak designated to protect it.
Over the years due to artists’ interpretations of the gem its appearance has varied. It has been shown in different shapes (Including spherical, flat, six-cornered and oval) and sizes (From as small as a softball to as large as a basketball). Even the name of it has changed from writer to writer (Including Ruby of Cyttorak, Gem of Cyttorak, Crimson Crystal of Cyttorak and a number of other slight variants). The only thing that remained throughout was that it glowed red and possessed the now famous inscription "Whosoever touches this gem shall possess the power of the Crimson Bands of Cyttorak! Henceforth, you who read these words, shall become forevermore a human juggernaut!"
The stone itself gives a fraction of the power of Cyttorak to whoever possesses it via acting as a portal to or containing a portal within it to the Crimson Cosmos.
While his level of power varied due to various incidents while having the gem the Juggernaut generally had tremendous strength with the increased size to match, unlimited stamina, a total resistance to physical injury due to the mystical spell of invulnerability; an impenetrable force field that he could summon at will. The spell also granted him unbreakable skin and in turn made the force field more added protection. Due to the mystical energies within him he did not need to eat, breathe or drink fluids. As a vessel of mystical energy, he also possessed many abstract powers that had yet to be fully revealed. Finally, Marko possessed the ability to maintain motion with only the slightest initial inertial, meaning that once he began to move (walk, run, attack, etc.) it became virtually impossible to stop him while in motion.
To compensate for his most significant vulnerability, which was telepathic assault, he also wears a helmet of a mystical alloy, which prevents his mind from being read or attacked by all telepathic means.
Unlike Cain, the 2nd Exemplar, Stevie, a spoiled little boy from the Midwest, used the Cyttorak Ruby to spectacular effects unimagined by Cain Marko. He first used it to blast Marko. Beyond that he used it to monitor events far away with his computer (Presumably utilizing the ruby to enable him to access the feed off security cameras) as well as using the ruby to relay a message to the East Coast using a non-operational computer on the West Coast. Furthermore, he could alter mirrors so that the original Human Torch's flame was reflected back at him at a much more powerful degree. Stevie could also animate inanimate objects, which could also be turned intangible. These objects included wax statues, some which resembled monsters and others that resembled other Marvel characters such as Spider-Man and Doctor Doom. However, the animated statues tended only to have diluted copies of the originals abilities of those copied and also tended to move slowly. Beyond these other powers, he possessed all the same powers as the Juggernaut did at his peak.
In the Ultimate Marvel Universe the gem, seen in Ultimate X-Men Annual #1 was a cylindrical rod-shaped crystal stolen from the collection of the Fenris Twins by Gambit and Rogue. As the two made their escape they had the bad fortune to run into Juggernaut (who in this continuity is a super-strong mutant). Juggernaut had come looking for his old teammate, Rogue. During the fight, Gambit, having had no effect on Juggernaut with his cards, charges the Gem of Cyttorak with energy and throws it at Juggernaut. It is absorbed into his body without harming him. Juggernaut immediately announces that he hasn't felt anything like that since his power activated and that he feels stronger than he was before. Gambit then proceeded to drop a building on him. Juggernaut survives this event, and returns during the events of the Ultimatum Wave.
1997 novel X-Men: The Jewels of Cyttorak (ISBN 1572973293 / 1-57297-329-3) Juggernaut is on a rampage! Since bonding with the ruby of Cyttorak, Cain Marko became the unstoppable force known as the Juggernaut-and one of the X-Men's most vicious foes! But an archeological dig reveals a fragment of the one thing that might be able to stop the Juggernaut: an emerald from the same lost city of Cyttorak. Now a ruthless billionaire named Service intends to gather all the fragments of the emerald, which will grant him absolute power-unless the X-Men stop him. If that wasn't bad enough, each use of the emerald causes the Juggernaut pain...and he won't stand for it!
In the animated series X-Men: Evolution the Gem of Cyttorak possessed different effects and abilities as rather than be an artifact of mystical origins. It emitted a specific form of radiation that could accelerate mutations. Though the effects varied on mutants as seen below the general effects of the gem can be considered as the following:
While the gem's effects were great, there were limitations, such as that the effects themselves did not last, though this had never been resolved. Though the effects wore off on Sabertooth, Cyclops and Havok, they did not wear off on Mystique. In the case of Cyclops and Havok, they are "burned" out a short while they are treated by the Gem.