10 Things You Didn't Know About Magneto
Erik Lensherr a.k.a "Magneto" a.k.a "The Master of Magnetism" is an extremely well-known character from the Marvel Comics X-Men franchise. Best known for being the main antagonist of the X-Men, he's perhaps one of the most well known and recognized comic book characters ever. Younger film fans will know him from the X-Men film franchise started by 20th Century Fox back in the year 2000, in which he was played by British actor, Sir Ian McKellen, later replaced by Michael Fassbender. The character has been around for over 50 years and has done some pretty cool and pretty awful things, as well as received an extremely in-depth backstory. Due to his longevity, there have been elements we have forgotten or ones we outright just didn't know. So today, we are bringing you 10 things you didn't know about the villainous Magneto, hope you enjoy.
10. Horrific Imagery
Starting off light, Magneto is responsible for, what a lot of fans call one of the most graphic comic book illustrations of all time. Back in the 90's, Marvel released the "Fatal Attractions" event, which saw the X-Men attack a new base Magneto had made on an asteroid because he attacked the Earth with a large electromagnetic pulse, causing the deaths of thousands of innocent lives. A large fight ensues, during which Professor X and Jean Grey attack him telepathically with horrific memories from his past.
During this and whilst also battling the physical attacks, he tries to kill Quicksilver, but before he is able to, he is wounded by Wolverine. Overcome with anger, Magneto attacks Wolverine in the most horrific way. He manipulates the adamantium on his skeleton, ripping it from his body and almost tearing him apart. This had a massive impact on the character of Wolverine, and Professor X had to wipe Magneto's mind, leaving him in a vegetative state.
9. He Has Literally Always Been There
Magneto is not only the X-men's most persistent villain, but also their first. He appears as the main villain in the very first X-Men comic. At the time, he was considered the greatest threat Earth had ever faced, taking all of the X-Men's combined power to finally take him down. Throughout the years, he has received a much more fleshed out character arc and come such a long way from the stereotypical crazy megalomaniac villain of older comics, to becoming a more well rounded villain and sometimes, sympathetic character.
8. Jewish Heritage
Magneto is also well known by the name Erik Lensherr, with it even being the name used in the X-Men film franchise. However, according to his backstory, he was actually born "Max Eisenhardt" sometime in the late 1920's to a German Jewish family. We would later learn that he was brought up in Germany during the time of WWII and Hitler's reign, causing his family to escape to Poland to avoid persecution. They are unfortunately captured during the German invasion of Poland, but manage to escape only to be betrayed and captured again. During this capture, his mother, father, and sister are executed and thrown into a mass grave leaving Max as the only survivor, presumably due to his powers. Max is captured again and sent to Auschwitz.
This backstory allowed fans to feel an understanding for the character and helped explain his general distaste for non-mutants, along with some of his motivations for fighting in the first place. He has seen first-hand what happens when a certain type of people are deemed inferior and has no desire to live through it again.
7. Created A Safe Haven For Mutants
Magneto had a very tough upbringing and witnessed the extreme horrors humans could be capable of committing. So it's no surprise that he fights for his mutant brothers who are constantly treated differently, and faces persecution and fear by governments who don't know what to do with them.
At one point, he takes over an island called Genosha and creates his own government, reversing anti-mutant laws and policies to create a safe place. Sadly, this doesn't last long, as Magneto gives in to his classic supervillain temptations and tries to take over the whole planet - again! This leads to the island being destroyed and a lot of the mutant population being killed, which only serves to add to his anger and thirst for making the world a safer place for mutant kind.
6. Has Kids, Sort Of
Most casual fans of the character may not know about the famous children Magneto fathered throughout his comic book history. The two characters most well known for being his children are Wanda and Pietro Maximoff, better known as the Scarlett Witch and Quicksilver. It has been denied on occasion as well, but the general consensus is, he is their father. Depending on whose interpretation of the character you are reading, though, he has also been named as the father to a few other super mutants, namely Polaris, Plague, Zaladane, Magnus, and Charles and Anya Eisenhardt.
Scarlett Witch, unless you have been living under a rock for the last few years, has seen a complete revival of late thanks to her roles in the Avengers films released by Marvel Studios. She even got her own very successful tv show. Despite her ever-growing presence in the MCU, there has yet to be any mention of mutants, let alone a potential link between her and Magneto. Now that Disney owns Fox, bringing the X-Men characters all under one roof will be easier to make happen.
5. Has Been Show To Have Healing Abilities
You may remember that, for a long time, there was a bit of a high demand for copper bracelets, especially from people who worked very physical jobs causing them pain in their bodies, as they were deemed to help soothe the pain. This has since been scientifically confirmed to not be the case, unfortunately. However, in the comics, Magneto's magnetic powers have worked in a similar way.
He was shown to be able to heal himself on multiple occasions, but once actually used this specific power to heal his broken spine. If only the bracelets worked as well.
4. His Nemesis Could Have Been His Brother
Magneto and Charles Xavier's (Professor X) relationship has evolved exponentially throughout the X-Men comics and films. They are both polar opposites of each other, and this is usually the reason for their conflict. Magneto believes mutants are the next step in evolution and should rule over humans, whilst Xavier believes they should use their powers to work alongside and help the human race. Despite their differences, they become "friends," respecting each other, and even fight on the same side on a number of occasions.
Back when Stan Lee first created the characters, he initially wanted them to be brothers, which you could easily believe based on how they have interacted with each other over the years. They have something of a special relationship. The unique bond that they have was captured no better than throughout the first few X-Men films in which real life best friends Sir Ian McKellen and Sir Patrick Stewart played the roles of Magneto and Professor X, respectively. Their chemistry in the films is second to none.
3. Can Use The Iron In Your Blood To Kill You
So, who remembers X2: X-Men United? This was the sequel to 2000's X-Men and second in Fox's X-Men film franchise. Certainly a worthy follow-up, some fans even consider it to be superior to the original. However, we see Magneto do something which seems completely unbelievable and downright scary when you actually think about it.
Still imprisoned following the events of the first film, Magneto is abused by one of the guards assigned to watch him. The guard is later drugged by Mystique (in disguise of course) and injected with some sort of metal liquid. When he goes back to work and brings food to the prisoner, Magneto is able to literally strip all the metal from the guards body to make three metal balls which he uses to escape, killing the guard in the process. Ouch! Not so much an unknown fact; I just felt that this was a really under-appreciated scene and served to highlight just how deadly Magneto can be.
2. Misunderstood Hero?
Magneto is, and likely always will be, known as a villain. In spite of this, the character has an enormous, dedicated fanbase. Many fans have even provided strong arguments to prove he is actually a good guy, depending on your view. His motivations for his villainous schemes are usually routed in how he feels himself, and mutants in general, are viewed by he rest of the world. Anger causes him to get a little bit out of control, but he has been shown to genuinely believe he is doing the right thing for "his kind" and takes attacks or experiments on mutants very personally, a feeling a lot of people can understand and relate to.
There have been occasions in which Magneto has even saved entire cities and towns full of people whom he would perceive to be the enemies instead of letting them be destroyed, showing he isn't all bad deep down. Along with joining sides with the X-Men against greater foes, he has even gone so far as to secretly take over the running of Xavier's school after the character sustained an injury rendering him unable to do so. If Magneto really wanted to end the X-Men, he had the perfect opportunity.
1. Omega Level
So we've mentioned some of the various powers Magneto has at his disposal, but one thing we haven't mentioned is the actual strength of his powers. After all, you can have a bunch of powers, but still not necessarily be strong. Magneto is one of only 14 mutants to be classed as "Omega-Level".
Thanks to the House of X relaunch in 2019, an Omega-Level mutant is defined as: "A mutant whose dominant power is deemed to register - or reach - an undefinable upper limit of that power's specific claassification". Basically, his power levels are off the charts, especially when he is enraged, confirming he is indeed, the Master of Magnetism.
So there you have it, 10 things you didn't know about Magneto. Did you know any of them? Do you know any other obscure details?
Until next time!