For other uses of Magneto, see Magneto (disambiguation)
- "All those years wasted fighting each other, Charles. To have a precious few of them back."
- ―Magneto
Magneto (Erik Lehnsherr) is a mutant, leader and founder of the Brotherhood of Mutants. He Is the Current Field Leader of the X-Men. He has the ability to manipulate magnetic force fields and magnetic flight. Magneto is one of the most infamous mutants, having a stand against humans due to him being apart of the Holocaust and how humans are known to hate and fear mutants. Similarly to Professor Xavier, Magneto has a strong belief and formed a team of his own, the Brotherhood of Mutants, after he was a founding member of the X-Men with Professor X, having being good friends. Unlike Professor X, Magneto's team's belief isn't to equally live with humans, but to rise above them.
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Biography
X-Men Prologue
In 1944, Erik Lehnsherr is forcibly separated from his parents by Nazi soldiers in German-occupied Poland, specifically at the Auschwitz concentration camp. Under this stress, Lehnsherr's powers began to manifest and in his panic, twisting open the metal fence separating him from his parents before being knocked unconscious.
X-Men: First Class
While at Auschwitz, he first encounters a Nazi collaborator named Sebastian Shaw (under the alias Dr. Klaus Schmidt). Shaw murders Erik's mother and tortures him in an attempt to draw out his mutant powers through his anger.
Following the end of World War II in 1945, Erik attempts to find Shaw and exact vengeance, murdering other surviving Nazis connected to Shaw along the way. In 1949, Erik emigrates to America where he saw the Statue of Liberty for the first time, thinking it to be the herald of America as the land of tolerance and peace. Erik becomes disillusioned with this fictitious image of America, and returns to Europe to pursue his goal of hunting down Sebastian Shaw.
In 1962, Erik travels to Switzerland, where he interrogates a Swiss banker as to the whereabouts of Sebastian Shaw. He is directed to Villa Gesell, where he finds two Nazi officers having a drink at the bar. After seeing an old photograph of Shaw with the two officers, Erik kills them and proceeds to travel to Miami to face off against Shaw.
Erik eventually tracks him down to a small boat off the American coast. His attempt at revenge fails when he is defeated by Shaw's Hellfire Club cohorts, being no match for their mutant powers. It was at this point that he meets Charles Xavier, Raven Darkholme and Moira MacTaggert, who were present as part of a botched U.S. Coast Guard attempt to capture Shaw. Together and with CIA support, Xavier and Lehnsherr gather a team of mutant teenagers to battle the Hellfire Club, who are attempting to ignite a nuclear war between the Soviet Union and the United States as part of a plot to eradicate non-mutant life on the planet and rule over a mutant new world order.
Xavier helps the teens master their powers at his mansion, including Erik. During this time, the two become close friends. However, Erik is still filled with hatred for Shaw and fears a mutant holocaust, despite Xavier's attempts to convince him to let go of his hatred. Erik also motivates Raven to become proud of her natural appearance, believing her desire to get rid of it is wrong. During a CIA mission within the Soviet Union, Erik and Xavier capture Emma Frost of the Hellfire Club, and extract information from her pertaining to Shaw's plans.
Ultimately, the team decides to jump into action to prevent the Cuban Missile Crisis from causing World War III. The Hellfire Club attempts to stop the CIA-sanctioned mutant team, but is defeated. During the encounter, Erik confronts Shaw, who attempts to bring him to his side with promises of a new, mutant world order. Although he agrees with Shaw's goals, Erik refuses to forgive him for murdering his mother. Despite Xavier's pleads to be the better man, Erik kills Shaw by magnetically pushing a coin through his brain.
When the United States and the Soviet Union strike up an impromptu alliance to destroy the mutants, Erik magnetically deflects the missiles back towards the fleets. Xavier tackles him and the two engage in a fist fight, which distracts Erik long enough to prevent the missiles from killing those at sea. During a subsequent attempt by Moria MacTaggert to shoot Erik, one of the bullets he deflects strikes Xavier in the lower back, permanently crippling him. Horrified at what had transpired, Erik bids farewell to his close friend, departing with Mystique and the remaining Hellfire Club members with the vow of destroying humankind in order to save mutants. He later frees the White Queen, declares himself "Magneto", and establishes his first Brotherhood of Mutants.
Between X-Men: First Class & X-Men: Days of Future Past
In 1963, Magneto was accused of killing John F. Kennedy and was imprisoned by Trask Industries below the Pentagon's centre court. On Friday, February 4, 1964, a trial was held against Lehnsherr where President Johnson noted in a closed-door meeting with the Warren Commission that their prime suspect - Lehnsherr - was in custody. His private trial began the next week. Recently declassified court records indicate that Lehnsherr could not refute being at Dealey Plaza's grassy knoll but he insisted that he did not assassinate the President. As the court ordered him to prove his mutant abilities, Lehnsherr bent a metal crow bar. It took the court five minutes to settle down.Lehnsherr told the court that he did know who killed the President and that he knows who she is and she is hiding in plain sight.
The court found Lehnsherr guilty of first-degree murder and conspiring to assassinate Kennedy. He was sentenced to two consecutive life sentences in a federal correctional facility with no possibility of parole. Throughout the 60's Lehnsherr had destroyed three holding cells until 1971 when Trask Industries built an escape proof cell that kept him imprisoned.
X-Men: Days of Future Past
In 1973, Magneto remained locked up in the special prison constructed for him by Trask Industries, held deep beneath the Pentagon's central courtyard, accused of the murder of John F. Kennedy. Whilst Magneto was imprisoned, his acolyte Mystique traveled to Paris and murdered Bolivar Trask, the creator of the Sentinels, who was then turned into a martyr for the anti-mutant movement. According to older Magneto, Mystique soon made contact with Erik again, who set her on the dark path.
X-Men: The Last Stand Prologue
By 1986, Magneto was somehow able to secure his release from prison, and he and Xavier arrive at the Greys' home, where they meet a young Jean Grey. The powers of the little girl are beyond imagination and, while Lehnsherr wants to use them, Xavier fears them and decides to create a series of psychic barriers to restrain them. During her sessions with Professor X, Jean developed a dual personality - one being her usual self who can control her power and the other being her powerful and uninhibited side which called itself "the Phoenix" - which fully emerges 20 years later when she loses control of her powers.
X-Men
Years later, Magneto and Mystique are in charge of the Brotherhood of Mutants and, using a high-tech machine, attempt to mutate the world's leaders, unaware that it would cause humans to lose their molecular structure (as seen in Senator Kelly). Magneto is aware however that his use of the machine is potentially lethal to the user, therefore his need for a substitute. Magneto sends Mystique to lure Rogue into capture in order to use her for his machine. Mystique shape-shifts in Iceman and convinces her to leave. Rogue does so, which eventually leads to her capture by the Brotherhood.
When warned of the dangers of the machine by Jean Grey and Storm, Magneto refuses to believe them and proceeds to use the machine. However, it is destroyed by Wolverine and Cyclops before it could affect the humans on Ellis Island. Following this, Magneto is captured by the government and is locked up in a plastic prison.
X2: X-Men United
Many months passed, Magneto is kept in his plastic prison with his own security guard, Mitchell Laurio. Colonel William Stryker, while on a visit, brainwashes Magneto, forcing him to divulge information about Cerebro and the X-Mansion. Xavier pays him a visit with regards to the attack on the President, but Magneto has no answer for him. The two are incapacitated by gas, and Charles is taken by Stryker. Later on, Magneto is able to escape from prison using iron particles extracted from Laurio's bloodstream, which were previously injected by Mystique. He proceeds to kill the other guards before finally escaping. After saving the X-Men from crashing the X-Jet, he and Mystique form a temporary alliance with them in order to stop Stryker from killing all of the world's mutants, with Stryker using his own version of Cerebro at Alkali Lake to accomplish the task. It is here that Magneto encounters Pyro and intrigues the boy with his advice. Wolverine intends to enter the base first, but Erik points out that he cannot activate the spillway mechanism, and instead has Mystique enter the base. In order to use his version of Cerebro, Stryker uses his son Jason to manipulate Xavier (now Stryker's hostage) to kill all of the world's mutants. Magneto and the others infiltrate the underground base after Mystique disables the security. Magneto and Mystique then arrive at the Cerebro chamber, where the former opens the doors and halts Xavier's mental attack. Magneto thus saves the mutant race, but he is not content. He levitates and begins to rearrange the machine. With Cerebro reversed, Magneto has Xavier, through Mastermind, trying to kill all of the humans. He gives a short farewell to Charles and proceeds to seal the chamber once more. Xavier soon begins to attack all of the humans, incapacitating Stryker. Magneto comes across Stryker while the latter is suffering from Xavier's mental attack. Magneto binds Stryker to a rock, where he is presumably killed by the flood from the dam. He then leaves Alkali Lake in a helicopter, shortly after Pyro joins him. The X-Men intervene in time and prevent Magneto's re-programming from being fully carried out.
X-Men: The Last Stand
In 2006, after leaving Alkali Lake, Magneto attempts to expand the Brotherhood of Mutants in order to combat the new mutant "cure" produced by Worthington Labs. He attends a mutant meeting with Pyro, convincing many of the mutants present to join him. One mutant named Callisto is skeptical of him, but Magneto is impressed by her talent, and he asks to her to locate Mystique.
Magneto subsequently intercepts the convoy and makes short work of the armored vehicles. He frees Mystique and learns from her that the source of the cure is a mutant. Magneto frees other imprisoned mutants, including Juggernaut. Mystique then protects Magneto from a dart containing the cure. A dismayed Magneto finds that Mystique has been stripped of her powers, and he sadly leaves her, saying "You're not one of us anymore".
Callisto later informs Magneto of a powerful source of energy originating from a mutant. He immediately deduces it to be Jean Grey, and they set off to find her. At Jean's house, he encounters Professor X, and the two vie for Jean's loyalty. The unstable Phoenix seems to agree with Magneto's claims about Charles wanting to control her, and she lashes out with her powers. Magneto watches helplessly as Charles is lifted out of his chair and vaporized. Magneto slowly approaches Jean and convinces her to come with him. When Xavier dies at the hands of Phoenix, he shows genuine grief over his death, even severely reprimanding Pyro when the latter states that he would have killed Xavier himself had Magneto asked it of him.
In the forest, he muses on Jean's potential. While he levitates a gun for her to demonstrate her powers, she nearly "cures" him when she aims the darts at him. Magneto reprimands her, and Jean demands to know why he wants her. Magneto replies that he wants her to be free, and that they must fight for freedom. Despite this, even Callisto warns him that Jean's powers are completely unstable, although he insists that they are safe from her wrath, as they are not attempting to control her like Charles did.
While making a speech to his brethren of mutants, Wolverine infiltrates his base and attempts to talk to Jean. But before he can speak, he is hurled against a tree by Magneto, and despite Wolverine's warnings about Jean, Magneto replies that he saw what happened to Charles. Magneto also reminds Wolverine that he cannot feasibly hold Jean against her own will. Wolverine demands Jean back, but Magneto sends him flying through the forest, and he is knocked unconscious when he hits a tree.
After learning that the cure is now being utilized as an offensive weapon, he and the Brotherhood decide to attack the Worthington facility on Alcatraz Island, where the cure is being manufactured using DNA from a young mutant known as Leech. Magneto's objective is to kill Leech so that the cure will not be reproduced. Magneto and his army arrive at the Golden Gate Bridge, where he uses his powers to rip the entire bridge free and transport it over to the island. Once there, Magneto dispatches all of his mutants to deal with the humans. The humans are quickly overwhelmed, until the arrival of the X-Men. The X-Men, working with the armed forces stationed on Alcatraz, defend the facility from the Brotherhood. Magneto orders Juggernaut to enter the lab and kill Leech.
Eventually Magneto enters the battle himself. He begins to hurl abandoned vehicles from the Golden Gate Bridge, set alight by Pyro, using them as deadly projectiles. The X-Men are forced to take cover, until Iceman halts one of the flaming vehicles. Magneto then sends Pyro to deal with him. During the battle, Wolverine and Beast work together to stop Magneto. Wolverine charges at Magneto, who pins him to the ground. But Beast approaches from behind and injects Magneto with the "cure", stripping him of his powers. Magneto is demoralized at the loss of his powers and becoming a human. He then warns Jean that this is what humans want for all mutants. He then withdraws from Alcatraz with the other mutants and humans when Phoenix goes on a rampage, unleashing her powers.
Some time after the attack, Magneto, now sad and deprived of his immense powers, is seen sitting in a San Francisco park, in front of a metal chess game, it is implied he used to play chess with Charles, and now he is alone, and sadden by the loss of his friend. He extends his hand toward a metal chess piece and was able to move it a tiny bit, suggesting that the cure may not be permanent and/or may not have rendered him completely powerless. At some point, his powers would later manifest to their full strength once more.
The Wolverine
Magneto confronts Logan at an airport and has fully regained his mutant powers. He restrains Logan and solicits his help against dark forces seeking to destroy mutant-kind. When Logan asks Magneto why he should trust him, Charles Xavier arrives to assure him.
X-Men: Days of Future Past
Magneto fights alongside Charles Xavier and the rest of the mutants in the dystopian future. Erik and Charles have apparently discussed the thought of sending someone further back into the past, in order to alter the timeline. However, Xavier learns from Kitty Pryde that the mind can only be stretched so far before it snaps. Logan however volunteers in his place, as his mind can heal faster. Magneto is more uncertain with this than sending Charles back. When the decision is made to send Logan back in time, Magneto states that Wolverine must find his (Erik's) younger self too, much to Logan's discomfort. Curiously, Magneto does not reveal explicitly where he is being held in the past.
When Wolverine goes back in time with the help of Shadowcat, he helps free a young Erik from a zero-metal facility underneath the Pentagon alongside his possible son, Quicksilver. It is stated that Erik attempted to save John F. Kennedy from the bullet by curving it but he was stopped before he could reroute it because he was "one of them". Wolverine and young Magneto acknowledge that they are future enemies, but despite this Wolverine notes that they are somewhat similar, saying "You're a survivor".
A younger Magneto attempts to kill Mystique due to her actions ultimately creating the apocalyptic future in which the older versions of Magneto and Charles live. He is, however, thwarted in his attempt. During this incident, Wolverine's encounter with William Stryker causes his future body to violently lashes out, injuring Shadowcat, and older Magneto is forced to hold him down with his powers to prevent further injury to her.
Bobby then offers Professor to release Rogue from X-Mansion (which was appropriated by Trask Industries as a research facility thirteen years ago). As Rogue can absorb other mutants' power, she can replace Kitty, who was heavily wounded by Wolverine. Professor says he can't track Rogue using his power and Bobby realises that she is kept in Cerebro room. Professor, Magneto and Iceman come to Mansion; Charles stays in X-Jet and tells Bobby and Erik the way to Cerebro using his mental powers. They find and releases Rogue but on their way back they are attacked by a group of Sentinels. Bobby sacrifices himself letting Magneto and Rogue exit Mansion and get to Professor. X-Jet is being attacked by one Sentinel but Charles manages to drop him away and fly to China. Rogue absorbs Kitty's powers and replace her in holding Wolverine in past.
Much later in the dystopian future, older Magneto moves to defend their hideout from the approaching Sentinels. Hovering into the air, Magneto lifts the X-Jet and propels it towards the Sentinel carriers, using his powers to activate a power core within the jet. Storm then shoots the jet with lightning. The resulting detonation destroys most of the attacking Sentinels, but it sends out debris in all directions. While Magneto is able to halt all of the metal fragments in mid-air, he is punctured by a stray piece of Sentinel. The surviving Sentinels then attack the group, and one by one begin to annihilate the mutants. Magneto uses his last ounce of strength to gather the metal fragments and barricades the monastery entrance with metal. Blink then opens a portal into the building, allowing Magneto to retreat into the sanctuary (In Rogue Cut Magneto is taken by Kitty through the wall). The others are shocked to see him wounded, and Erik apologizes to Charles for all the useless years they spent fighting, Charles forgives him and holds his hand. He is last seen as the Sentinels break into the monastery, and watches as they advance on Charles. But before Charles can be killed, the future is erased from existence.
X-Men: Days of Future Past
With Wolverine being sent back to alter the timeline, a different path unfolded for the master of magnetism. In 1973, while Erik was resting in his prison underneath the Pentagon, he received a visit from Quicksilver, who gave him a subtle warning to "mind the glass". Confused, Erik watched as Quicksilver shattered the glass with his palms, showering him with shards. Quicksilver then sped Erik past the guards and into the elevator, an act which gave Erik slight nausea. While they conversed, Quicksilver mentioned that his mother once knew someone who could control metal. Erik was surprised to learn that Charles had come to free him, but he soon received a punch in the jaw. Erik bore it and did not react. When they were ambushed by guards, Erik nearly used his powers to kill them, but Quicksilver dispatched the guards without any casualties. Once they safely left the Pentagon, the group boarded a plane. Erik also met Wolverine, who informed him that he had been sent by his (Erik's) and Charles' older selves from the future. Erik was surprised, but was more willing to believe the story. During the flight, Erik and Charles argued over how they abandoned each other after the Cuban Missile Crisis. Charles blamed Erik for taking Raven away. However, Erik blamed Charles for the deaths of Azazel, Angel, Emma Frost and Banshee. During this row, Erik's anger nearly brought down the plane. Wolverine remarked that Erik had always been unpleasant, from which Erik deduced that they were enemies in the future. Nevertheless, Wolverine notes that he and Erik are somewhat similar; they are survivors. Erik soon learned of the apocalyptic future that would befall them if Mystique kills Trask. Erik and Charles later sort out their differences over chess.
When they arrived in France, Erik, Charles, Beast and Wolverine infiltrated the building where the conference was being held. They successfully interrupted Mystique's assassination of Trask, and Erik incapacitated a young William Stryker. Despite this, Erik felt that it was only necessary to permanently secure their future by killing Mystique, thwarting the development of the Sentinels. Erik called a gun to his hand and prepared to shoot her. With Charles unable to stop him, Mystique attempted to flee through a window. Hank tackled him, but Erik magnetically fired the gun and guided the bullet into Mystique's leg as she jumped. Both Charles and Hank were physically beaten by Erik, while Wolverine suffered a sudden bout of trauma at the sight of Stryker. Mystique meanwhile was injured before a horrified crowd of onlookers. Erik chased her out of the window, hovering down before the crowd and advanced on Mystique once more, dragging her back to him. Mystique begged for mercy, but her pleas fell on deaf ears. Erik ended up in a fight with Beast before he could kill her, causing cars and fences to react violently in the surge of power from Erik. The two landed in a nearby fountain, where Beast attempted to drown Erik, but Erik ultimately trapped Beast within the fountain's metal ornaments. Mystique got away and so did Erik. The entire scene horrified the public as well as President Nixon, therefore failing to change the future in the process.
While passing through a subway, a disguised Mystique grabbed him and pulled him off to one side with a plastic dagger at his throat. Mystique interrogated Erik about why he tried to kill her. Erik replied that he was attempting to safeguard their future, as he knows of Trask desiring her blood. She didn't believe him at first, but Erik reminds her that he has never lied to her and will never lie to her, and she relents. However, she is bitter to learn that killing one man was never enough for Erik, and blames him for the fact that Trask has obtained her blood. Erik tried to warn her about the future but she refused listen and disappeared again.
Erik later boarded a train that was transporting Sentinels to Washington. Erik used his powers on the tracks to rip them free, and managed to place metal inside the Sentinels, allowing him to control them.
In Washington, he successfully infiltrated the Pentagon and retrieved his helmet. On the day the Sentinels were unveiled, Erik went to the RFK Stadium and used his power to lift the entire stadium into the air. At the same time, Erik took control of the Sentinels and commanded them to attack the crowd, forcing the President and his retinue to take cover. In the ensuing chaos, Erik arrived and placed the stadium around the White house, with the falling rubble injuring Charles. He then placed all but one Sentinel on top of the stadium, all of which served as a barricade. He was encountered Wolverine and Beast, and Erik ordered the one Sentinel to attack them while he located the President. While the remaining Sentinel attacked Beast, Wolverine tried to fight Magneto. But Erik simply flung debris at Wolverine, eventually impaling Logan's body with several pieces of rebar. Erik gave a short taunt before hurling him into the sky. Logan later fell into the Potomac River and subsequently drowned. Then, Erik ripped the President’s shelter out of the White House and broadcast a speech to everyone around the world, stating that the time of mutants had begun. The President came forward and demanded that Erik kills him and spares everyone else. However, Erik replied that the President did not spare the rest of his kind (mutants) and prepared to kill them all. But Erik was distracted when a Sentinel charged towards him, which he tore apart. Little did Erik realize that the President was none other than Mystique, who shot him non-fatally through the neck. Shortly after this, Mystique knocked him unconscious. Mystique prepared to shoot Trask once and for all, but after some persuasion from Charles, she relents. This act erases the apocalyptic future. After Mystique removes Erik's helmet, Erik came to and realized that he could not continue with his plan with Charles standing nearby. Accepting this, Erik departed with a brief farewell to Charles, who let him go as they both knew that the government would execute him for his actions if he was captured.
X-Men: Apocalypse
To Be Added...
X-Men: Days of Future Past
Due to Mystique not shooting Bolivar Trask, the dystopian future ultimately ceases to exist and Magneto is not in Charles' company. It is currently unknown if the pair have reconciled their differences.Personality
Erik has lived a troubled life, having felt mankind's cruelty not only as a mutant but also as a Jew. Erik was forced to watch as his people suffered under the horrors inflicted by the Nazis. He is filled with hatred and anger manly against Sebastian Shaw, who murdered his mother before his very eyes and forced Erik to experience horrendous tortures.
Magneto is absolutely devoted to the cause of protecting mutant-kind, refusing to let mutants suffer a similar holocaust. Erik will protect his species at any cost, no matter how many human lives must be sacrificed. His devotion to the cause and the fact that what he says about mankind is often true, many mutants have joined him over the years. He will even sacrifice his fellow mutants, if it will serve the cause, such as the pawns of the Brotherhood and Mystique, once he found out about the Sentinels.
Erik excels at violence and is a skilled killer. He has killed dozens, possibly hundreds of men over the years. Hunting down Nazis and mutant haters has been a major part of his life. Erik isn't shy of violence, as he put Shaw through the excruciating pain of drilling a coin through his brain and he once ripped the iron particles out of a man's blood. Lehnsherr has even go so far as to rebuild Cerebro so it would kill every human on the planet, by extreme mental torture.
Despite his violent nature, he is still a very sophisticated man. He is highly intelligent and well read on many topics. Erik always displayed a clean and proper demeanor and could be very suave and charming when he was required to be. He was always well dressed and had a love of fine wines and scotch.
Powers, Abilities & Weaknesses
Powers
- Magnetokinesis - He can generate and manipulate all the forms of magnetism. A primary example of his control over magnetic fields includes his ability to fly. Other examples include changing the trajectory of bullets, such as when he guided a bullet to follow Mystique like a homing device.
- Ferrokinesis - He utilizes the control of the magnetism to manipulate ferrous metals and achieve a variety of effects. Smaller feats include lifting cars and being able launch small pieces of metal at the speed of bullets. But his power is clearly demonstrated in some of his more spectacular feats. In X2 and Days of Future Past, he lifts the X-Jet with ease. During the events of X-Men: The Last Stand, Magneto was able to lift the entire Golden Gate Bridge and transport it to another location. In X-Men Days of Future Past he was able to do the same with the RFK Stadium. His control is not only immense in lifting these enormous structures, but also precise in keeping the bridge and stadium intact while airborne. Apart from being able move metal towards him, Magneto can also pull himself towards metal, as seen when he boarded a moving train. Magneto's power is so immense that he can perform several feats at once, despite the amount of concentration required. In the first film, he aims several guns at a crowd of police men and causes one of them to discharge, but halts the bullet short. Another example includes lifting an entire stadium, and himself, over to the White House, while at the same time commandeering the Sentinels to activate and attack the crowd. All of these abilities contribute to Magneto's status as one of the most powerful mutants on Earth.
- Metal Sense - He is able to sense the presence of metals.
- Organic Iron Manipulation - He is able to manipulate the metal within a person's blood. He used this to kill his security guard by brutally extracting metal from his body.
- Magnetic Flight - Magneto can fly by gliding on the Earth's EM field.
- Metallic Bonding - Erik was able to implant metal objects and people in seconds. A perfect example is when he fuse the train rails into the Sentinels allowing him to the ability of control them.
Abilities
- Genius Intellect - As shown he has a high intellect. He excels in the construction of machinery.
- Excellent Strategist - Magneto is an excellent strategist, tactician, and skilled leader.
- Multilingual - As shown in X-Men: First Class, Magneto is fluent in several languages - including English, French, German, and Spanish.
- Indomitable Will - Magneto will strive to complete his tasks, no matter what it takes.
- Hand-to-Hand Combat - Magneto is shown to be fairly skilled in physical fights. He was able to stop a Nazi from stabbing him in First Class, as well as engage in a fist fight with Charles. In Days of Future Past, he was able to physically overpower Beast and Charles when they attempted to stop him from killing Mystique.
Equipment
- Magneto's Helmet - His helmet protects him from psychic attacks. Able to completely negate both the telepathic abilities of Charles Xavier, and also the illusion-casting abilities of Mastermind.
- Costume - His costume is made for battles.
Weaknesses
- Physical Condition - Magneto's ability to wield his superhuman powers effectively is dependent upon his physical condition. When severely injured, his body is unable to withstand the strain of manipulating magnetic energy. When his powers are not at their peak, he also appears to have greater difficulty utilizing his magnetism for great feats. He is also susceptible to physical and mental fatigue that can ultimately affect his ability to adequately use his powers, especially if he overuses or extends them in a short amount of time. This is most apparent in X-Men.
- Arrogance - Magneto has displayed a degree of arrogance that has caused him to underestimate the circumstances and individuals in various situations. In X-Men, when Jean Grey and Storm attempted to warn him about the hazards posed by his conversion machine, he refused to believe them, still holding to the notion that his machine will covert the humans rather than kill them. Another notable example was in X-Men: The Last Stand, when Professor X and Callisto warned him on separate occasions that Phoenix's power was too unstable to control. Again, he disregarded their opinions, believing that he could control her. His extreme arrogance was even greater in his youth. This is evident when Erik attempted to kill Mystique, where he did so in a room where he was surrounded by others who could potentially stop him.
- Non-Metallic Objects - Magneto has no power when there is no metal around for him to bend, this evident in his plastic prison in X2 and in Days of Future Past with his concrete and glass prison under the pentagon.
Relationships
Friends and Family
Enemies
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Trivia
- In the Marvel comics continuity, Magneto's birth name is Max Eisenhardt. At the time first movie was being developed, the Erik Lehnsherr name was being used to give the character a Gypsy heritage, to avoid "demonizing" Jewish Holocaust survivor community. Marvel editors later changed their minds and claimed the character used the name merely as a cover identity. The name has yet to appear in an X-Men film.
- The number tattooed on Magneto's arm from the Nazi concentration camp is 214782. The tattoo was originally seen in Uncanny X-Men #150, written by Chris Claremont and drawn by Dave Cockrum in 1981. After the release of the Bryan Singer films, which put greater emphasis on Magneto's heritage and motivation stemming his experiences at the camps, Claremont decided to retcon the number in 2004. It was changed to 24005, a more historically accurate number that would have been used on the first group of Jews to be tattooed at Auschwitz. 24005 made its debut in Excalibur #2. Interestingly, other new elements from comics introduced after the Singer films, such as Wolverine's fully revealed origin and the character of Azazel, were introduced into the movies almost immediately.
- In the comics, Xavier and Magneto chose different paths after a fight with Wolfgang Von Strucker, in which Xavier prevents Magneto from killing Strucker. In the movie, Strucker is replaced by Sebastian Shaw as Wolfgang Von Strucker's film rights belong to Marvel Studios.
- The scene in X-Men: The Last Stand in which Magneto lifts the Goldengate Bridge and uses it as a vessel for his Brotherhood is taken directly from the comics.
- Magneto was supposed to have a beard in X-Men: The Last Stand but this idea was quickly dismissed. However, on the DVD, there is a deleted scenes where Pyro tells Magneto about the cure announcement. There are two versions of this scene. One is the "bearded" version and one is the shaven version.
- Following the announcement of X-Men Origins: Wolverine beginning production, a solo film with Magneto as its central character was proposed; titled X-Men Origins: Magneto, and would have focused on a young Erik being liberated from a Nazi concentration camp by an Allied soldier named Charles Xavier. However due to the poor reviews for Origins: Wolverine, coupled with the Writer's Guild of America strike, the project was put on indefinite hiatus, until most of the working script was amalgamated into Matthew Vaughn's 2011 prequel to the main series films, titled X-Men: First Class.
External links
Magneto on the Marvel Wiki
Magneto on Wikipedia
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