Magneto's Helmet is a special piece of headgear designed to protect the wearer from all manner of telepathic attacks from other mutants and the Cerebro machine.
History
X-Men: First Class
In the early 1960s, the helmet was constructed by Russian scientists and was given to Sebastian Shaw in 1962 as a gift for his allegiance to the Soviet Union. He specifically wore the helmet in order to prevent his brainwaves from being read by the telepath, Charles Xavier, as well as that of his own associate, Emma Frost.
During the final showdown in Cuba, Magneto was able to remove the helmet from Shaw's head, which enabled Xavier to telepathically freeze Shaw. With Shaw now immobilized by Xavier, Magneto broke free from his bonds and crowned himself with Shaw's helmet, preventing Xavier from interfering with his own plan. Magneto then proceeded to kill Shaw with the same Nazi coin Shaw had presented before him as a child, in order to harness his mutant abilities.
After the battle, Magneto decided to keep the helmet for himself, as both a trophy from his victory over Shaw and as a safeguard against Xavier's telepathy. Afterwards, Magneto personalized the helmet to his liking, recoloring the once dull black & silver headpiece to a vibrant metallic red with a regal purple trim. A horned embellishment was also added to the center of the helmet. Though it is unknown if this device served any function other than simple decoration, the ornamental horns would ultimately be incorporated into the design of Magneto's many subsequent helmets.
Original Timeline
In Between X-Men: First Class and X-Men: Days of Future Past
Once in his possession, Magneto began to study the helmet's properties and components, continuously refining the design of the helmet in the process. Based on his contributions to the construction of the X-Mansion's Cerebro, Magneto applied his knowledge of the machine towards further modifications to his helmet; strengthening it against even the most powerful telepathic attacks. By 1963, the helmet took on a much more rugged and weathered appearance, resembling stone rather than metal. The helmet accompanied Magneto to Dallas, where he tried to avert the assassination of John F. Kennedy. When apprehended, the helmet was confiscated and Magneto was subsequently incarcerated in a prison underneath The Pentagon. His helmet was placed in a special vault next to his cell, where it would remain housed behind thick glass, alongside other mutant paraphernalia. During an undisclosed period between 1973 and 1986, Magneto managed to escape prison, though his helmet would be left behind.
X-Men
By the year 2000, Magneto had constructed himself a series of perfected helmets that had been forged out of similar material to that of his original. Each of these were completely impervious to telepathic interference, and least one was kept in each of his hideouts. The strength of these helmets were so vast that even Professor Xavier was befuddled and amazed by extent of their resilience. One particularly streamlined version was constantly kept close to Magneto at his island lair, Genosha. Magneto sported the helmet when he and the rest of The Brotherhood went to retrieve Rogue. As part of Magneto's plan to mutate the U.N. Leaders at a summit on Ellis Island, Mystique was tasked with infiltrating the X-Mansion and managed to sabotage Cerebro, Leaving Prof. X in a catatonic state. With Charles no longer a threat, Magneto temporarily had no use for the helmet and did not bring it with him to oversee his plan atop the Statue of Liberty. The fate of this particular helmet remains unknown, though it may have been confiscated by the authorities once Magneto was apprehended.
X2: X-Men United
After Magneto managed to escape from prison, he met with Mystique and the two fled to one of his nearby hideouts where he picked up a change of clothing and one of his helmets. This helmet, while essentially the same design of the one previously seen, bore some cosmetic changes reminiscent of the final design of his first helmet. Overall, this helmet was much rounder, bulkier, and featured additional superficial designs, most notably a trim around the "mouth". Throughout the course of events that led to the battle at Alkali Lake, Magneto constantly cradled the helmet in one arm, and at one point, commented that it was his last line of defense to John Allderyce, who scoffed at it's ridiculous design. Magneto finally donned the helmet when The Professor, under the control of Jason Stryker, began to telepathically target mutants. With the help of his helmet, Magneto was able to penetrate the "Dark Cerebro" and ultimately foil the senior Stryker's plan to exterminate mutants.
X-Men: The Last Stand
Sometime after the events of Alkali Lake, the helmet worn during the battle at Stryker's base was still being utilized as Magneto's primary helmet. After the revival of Jean Grey, now dubbing herself "The Phoenix", Magneto took to frequently wearing his helmet, not only as a shield against Xavier but also out of fear of the increasingly unstable Phoenix's telepathy. During the battle of Alcatraz, Magneto was hit by a "cure" dart and de-powered. With his beloved powers stripped from him, a grief stricken Magneto discarded his helmet and ran towards the mainland, fleeing from The Phoenix's rampage. As with every other inanimate object surrounding The Phoenix's destructive tempest, Magneto's helmet was presumably vaporized.
Revised Timeline
X-Men: Days of Future Past
After being sprung from prison by Charles, Magneto later returns to the bowels of The Pentagon, armed with metal pellets, and manages to rescue his old helmet from its storage chamber. Magneto then wears the helmet during his assault on the White House but is ultimately left behind when Mystique manages to remove it from his head and he is forced to flee the area.
X-Men: Apocalypse
Magneto will wear a newly re-designed helmet in the upcoming film. At this point, it is unknown if the helmet will be the same one from Days of Future Past or a new model created by either himself or Apocalypse. As promotional photos show, this new helmet will be a meeting ground between the design of the helmet seen in Days of Future Past and the sleek finish of the ones seen in X-Men, X2, and The Last Stand.
Trivia
- The notion of the helmet being able to withstand telepathic attacks was first introduced in the X-Men films. Prior to this, the comics merely portrayed Magneto as either having an incredibly strong mind, capable of deflecting telepathic interference or being able to utilize his powers to create an anti-telepathic magnetic force-field around himself. After the release of the first film, the telepathy shielding aspect of the helmet was introduced into the mainstream comics.
- During production of X-Men, the impetus for the look of Magneto's helmet was due to the fact that Bryan Singer believed that the helmet from the comics was nothing more than a glorified bucket and desired something more visually striking.
- During costume fittings, Ian McKellen was curious about the absence of the classic horns which appear on the helmet. Singer reassured him that the horns were still present but were now stylized as the swooping "V" shape on the helmet.
- The hero prop used during filming was actually two separate pieces that were fastened together by Velcro patches.
- The prequel comic, released as a tie-in for the first film, confirms the idea that Magneto is in possession of more than one helmet. Though the comic is considered non-canon, subsequent films have solidified this theory.
- Like all other redesigned costumes seen in the film, the design of the helmet received mixed reaction. While some believed that it was a good idea for the design to go a simpler and more realistic route, other die-hard comic fans resented the change and felt that the new design wasn't as dignified as the filmmakers had thought.
- Despite the helmet being an integral part of Magneto's character, it is only seen being worn for one scene in the first film. The reason behind this is that Ian McKellen found the helmet rather uncomfortable to wear, claiming it was too tight and hurt his head. For X2, the helmet was slightly redesigned with McKellen's previous gripes in mind. With the redesign, the costume designers found the opportunity to bring the design of the helmet even closer to it's comic counterpart. As such, the purple outline that surrounds the facial opening, or "mouth", is now present on this revision.
- Fans would ultimately receive their desire for a more comic accurate helmet in X-Men: First Class. Michael Fassbender would later on admit that he felt a little embarrassed when having to wear the garish helmet.