# How powerful would a real-life Juggernaut be? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 21, 2010, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-powerful-would-a-real-life-juggernaut-be/540205 "2010-05-21T01:50:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Tabby\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Tabby\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tabby_Cat)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2010, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-powerful-would-a-real-life-juggernaut-be/540205/1 "2010-05-21T01:50:27Z")
I was just wondering to myself, if Juggernaut really existed, he wouldn’t be very effective at all. Mainly because of the problem of leverage. Assume that he’s completely invulnerable, and can put out practically infinite power (in terms of how much force he can exert on himself or any physical object), so what? He’s still limited to a mass of about 5000kg at most (about the mass of an elephant). He certainly can’t rip up a building by a corner, the building wouldn’t hold together long enough. Could he even knock down the building by punching it? The building is way more massive than 5000kg. By punching it as hard as he could, he’d probably just throw himself across the street. I guess he could take a running start at the building and build up enough momentum to take out the supporting columns, but that’s about it. Or twirl about like a ballerina and accelerate himself into a whirling dervish of fist, but I doubt he has the co-ordination. Is there something I’m missing? ---
**Author:** ![JSexton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@JSexton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JSexton)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2010, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-powerful-would-a-real-life-juggernaut-be/540205/2 "2010-05-21T01:57:34Z")
It’s not just a question of mass, but one of breaking points. You’re correct that he can’t hold up a building by the corner, or life a tank by its barrel Hulk-style, but I’m sure he could take out a building by punching through its support columns. Might take a little while, though. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2010, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-powerful-would-a-real-life-juggernaut-be/540205/3 "2010-05-21T03:00:35Z")
If he’s so strong that moving his own mass is a negligible burden on his strength, does that mean he never gets tired? ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2010, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-powerful-would-a-real-life-juggernaut-be/540205/4 "2010-05-21T04:50:33Z")
Is his speed human-level or fairly infinite as well? If he can swing as fast as he wants, then he can swing just as hard as he wants up to the point where drag and his friction versus the ground give way. Overall, I suspect he could do better than a cannon since he’s not sitting on wood wheels and he can manage the movement of forces more fluidly. If he gets a lot of his body weight into it, at a cannonball’s speed, I’m certain he could take out a steel I-beam at least. But, even better still would be to get up to a run and just barrel through everything at mach 1. But if he can only move at human speed, he’s better off to squeeze things in his hands and pull things apart by planting his feet on it. With judicious choice of where to tear things up, he should be able to bring a skyscraper down before you could evacuate it. ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2010, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-powerful-would-a-real-life-juggernaut-be/540205/5 "2010-05-21T04:51:47Z")
Welcome to [Required Secondary Powers](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/RequiredSecondaryPowers). ---
**Author:** ![CandidGamera](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/candidgamera/32/2878_2.png) [@CandidGamera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CandidGamera)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2010, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-powerful-would-a-real-life-juggernaut-be/540205/6 "2010-05-21T13:26:40Z")
Juggernaut cannot be stopped. He could walk through the support columns of a building at a leisurely pace and they would crumble before him. His power is magical in origin. It’s not subject to conventional laws governing momentum. ---
**Author:** ![Sri\_Theo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f04885/32.png) [@Sri\_Theo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sri_Theo)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2010, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-powerful-would-a-real-life-juggernaut-be/540205/7 "2010-05-21T13:36:46Z")
I always used to wonder if someone with Juggernaut/Hulk style powers could wipe out the human race. Sure they could kill 24hrs a day with their bare hands, but isn’t the rate of population growth higher than that? Surely more people die of disease. This is disallowing crazy ripping up tectonic plates stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2010, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-powerful-would-a-real-life-juggernaut-be/540205/8 "2010-05-21T17:45:53Z")
> [@Sri\_Theo](#): > > I always used to wonder if someone with Juggernaut/Hulk style powers could wipe out the human race. According to various writers, the Hulk’s strength can do just about anything imaginable. One writer had him punch through time to time travel. So, theoretically, the Hulk could probably destroy the universe if he wanted to. He could easily destroy Eternity as well. Juggernaut, on the other hand, has much more limited powers. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2010, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-powerful-would-a-real-life-juggernaut-be/540205/9 "2010-05-21T19:27:12Z")
> [@Tabby\_Cat](#): > > I was just wondering to myself, if Juggernaut really existed, he wouldn’t be very effective at all. Mainly because of the problem of leverage. > > Assume that he’s completely invulnerable, and can put out practically infinite power (in terms of how much force he can exert on himself or any physical object), so what? He’s still limited to a mass of about 5000kg at most (about the mass of an elephant). > > He certainly can’t rip up a building by a corner, the building wouldn’t hold together long enough. Could he even knock down the building by punching it? The building is way more massive than 5000kg. By punching it as hard as he could, he’d probably just throw himself across the street. > I guess he could take a running start at the building and build up enough momentum to take out the supporting columns, but that’s about it. Or twirl about like a ballerina and accelerate himself into a whirling dervish of fist, but I doubt he has the co-ordination. > Is there something I’m missing? I don’t think he can be completely invulneable and still able to move. ---
**Author:** ![pancakes3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ba9def/32.png) [@pancakes3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pancakes3)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2010, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-powerful-would-a-real-life-juggernaut-be/540205/10 "2010-05-21T20:06:57Z")
juggernaut’s been stopped and chained up before hasn’t he? ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2010, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-powerful-would-a-real-life-juggernaut-be/540205/11 "2010-05-21T20:48:27Z")
> [@pancakes3](#): > > juggernaut’s been stopped and chained up before hasn’t he? He’s been imprisoned several times. The idea is that his power is based around momentum. If he can get moving nothing can stop him. Spidey trapped him in a convenient pool of drying cement once. ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2010, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-powerful-would-a-real-life-juggernaut-be/540205/12 "2010-05-21T21:14:07Z")
I’m the Juggernaut. Bitch. ---
**Author:** ![pancakes3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ba9def/32.png) [@pancakes3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pancakes3)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2010, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-powerful-would-a-real-life-juggernaut-be/540205/13 "2010-05-21T21:19:03Z")
if that’s the case, i would imagine that his destruction would be pretty limited to only urban areas. the second he steps out onto a muddy field or, good gracious, a beach, he would pretty much be sucked down like a sabertooth tiger into a tar pit. ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2010, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-powerful-would-a-real-life-juggernaut-be/540205/14 "2010-05-21T21:21:33Z")
> [@pancakes3](#): > > if that’s the case, i would imagine that his destruction would be pretty limited to only urban areas. the second he steps out onto a muddy field or, good gracious, a beach, he would pretty much be sucked down like a sabertooth tiger into a tar pit. That’s not to say that urban areas are rare or anything. ---
**Author:** ![DWMarch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwmarch/32/1010_2.png) [@DWMarch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DWMarch)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2010, 9:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-powerful-would-a-real-life-juggernaut-be/540205/15 "2010-05-23T09:19:26Z")
> [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](#): > > I’m the Juggernaut. > > Bitch. Comb your beard. I don’t wanna hear that shit. [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/bSuvOVH0aSQ/hqdefault.jpg?sqp=-oaymwEmCOADEOgC8quKqQMa8AEB-AG-AoAC8AGKAgwIABABGH8gVygpMA8=&rs=AOn4CLBfBYdNbVMOb2ZNEJ4IW9NE10NjDg "I'M THE JUGGERNAUT, BITCH!") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSuvOVH0aSQ) ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2010, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-powerful-would-a-real-life-juggernaut-be/540205/16 "2010-05-23T23:59:53Z")
> [@Sri\_Theo](#): > > I always used to wonder if someone with Juggernaut/Hulk style powers could wipe out the human race. Sure they could kill 24hrs a day with their bare hands, but isn’t the rate of population growth higher than that? Surely more people die of disease. > > This is disallowing crazy ripping up tectonic plates stuff. I just suddenly get this mental picture of one of those two, up to their elbows in gore, railing away with a classic silver age inner monologue. “I **must** kill, but _pant_ more, and **faster** …!” Probably like [this](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZUeiuMOjt8). Anyway—well, I guess if he spent a lot of his time and energy destroying INFRASTRUCTURE—like oil fields, farms, whatever—he might be able to cause enough disruption to civilization that he could increase the death rate measurably beyond the people he could kill personally. (Though it does bring to mind some pretty…unoperatic imagery. “HULK SMASH PUNY SOYBEANS!”) I guess either one could try and provoke wars, too—like, I dunno, destroying all the major Abrahamic holy sites, possibly incognito; or breaking into a nuclear missile site and start tossing warheads around—though that’s probably cheating. ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2010, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-powerful-would-a-real-life-juggernaut-be/540205/17 "2010-05-24T02:01:09Z")
> [@DWMarch](#): > > Comb your beard. I don’t wanna hear that shit. > > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSuvOVH0aSQ&playnext\_from=TL&videos=UqT14LJnXU8](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSuvOVH0aSQ&playnext_from=TL&videos=UqT14LJnXU8) I’m the goddamn Juggernaut! See how tight my outfit is? ---
**Author:** ![Tabby\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Tabby\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tabby_Cat)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2010, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-powerful-would-a-real-life-juggernaut-be/540205/18 "2010-05-24T02:41:38Z")
Hmm. Can he start nuclear fusion by hitting hydrogen hard/fast enough? ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2010, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-powerful-would-a-real-life-juggernaut-be/540205/19 "2010-05-24T02:45:55Z")
> [@Tabby\_Cat](#): > > Hmm. > > Can he start nuclear fusion by hitting hydrogen hard/fast enough? No. ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2010, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-powerful-would-a-real-life-juggernaut-be/540205/20 "2010-05-24T03:38:07Z")
> [@Tabby\_Cat](#): > > Hmm. > > Can he start nuclear fusion by hitting hydrogen hard/fast enough? Depends on the writer. I think on one occasion he was shrunken down to subatomic size.