Post by awesker on Nov 15, 2010 5:19:51 GMT -5
* Other aliases: Eric Magnus Lehnsherr, Michael Xavier,
White Pilgrim
* Occupation: (current) Revolutionary and conqueror,
(former) Volunteer orderly, secret agent, adventurer,
teacher of the New Mutants
* Marital status: Widower
* Known relatives: Magda (wife, presumed deceased), Anya
(daughter, deceased), Wanda Maximoff (the Scarlet Witch,
daughter), Pietro Maximoff (Quicksilver, son), Crystal
(daughter-in-law), Luna (granddaughter)
* Height: 6 ft. 2 in.
* Weight: 190 lbs.
* Eyes: Blue-gray
* Hair: White
biography
Early life
The story of Magneto begins during the 1940s, as a young
boy, his parents, and his sister are persecuted for being
Jewish.They are shot at by the Nazis and buried in a mass grave; Magneto manages to survive, only to be captured and sent to Auschwitz in Poland to work in the Sonderkommando.
While in Auschwitz, Magneto falls in love with a gypsy
named Magda. Together, they escape the prison camp and
marry. Magda soon gives birth to their daughter, Anya, who
is later killed in a fire, with a mob of people preventing
Magneto from rescuing her. Enraged, Magneto's powers
manifest uncontrollably, killing the mob and the
surrounding townspeople. Terrified, Magda flees Magneto,
discovering months later she is pregnant again. After
giving birth to the mutant twins Quicksilver and the
Scarlet Witch in Wundagore, Magda disappears.
Shortly after Magda's disappearance, Magneto is hunted for
the destruction of the town, while attempting to search
for his former wife, thus forcing him to pay a renowned
forger, Georg Odekirk, to create the cover identity of
"Erik Lehnsherr the Sinte gypsy" for him.X-Men vol. 2 #72
Magneto also worked as a hunter of Nazi war criminals for
a mysterious agency.
At the time using the alias "Magnus",Uncanny X-Men #161,
he would meet his future friend and foe, Professor Charles
Xavier, while working at a psychiatric hospital near
Haifa. There, lengthy debates are held by the two
regarding the consequences humanity faces with the rise of
mutants, though neither reveals to each other that they
both in fact possess mutant powers. However, they are
forced to reveal their inherent abilities to one another,
while facing Baron Von Strucker and HYDRA. Following the
battle, Magneto leaves, realizing that his and Xavier's
views are incompatible, with a cache of hidden Nazi gold.
The gold, which was also sought by Strucker, provides
initial financing for his various enterprises.
Rise of Magneto
Magneto's experience in the Auschwitz concentration camp
shapes his outlook on the situation that mutants face in
the world. Determined to keep such atrocities from ever
being committed against mutant-kind, he is willing to use
deadly force to protect mutants. He believes that mutants
("Homo sapiens superior") will become the dominant life
form on the planet. However, he constantly wavers between
wanting peaceful existence with Homo sapiens and wanting
to enforce his superiority over all humanity.
Magneto's first terrorist act was attacking a United
States military base. He is thwarted by Charles Xavier's
mutant students, the X-Men. After forming the Brotherhood
of Evil Mutants, Magneto briefly conquers the fictional
South American nation of San Marco in the hopes of
establishing a mutant homeland there, but is once again
foiled by the X-Men. He later creates Asteroid M, an
orbital base of operations in an asteroid he and his
followers hollow out, but it is later destroyed in a
battle with the X-Men.
After several unsuccessful attempts at rallying more
mutants to his cause, Magneto tries to force the
allegiance of the Stranger. A powerful alien being, the
Stranger encases Magneto in a special cocoon and spirits
him away to another planet where he remains for a long
time. Magneto's Brotherhood splinters, and Quicksilver and
Scarlet Witch desert him. Magneto eventually escapes and
makes his way back to Earth where he attempts to reenlist
them to his cause, but his plans are foiled by his former
minion Toad, who has grown tired of Magneto's cruel
treatment.
Using ancient and advanced alien technology he finds near
the core of the earth, Magneto creates an artificial
humanoid he names "Alpha the Ultimate Mutant." Alpha
rebels against his creator and reduces Magneto to infancy.
Magneto is then placed in the care of Xavier's former love
interest, Professor Moira MacTaggert at Muir Island. At
Muir Island, MacTaggert tinkers with the infant Magneto's
genetic code in an attempt to prevent him from becoming
"evil" in adulthood. However, her genetic tampering loses
its effect when Magneto activates his powers again.
Magneto is eventually restored to adulthood when he is
found at Muir Island by the alien Shi'ar agent Erik the
Red.
Redemption
Magneto later discovers that former Brotherhood members
the Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver are actually his
children, simultaneously learning about their recent
marriages to the Vision and Crystal. He also discovers his
granddaughter, Quicksilver's human child Luna Maximoff.
Seeing Luna as a bond to the human race he has rejected,
Magneto tries to reach out to his children. Angered by his
rejection of them and their mother, they push him away and
refuse to forgive him.
Magneto finds himself allied with Professor Xavier and the
X-Men when a group of heroes and villains are abducted by
the Beyonder, a nearly omnipotent yet frustratingly
short-sighted being. This entity takes them to an alien
world to participate in the 1984 series Secret Wars. The
characters are sorted according to their desires, and so
Magneto was placed with the heroes as his desires were
based on a wish to help mutants rather than the more
selfish drives of the others. This surprises many of the
other heroes, who still believe he is a villain, although
they mostly come to accept him as an ally. Captain America
even speaks in his defense on some occasions, and the Wasp
develops a certain affection for him, although it is
tempered by her knowledge of his past.
After the Secret Wars are over, Magneto is transported
back to his base, Asteroid M, where the alien Warlock,
traveling to Earth, collides into the asteroid, breaking
it to pieces. Magneto is sent falling towards Earth and
into the Atlantic Ocean, sustaining serious injuries. He
is rescued by Lee Forrester, the captain of a fishing
trawler. Lee helps him recuperate from his injuries and
the two share a small romance.
After recuperating from his injuries, Magneto is asked to
aid the X-Men in battling the returned Beyonder, and
Magneto stays with the X-Men even after the Beyonder is
defeated. His association with the team softens his views
on humanity and Magneto surrenders himself to the law to
stand trial for his crimes. A special tribunal is
organized. They choose to strike all charges against
Magneto from prior to his "rebirth," deeming that this had
constituted a figurative death of the old Magneto.
However, the tribunal is interrupted by an attack from
Fenris, the twin children of Baron Wolfgang von Strucker.
Fenris is defeated but Professor X is brought to
near-death due to the strain of the battle and previously
sustained injuries. Xavier asks Magneto to take over his
school and the X-Men, and tells him that doing so would
make amends enough for his past crimes. Magneto agrees and
chooses not to return to the courtroom. Instead he takes
over Xavier's school under the assumed identity of Michael
Xavier, Charles Xavier's cousin. Seeing him try to reform,
the Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver begin accepting him as
their father.
Though Magneto makes a substantial effort as the
headmaster to the New Mutants and an ally to the X-Men,
his tenure is disastrous. The Beyonder plagues him yet
again, slaying Xaiver's current students, the New Mutants
and bringing them back to life soon later. This deeply
traumatizes the entire group. He is manipulated by the
White Queen, mutant headmaster of the rival school "The
Massachusetts Academy" into battling sanctioned heroes the
Avengers and the Supreme Soviets. Magneto submits to a
trial once again, but uses mind-control circuitry he
salvages from the wreckage of Asteroid M to alter the
opinions of the head justice in charge of the trial. As a
result, he is finally absolved of his past crimes. Magneto
does not make that decision lightly and wrestles with it
afterwards. Feeling that desperate measures needed to be
taken after the genocidal massacre in the Morlock tunnels,
Magneto and Storm join the Hellfire Club jointly as the
White King. He is unable to prevent his students Roberto
da Costa and the alien Technarch Warlock from running away
from the school, sees the death of the young mutant
student Douglas Ramsey after the students sneak away yet
again to save a friend, and witnesses the apparent death
of all of the senior X-Men on national television. Magneto
ousts longtime co-chair Sebastian Shaw in order to
establish himself as the head of the Hellfire Club, a move
which alienates the New Mutants permanently, especially
since they had seen the Club work with the demons of the
Inferno incident. The New Mutants do not return to
Magneto's tutelage.
Seeing conditions for mutants grow progressively more
perilous, Magneto begins seeking allies to protect mutants
from humanity. He participates in the "Acts of Vengeance"
alongside such established villains as Doctor Doom, the
Wizard, and the Mandarin. He also confronts Red Skull, an
unrepentant Nazi war criminal, on whom Magneto takes
revenge by entombing him alive. He also attacks (and is
defeated by) a cosmically powered Spider-Man. He works
alongside Rogue, Ka-zar and the American intelligence
agent Nick Fury as well as a number of Russian operatives
in order to re-establish peace in the Savage Land. This
ultimately led to an altercation with Zaladane, who had
appropriated the magnetic powers of his then-unknown
daughter, Polaris. The conflict ended with Magneto
executing Zaladane himself. Tired of the constant state of
strife, Magneto builds a second orbital base where he
hopes to live a life of quiet seclusion. He is, by this
point, a figurehead for the cause of mutanthood and is
sought out by a group of new mutants calling themselves
the Acolytes.
Avalon and Genosha
After this, Magneto sets his sights significantly lower
than world conquest; he seeks only a haven for
mutant-kind. He first attempts to make the orbital base
known as Asteroid M such a haven but is opposed by the
governments of the world and the X-Men.
Magneto later discovers how Moira had tampered with his
mind when he had been de-aged. Enraged by this, he feels
that his redemption has been a lie. Though it was later
revealed that the genetic tampering had lost its effect
when he had first used his powers after being re-aged, and
thus his actions had never been influenced by Moira's
tampering, the damage was done. The United Nations
Security Council, in response to a resurgent Magneto,
votes to activate the "Magneto Protocols" - a satellite
network, in slightly lower orbit than Avalon, which skews
the Earth's magnetic field enough to prevent Magneto from
using his powers within, preventing him from returning to
the planet's surface. In response, Magneto generates an
electromagnetic pulse not only destroying the satellites,
but deactivating every electric device on Earth within
minutes. The X-Men respond by hacking into Avalon's own
computer systems to teleport a small team to the station
with the aid of Colossus (who had joined Magneto as one of
Magneto's Acolytes). Magneto, during the battle with the
X-Men, rips the adamantium from Wolverine's bones, which
enrages Xavier to the point that he blanks his former
friend's mind, leaving him in a coma; This action later
leads to the creation of Onslaught. Magneto remains
comatose on Avalon worshipped by his Acolytes, under the
leadership of Exodus, until Avalon itself is destroyed.
During the destruction, Colossus places Magneto in an
escape pod sending him back to Earth. This pod is
intercepted by Astra, a former ally who now desires his
death.
Astra clones Magneto and when the clone is ready, she
restores Magneto's mind since she feels there is no point
in killing him unless he knows it is her doing. After a
pitched battle, Magneto triumphs over the clone sending
him crashing into a South American barn. However, too weak
to continue the battle, the real Magneto goes into hiding
while the now-amnesiac clone becomes known as Joseph
(christened as such by the nun who discovered him) and
eventually joins the X-Men. Since the world believes
Joseph to be the real Magneto, Magneto takes his time to
plan. He engages in a pair of brief diversions, first
posing as "Erik the Red" and revealing Gambit's past
crimes to the X-Men, resulting in Gambit's expulsion from
the group. Then he kills Odekirk to prevent his true
identity from being discovered by Sabra and Gabrielle
Haller.
Following this, Magneto constructs a machine to amplify
his powers and blackmail the world into creating a mutant
nation. The X-Men and Joseph, who has fallen under Astra's
control again, oppose him. The X-Men defeat Magneto,
leaving his powers severely depleted from over-strain,
while Joseph sacrifices his life to restore the Earth to
normal. The United Nations, manipulated by its mutant
affairs officer Alda Huxley, cedes to Magneto the island
nation of Genosha, which has no recognized government.
Magneto rules that nation for some time with the aid of
many who had previously opposed him, including
Quicksilver, Polaris, and the founder of the Acolytes,
Fabian Cortez.
Despite the UN's hopes that Genosha's civil war between
humans and mutants would destroy or at least occupy him,
Magneto crushes all opposition to his rule and rebuilds
the nation by forming an army of mutants dedicated to his
cause, including mutants coming from all over the world
seeking sanctuary. Eventually, Magneto is able to use the
Genegineer's equipment to fully restore his power.
Intending to declare war on humanity, he captures
Professor X to use as a symbol with which to rally his
troops. In the Eve of Destruction storyline, Jean Grey
recruits a new lineup of X-Men to help Cyclops and
Wolverine rescue Xavier and defeat Magneto. Taking the
opportunity for revenge, Wolverine attacks the defeated
Magneto, leaving him with serious injuries and crippling
him for a time.
Xorn
Soon after this, Genosha is decimated by Sentinels under
the orders of Cassandra Nova Xavier, Charles Xavier's
previously unknown dead twin sister, whom Xavier had
killed in the womb. Magneto and 16 million mutants who
were gathered at Genosha are reported deceased. Months
after the event, a team of X-Men searching in the debris
find what was apparently a recording of Magneto's last
words. Mutant-supremacist ideas, attributed to him, become
wide-spread in the mutant community with some holding him
as a martyr of the mutant cause. Magneto has become a Che
Guevara-like revolutionary figure in the mutant community.
T-shirts and posters with Magneto's face and the phrase
"Magneto Was Right" become popular items, even amongst
certain students in the Xavier Institute.
Meanwhile, the mutant known as Xorn joins the X-Men after
being rescued from captivity in China. Xorn is said to be
a Chinese mutant with a "star for a brain" and wears a
face-concealing metal helmet with a skull-like motif. He
also possesses nebulous healing powers, although the only
times he was shown to use this ability are when he
deactivates a number of microscopic Sentinels and
simultaneously restores Professor Xavier's ability to
walk, and "heals" a supposedly dead bird.
In the Planet X storyline, he eventually removes the
helmet, revealing Magneto's face beneath. It is alleged
that Xorn never existed and is simply an identity
conceived wholly by Magneto. Having "exposed his
deception", he then schemes to destroy the X-Men and
reverse the polarity of the Earth's magnetic field,
increasing his power with the use of a mutant drug called
"Kick". He recruits the Special Class and Esme from the
Xavier School to serve as his Brotherhood of Mutants,
though most eventually turn against him. Before being
decapitated by Wolverine, "Magneto" devastates much of New
York City and kills Jean Grey using a lethal
electromagnetic pulse, causing her to have a massive
stroke.
Some time later, the X-Men find another Xorn, who
identifies himself as Shen Xorn and claims that the
"Magneto" who devastated New York was Kuan-Yin Xorn, his
brother. Marvel editor-in-chief Joe Quesada later
elaborated on this, stating that "Kuan-Yin Xorn came under
the influence of as-yet-to-be-revealed entity that forced
him to assume the identity of Magneto." This retcon
remains the official explanation of the Xorn character and
its relationship to Magneto.
House of M
Magneto in House of M With the launch of a new Excalibur series, Xavier meets up with the real Magneto who is still alive.
Xavier brings with him the coffin supposedly containing
the corpse of Xorn (but which is later shown to be filled
with guns), and explains how the impostor has killed over
5,000 people including Jean Grey. Magneto is shocked and
angry that people think he is capable of committing such
an act. Xavier and Magneto put aside their differences to
rebuild the island nation, rekindling their friendship in
the process.
Magneto's daughter Wanda suffers a mental breakdown over
the loss of her children and starts to warp reality in
order to recreate them, inadvertently resulting in random
attacks on the Avengers, until Doctor Strange puts her
into a coma to stop her. In Genosha, Magneto hears Wanda's
psychic cry for help and, creating a wormhole, whisks her
away before the Avengers can do anything.
Back in Genosha, Magneto tends to Wanda, becoming more
withdrawn and angry, allowing only Xavier to visit, in the
belief that Xavier can help Wanda. Xavier is angry to
learn that Magneto revealed he was alive, in rescuing
Wanda, but agrees to try and help. Months pass with no
avail, and not even Dr. Strange's magic helps. The X-Men
and the Avengers meet to decide what should be done, and
when some of the members suggest killing Wanda,
Quicksilver rushes to Magneto to inform him of this
development.
Magneto admits that he doesn't know what to do anymore and
that the groups may be right, but Quicksilver convinces
Wanda that she can undo her wrongs, prompting her to warp
reality into the House of M. In the new reality, Magneto
is attacked by Sentinels over Manhattan in 1979, and
reveals an alleged international anti-mutant conspiracy
involving Richard Nixon. This results in Magneto being
granted sovereignty over Genosha as leader of the world's
mutants.
A group of heroes- brought together by Wolverine, the only
hero left unaffected by the shift- have their memories of
the "real world" restored by Layla Miller, and they band
together and attack Magneto in Genosha, believing him to
be the one responsible. During the battle Layla is able to
restore Magneto's memories as well, and he confronts his
son, enraged that Quicksilver had done all of this in his
name. Quicksilver reveals that Magneto would have let
Wanda die, but Magneto replies that Quicksilver was only
using Wanda and himself, and he would never have allowed
this to happen. Furious, Magneto kills Quicksilver by
pummeling him with large pieces of steel and then crushing
him with a Sentinel.
Sensing her brother's death, Wanda incapacitates Magneto
and removes his mouth when he tries to talk to her. She
revives Quicksilver, telling Magneto that Quicksilver had
only wanted him to be happy, but even when she gave
Magneto what he wanted he was still a horrible man, and
mutants were freaks. With the phrase "Daddy - No more
mutants," Wanda changes the world back to its original
form and causes ninety-eight percent of the mutant
population to lose their powers. Magneto is one of the
many mutants to lose their powers, and is left a broken
man; although Wolverine contemplates killing him, he
concludes that their old foe deserves every second of his
crap 'sapien' life.
When Quicksilver comes to Genosha to restore the mutants'
powers with the Inhumans' Terrigen Mists, Magneto condemns
his actions, pointing out the disastrous effects the Mists
have on non-Inhumans. An angry Quicksilver attacks Magneto
with his new powers from the Mists, savagely beating him
until his own daughter Luna begs him to stop. When the
Inhumans come looking for their Mists, Magneto tells them
what has happened.
The Collective
The Collective, a being comprised of energy from all the
former mutants' powers, merges with an energy absorbing
mutant named Michael Pointer. The Collective kills all of
the most recent incarnation of Alpha Flight save for
Sasquatch, and battles the New Avengers before landing in
Genosha. There it re-powers Magneto and reveals itself as
Xorn. Xorn explains that he took the image of Magneto
because he knew mutants would follow him, and that they
needed the real Magneto again. Magneto, not in control of
himself, begins attacking the New Avengers and
S.H.I.E.L.D. agents while he pleads for them to kill him.
He is taken down with a direct brain attack from mutant
S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Daisy Johnson. Iron Man, Ms. Marvel,
and the Sentry combine their powers and send the
Collective/Xorn into the Sun. Michael is separated from
the Collective and an unconscious Magneto is loaded into a
S.H.I.E.L.D. helicopter. The helicopter, however, explodes
upon take-off through unknown means; his body was not
found among the rubble.New Avengers #20. However, as of
the end of Civil War, it's been revealed that Pointer, who
was shown to retain some powers immediately after the
separation, is coerced into joining the newly formed Omega
Flight, using a suit designed to harness his powers as the
new Guardian.
Afterwards, Magneto is being looked for by the U.S.
Government, the Morlocks, and the X-Men. Professor Xavier
has mentioned that he has been unable to locate Magneto
with Cerebra, in spite of the increase in power to his
recently restored telepathy, suggesting either that his
repowerment by the Collective was temporary or that he may
somehow be masking his presence to avoid detection. At
this moment, both Professor Xavier and Nightcrawler are
looking for Magneto, as are agents of the O*N*E*
organization. Xavier and Nightcrawler have found traces of
Magneto paying his respects at a local graveyard, standing
in front of a tombstone belonging to one of his very first
henchmen. Also, the Morlocks are after Magneto for reasons
of their own, and use him to justify their terrorist acts.
In Uncanny X-Men #491, Magneto is seen talking to a
crippled, depowered Morlock, claiming he has lost what
once made him superior, implying that the restoration of
his powers by the Collective was indeed temporary.
However, at the end of the issue when Skids found him at a
local cemetery sometime later, and gave him a mysterious
book that Masque had in his possession that claimed to
chronicle the future of mutantkind, she stated that the
book said Magneto was still a mutant, thereby possibly
refuting his previous claim of being depowered again.
Whether or not this is true remains to be seen.
Powers and abilities
Magneto is an Omega-level mutant capable of generating
magnetic fields, enabling him to control ferrous metals
(iron, steel, etc.). Magneto can use his magnetic fields
to move and otherwise alter objects composed of ferrous
metals, sometimes weighing many thousands of tons. He can
project ferrous metals at high velocity, liquefy and
reshape them, manipulate iron in the human bloodstream,
affect diamagnetic substances to a limited extent, and
achieve a wide range of other effects. He often generates
a magnetic force field to protect himself, and can expand
this field to protect other people and objects around him.
His force field has withstood the vacuum of deep space and
assaults from multiple X-Men and Avengers. Magneto is
capable of personal levitation and sustained flight at
high speeds. Magneto is also able to perceive the world
around him as patterns of electromagnetic energy, and can
perceive the electrical auras surrounding living beings.
Unlike most mutants, whose powers first appear upon the
onset of puberty, Magnetos didn't fully develop until his
20's due to a bout of Hepatitis.
Though Magneto's primary power is magnetism, he has also
demonstrated the ability to produce electricity, as well
as electromagnetic radiation. Although he occasionally is
depicted as being able to use his powers at a molecular,
atomic, and even subatomic level, Magneto very rarely does
so. It may be the case that using his powers in this way
requires extreme concentration and is therefore nearly
impossible in combat situations. His ability to wield his
powers effectively is dependent upon his physical
condition; when severely injured, his body is unable to
withstand the strain of generating strong magnetic fields.
Magneto has been consistently and frequently depicted as
possessing the ability to resist all but the strongest or
most unexpected telepathic attacks. He has been able to
fend off psychic intrusion and attack from the likes of
Psylocke, Karma, Jean Grey, and Professor X through sheer
force of will. Writers have not been entirely consistent
in their depiction of Magneto's resistance to mind
control; most have treated it as strictly defensive; some
have suggested that Magneto has the potential for active
telepathy. In the X-Men film series Magneto's resistance
to mental attack does not stem from his own natural powers
but is technological in nature; his helmet contains some
kind of a psychic shielding component.
Magneto also possess a sharp intellect. He is a genius
with competence in various fields of advanced science,
especially in genetic manipulation and engineering. He has
been able to mutate humans in order to give them
superhuman powers, and to create adult clones of human
beings. He has designed magnetically-powered skycraft and
spacecraft, complex robots and computers, and
magnetically-powered generators. He has also designed
artificial living beings, space stations, and machines
that can nullify mutant powers.
White Pilgrim
* Occupation: (current) Revolutionary and conqueror,
(former) Volunteer orderly, secret agent, adventurer,
teacher of the New Mutants
* Marital status: Widower
* Known relatives: Magda (wife, presumed deceased), Anya
(daughter, deceased), Wanda Maximoff (the Scarlet Witch,
daughter), Pietro Maximoff (Quicksilver, son), Crystal
(daughter-in-law), Luna (granddaughter)
* Height: 6 ft. 2 in.
* Weight: 190 lbs.
* Eyes: Blue-gray
* Hair: White
biography
Early life
The story of Magneto begins during the 1940s, as a young
boy, his parents, and his sister are persecuted for being
Jewish.They are shot at by the Nazis and buried in a mass grave; Magneto manages to survive, only to be captured and sent to Auschwitz in Poland to work in the Sonderkommando.
While in Auschwitz, Magneto falls in love with a gypsy
named Magda. Together, they escape the prison camp and
marry. Magda soon gives birth to their daughter, Anya, who
is later killed in a fire, with a mob of people preventing
Magneto from rescuing her. Enraged, Magneto's powers
manifest uncontrollably, killing the mob and the
surrounding townspeople. Terrified, Magda flees Magneto,
discovering months later she is pregnant again. After
giving birth to the mutant twins Quicksilver and the
Scarlet Witch in Wundagore, Magda disappears.
Shortly after Magda's disappearance, Magneto is hunted for
the destruction of the town, while attempting to search
for his former wife, thus forcing him to pay a renowned
forger, Georg Odekirk, to create the cover identity of
"Erik Lehnsherr the Sinte gypsy" for him.X-Men vol. 2 #72
Magneto also worked as a hunter of Nazi war criminals for
a mysterious agency.
At the time using the alias "Magnus",Uncanny X-Men #161,
he would meet his future friend and foe, Professor Charles
Xavier, while working at a psychiatric hospital near
Haifa. There, lengthy debates are held by the two
regarding the consequences humanity faces with the rise of
mutants, though neither reveals to each other that they
both in fact possess mutant powers. However, they are
forced to reveal their inherent abilities to one another,
while facing Baron Von Strucker and HYDRA. Following the
battle, Magneto leaves, realizing that his and Xavier's
views are incompatible, with a cache of hidden Nazi gold.
The gold, which was also sought by Strucker, provides
initial financing for his various enterprises.
Rise of Magneto
Magneto's experience in the Auschwitz concentration camp
shapes his outlook on the situation that mutants face in
the world. Determined to keep such atrocities from ever
being committed against mutant-kind, he is willing to use
deadly force to protect mutants. He believes that mutants
("Homo sapiens superior") will become the dominant life
form on the planet. However, he constantly wavers between
wanting peaceful existence with Homo sapiens and wanting
to enforce his superiority over all humanity.
Magneto's first terrorist act was attacking a United
States military base. He is thwarted by Charles Xavier's
mutant students, the X-Men. After forming the Brotherhood
of Evil Mutants, Magneto briefly conquers the fictional
South American nation of San Marco in the hopes of
establishing a mutant homeland there, but is once again
foiled by the X-Men. He later creates Asteroid M, an
orbital base of operations in an asteroid he and his
followers hollow out, but it is later destroyed in a
battle with the X-Men.
After several unsuccessful attempts at rallying more
mutants to his cause, Magneto tries to force the
allegiance of the Stranger. A powerful alien being, the
Stranger encases Magneto in a special cocoon and spirits
him away to another planet where he remains for a long
time. Magneto's Brotherhood splinters, and Quicksilver and
Scarlet Witch desert him. Magneto eventually escapes and
makes his way back to Earth where he attempts to reenlist
them to his cause, but his plans are foiled by his former
minion Toad, who has grown tired of Magneto's cruel
treatment.
Using ancient and advanced alien technology he finds near
the core of the earth, Magneto creates an artificial
humanoid he names "Alpha the Ultimate Mutant." Alpha
rebels against his creator and reduces Magneto to infancy.
Magneto is then placed in the care of Xavier's former love
interest, Professor Moira MacTaggert at Muir Island. At
Muir Island, MacTaggert tinkers with the infant Magneto's
genetic code in an attempt to prevent him from becoming
"evil" in adulthood. However, her genetic tampering loses
its effect when Magneto activates his powers again.
Magneto is eventually restored to adulthood when he is
found at Muir Island by the alien Shi'ar agent Erik the
Red.
Redemption
Magneto later discovers that former Brotherhood members
the Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver are actually his
children, simultaneously learning about their recent
marriages to the Vision and Crystal. He also discovers his
granddaughter, Quicksilver's human child Luna Maximoff.
Seeing Luna as a bond to the human race he has rejected,
Magneto tries to reach out to his children. Angered by his
rejection of them and their mother, they push him away and
refuse to forgive him.
Magneto finds himself allied with Professor Xavier and the
X-Men when a group of heroes and villains are abducted by
the Beyonder, a nearly omnipotent yet frustratingly
short-sighted being. This entity takes them to an alien
world to participate in the 1984 series Secret Wars. The
characters are sorted according to their desires, and so
Magneto was placed with the heroes as his desires were
based on a wish to help mutants rather than the more
selfish drives of the others. This surprises many of the
other heroes, who still believe he is a villain, although
they mostly come to accept him as an ally. Captain America
even speaks in his defense on some occasions, and the Wasp
develops a certain affection for him, although it is
tempered by her knowledge of his past.
After the Secret Wars are over, Magneto is transported
back to his base, Asteroid M, where the alien Warlock,
traveling to Earth, collides into the asteroid, breaking
it to pieces. Magneto is sent falling towards Earth and
into the Atlantic Ocean, sustaining serious injuries. He
is rescued by Lee Forrester, the captain of a fishing
trawler. Lee helps him recuperate from his injuries and
the two share a small romance.
After recuperating from his injuries, Magneto is asked to
aid the X-Men in battling the returned Beyonder, and
Magneto stays with the X-Men even after the Beyonder is
defeated. His association with the team softens his views
on humanity and Magneto surrenders himself to the law to
stand trial for his crimes. A special tribunal is
organized. They choose to strike all charges against
Magneto from prior to his "rebirth," deeming that this had
constituted a figurative death of the old Magneto.
However, the tribunal is interrupted by an attack from
Fenris, the twin children of Baron Wolfgang von Strucker.
Fenris is defeated but Professor X is brought to
near-death due to the strain of the battle and previously
sustained injuries. Xavier asks Magneto to take over his
school and the X-Men, and tells him that doing so would
make amends enough for his past crimes. Magneto agrees and
chooses not to return to the courtroom. Instead he takes
over Xavier's school under the assumed identity of Michael
Xavier, Charles Xavier's cousin. Seeing him try to reform,
the Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver begin accepting him as
their father.
Though Magneto makes a substantial effort as the
headmaster to the New Mutants and an ally to the X-Men,
his tenure is disastrous. The Beyonder plagues him yet
again, slaying Xaiver's current students, the New Mutants
and bringing them back to life soon later. This deeply
traumatizes the entire group. He is manipulated by the
White Queen, mutant headmaster of the rival school "The
Massachusetts Academy" into battling sanctioned heroes the
Avengers and the Supreme Soviets. Magneto submits to a
trial once again, but uses mind-control circuitry he
salvages from the wreckage of Asteroid M to alter the
opinions of the head justice in charge of the trial. As a
result, he is finally absolved of his past crimes. Magneto
does not make that decision lightly and wrestles with it
afterwards. Feeling that desperate measures needed to be
taken after the genocidal massacre in the Morlock tunnels,
Magneto and Storm join the Hellfire Club jointly as the
White King. He is unable to prevent his students Roberto
da Costa and the alien Technarch Warlock from running away
from the school, sees the death of the young mutant
student Douglas Ramsey after the students sneak away yet
again to save a friend, and witnesses the apparent death
of all of the senior X-Men on national television. Magneto
ousts longtime co-chair Sebastian Shaw in order to
establish himself as the head of the Hellfire Club, a move
which alienates the New Mutants permanently, especially
since they had seen the Club work with the demons of the
Inferno incident. The New Mutants do not return to
Magneto's tutelage.
Seeing conditions for mutants grow progressively more
perilous, Magneto begins seeking allies to protect mutants
from humanity. He participates in the "Acts of Vengeance"
alongside such established villains as Doctor Doom, the
Wizard, and the Mandarin. He also confronts Red Skull, an
unrepentant Nazi war criminal, on whom Magneto takes
revenge by entombing him alive. He also attacks (and is
defeated by) a cosmically powered Spider-Man. He works
alongside Rogue, Ka-zar and the American intelligence
agent Nick Fury as well as a number of Russian operatives
in order to re-establish peace in the Savage Land. This
ultimately led to an altercation with Zaladane, who had
appropriated the magnetic powers of his then-unknown
daughter, Polaris. The conflict ended with Magneto
executing Zaladane himself. Tired of the constant state of
strife, Magneto builds a second orbital base where he
hopes to live a life of quiet seclusion. He is, by this
point, a figurehead for the cause of mutanthood and is
sought out by a group of new mutants calling themselves
the Acolytes.
Avalon and Genosha
After this, Magneto sets his sights significantly lower
than world conquest; he seeks only a haven for
mutant-kind. He first attempts to make the orbital base
known as Asteroid M such a haven but is opposed by the
governments of the world and the X-Men.
Magneto later discovers how Moira had tampered with his
mind when he had been de-aged. Enraged by this, he feels
that his redemption has been a lie. Though it was later
revealed that the genetic tampering had lost its effect
when he had first used his powers after being re-aged, and
thus his actions had never been influenced by Moira's
tampering, the damage was done. The United Nations
Security Council, in response to a resurgent Magneto,
votes to activate the "Magneto Protocols" - a satellite
network, in slightly lower orbit than Avalon, which skews
the Earth's magnetic field enough to prevent Magneto from
using his powers within, preventing him from returning to
the planet's surface. In response, Magneto generates an
electromagnetic pulse not only destroying the satellites,
but deactivating every electric device on Earth within
minutes. The X-Men respond by hacking into Avalon's own
computer systems to teleport a small team to the station
with the aid of Colossus (who had joined Magneto as one of
Magneto's Acolytes). Magneto, during the battle with the
X-Men, rips the adamantium from Wolverine's bones, which
enrages Xavier to the point that he blanks his former
friend's mind, leaving him in a coma; This action later
leads to the creation of Onslaught. Magneto remains
comatose on Avalon worshipped by his Acolytes, under the
leadership of Exodus, until Avalon itself is destroyed.
During the destruction, Colossus places Magneto in an
escape pod sending him back to Earth. This pod is
intercepted by Astra, a former ally who now desires his
death.
Astra clones Magneto and when the clone is ready, she
restores Magneto's mind since she feels there is no point
in killing him unless he knows it is her doing. After a
pitched battle, Magneto triumphs over the clone sending
him crashing into a South American barn. However, too weak
to continue the battle, the real Magneto goes into hiding
while the now-amnesiac clone becomes known as Joseph
(christened as such by the nun who discovered him) and
eventually joins the X-Men. Since the world believes
Joseph to be the real Magneto, Magneto takes his time to
plan. He engages in a pair of brief diversions, first
posing as "Erik the Red" and revealing Gambit's past
crimes to the X-Men, resulting in Gambit's expulsion from
the group. Then he kills Odekirk to prevent his true
identity from being discovered by Sabra and Gabrielle
Haller.
Following this, Magneto constructs a machine to amplify
his powers and blackmail the world into creating a mutant
nation. The X-Men and Joseph, who has fallen under Astra's
control again, oppose him. The X-Men defeat Magneto,
leaving his powers severely depleted from over-strain,
while Joseph sacrifices his life to restore the Earth to
normal. The United Nations, manipulated by its mutant
affairs officer Alda Huxley, cedes to Magneto the island
nation of Genosha, which has no recognized government.
Magneto rules that nation for some time with the aid of
many who had previously opposed him, including
Quicksilver, Polaris, and the founder of the Acolytes,
Fabian Cortez.
Despite the UN's hopes that Genosha's civil war between
humans and mutants would destroy or at least occupy him,
Magneto crushes all opposition to his rule and rebuilds
the nation by forming an army of mutants dedicated to his
cause, including mutants coming from all over the world
seeking sanctuary. Eventually, Magneto is able to use the
Genegineer's equipment to fully restore his power.
Intending to declare war on humanity, he captures
Professor X to use as a symbol with which to rally his
troops. In the Eve of Destruction storyline, Jean Grey
recruits a new lineup of X-Men to help Cyclops and
Wolverine rescue Xavier and defeat Magneto. Taking the
opportunity for revenge, Wolverine attacks the defeated
Magneto, leaving him with serious injuries and crippling
him for a time.
Xorn
Soon after this, Genosha is decimated by Sentinels under
the orders of Cassandra Nova Xavier, Charles Xavier's
previously unknown dead twin sister, whom Xavier had
killed in the womb. Magneto and 16 million mutants who
were gathered at Genosha are reported deceased. Months
after the event, a team of X-Men searching in the debris
find what was apparently a recording of Magneto's last
words. Mutant-supremacist ideas, attributed to him, become
wide-spread in the mutant community with some holding him
as a martyr of the mutant cause. Magneto has become a Che
Guevara-like revolutionary figure in the mutant community.
T-shirts and posters with Magneto's face and the phrase
"Magneto Was Right" become popular items, even amongst
certain students in the Xavier Institute.
Meanwhile, the mutant known as Xorn joins the X-Men after
being rescued from captivity in China. Xorn is said to be
a Chinese mutant with a "star for a brain" and wears a
face-concealing metal helmet with a skull-like motif. He
also possesses nebulous healing powers, although the only
times he was shown to use this ability are when he
deactivates a number of microscopic Sentinels and
simultaneously restores Professor Xavier's ability to
walk, and "heals" a supposedly dead bird.
In the Planet X storyline, he eventually removes the
helmet, revealing Magneto's face beneath. It is alleged
that Xorn never existed and is simply an identity
conceived wholly by Magneto. Having "exposed his
deception", he then schemes to destroy the X-Men and
reverse the polarity of the Earth's magnetic field,
increasing his power with the use of a mutant drug called
"Kick". He recruits the Special Class and Esme from the
Xavier School to serve as his Brotherhood of Mutants,
though most eventually turn against him. Before being
decapitated by Wolverine, "Magneto" devastates much of New
York City and kills Jean Grey using a lethal
electromagnetic pulse, causing her to have a massive
stroke.
Some time later, the X-Men find another Xorn, who
identifies himself as Shen Xorn and claims that the
"Magneto" who devastated New York was Kuan-Yin Xorn, his
brother. Marvel editor-in-chief Joe Quesada later
elaborated on this, stating that "Kuan-Yin Xorn came under
the influence of as-yet-to-be-revealed entity that forced
him to assume the identity of Magneto." This retcon
remains the official explanation of the Xorn character and
its relationship to Magneto.
House of M
Magneto in House of M With the launch of a new Excalibur series, Xavier meets up with the real Magneto who is still alive.
Xavier brings with him the coffin supposedly containing
the corpse of Xorn (but which is later shown to be filled
with guns), and explains how the impostor has killed over
5,000 people including Jean Grey. Magneto is shocked and
angry that people think he is capable of committing such
an act. Xavier and Magneto put aside their differences to
rebuild the island nation, rekindling their friendship in
the process.
Magneto's daughter Wanda suffers a mental breakdown over
the loss of her children and starts to warp reality in
order to recreate them, inadvertently resulting in random
attacks on the Avengers, until Doctor Strange puts her
into a coma to stop her. In Genosha, Magneto hears Wanda's
psychic cry for help and, creating a wormhole, whisks her
away before the Avengers can do anything.
Back in Genosha, Magneto tends to Wanda, becoming more
withdrawn and angry, allowing only Xavier to visit, in the
belief that Xavier can help Wanda. Xavier is angry to
learn that Magneto revealed he was alive, in rescuing
Wanda, but agrees to try and help. Months pass with no
avail, and not even Dr. Strange's magic helps. The X-Men
and the Avengers meet to decide what should be done, and
when some of the members suggest killing Wanda,
Quicksilver rushes to Magneto to inform him of this
development.
Magneto admits that he doesn't know what to do anymore and
that the groups may be right, but Quicksilver convinces
Wanda that she can undo her wrongs, prompting her to warp
reality into the House of M. In the new reality, Magneto
is attacked by Sentinels over Manhattan in 1979, and
reveals an alleged international anti-mutant conspiracy
involving Richard Nixon. This results in Magneto being
granted sovereignty over Genosha as leader of the world's
mutants.
A group of heroes- brought together by Wolverine, the only
hero left unaffected by the shift- have their memories of
the "real world" restored by Layla Miller, and they band
together and attack Magneto in Genosha, believing him to
be the one responsible. During the battle Layla is able to
restore Magneto's memories as well, and he confronts his
son, enraged that Quicksilver had done all of this in his
name. Quicksilver reveals that Magneto would have let
Wanda die, but Magneto replies that Quicksilver was only
using Wanda and himself, and he would never have allowed
this to happen. Furious, Magneto kills Quicksilver by
pummeling him with large pieces of steel and then crushing
him with a Sentinel.
Sensing her brother's death, Wanda incapacitates Magneto
and removes his mouth when he tries to talk to her. She
revives Quicksilver, telling Magneto that Quicksilver had
only wanted him to be happy, but even when she gave
Magneto what he wanted he was still a horrible man, and
mutants were freaks. With the phrase "Daddy - No more
mutants," Wanda changes the world back to its original
form and causes ninety-eight percent of the mutant
population to lose their powers. Magneto is one of the
many mutants to lose their powers, and is left a broken
man; although Wolverine contemplates killing him, he
concludes that their old foe deserves every second of his
crap 'sapien' life.
When Quicksilver comes to Genosha to restore the mutants'
powers with the Inhumans' Terrigen Mists, Magneto condemns
his actions, pointing out the disastrous effects the Mists
have on non-Inhumans. An angry Quicksilver attacks Magneto
with his new powers from the Mists, savagely beating him
until his own daughter Luna begs him to stop. When the
Inhumans come looking for their Mists, Magneto tells them
what has happened.
The Collective
The Collective, a being comprised of energy from all the
former mutants' powers, merges with an energy absorbing
mutant named Michael Pointer. The Collective kills all of
the most recent incarnation of Alpha Flight save for
Sasquatch, and battles the New Avengers before landing in
Genosha. There it re-powers Magneto and reveals itself as
Xorn. Xorn explains that he took the image of Magneto
because he knew mutants would follow him, and that they
needed the real Magneto again. Magneto, not in control of
himself, begins attacking the New Avengers and
S.H.I.E.L.D. agents while he pleads for them to kill him.
He is taken down with a direct brain attack from mutant
S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Daisy Johnson. Iron Man, Ms. Marvel,
and the Sentry combine their powers and send the
Collective/Xorn into the Sun. Michael is separated from
the Collective and an unconscious Magneto is loaded into a
S.H.I.E.L.D. helicopter. The helicopter, however, explodes
upon take-off through unknown means; his body was not
found among the rubble.New Avengers #20. However, as of
the end of Civil War, it's been revealed that Pointer, who
was shown to retain some powers immediately after the
separation, is coerced into joining the newly formed Omega
Flight, using a suit designed to harness his powers as the
new Guardian.
Afterwards, Magneto is being looked for by the U.S.
Government, the Morlocks, and the X-Men. Professor Xavier
has mentioned that he has been unable to locate Magneto
with Cerebra, in spite of the increase in power to his
recently restored telepathy, suggesting either that his
repowerment by the Collective was temporary or that he may
somehow be masking his presence to avoid detection. At
this moment, both Professor Xavier and Nightcrawler are
looking for Magneto, as are agents of the O*N*E*
organization. Xavier and Nightcrawler have found traces of
Magneto paying his respects at a local graveyard, standing
in front of a tombstone belonging to one of his very first
henchmen. Also, the Morlocks are after Magneto for reasons
of their own, and use him to justify their terrorist acts.
In Uncanny X-Men #491, Magneto is seen talking to a
crippled, depowered Morlock, claiming he has lost what
once made him superior, implying that the restoration of
his powers by the Collective was indeed temporary.
However, at the end of the issue when Skids found him at a
local cemetery sometime later, and gave him a mysterious
book that Masque had in his possession that claimed to
chronicle the future of mutantkind, she stated that the
book said Magneto was still a mutant, thereby possibly
refuting his previous claim of being depowered again.
Whether or not this is true remains to be seen.
Powers and abilities
Magneto is an Omega-level mutant capable of generating
magnetic fields, enabling him to control ferrous metals
(iron, steel, etc.). Magneto can use his magnetic fields
to move and otherwise alter objects composed of ferrous
metals, sometimes weighing many thousands of tons. He can
project ferrous metals at high velocity, liquefy and
reshape them, manipulate iron in the human bloodstream,
affect diamagnetic substances to a limited extent, and
achieve a wide range of other effects. He often generates
a magnetic force field to protect himself, and can expand
this field to protect other people and objects around him.
His force field has withstood the vacuum of deep space and
assaults from multiple X-Men and Avengers. Magneto is
capable of personal levitation and sustained flight at
high speeds. Magneto is also able to perceive the world
around him as patterns of electromagnetic energy, and can
perceive the electrical auras surrounding living beings.
Unlike most mutants, whose powers first appear upon the
onset of puberty, Magnetos didn't fully develop until his
20's due to a bout of Hepatitis.
Though Magneto's primary power is magnetism, he has also
demonstrated the ability to produce electricity, as well
as electromagnetic radiation. Although he occasionally is
depicted as being able to use his powers at a molecular,
atomic, and even subatomic level, Magneto very rarely does
so. It may be the case that using his powers in this way
requires extreme concentration and is therefore nearly
impossible in combat situations. His ability to wield his
powers effectively is dependent upon his physical
condition; when severely injured, his body is unable to
withstand the strain of generating strong magnetic fields.
Magneto has been consistently and frequently depicted as
possessing the ability to resist all but the strongest or
most unexpected telepathic attacks. He has been able to
fend off psychic intrusion and attack from the likes of
Psylocke, Karma, Jean Grey, and Professor X through sheer
force of will. Writers have not been entirely consistent
in their depiction of Magneto's resistance to mind
control; most have treated it as strictly defensive; some
have suggested that Magneto has the potential for active
telepathy. In the X-Men film series Magneto's resistance
to mental attack does not stem from his own natural powers
but is technological in nature; his helmet contains some
kind of a psychic shielding component.
Magneto also possess a sharp intellect. He is a genius
with competence in various fields of advanced science,
especially in genetic manipulation and engineering. He has
been able to mutate humans in order to give them
superhuman powers, and to create adult clones of human
beings. He has designed magnetically-powered skycraft and
spacecraft, complex robots and computers, and
magnetically-powered generators. He has also designed
artificial living beings, space stations, and machines
that can nullify mutant powers.
