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[[File:Magslee_4316.png|frame| [[Memetic Mutation|The Master of Magnet!]] ...ism.]]
{{quote|''"I am no hero. Merely a man who has seen and done and endured what can never be forgotten or forgiven."''
|Uncanny X-Men #196 }}
It is rather insufferable to think that I am this late to the game. [[The Joker|The psychotic jester]], [[Sinestro|that twisted alien with the ring]], [[Lex Luthor|the bald lunatic]], and that [[Doctor Doom|tin-plated egomaniac]] have all had their own pages here for months, and yet I, '''Magneto''', have only been given my own space today. It is a cruel injustice that must be set right, but [[Humans Are
In my role as a so-called villain and opponent to the [[X-Men]], I was created by [[Stan Lee]] and [[Jack Kirby]]. First appearing in ''"[[X-Men]]''" vol. 1 #1 (September, 1963). The story of my life however, begins rather earlier - A Jew, I was born in [[Weimar Republic]] Germany in the late [[The Roaring Twenties|1920s]] before moving to [[Poland]] with my parents in 1939... and those of you with remedial historical training can [[Those Wacky Nazis|venture a guess as to where this is heading]]. As a young man I witnessed and endured some of the very worst of what humanity had to offer. [[Orphan's Ordeal|My family was murdered when I was just a boy]], and dumped in a mass grave before my very eyes; soon after I was myself sent to that hell called Auschwitz and on several occasions I thought I was going to share their fate, while as a ''Sonderkommando'' I was forced, on pain of death, to mete out that same fate to thousands of other innocents as at gunpoint I and others were made to assist in genocide, to assist those monsters in their gas chambers and furnaces. Lame with hepatitis, [[Despair Event Horizon|all hope and reason crushed under the mad Nazi jackboot]], I am ready to admit that so many times I was tempted to resign myself to my black fate.
But if [[Secret Identity|Max Eisenhardt]] was anything, he was a [[The Determinator|survivor]].
The one good thing I remember from those years was my darling love, Magda, a Gypsy girl interred with me, and during the October 7th revolt in 1944 the pair of us managed to make our escape. We fled to the Ukraine and lived out the remainder of [[World War 2|the war]] and its aftermath in relative peace with her family, and Magda bore us a daughter, Anya. We were happy together, though I hid from my wife a great secret I was only just uncovering myself- I was [[Superpowerful Genetics|a mutant]], born with the power to [[Selective Magnetism|manipulate magnetic fields and master the entire electro-magnetic spectrum]].
[[It Got Worse|Our peaceful life was not to last]]. While we lived in the Soviet city of Vinnitsa (alas, the simple life of a Roma did not suit me), I was cheated out of my pay by my employer and, in anger, used my powers consciously for the first time by throwing a crowbar at him through sheer will alone. [[Disproportionate Retribution|In retaliation]], driven on by fear of what they could not understand, the people of Vinnitsa formed a mob and [[Kick the Dog|burned down the inn we were staying with Magda and Anya were living]]. When I saw my daughter's burning body fall out of her room, prevented from helping her by KGB minions who held me down and battered me repeatedly, [[Understatement|I did not take it well]]. I unleashed the fury of my new found powers, killing the thugs who held me down, the animals who killed my daughter, and tearing a chunk of their wretched city to the ground. Magda survived, but my power, and my temporary insanity, terrified her into fleeing, leaving me alone to bury our daughter (and when Soviet troops attempted to stop me doing so, I turned their guns on them and pulled their triggers).
It would be decades before I found out that Magda had been pregnant when she fled. I never saw her again, for she died shortly after giving birth. My last memory of my wife is of her screaming in horror and terror at me.
I fled Europe, fled the pain and anguish and the torment, and began traveling, eventually making my way to Israel where I did volunteer work in a psychiatric hospital for Holocaust survivors, those who understandably were overwhelmed by the sheer barbarity of it all. Another volunteer at that hospital was a young American named Charles Xavier, and I was destined to be his [[Friendly Enemy|best friend and greatest enemy]]. Charles and I discussed many things, foremost amongst them the fate of mutantkind and the threat posed to it by a world [[Fantastic Racism|that hates and fears us]]. Charles, in his simple naiveté, thought that humans and mutants could [[Pacifist|live peacefully together]], but his only taste of humanity's bestial nature was being bullied by his oaf of a stepbrother, and some brief time as a medic in the Korean War. I, however, had been weaned on a diet of nothing but man's inhumanity; I had seen nightmarish horrors the likes of which Xavier could not begin to imagine, and I was resolved, I was ''determined'', that such a thing must not happen twice. Mutants, ''[[Master Race|Homo superior]]'', would not have to repeat the history of my sorry childhood. We had not yet revealed to each other that we were both, ourselves, mutants.
I saw once and for all that Charles' views and mine were incompatible once we were drawn into battle with those Neo-Nazi trash known as [[Nebulous Evil Organization|HYDRA]], who had abducted our friend Gabrielle Haller because she knew the location of a hoard of [[Nazi Gold]]. We both revealed our powers that day and overpowered the HYDRA agents, Xavier with his boundless telepathic might and I with my ever-growing mastery over the forces of magnetism. But a fellow mutant, the first one I had ever met, refused to deal with these pond scum with the harsh hand they deserved. In disgust, and realizing we had nothing more to say to one another, I took the gold for myself and left.
The final nail in the coffin was when I worked for a Western intelligence agency, tasked with hunting down Nazi war criminals while maintaining my cover as a [[Double Agent]] for Mossad, and handing over those murderers to Israel for a richly deserved trial and justice. I had fallen in love again, my darling Isabelle, but my Western masters - who had been well aware of what I was up to, but had up to now condoned it - decided that my latest capture, a worthless architect of misery named Hans Richter, was too valuable to surrender to his fate. They recruited him and murdered Isabelle right in front of my eyes, for which I [[Roaring Rampage of Revenge|hunted down each one of my controllers and paid them in kind]].
In the face of ever growing anti-mutant persecution, I remade myself as Magneto, a living example of [[Ironic Echo|mutant superiority,]] of mutant ''existence'', so as to make a statement that mutants no longer had to hide in the shadows. I declared war on humankind, because I realized that force was the only thing humans understood, and the only thing that would save mutants from an identical fate. Xavier, now a cripple, made clear he opposed my plans, and I clashed time and time again with his band of mutant heroes, the X-Men. They thwarted plan after plan, and battled me and my Brotherhood, amongst whom were two bitter young mutant twins called the [[Scarlet Witch]] and [[Quicksilver]] - whom I later learnt were Wanda and Pietro, my children by Magda, though unfortunately only after my radical ways had proceeded to alienate us from one another.
In the face of endless opposition, from my own kind and my own children, as well as non-mutant superhumans such as [[The Avengers (Comic Book)|The Avengers]], who accepted Wanda and Pietro into their ranks, I have learnt to soften my stance somewhat. I have even [[Heel Face Turn|joined the X-Men myself from time to time]], and worked with them to combat greater mutual menaces. But I stand by my most core belief. I have seen the lowest depths of human evil; I may have dragged myself from the abyss of my own hypocrisy, but though I am no longer as bent on genocide and domination does not mean mutants are safe. The safety and well being of my people are of paramount importance, and rest assured, [[This Loser Is You|human troper]], I am prepared to do ''anything'' to ensure our survival and prosperity, and to avert the repetition of history and see mutant consigned to the death camps.
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If I live by any creed, it is this- '''[[World War II|Never. Again.]]'''
Despite my resentment towards humans, I admit that some of them have portrayed me in a clever way in the films. The actors that played me are [[X-Men (film)|Ian McKellen]] and [[X-Men: First Class|Michael Fassbender]]. My voice was also given by [[X-Men (animation)|David Hemblen]], [[X-Men: Evolution|Christopher Judge]], [[X
{{tropelist|Examples of how my character may be described}}
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** And if you're wondering what they changed me to, it was, as I sort of mentioned before, a Sinte. It was a rather [[Unfortunate Implications|disingenuous move]] given their motivations.
* [[Anti-Hero]]: [[Sliding Scale of Anti-Heroes|Type IV]].
* [[Anti-Villain]]: [[Sliding Scale of Anti-Villains|Mixing traits of all the types]]. One that has started [[Base Breaker|many an argument of varying maturity]]. I am either a [[Well-Intentioned Extremist]] supremacist mass-murdering terrorist demagogue, with occasional outright genocidal ambitions. Alternately a [[Rooting for the Empire]] / [[Sympathy for the Devil]] [[Tragic Villain]] style "[[Anti-Hero]]" whose ideals are rightfully accorded respect, as all of humanity in my [[Crapsack World]] are [[Humans Are
** It is all [[Depending on the Writer]].
* [[Arch Enemy]]: The [[X-Men]] in general; Charles Xavier in particular....although I [[Friendly Enemy|don't take it personally]].
* [[Artistic License Physics|Artistic License: Physics]]: See the [[Green Lantern Ring]] entry below. Writers play around with the moniker of "Master of Magnetism" a lot. [[Rule of Cool|A certain rule of showmanship]] is usually in full effect.
* [[Astral Projection]]: It's suggested I learned how to do this despite not having any [[Psychic Powers]] of my own, though perhaps it is merely that, though I do have psychic powers, I prefer to use my Magnetism. I would prefer not to say.
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* [[Dark Messiah]]: I will use any means necessary to bring mutants back into dominance. My people have even considered me their "Mutant Messiah" in contrast to Charles' approach.
* [[Depending on the Writer]]: The ULTIMATE example, a result of many, MANY humans, moronic or not, penning my stories. Am I an [[Anti-Villain]] with sympathetic aims, [[Well-Intentioned Extremist|a leader with extreme methods toward a golden age for mutants]], or a completely psychotic madman who will strike down ANYONE who gets in my way? It depends on what interpretation there is of me you think holds the most water.
* [[The Determinator]]: Before it became standard amongst you to attribute my resistance to Xavier's psychic powers to my helmet, I had originally been said to resist them via sheer will.
* [[Do Unto Others Before They Do Unto Us]]: This is one of my main rationales in my war on humanity, and one of the main sticking points in my philosophical differences with Charles.
* [[Enemy Mine]]: Truth be told I have had to side with Charles and his X-Men when the need arises.
** Said forced team ups may have also been the result of [[Capcom vs. Whatever|another entity playing a foolish game.]]
** On another occasion, I worked with several of the Marvel Universe's most despicable villains, including the Red Skull, in what was colloquially referred to as the "Acts of Vengeance", in an attempt to destroy the "heroes" who constantly interfered with our plans. The bile still rises in my throat when I think of working with that... Nazi... although in retrospect I realize that I and the other participants in the plot were manipulated by Loki the trickster god.
* [[Even Evil Has Standards]]: Well I'm not evil, first of all. I use the term ironically to defy you homo sapiens' nonsensical moral applications, such as when I named my organization the Brotherhood of "Evil" Mutants. I am far more moral than the likes of Sebastian Shaw, Apocalypse or William Stryker. I work for a cause. They work only for themselves. And don't even mention the ''[[Red Skull]]'' to me. Then you will see how "evil" I can be.
* [[Evil Genius]]: I am amongst the many geniuses of this world, specializing in Magnetism (Obviously) and Physics in general as well as having a keen knowledge of Genetic Engineering, Engineering in itself, Geology and other sciences. I'm also very much multilingual, even being able to decipher a long lost language and have reconstructed advanced computer devices from memory. As expected from my leadership I am also a talented strategist, a requirement in my war on humanity. [[Cultured Badass|I am also quite the connoisseur of the fine arts and finest literature]] thus admitting that Homo Sapiens have made at least some worthwhile contributions to life. [[Manipulative Bastard|And to others, my ability to manipulate the lessers amongst you is paramount.]]
* [[Freudian Excuse]]: It was called the Holocaust.
** Double subverted: The Holocaust happened, and I survived, even attempting to not let such an event shape me negatively. Then my daughter was killed by you vile lot, I discovered and unleashed my powers to deal deserved judgment...and, regrettably, my beloved Magda left me in fear soon after I had unleashed my wrath upon the culprits responsible.
* [[Friendly Enemy]]: [[Depending on the Writer|Depending on which writer is "guiding" my hand]] (usually that [[Chris Claremont]] takes this view.), there will be many time in which I heavily regret the seemingly never-ending conflicts I have with Charles and his X-Men even as I do [[I Did What I Had to Do|what is right]] by my people.
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** That said, everything has a degree of electrons within them. Whether I am logically capable of lifting objects such as wood are best left amongst humanity to mindlessly debate.
*** To further elaborate, the Electromagnetic Force, being one of the four fundamental forces of the universe, is tied to everything, more or less. I should know this, I am a physicist after all. All forms of radiation are manipulable by me which thus includes heat, [[Light'Em Up|light]], magnetism (obviously), [[Shock and Awe|electricity]], gamma/X/microwave/infrared/ultraviolet and other forms. There is also Diamagnetism, a form of magnetism that works on non-iron/nickel/cobalt.
* [[He Who Fights Monsters]]: The "monsters" in this case being [[Humans Are
* [[Heel Face Revolving Door]]: I shall always do what needs to be done to safeguard the future of mutantkind - regardless of whether others consider my actions "good" or "evil." Evidently, I am currently a "face" in such terminology after {{spoiler|I had yanked miss Kitty Pryde off of what you Homo tropiens might call the [[The Bus Came Back|Bus.]]}}
* [[Humans Are
* [[I Have Many Names]]: Erik Magnus Lehnsherr and other shortened variants such as Erik Magnus, Magneto (well, of course), The Master of Magnetism. To be honest my REAL name is Max Eisenhardt, a German-Polish Jew. In most other retellings, I am content with simply "Magnus".
* [[Jerk with a Heart of Gold]]: Even if my methods reach far into the depths of villainy as you see it, even if I almost become [[Not So Different|exactly like my oppressors]], I desire nothing but a world where mutants are FREE from the hand of racism dealt by man.
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** Humans have also somehow [[Fountain of Memes|regressed me]] into little more than a list of [[Memetic Mutation|catchphrases of varying vulgarity and mannerisms]] (My dominance in [[Marvel vs. Capcom 2|one particular battlefield for one]]) for them to spew at will in a vain attempt at being humorous as a result of my brief battle with that company. I should have expected as much from humanity.
** And recently an outfit that I took to wearing [[House of M|at one point]] was forbidden from use due to its resemblance to a Spanish human king. How typical of humans to dictate what I, a mutant, can and cannot wear.
* [[
* [[Meaningful Name]]: My original name, Max Eisenhardt, is quite poetic, actually. "Eisen" is the German word for "Iron". "Hardt" sounds like German ("hart") and English ("hard"), which both mean the same thing. "Max" connotes intensity. Who would have guessed a man with such a name would later become the hardened master of metal manipulation?
** In German names, the "-hard/hardt/hart" suffix originally means "strong"; it is also present e. g. in "Bern(h)ard" (strong as a bear) or "Gerhard" (strong with the spear). Thus "Eisenhardt" means "strong as iron", or in my case also: strong with iron.
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* [[Putting on the Reich]]: People ill-knowing of what I have been through tend to bring up my domination of [[Banana Republic|San Marco]], wherein I had an [[Private Military Contractors|army of mercenaries]], outfitted with Waffen-SS surplus uniforms. The stylized "M" armbands were one step away from swastikas, otherwise the resemblance to that monster [[Adolf Hitler]] was total. Wait, what am I saying? I would never engage in such a vile act after I had been a victim of it! What an insult!
** That said, my actions as a [[Knight Templar|man willing to use any lengths]] to replace mankind with my own genetically superior people [[Adolf Hitler|does draw unavoidable comparisons.]] But I will not go down the same path as that madman! NEVER!
* [[The Revolution Will Not Be Civilized]]
* [[The Rival]]: Charles Xavier, a result of our differing views on whether mutantkind and man can live in peace or not; in the wider [[Marvel Universe]], my rival is instead [[Doctor Doom]], me being the closest he considers himself to have as legitimate competition.
* [[Shock and Awe]]: A primary attack of mine, aside from throwing any amount of tons of metal at my enemies, is shooting bolts of lightning. And don't expect to turn my own powers against me either.
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* [[Steven Ulysses Perhero]]: Yes, my "human" name translates roughly into "intensely strong iron". Though, I believe that "Magneto" is a far more superior and indicative moniker.
* [[Superpower Lottery]]: Several consider me the most powerful mutant alive due to how almost godlike my powers of magnetism can become.
** Though in media such as [[X
** To further elaborate, electromagnetism is arguably the most interesting of the four fundamental forces in that its scope, and thus the scope of my powers, encompasses virtually everything in the universe. I explicitly control half of physics, all of chemistry (which when boiled down is the study of protons, neutrons, and electrons), and most of biology (which is a combination of chemistry and physics). In fact, because I can manipulate valence electrons, I can force chemical reactions to occur that are normally impossible or make reactions that normally occur not happen. The EM spectrum by itself gives me heat vision, x-ray vision, illusions and invisibility, I am my own radio and can mess with yours, I can produce the deadliest form of radiation, and I can microwave food on a whim (helps with the below trope). Furthermore, I can manipulate peoples' nervous systems which after all run on electrical signals (this may be the best explanation for "Magnetic Attraction"), flash freeze or heat matter by imparting or taking away kinetic energy through protons and electrons, transmute anything into any other thing by rearranging particles at the subatomic level, disintegrate anything bigger than a nucleus, hijack electronics, and a good number of other interesting effects. The long and short of it is: if it can be done via natural means, I can do it.
** You would do well to remember that, during the Acts of Vengeance, I once battled [[Spider-Man]] to a standstill. If that feat sounds unimpressive, bear in mind that he was possessed of [[Captain Universe|otherworldly cosmic powers]] at the time.
* [[Supreme Chef]]: As you know, I am no savage. To go along with my vast powers I am also quite the skilled cook. It was a necessity during my time as a child prisoner of Nazi concentration camps.
* [[Ubermensch]]: It's not easy to consider me "nice" in any respect but I believe myself to have my own type of moral code that allows me to believe [[Utopia Justifies the Means|that it will all mean well in the end]], placing myself as leader, and having to eliminate the inferiors. To any medical evaluator that deems himself worthy of judging me (more so if it's a human psychologist) that would thus make me a [[The Sociopath|sociopath]] ideologue with typical monstrous egomania and entitled ruthlessness; others at least put me in a more [[I Did What I Had to Do|sympathetic light]].
** Still others go so far as to claim its [[With Great Power Comes Great Insanity|all a result of bipolar disorder brought by my powers]] and claim I'm just plain mentally ill. A heartfelt but foolish notion.
* [[Unskilled but Strong]]: [[Subverted Trope|Subverted]], as there is a very VERY good reason they call me "The Master of Magnetism" as well as one of the strongest mutants on earth,
** It is also why I am able to fight those with similar abilities who truly CAN be considered [[Unskilled but Strong]]. I once did battle with a cosmically powered [[Spider-Man]] on my own.
** However, I do well at recognizing that I am not a physical or experienced hand-to-hand combatant, as I've grew so accustomed with my powers. Fighting without them is equally suffering for myself as it would be fighting without skin. So yes, I might acknowledge my lack of physical fighting skills. But for the master of magnetism, those skills are useless.
* [[Utopia Justifies the Means]]: Whatever it takes, mutantkind
** [[Visionary Villain]]
* [[Well-Intentioned Extremist]]: I'll do what I must to ensure mutants never suffer any more at the hands of you humans.
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{{reflist}}
{{IGN Top 100 Villains}}
[[Category:The Sixties]]
[[Category:Marvel Comics Characters]]
[[Category:Marvel Universe]]
▲[[Category:Magneto]]
[[Category:Self-Demonstrating Article]]
[[Category:X-Men]]
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