Magneto (Marvel Comics)

Magneto
Variant cover of X-Men: Black - Magneto #1 (September 2018).
Art by J. Scott Campbell.
Publication information
PublisherMarvel Comics
First appearanceThe X-Men #1
(September 1963)[1][2][3]
Created byStan Lee (writer)
Jack Kirby (writer/artist)
In-story information
Alter egoMax Eisenhardt[4]
SpeciesHuman mutant
Place of originGermany
Team affiliationsBrotherhood of Mutants
X-Men
New Mutants
Hellfire Club
Acolytes
Astonishing Avengers
Quiet Council of Krakoa
Notable aliasesMagnus[5]
Erik Lehnsherr[6]
White King[7] (later Grey King[8]) of the Hellfire Club
Michael Xavier[9]
Erik the Red
Henryk Gurzsky[10]
White Pilgrim[11]
Abilities

Magneto (/mæɡˈnt/; birth name: Max Eisenhardt; alias: Erik Lehnsherr[needs IPA] and Magnus) is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, commonly in association with the X-Men. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist/co-writer Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in The X-Men #1 (cover-dated September 1963) as an adversary of the X-Men.

Magneto is a powerful mutant, one of a fictional subspecies of humanity born with superhuman abilities, who has the ability to generate and control magnetic fields. Magneto regards mutants as evolutionarily superior to humans and rejects the possibility of peaceful human-mutant coexistence; he initially aimed to conquer the world to enable mutants, whom he refers to as Homo superior, to replace humans as the dominant species. Writers have since fleshed out his origins and motivations, revealing him to be a Holocaust survivor whose extreme methods and cynical philosophy derive from his determination to protect mutants from suffering a similar fate at the hands of a world that fears and persecutes them. He is a friend of Professor X, the leader of the X-Men, but their different philosophies sometimes cause a rift in their friendship. Magneto's role in comics has progressed from supervillain to antihero to superhero, having served as an occasional ally and member of the X-Men, even leading the New Mutants for a time as headmaster of the Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters.

Writer Chris Claremont, who originated Magneto's backstory, modeled the character on then-Israeli opposition leader Menachem Begin,[12] with later commentators comparing the character with the American civil rights leader Malcolm X[13][14] and Jewish Defense League founder Meir Kahane.[15][16]

Ian McKellen has portrayed Magneto in various films since X-Men in 2000, while Michael Fassbender has portrayed a younger version of the character in the prequel films since X-Men: First Class in 2011. Both actors portrayed their respective incarnations in X-Men: Days of Future Past.

  1. ^ Rovin, Jeff (1987). The Encyclopedia of Super-Villains. New York: Facts on File. pp. 201–202. ISBN 0-8160-1356-X.[1]
  2. ^ Misiroglu, Gina Renée; Eury, Michael (2006). The Supervillain Book: The Evil Side of Comics and Hollywood. Visible Ink Press. ISBN 9780780809772.
  3. ^ Conroy, Mike (2004). 500 Comicbook Villains. Collins & Brown. ISBN 1-84340-205-X.
  4. ^ X-Men: Magneto Testament #1
  5. ^ The Uncanny X-Men #161 (Sept. 1982)
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference xmen72 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ The New Mutants #51 (May 1987)
  8. ^ The New Mutants #75 (May 1989)
  9. ^ The New Mutants #35-75
  10. ^ The Uncanny X-Men #350
  11. ^ Vision and the Scarlet Witch Vol 1 #4
  12. ^ Foege, Alex (17 July 2000). "The X-Men Files". New York Magazine. Vox Media, LLC. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
  13. ^ Godoski, Andrew (2011-06-01). "Professor X And Magneto: Allegories For Martin Luther King, Jr. And Malcolm X". Screened. Archived from the original on 2011-06-18. Retrieved 2016-05-08.
  14. ^ Shutt, Craig (August 1997). "Bad is Good". Wizard. No. 72. p. 38.
  15. ^ "(Orthodo)X-Men, On Screen and Off, Irving Greenberg, Jewish Daily Forward, 13 June 2003". Forward.com. 2003-06-13. Retrieved 2012-08-18.
  16. ^ Ami Eden (2003-05-23). "(Orthodo)X-Men". Jewish Daily Forward.

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