J2's Costumes

Now that I’ve done a post about Bluestreak’s Costumes and discussed both Blue’s and J2’s approximate age as part of a series about the members of A-Next’s Ages, I figured it’s a no-brainer to take a quick look at the different costumes worn by Zane Yama through the years. This should be fun!

For starters, Zane’s most iconic costume is his original J2 costume, which sort of appeared in What If #105, but let’s be honest, that was originally intended to be Zane’s father Cain Marko aka the original Juggernaut as an Avenger. A happy accident led to this retroactively being the first appearance of everyone’s favourite bulky boy hero J2, and I’ll always be grateful for that!

It’s revealed in J2 #1 that the transformation from Zane Yama into his hulking, muscular form doesn’t come with clothes provided:

The first J2 costume makes its proper debut in J2 #1 and A-Next #1, designed by costume designer extraordinaire Ron Frenz. While Zane spray paints an old set of armour belonging to his missing father, he adds regular footwear and poignantly his dad’s favourite shirt as personal touches.

While Zane retains this costume throughout both the J2 and A-Next series, I’d be remiss not to point out the wonder that is…The Masked Midget! This brilliant disguise of young Yama’s has a couple variations, likely depending on whatever colour and design of balaclava or ski-mask is available at the time (A-Next #2, J2 #10).

Whether it counts or not is debatable, but I’ll err on the side of caution by including ‘The Day Juggie Lost Nearly 1000 Pounds’ during his battle with the villainous Parody:

There’s also the masterful mystery man known only as ‘Patch’. I wish I had more information to give you on this character, but he’s shrouded in mystery and intrigue! Thanks, Wolverine! (A-Next #10)

Boy, J2 #10 is a treasure-trove of alternate looks for Juggie Junior, isn’t it? Here’s Sir Jugalot from one of ‘J2’s Funny Fairy Tales for Fools and Felons’ in all his noble glory:

After saving his father Cain Marko from captivity in another dimension, Zane returns his father’s shirt in the pages of Wild Thing #2 and is seen without it in the series subsequent issues (Wild Thing #3-5).

As an aside, it's in Wild Thing #3 that we get another transformation for J2, only this time 'Juggie Goes Ape!' Or as I like to call him the Juggernape.

The no-shirt-around-waist iteration of the J2 costume would stay the norm throughout the characters appearances in Spider-Girl with the exception of a fantasy sequence dreamed up by Felicity Hardy wherein J2 can briefly be seen with a fancy F5-style belt (Spider-Girl #52).

When Ron Frenz became the regular artist on the title and redesigned ol’ Juggie’s costume in Spider-Girl #58, added a new piece of civilian clothing; cargo shorts!

This would become the standard design from this point onward, showing up throughout the Last Hero Standing, Last Planet Standing, Amazing Spider-Girl, Avengers Next, Fantastic Five and American Dream series.

Allowing for a few minor colour changes, these cargo shorts remains the same red-brown colour, though the MC2 story seen in Spider-Island #1-5 clearly depicts Zane rocking blue pants.

That’s it, that’s a wrap! I’ve got nothing else. Let me know if I’ve missed anything or if you have any questions. I’ll keep doing these costume posts as long as people are interested! What’s your favourite J2 costume? Who’s should I cover next?

Until I stop liking shorts even though they are comfy and easy to wear, I remain

frogoat