Magneto debuted in The X-Men #1 as the first villain the mutant team ever faced, and since that time, he has become one of Marvel’s most popular and recurring characters. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, Magneto was introduced as a terrorist who was a villain to the X-Men, but over time, he became so much more. Across his six decades in existence, Magneto became a Holocaust survivor, an antihero, one of the X-Men’s leaders, and eventually a depowered exile. Writers Chris Claremont and Grant Morrison helped to flesh out the character and turn him into one of the most complex villains in Marvel Comics history.
From his days as one of Marvel’s deadliest villains to his time trying to help nurture the mutant population, here are the best Magneto stories in Marvel Comics based on impact.
House of M is a storyline caused by the Scarlet Witch, as she attempts to recreate the world into an image of peace and prosperity for mutants and humans alike. From the creative team of Brian Michael Bendis and Olivier Coipel, this is an eight-issue limited series that also crossed over with the New Avengers and the various X-Men comic books. In the new world, Magneto rules over the world from Genosha, and the mutants are now the dominant species. This showed Magneto’s family dynamic at a time when Wanda still believed he was her father. However, when Magneto prioritized all mutants over his own kids, it led to a breakdown. This series ended with M-Day, where Wanda depowered 986,618 mutants and changed the world again.
Age of Apocalypse was the 1995 event that remains known as the most important alternate reality storyline in mutant history. This story begins with Legion going back in time to preemptively kill Magneto to help Charles Xavier. However, Xavier sacrifices himself to save Magneto, which means Legion never existed in this timeline. What resulted was Magneto starting the X-Men based on Xavier’s dream, but not being strong enough to stop Apocalypse from conquering the planet. This showed what would happen if Magneto were the main mutant hero, and showed he could never match what Xavier had accomplished in the main timeline.
Released in 1982, “God Loves, Man Kills” was the X-Men story from Marvel Graphic Novel #5 by Chris Claremont and Brent Anderson. This was the story that introduced William Stryker to the Marvel Universe. Unlike the military scientist from the X-Men movies, Stryker here was a television evangelist who preached to the world that mutants were demons and should be killed. He then set his Purifiers loose to murder mutant children and began to gain political support for genocide. Magneto was forced in this story to work with the X-Men, and it was one of the first times he was shown to have moral intentions by placing him against the type of humans he had always warned mutants would lead to their demise.
Excalibur Vol. 3 brought Magneto back to the forefront by bringing him back from the dead. Chris Claremont and Aaron Lopresti created the 14-issue series that sees Charles Xavier and Magneto trying to rebuild Genosha following the genocide inflicted on the island by Cassandra Nova. This retcons “Planet X” by revealing that the Magneto in that run was a mutant named Xorn, who was pretending to be Magneto. This also cleared Magneto of the New York atrocities that happened. This rebranded Magneto as a protector and builder rather than a conqueror.
“Planet X” is a storyline by Grant Morrison and Phil Jimenez that is not about Magneto at all, but is still a story that has defined his time in Marvel Comics. This ran from New X-Men #146-150, and it claimed that the Chinese mutant Xorn was actually Magneto in disguise, back from his death in Genosha. He is addicted to the mutant-enhancing drug called Kick. Magneto destroys the X-Mansion and conquers New York City, enslaving the human population. Magneto even kills Jean Grey before Wolverine kills him. However, it was later shown that this wasn’t the real Magneto at all, but it was a hugely controversial and important moment in his Marvel Comics history.
Magneto has gotten his own solo series more than once, and one of the best came in 2014 with Magneto Vol. 3. This was his first ongoing series (the previous releases were all limited series), and it ran for 21 issues from Cullen Bunn and Gabriel Hernandez Walta. This came after Magneto had sided with Cyclops following Avengers vs. X-Men and showed him losing his powers and turning into a solo hunter who targets threats to mutants. This series alienated Magneto from the mutant-line comics and showed him in a new light, exploring his own moral interior directly.
Magneto: Testament was a Marvel Knights series by Greg Pak and Carmine Di Giandomenico. The series ran for five issues and is a historically grounded retelling of Magneto’s origin story, which includes Max Eisenhardt’s youth from pre-war Germany to his time imprisoned in Auschwitz during the Holocaust. There are no costumes and no powers, and this sees young Max surviving one of the most horrific events in world history. Showing Magneto surviving real-life events, which also draws on testimony from Holocaust survivors, did more to make Magneto a relatable character than any other story in Marvel history.
“The Trial of Magneto” was a one-issue story that played out in Uncanny X-Men #200 (1985). It had Magneto agree to stand trial for all his past crimes as he attempted to atone for his wrongdoings. His goal was to prove to the X-Men that he deserved the chance to lead them, with Professor X leaving Earth. The issue showed his trial before the International Court of Justice in Paris for crimes against humanity. When Andrea and Andreas von Strucker attacked Magneto at the trial, and the mutant terrorist saved his captors, he ended up cleared of his charges and took over leadership of the X-Men. This was the start of his role as a reluctant hero and teacher.
“Fatal Attractions” was one of the most consequential storylines in X-Men history. Magneto had left Earth to escape the persecution of humans, but the governments on Earth wouldn’t leave him alone, creating a Magneto protocol to keep him from turning evil again. Magneto didn’t take kindly to it and shut off power on Earth long enough to possibly cause numerous deaths. The X-Men took the fight to him, and this led to three massive turning points for mutants. Magneto ripped out Wolverine’s adamantium, changing him for years. Professor X shut down Magneto’s mind, a morally dubious action. That last action then led to Onslaught’s attack on Earth, which seemingly killed the Avengers and Fantastic Four.
While “Fatal Attractions” was the issue with the most consequences, the Magneto storyline that had the most impact on Marvel Comics was in X-Men #1 (1963). This was Magneto’s first appearance, as it was for the X-Men. Every hero needs a villain to counter them, and Magneto was the perfect choice from the start. While Professor X wanted to find peace between humans and mutants, Magneto knew that was never possible, and Magneto has been proven right more than once over the years. This story introduced Magneto to Marvel Comics and is the most important issue in the character’s history as a result.
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