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NOTE: This article is about the primary incarnation of Magneto from the X-Men film series. The mainstream version can be found here: Magneto (Marvel).
Villain Overview
Synopsis

You built these weapons to destroy us. Why? Because you are afraid of our gifts. Because we are different. Humanity has always feared that which is different, but I am here to tell you, to tell the world, you're right to fear us. We are the future. We are the ones who inherit this earth and anyone who stands in our way, will suffer the same fate as these men you see before you. Today was meant to be a display of your power. Instead I give you a glimpse of the devastation my race can unleash upon yours. Let this be a warning to the world and to my mutant brothers and sisters out there, I say this. No more hiding. No more suffering. You have lived in the shadows and shame and fear for too long. Come out. Join me. Fight together in a brotherhood of our kind, a new tomorrow that starts today.
~ Magneto unleashes the older Sentinels and convincing mutants to come out of hiding and his most famous line.
I've been at the mercy of men just following orders. Never again.
~ Magneto.

Erik Magnus Lehnsherr, also known as Magneto, is a major antagonist of the X-Men film series.

He is an extremely powerful and ruthless mutant with the ability to manipulate all forms of magnetism and is the former archenemy of the X-Men. Following the deaths of his parents at a concentration camp at the hands of the Nazi mutant scientist Sebastian Shaw, Erik Lehnsherr set himself in using his powers to avenge his parents, coming across the mutant Charles Xavier. However, after stopping Shaw, Lehnsherr turned against Xavier and formed the Brotherhood of Mutants to oppose Xavier's X-Men, with both organization set in making humanity accept mutantkind, but through different methods.

He was portrayed by Sir Ian McKellen, who also played King Richard III in the 1995 film adaptation of William Shakespeare's Richard III, Kurt Dussander in Apt Pupil, Sir Leigh Teabing in The Da Vinci Code, The Toad in Flushed Away, Horatio P. Huntington in Animal Crackers, and Roy Courtnay in The Good Liar. In the prequel films, he was portrayed by Michael Fassbender, who also played Burke in Jonah Hex, David 8 in the Alien prequels, Edwin Epps in 12 Years a Slave and the title character in the 2015 version of Macbeth.

In X-Men: The Official Game, he was voiced by Dwight Schultz, who also voiced Aloysius Animo in the Ben 10 series, Charon in God of War: Chains of Olympus, Danny Darrow in Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated, Wilhelm "Deathshead" Strasse in Wolfenstein: The New Order, Professor Pyg in Batman: Arkham Knight, and Vulture in Marvel's Spider-Man.

Biography (Original Timeline)[]

Origin[]

X-men-young-magneto

Erik Lehnsherr being forcibly separated from his parents by Nazis.

Magneto starts out as young Erik Lehnsherr who is a Holocaust survivor. When he is persuaded by Dr. Klaus Schmidt to use his power of controlling metal, he refuses to, and tries desperately to when the villain points a gun at his mother. After Schmidt kills his mother, Erik gets enraged and bursts into a rage thus enabling his powers; he turned a filing cabinet inside-out, squeezed two guard's helmets to crush their brains and send loads of metal equipment in the neighboring surgery room flying in a murderous frenzy. Schmidt says that he will unlock his power and gives him a German 5-cent coin that he was meant to move around moments before.

Becoming Magneto[]

Years later, Erik searches for Schmidt and vows to kill him in his quest for revenge. First, he goes to a bank manager in Geneva, Switzerland and gets him to tell of Schmidt's location; Argentina. Next, Erik went to Argentina and killed three guys in a bar who knew where to find Schmidt. When he finds Schmidt (now calling himself Sebastian Shaw) aboard the ship Caspartina, he meets Charles Xavier, who assists him in the investigation of his plans of launching missiles onto Cuba thus triggering World War III. He starts a close friendship with Charles and a romantic relationship with his fostered sister Raven (Mystique). According to Charles, the two of them may have met earlier in life when they were 17.

When Erik (now dubbed Magneto) and Shaw finally come face to face in Shaw's submarine, Magneto destroys part of Shaw's telepathy shield, removes his helmet and allows Charles to paralyze him long enough to stop him. Unfortunately, Magneto dons the helmet to block Charles' mind. He reluctantly kills Shaw by placing a Nazi coin through his brain (while ignoring Charles' begging to stop).

Later on, the USSR and the US launched missiles at the mutants threatening to kill them and stopping World War III. Magneto takes control of the missiles thus turning them on their launchers. CIA agent Moria MacTaggert tries shooting at Magneto, but Magneto deflects the bullets accidentally paralyzing Charles' legs. He invites the rest of the mutants of the Hellfire Club and the other X-Men to join him in his quest to protect mutant-kind. The X-Men refuse but Mystique joins him and the rest of the Hellfire Club. At the climax of the film, Magneto and his newly formed Brotherhood of Mutants break Emma Frost out of her prison and asks her to join them.

The Will of the Brotherhood[]

Erik was falsely-charged with the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in 1963 and was placed in a plastic prison with glass and concrete. The prison was right underneath the Pentagon, and was placed inside even though he had tried to bend the sniper-shot upwards and miss Kennedy. The reason he sought to save Kennedy was because he believed the President to be a mutant. Later Erik broke out of prison and made up with Charles.

Meeting Jean Grey[]

Sometime before or in 1986, Erik escaped or was let out and went with Xavier, treating each other as friends again, to meet the psychic mutant Jean Grey, who could actually lift up numerous cars in the neighborhood they were in to prove that she's a mutant. Later, Erik left Xavier again and launched forth his plan to arrange mutant prosperity.

Targeting Political Leaders[]

Magneto appears as the main antagonist of the first-made film in the series and so far the third chronologically. He believes that a war between mutants and humanity is fast approaching and must prepare for it. His Brotherhood of Mutants in this film include Mystique, Sabretooth and Toad. His first scene in the film is when he is leaving the Senate hall before he is stopped by Professor X and persuades him to stay out of his way and not to interfere with his plans for humanity.

He is next seen when Sabretooth informs him of the attack on Wolverine and Rogue and that Prof. X and the X-Men knew about their whereabouts in Alberta, Canada. Magneto sees a small dog tag around Sabretooth's neck and grabs it magnetically and examines a bit of what the Wolverine is capable of. He then informs that the time has come to put his plans into action by testing a machine that turns humans into mutants (unknown to Magneto that his machine kills them after their mutation). Magneto sends Mystique and Toad to kidnap Senator Robert Kelly and test his machine on him stating 'Let's just say that God works too slowly'.

After Kelly falls to his apparent death, Magneto proceeds with kidnapping Rogue plans to use her as a pawn for his machine to mutate the World Leaders on Ellis Island. On Liberty Island at the climax, Wolverine attempts to save Rogue, but Magneto holds him hostage just as the machine starts expanding towards Ellis Island as he holds the other X-Men hostage. Cyclops blasts him and Magneto is therefore sent to a plastic prison. He is visited by Professor X as the two play chess. Just before Prof. X departs, Magneto states 'The war's still coming Charles. And I intend to fight it.'

Seeking humanity's destruction[]

Magneto returns as one of the two deuteragonists (along with Professor X), no longer intent with changing humanity but destroying it.

He is visited by Col. William Stryker various times while he retrieves information on Prof. X's mansion and Cerebro, the machine that locates mutants around the world. While conversing with Prof. X, Magneto states that his war has already begun. Later, with help from his associate Mystique, Magneto escapes prison by using the metal in the blood of one of his prison guards.

Magneto is seen afterwards and rendezvous with the X-Men and their allies, giving them information about Stryker's plan to annihilate all mutants. The X-Men and the Brotherhood form an uneasy alliance to stop Stryker for the freedom of mutation. Once at Alkali Lake, Magneto along with Mystique, arrives at Cerebro and switches it around thus revealing his intentions to destroy all humans instead of mutants. Later on, he meets up with William Stryker and nearly chokes him to death. Just before a narrow escape, Magneto recruits young Pyro, who takes his advice.

Opposing the Mutant Cure[]

Magneto returns again as the main antagonist of the third film, this time with a massive army of mutants ready to take down the scientists who created a supposed "cure" that erases the mutant X-gene "permanently".

In the movie, after learning of a special cure for mutations made with the blood of a mutant, Magneto declares an all-out war and expands the Brotherhood of Mutants with new members such as Juggernaut, Multiple Man, The Omegas (Callisto, Arclight, Kid Omega, Psylocke) and various others in addition to his old members Mystique and Pyro.

After a rescue attempt and recruitment, Magneto was to be stunned by the cure, but Mystique sacrificed herself and was abandoned to live amongst the humans. Just as Magneto starts to expand his new army, he learns that Jean Grey (now known as the Phoenix) has survived her death and attempts to recruit her with only Prof. X, Wolverine and Storm standing in his way. He sends for Juggernaut and the Omegas for back-up to distract Wolverine and Storm. Persuading Jean to think that Prof. X wants to control her power, Jean goes insane, destroys her house and kills Prof. X in her outrage. Feeling heartbroken, Magneto takes Jean with him back to his lair.

Battle of Alcatraz[]

As Magneto sets out to destroy the source of the mutant cure (a mutant as it turns out), he senses that Wolverine was in his midst and stops him from taking Jean away from the Brotherhood. On their way to Alcatraz, Magneto and his Brotherhood army use the Golden Gate bridge to destroy everything on Alcatraz to reach their goal of destroying the cure. Met with plastic gunnery, he orders Arclight to tear them down and along with Pyro he begins using cars as projectiles. After fighting the X-Men, he is cured by Beast from behind. In defeat, he says to Jean 'This is what they want for all of us'. Feeling regret on what he did to Jean, he flees the Dark Phoenix's final stand.

At the end of the film, Magneto, sitting in at a chessboard in a park, manages to move a chess piece slightly, showing that he is slowly getting his powers back.

War of the Sentinels[]

At the film's post-credit scene, Magneto, having managed to fully regain his powers, appears before Wolverine in search of help to fight a new kind of war that could destroy every mutant in the world with a revived Professor X there as well. A decade passes, and Magneto is a major character. Meanwhile in the future timeline, Magneto helps the X-Men fend off the Sentinels but is injured badly during the war of the sentinels. Right before the Sentinels can finish him off along with Xavier, Wolverine, and Kitty Pryde, the future is changed. What became of Magneto in the revised timeline, and how much of the original still occurred beyond X-Men: First Class, is unclear at the moment.

Biography (Revised Timeline)[]

Early life[]

His life is completely the same as his original timeline counterpart until Wolverine broke him out of prison in the 1970s.

Saving humanity[]

I don't know karate, but I know crazy.
~ Erik Lensherr in X-Men: Days of Future Past

He is one of the characters necessary to help change the future from the dystopia filled with Sentinels created by Dr. Bolivar Trask. He first appears as a prisoner held in the 100th floor below the Pentagon in a specially made cell. However, he gets freed with the aid of Charles Xavier, Wolverine, Beast, and Quicksilver. Magneto later tries to kill Mystique in Paris by putting a bullet into her, specifically her ankle, to ensure the mutant's future and survival, but fails to do so. Afterwards, a public showcase of the Sentinels at the White House is made to make sure that people will be kept safe from mutants.

However, Magneto has commandeered the Sentinels by inserting metal into their polymer bodies and also uses a lifted up stadium to keep other humans out of the way. Announcing mutant supremacy on live television, Magneto is attacked by Beast and Wolverine but keeps them at bay. However, when threatening the President, Mystique disguised as Nixon shoots him. After Mystique spares Trask at Xavier's urging, the Professor allows Mystique and Magneto to leave, believing that there is hope for both of them to change for the better.

The Horsemen of Apocalypse[]

Xmen-apocalypse-movie-screencaps

Magneto standing with Apocalypse.

Magneto returns as the anti-hero once again. He tried to live like a normal human in Poland and worked in a factory under name Henryk. There he used his powers to save his colleague from a falling heavy metal bucket. However his colleague reported him to local police. When he was about to be arrested for his terrorist action one decade ago of the policemen accidentally shot his daughter and wife. Despaired Erik killed them all and returned to the factory to kill all his colleagues who ahd reported him to the police. There Apocalypse appeared with his Horsemen, all killed all Magneto's former colleagues before he had the chance to do so. Apocalypse then recruited Magneto as a Horseman of the Apocalypse under name "War". Magneto is then sent to the ruins of Auschwitz where he destroys the camp after remembering horrors that he had experienced as a young boy. He then appears in Cairo where he and the Horsemen assist Apocalypse in destroying civilization to remake the world in the image of Apocalypse but the X-Men come to save Charles. During the battle, Mystique arrives and tells Erik that he hasn't lost everything , convincing Erik to have a change of heart and turn on Apocalypse. After a brutal battle, Jean unleashes her powers on Apocalypse and destroyers his armor which allows Magneto to impale him and Jean to finally finish him off. He then helps rebuild the X-Mansion but leaves still being distrusting of humanity.

Seeking vengeance[]

Magneto returned in the film, where he took refuge in an uncharted island called Genosha, eventually using it as a haven for the remaining Brotherhood and other mutant refugees. When a young Jean Grey turns over to him for guidance after losing control of her Phoenix powers, Magneto was willing at first to help her out, but several soldiers arrive to the island to detain Jean, who almost tried to kill them. Knowing that putting the innocent soldiers in danger will put the other mutants in risk, Magneto angrily banishes Jean from the island.

Later on, Magneto and the other Brotherhood mutants conspired with Hank 'Beast' McCoy to kill Jean, since the latter's power killed Mystique, which left both Beast and Magneto very devastated. This leads to another battle between the X-Men and Brotherhood, though both factions (along with Jean) end up being arrested by the government. During a train transport to a secret mutant facility, Magneto was told that an alien warlord named Vuk has been manipulating Jean into using her powers for darker purposes as the former intends to drain it all to destroy all life on Earth (including the mutants) for her race the D'Bari. This was proven when Vuk sends her posse to attack the train and kill many of the soldiers so that she can drain all of Jean's powers for herself.

Deciding to put things aside, Magneto and the Brotherhood allied with the X-Men to take down the D'Bari soldiers, but they all end up being defeated by Vuk (who has previously obtained a portion of the Phoenix power); even when Magneto used his telepathy powers to fire all guns at Vuk, it proved to be in vain as Vuk was bulletproof thanks to the Phoenix power, much to Magneto's distraught. Eventually, Jean manages to kill Vuk by dragging her into outer space and using the Phoenix power to disintegrate her for good.

With Vuk and the D'Bari race gone, both the X-Men and Brotherhood put their feud aside, and Magneto reconciles his friendship with Xavier, who has retired and left Hank to become the new principal of Xavier's school. He is last seen playing with Xavier, unaware that Jean is still alive.

Ambiguous Fate[]

Magneto's whereabouts are unknown by the time of Logan, although it's implied he may be dead. It's possible due to his connection with Xavier that his first psychic seizure may have killed him. With Magneto gone, it seems like his Brotherhood of Mutants was also wiped out, as by the time the film takes place, only Wolverine, Xavier and Caliban are the sole surviving mutants before Wolverine discovers that the Essex Corp fabricated his "daughter" X-23 and many other mutant kids. That said, the sole existence of the Essex Corp, which, led by Dr. Zander Rice, sends Donald Pierce and his agents to track down the mutants to study and/or kill them, ultimately proves that, despite Xavier's faith in humanity, Magneto was tragically right on his beliefs: mutantkind would never be accepted by the human race.

Appearance[]

Magneto is a tall and slender light-skinned Jewish man with gray hair and brown eyes. He often wears a leather suit with a black cape and numerous red accents, with dark-colored boots ideal for treading long distances.

Personality[]

All your life, the world has tried to tame you. It's time for you to be free.
~ Magneto to Mystique.

Through his own righteous nature, Magneto is a justifiable, passionate and virtuous crusader of mutant rights and justice, dispersing both to anyone, human and mutant alike that may threaten his species and is willing to kill or sacrifice members of his own Brotherhood of Mutants for the survival of mutants in general. Having felt the prejudice and cruelty of humanity as a mutant and a Jew and firmly believing that co-existence is unobtainable between the two species, Magneto decreed that humanity must either evolve to match mutantkind's standards or be exterminated altogether. Similar to how the Nazis ripped the Jews from their homes and into the concentration camps, Magneto believes that humanity will attack without warning and that it is essential for mutants to strike first lest they be put through a similar Holocaust.

X-Men First Class MAgneto

Magneto's vehement and relentless nature made him intolerant of other people's antics, especially when motivated by justice.

However, it should be noted that Magneto has at least had a relationship with a human which caused the birth of his son, Peter Maximoff. This also implies that he does not hate humanity but rather what humankind is capable of and this is not without reason in itself. With all mutants, Magneto is completely accepting regardless of their past actions or powers. Though he displayed a willingness to kill his own species if it was beneficial to the survival of his species in a whole, even Mystique, he displays deep remorse over doing such brutal acts, with the exclusion being Sebastian Shaw of course.

A significant driving force of Magneto, that is the primary motivation to most of his actions is how the prejudice of modern society and the people within it also enforces other mutants that their powers are a curse and that they should be ashamed of who they are. His romantic feelings for Mystique also solidified these beliefs, seeing her having to hide her natural blue form and Charles Xavier, her brother figure, encouraging this due to the hatred she would undoubtedly face, Magneto was the only one who told her to embrace who she truly was. Thinking it unfair that mutants had to hide on the basis that humanity would only fear what they could not understand, Magneto's beliefs of an idyllic society was a solely mutant one without human influence on how mutantkind should behave.

Little-erik

From a very young age, Erik Lehnsherr's humble and trial-filled origins have enabled him to identify with those whose suffering he seeks to alleviate, for the good of all.

For a large portion of his young adult life, though Magneto was not completely driven out of pure righteousness and devotion to his species, he was once greatly motivated by revenge and this was what led him to be a skilled Nazi-killer, hunting down anyone who participated in the capture and torture of Jews during the Holocaust. He hunted down and tortured former Nazis with connection to Klaus Schmidt, such as removing the golden tooth implants of a bank manager for information and brutally murders three others. His vicious determination over revenge led him to be almost suicidal as he continued his magnetic hold over Shaw's submarine, ignoring the fact that he would drown. Magneto's opinions seemed to change after he encountered Charles Xavier and opened his eyes to a world of mutants. For a while, he seemed to have quenched his initial driving point and now assisted with building Cerebro and locating other mutants. Ultimately, however, Magneto's desire of revenge proved to great and he painfully, slowly killed the man who murdered his mother before his eyes despite Xavier's protests which could be considered the turning point for Magneto's dark future.

Powers and Abilities[]

Powers[]

  • Electromagnetism Manipulation: Magneto can manipulate electromagnetism: one of the four fundamental forces of the physical universe responsible for many phenomena, including those related to electricity and magnetism. Electromagnetism is responsible for electromagnetic fields (an area of space composed of electric and magnetic fields), the propagation of electromagnetic radiation or the electromagnetic spectrum, such as visible light, infrared, ultraviolet, microwaves and radio waves. Exploring electromagnetism requires an understanding of various branches of physical science, such as classical mechanics, quantum mechanics and special relativity. Electromagnetism has impressive characteristics and exploitation, with human inventions using electromagnetism to power smart appliances, vehicles, power plants, buildings and much more. With Magneto manipulating electromagnetism, they hold untapped potential to realize and execute powerful and effective techniques. When it comes to manipulating electromagnetism, Magneto can, at an elementary level, demonstrate simple applications, for example: generation of electromagnetic fields, electronic disturbances, weak electromagnetic pulses (sudden bursts of electromagnetic energy), electromagetoreception, or aura of marked electricity from metals or metalline materials that revolve around Magneto. At advanced levels, Erik is described as a "professional" capable of manipulating both electricity (electricity generation, electrostatic shocks, electroreception, electrocution, thermal conductivity, etc.) and magnetism (magnetism generation, magnetoreception, metal manipulation, electronic disruption, variations or subtypes of magnetism manipulation (diamagnetism, paramagnetism, ferromagnetism, etc.)). As Magneto is advanced, he can easily go beyond the basic level of electromagnetism, indirectly affecting electromagnetic phenomena in the surrounding area, and better understand the second most powerful fundamental force in the universe. Given his mastery, he is considered a master or god in his field. Erik can use electromagnetic manipulation to control the electromagnetic spectrum (from light manipulation to various variations of radiation manipulation (radio waves, ultraviolet light, microwaves, infrared, X-rays and gamma radiation)). They can use the electromagnetic spectrum and manipulate it in the same way as they use state-of-the-art machines to perform unrepeatable X-ray examinations, overload the radiological output of nuclear reactors and generate thermal manipulations, the only limit being Erik's understanding and originality or adaptability. Magneto can control sophisticated technologies used by races superior to Type 1 civilizations and extend their authority on a continental, planetary, cosmic, galactic or universal scale.
    • Magnetism Manipulation: Magneto can manipulate magnetism and magnetic fields, a phenomenon of attraction and repulsion produced by the movement of electric charges. Magnetic fields are regions surrounding a magnet, a conductor carrying electric currents, streams of charged particles or natural minerals. Magnetism plays an important role in electromagnetism. Magnetism is generally demonstrated by ferromagnetic materials, i.e. materials that form magnets, or objects that are attracted by magnets. The most common types of metal to be attracted or influenced by magnetic fields are iron, cobalt, nickel and other alloys. These metals are generally discovered on Earth (and in other places in the universe), artificially created and used for automobiles, agriculture and metropolitan projects. Almost all materials used by man are composed of these elements, or have a fracture of them.This can also be applied to military uses; Erik can redirect missiles to their launch site, lift battleships, smash them and tear apart enriched tanks. Magneto can attract and repel magnetic matter, generate magnetic explosions that attract or repel metals, build weapons, organisms, servants and structures from magnetic energy, and more. Erik can even control magnetism on a planetary scale, whether attracting and manipulating space stations, gathering metal-enriched asteroids near Earth to simulate a meteor shower, controlling geomagnetism or flying using magnetic levitation. However, speeds depend on Erik's experience and power. A magnokinetic can dominate magnetic force on a microscopic scale; a magnetic can manipulate the metallic properties of matter, achieving limited control over matter. Because of the versatility, flexibility and strength that magnetic manipulation can achieve, users can manipulate any magnetic material present in matter.Magneto can control the strength of the magnetic field, transforming the strength of a magnetic field into a stronger or weaker force than before. Manipulate civilian cars, telephone poles, telephones, computers, airplanes, roads, bridges, houses, buildings, etc., which possess any metal influenced by magnetism; through precise manipulation of magnetism, Magneto can simulate telekinesis, although it is limited to Metalline and magnetic materials. Erik can levitate cars and turn them into projectiles, demolishing anything that comes into contact with them, moving massive bridges and separating them to generate floating masses of concrete, electric cables, transporting cars, trucks and buses, dismantling firearms, or ripping out all the metal on the planet to make a floating city, composed solely of metal. Not everything is attracted by magnetic fields, e.g. diamagnetism. Property of substances with negative magnetic susceptibility, producing a magnetic field in a direction opposite to the applied magnetic field. In short, diamagnetism is repulsive; it is commonly found in most organic compounds, water, wood, etc. Unlike the manipulation of metals, the manipulation of magnetism cannot manipulate all forms of metallic matter, but only those elements influenced by magnetic fields. With magnetism playing an important role in everyday activities, from the microscopic to the universal level, users can control naturally generated, artificially created and ubiquitous magnetic forces.
    • Metal Manipulation: Magneto can create, shape and manipulate metal, a solid material (an element, compound or alloy) that is generally hard, shiny and has good electrical and thermal conductivity. Metals are generally malleable, meaning they can be permanently hammered or pressed without breaking or cracking. They are also fusible (they can be melted) and ductile (they can be drawn into a fine wire).

Abilities[]

  • Leadership Mastery: Magneto is an innate master of how to be a great leader, enabling him to effectively maintain order and morale. Erik also has an intuitive mastery of the associated leadership skills of speech and body language, expertly sending out all the right signals, giving him great influence in any social situation and enabling him to easily forge a fanatical level of trust and devotion in all those on whom he exercises these talents. Thanks to this ability, Erik has developed an incredibly charismatic personality, and is able to inspire and sway others to his influence. Given enough time, Erik can win anyone's loyalty and devotion, change anyone's opinion on anything, and get them to serve and follow him. Erik can easily develop a cult of personality around himself. Thanks to this ability, Erik can gain authority, rise to the top of any social hierarchy and take on leadership positions very quickly and easily, and accomplish such feats as always doing the right thing when it comes to administering, commanding, governing and directing.
  • Weapon Proficieny: Thanks to his powers of metal manipulation, Erik is a master of weapons - any instrument or device that can be used to inflict damage or injury. This means he can wield various forms of weaponry, from swords and hammers to chains and sniper rifles, and can instantly and effortlessly defeat anyone wielding similar forms of weaponry. Thanks to his power of metal manipulation, Erik is incredibly adept at wielding most types of weapon, with little or no effort. Being proficient with almost any weapon means using them with exceptional precision, accuracy and/or fighting ability.

Equipment[]

  • Helmet: Thanks to his helmet, Erik is totally immune to all psychic phenomena, whatever their nature or origin (natural, supernatural, magical, technological, etc.). His mind cannot be controlled, damaged, read, influenced, emulated, altered, detected or communicated, forcing users with telepathic allies to resort to other means of long-distance communication, usually via technological or magical devices. In other words, it's impossible to penetrate his mind or affect him in any way, making him perfectly immune to mind-related effects and abilities.

Relationships[]

Family[]

  • Edie Lehnsherr † - Mother
  • Jakob Lehnsherr † - Father
  • Ms. Maximoff - Former Lover
  • Peter "Quicksilver" Maximoff - Son
  • Magda Gurzsky † - Wife
  • Nina Gurzsky † - Daughter

Friends[]

  • Professor X - Best Friend, Former Teammate, and Former Rival
  • Beast - Ally, Friend, Former Teammate, Former Enemy, and Former Attempted Killer
  • Moira MacTaggert - Ally, Former Teammate, Former Enemy, and Former Attempted Victim
  • Mystique + - Former Student, Former Teammate, Former Lover, Former Enemy, and Former Attempted Victim
  • Storm - Ally and Former Teammate
  • Wolverine - Former Ally and Former Enemy
  • Brotherhood of Mutants - Former Teammates
  • Cyclops - Ally and Former Enemy
  • Jean Grey - Ally, Friend and Former Enemy
  • Nightcrawler - Ally and Former Enemy
  • Banshee † - Former Student and Former Teammate
  • Darwin † - Former Student and Former Teammate
  • John McCone † - Former Ally
  • The Man in Black † - Former Ally
  • William Stryker Snr. † - Former Ally

Enemies[]

Quotes[]

I'm not gonna stop Shaw. I'm gonna kill him. Do you have it in you to allow that? You've known all along why I was here, Charles. But things have changed. What started as a covert mission, tomorrow mankind will know that mutants exist. Shaw, us, they won't differentiate. They'll fear us. And that fear will turn to hatred.
~ Erik to Charles.
We already are! We're the next stage of human evolution. You said it yourself?
~ Erik arguing to Charles.
Charles Xavier: Listen to me very carefully my friend. Killing Shaw will not bring you peace.
Erik Lehnsherr: Peace was never an option.
~ Charles and Erik.
Everything you did, made me stronger. Made me the weapon I am today. It's the truth. I've known it all along. You are my creator.
~ Erik to Shaw.
If you're in there, I'd like you to know that I agree with every word you said. We are the future. But unfortunately, you killed my mother.
~ Magneto to Shaw.
Take off your blinders, brothers and sisters. The real enemy is out there. I feel their guns moving in the water. Their metal, targeting us. Americans, Soviets, humans. United in their fear of the unknown. The Neanderthal is running scared, my fellow mutants! Go ahead, Charles. Tell me I'm wrong.
~ Magneto's speech to the X-Men and Hellfire Club after killing Shaw.
I've been at the mercy of men just following orders. Never again.
~ Magneto to Charles, moments before sending the missiles to the Americans and the Soviets.
This society won't accept us. We form our own. The humans have played their hand, now we get ready to play ours. Who's with me?
~ Magneto's speech to the X-Men and the Hellfire Club in Cuba.
Us turning on each other. It's what they want. I tried to warn you, Charles. I want you by my side. We're brothers, you and I. All of us, together. Protecting each other. We want the same thing.
~ Magneto to Professor X.
I prefer... Magneto.
~ Erik to Emma Frost.
We are the future, Charles, not them! They no longer matter!
~ Erik to Charles.
There is no land of tolerance. There is no peace, not here or anywhere else. Women and children, whole families destroyed simply because they were born different from those in power. Well, after tonight, the world's powerful will be just like us. They will return home as brothers. As mutants. Our cause will be theirs. Your sacrifice will mean our survival.
~ Magneto to Rogue.
When will these people learn how to fly?
~ Magneto to Mystique, stopping the X-Jet from crashing.
Nobody ever talks about it. They just...do it. And you go on with your lives, ignoring the signs all around you. And then one day when the air is still, and the night has fallen, they come. There's only one question you must answer: who will you stand with?
~ Magneto, to the Mutants at the church, regarding how humanity will utilize the cure against them
Charles Xavier did more for mutants than you will ever know. My single greatest regret is that he had to die for our dream to live.
~ Magneto to Pyro.
All those years wasted fighting each other, Charles. To have a precious few of them back.
~ Magneto to Charles.
Whatever you think you saw in me, I buried it with my family.
~ Erik's response to Charles on joining Apocalypse.
I've lived with vengeance my whole life. Ever since I was a child, I lost everyone I ever loved, so I hurt people. Yes, killed people. Killed whatever I thought would make the pain go away. It didn't, no matter how many souls I sent under. So I stopped.
~ Magneto to Jean Grey.
You're always sorry, Charles. And there's always a speech. But nobody cares.
~ Magneto in the Dark Phoenix trailer.

Reception[]

Magneto was a critically acclaimed character, despite also garnering negative attention from less astute viewers. Michael Fassbender received global critical acclaim for his performance.

Trivia[]

  • At the original Marvel continuity of X-Men, Magneto was born as Max Eisenhardt and not as Erik Lensherr, even if he adopted this name as an alias.
  • At the time of the first installment's creation process, the name Erik Lensherr was used to give the character a Gypsy heritage to avoid "demonizing" the Jewish Holocaust survivor community.
  • The number tattooed on Erik's hand is 214782.
  • The tattooed number was first shown on Uncanny X-Men #150, written by Chris Claremont in 1981.
  • Following the announcement of the production beginning of X-Men Origins: Wolverine that was released on 2009, there was many other plans for a solo film focused on the character titled X-Men Origins: Magneto. This film was planned to be focused on a young Erik being liberated from the Nazi camps by his best friend; Charles Xavier, an allied American soldier. However, due to the extreme poor critical reaction to Origins Wolverine despite its box office success ($373 million), coupled with the Writer's Guild of America strike, the project of Magneto was pitted on indefinite hiatus and eventually was ultimately cancelled and the most of the working script had been amalgamated into Matthew Vaughn's prequel X-Men film from 2011; X-Men: First Class.
  • In X-Men Days of Future Past, Magneto's prison identification number is 0001.

External Links[]

Navigation[]

           X-Men films logo Movie Villains

Brotherhood of Mutants
Magneto | Mystique | Sabretooth | Toad | Pyro | Dark Phoenix | Juggernaut | Multiple Man | Selene Gallio

Team X
William Stryker Jr. | Lady Deathstrike | Jason Stryker | Weapon XI | Agent Zero | Blob | Carol Frost | Agent Smith

Omega Gang
Callisto | Psylocke | Quill | Arclight | Avalanche | Spike | Glob Herman | Phat

Hellfire Club
Sebastian Shaw | Emma Frost | Azazel | Angel Salvadore | Riptide

Yashida Corporation
Silver Samurai | Madame Viper | Shingen Yashida | Noburo Mori

Trask Industries
Bolivar Trask | William Stryker Jr. | Sentinels

Ashir En Sabah Nur/Horsemen of Apocalypse
Apocalypse | Magneto | Psylocke | Archangel

Essex Corp
Zander Rice | Donald Pierce | X-24 | Reavers | Headmaster | Cecilia Reyes | Mister Sinister

D'Bari
Vuk | Jones

Others
William Stryker Sr. | Deadpool | Dopinder | Ajax | Angel Dust | Cable | Firefist | Black Tom Cassidy | Sergei Valishnikov | Omega Red | Demon Bear | Reverend Craig | Smiley Men

          X-MenMovieLogo Villains

Comics
0101 | Abigail Brand | Abomination | Absorbing Man | Absalom | Acolytes | Adversary | Albert Grey | Ahab | A.I.M. | Akhenaten | Alan Lewis | Amanda Sefton | Ani-Mator | Annihilus | Apocalypse (Earth-295) | Apoth | Arakko | Arcade | Archangel | Arclight | Arnim Zola | Avalanche | Awesome Android | Azazel | Badoon | Barbarus | Bastion | Baron Karza | Baron Wolfgang von Strucker | Batroc | Beast | Beef | Beetle | Black Tom Cassidy | Belasco | Beyonder | Black Box | Blastaar | Blockbuster | Blood Brothers | Bolivar Trask | Blob | Bogeyman | Boomerang | Brood | Brotherhood of Evil Mutants | Brainchild | Bulldozer | Bullseye | Burner | Cameron Hodge | Carnage | Cassandra Nova | Celestials | Chameleon | Chen Zhao | Children of the Vault | Chimera | Clan Akkaba | Coach | Computo | Constrictor | Count Nefaria | Creeps | Crossbones | D'Ken Neramani | Dark Avengers | Dark Beast | Dark Phoenix | Dark X-Men | Deadpool | Demon Bear | Demogoblin | Destiny | Death | Doctor Doom | Doctor Gregor | Doctor Stasis | Doctor Rice | Dracula | Egghead | Electro | Emma Frost | Enchantress | Erik Killmonger | Exodus | Fabian Cortez | Feilong | Fenris | Freedom Force | Friends of Humanity | Frightful Four | Frost Giants | Galactus | Gamesmaster | Genesis | Genesis | Graydon Creed | Green Goblin | Grizzly | Hammerhead | Hand | Hela | Hellfire Club | Henry Peter Gyrich | Hex Butcher | High Evolutionary | Hordeculture | Holocaust | Homines Verendi | Horsemen of Apocalypse | HYDRA | Impossible Man | Jackal | Jack O' Lantern | J. Jonah Jameson | Juggernaut | Kang | Kid Omega | Kingpin | Killer Shrike | Klaw | Knull | Krakoa | Kraven | Lord Deathstrike | Lady Deathstrike | Legion | Leper Queen | Lilith | Living Monolith | Locus Vile | Lois London | Loki | Mad Thinker | Madame Viper | Madelyne Pryor | Magneto | Magus | Malekith the Accursed | Mandarin | Marrow | Masters of Evil | Master Mold | Medusa | Maximus | Mesmero | Mikhail Rasputin | Mister Jip | Mister Negative | Mister Sinister | Mister Sinister (Enigma) | M.O.D.O.K. | M.O.D.O.K. Superior | Mojo | Mole Man | Moonstone | Morbius | Morlocks | Moria Mactaggert | Moses Magnum | Mother Righteous | Mutant Response Division | Mystique | Mysterio | N'Astirh | Namor | Nanny | Nekra | Neo | Nightmare | Nimrod | Nitro | Norman Osborn | Obnoxio the Clown | Omega Gang | Omega Red | Omega Sentinel | Onslaught | Orchis | Orphan-Maker | Ozymandias | Pale Girl | Pandemonia | Phalanx | Piledriver | Pilgrimm | Predator X | Proteus | Psycho-Man | Puma | Punisher (Earth-95216) | Purifiers | Pyro | Quicksilver | Reavers | Red Ghost | Red Skull | Reverend Craig | Rhino | Right | Rogue | Ronan | Sabretooth | Sandman | Sat-Yr-9 | Sauron | Savage Land Mutates | Scarlet Witch | Scorpion | Sebastian Shaw | Selene Gallio | Sentinels | Serpent Society | Shadow King | Shadow Xavier | Shocker | Sick Bird | Silver Sable | Silver Samurai | Simon Trask | Sinister Six | Skrulls | Spiral | Stranger | Stinger | Stryfe | Stephen Lang | Sublime | Sugarman | Super-Adaptoid | Super-Apes | Supreme Intelligence | Swarm | Swordbearers of Arakko | Tarn The Uncaring | Thanos | Thunderball | Thunderbolt Ross | Tiger Shark | Tinkerer | Toad | Trevor Fitzroy | Typhoid Mary | Tyrannus | Unus | Vampires | Venom | Vulcan | Vulture | War | Wendigo | Whiplash | Whirlwind | White Rabbit | William Stryker | Wizard | Wrecker | X-Man | Xemnu | Xorn | Ymir | Zaladane

Movies
X-Men: Brotherhood of Mutants (Magneto, Mystique, Sabretooth & Toad) | Pyro
X2: William Stryker Jr. | Lady Deathstrike | Jason Stryker | Brotherhood of Mutants (Magneto, Mystique & Pyro)
X-Men: The Last Stand: Brotherhood of Mutants (Magneto, Dark Phoenix, Pyro, Juggernaut, Multiple Man & Mystique) | Omega Gang (Callisto, Psylocke, Quill, Arclight, Avalanche, Spike, Glob Herman & Phat) | Archangel
X-Men: First Class: Hellfire Club (Sebastian Shaw, Emma Frost, Azazel, Angel Salvadore & Riptide) | William Stryker Sr. | Magneto | Mystique
X-Men: Days of Future Past: Trask Industries (Bolivar Trask, William Stryker Jr. & Sentinels) | Magneto | Mystique | Toad | Horsemen of Apocalypse (Apocalypse)
X-Men: Apocalypse: Ashir En Sabah Nur/Horsemen of Apocalypse (Apocalypse, Magneto, Psylocke & Archangel) | Dark Phoenix | Mystique | William Stryker Jr. | Blob
X-Men: Dark Phoenix: Dark Phoenix | D'Bari (Vuk & Jones) | Brotherhood of Mutants (Magneto & Selene Gallio) | Mystique
The New Mutants: Demon Bear | Essex Corp (Cecilia Reyes) | Reverend Craig | Smiley Men

Television
X-Men (1992)
Magneto | Sentinels | Sabretooth | Juggernaut | Apocalypse | Mesmero | Horsemen of Apocalypse | Mister Sinister | Omega Red | Brotherhood of Mutants (Mystique, Avalanche, Blob & Pyro) | Dark Phoenix | Master Mold | Bolivar Trask | Silver Samurai | Hellfire Club (Sebastian Shaw, Harry Leland, Jason Wyngarde, Donald Pierce & Emma Frost) | Reavers (Bonebreaker & Lady Deathstrike) | Supreme Intelligence | D'Ken | Deathbird | Graydon Creed | Toad | Sauron | High Evolutionary | Phalanx | Brood | Skrulls | Super-Adaptoid | Awesome Android | Mojo | Red Skull

X-Men: Evolution
Magneto | Brotherhood of Mutants (Mystique, Avalanche, Toad, Blob, Quicksilver & Scarlet Witch) | Acolytes (Pyro, Mastermind, Gambit, Sabretooth & Colossus) | HYDRA (Madame Viper & Omega Red) | David Haller | Juggernaut | Bolivar Trask | Sentinels | Apocalypse | Horsemen of Apocalypse | Mesmero | Destiny | Arcade

Wolverine and the X-Men
Brotherhood of Mutants (Magneto, Mystique, Scarlet Witch, Juggernaut, Quicksilver, Avalanche, Blob, Pyro & Toad) | Dark Phoenix | Bolivar Trask | Sentinels | Sabretooth | Mutant Response Division (Colonel Moss) | Shadow King | Hellfire Club (Sebastian Shaw, Donald Pierce, Harry Leland, Selene Gallio, Emma Frost & Stepford Cuckoos) | Master Mold | Silver Samurai | Nitro | Mojo | Mister Sinister | Apocalypse

Marvel Anime: X-Men
Hellfire Club (Mastermind & Emma Frost) | U-Men (Sublime)

Legion
Legion | Shadow King | Oliver Bird | Time Eaters

The Gifted
Sentinel Services (Jace Turner & Ed Weeks) | Trask Industries (Roderick Champell) | Ted Wilson | Hellfire Club (Fenris, Reeva Paype & Frost Sisters) | Benedict Ryan

Video Games
The Uncanny X-Men: Magneto | White Queen | Juggernaut | Sabretooth | Boomerang
X-Men: Madness in Murderworld: Arcade | Magneto | Juggernaut | Blob | White Queen | Mystique | Pyro | Wendigo | Silver Samurai
X-Men II: The Fall of the Mutants: Mystique | Avalanche | Blob | Pyro | Spiral
Spider-Man & X-men: Arcade's Revenge: Arcade | Carnage | Rhino | Apocalypse | Juggernaut | Selene Gallio | Sentinels | Master Mold
X-Men (1992): Brotherhood of Mutant Terrorists (Magneto, Mystique, White Queen, Juggernaut, Blob, Pyro, Wendigo & Living Monolith) | Sentinels
X-Men (1993): Magneto | Apocalypse | Sabretooth | Juggernaut | Sentinels | Ahab | Mojo
X-Men 2: Clone Wars: Apocalypse | Phalanx | The Brood | Magneto
X-Men: Children of the Atom: Magneto | Juggernaut | Omega Red | Silver Samurai | Sentinel | Spiral | Mojo
X-Men (1994): Magneto | Sebastian Shaw | Callisto | Sauron | Brood Queen | Omega Red
X-Men 2: Game Master's Legacy: Gamesmaster | Apocalypse | Mister Sinster | Exodus
X-Men: Mutant Apocalypse: Apocalypse | Juggernaut | Omega Red | Brood Queen | Sentinels | Acolytes | Exodus | Magneto
X-Men vs. Street Fighter: Apocalypse | Acolytes | Magneto | Juggernaut | Sabretooth | Rogue | Angel
X-Men 3: Mojo World: Mojo | Magneto | Master Mold | Trevor Fitzroy | Spiral
X-Men: The Ravages of Apocalypse: Apocalypse | Mister Sinister | Magneto
X-Men: Mutant Academy: Magneto | Mystique | Sabretooth | Toad
X-Men: Mutant Wars: Magneto | Mystique | Sabretooth | Apocalypse
X-Men: Wolverine's Rage: Lady Deathstrike | Sabretooth | Deadpool
X-Men: Mutant Academy 2: Magneto | Mystique | Sabretooth | Juggernaut | Toad
X-Men: Reign of Apocalypse: Apocalypse | Archangel | Magneto | Dark Phoenix | Juggernaut | Sabretooth | Silver Samurai | Sauron | Blob | Pyro
X-Men: Next Dimension: Brotherhood of Evil Mutants (Magneto, Sabretooth, Toad, Mystique, Juggernaut, Blob, Lady Deathstrike & Pyro) | Bastion | Sentinels
X2: Wolverine's Revenge: Magneto | Sabretooth | Wendigo | Lady Deathstrike | Juggernaut | Omega Red | Apocalypse | Mr. Sinister
X-Men Legends: Brotherhood of Evil Mutants/Acolytes (Magneto, Mystique, Blob, Pyro, Avalanche, Sabretooth & Toad) | Marrow | Juggernaut | Shadow King | Apocalypse | Master Mold
X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse: Apocalypse | The Brood | Lady Deathstrike | Sauron | Omega Red | Stepford Cuckoos | Deadpool | Mister Sinister | Dark Beast | Living Monolith | Mystique | Destiny | Blob | Emma Frost | Sebastian Shaw | Archangel | Selene Gallio | Quicksilver
X-Men The Official Game: Brotherhood of Mutants (Magneto, Sabretooth & Pyro) HYDRA (Silver Samurai & Deathstike) | Multiple Man | Jason Stryker | Master Mold | Mystique | Toad

See Also
Alpha Flight Villains | Deadpool Villains | Excalibur Villains | New Mutants Villains | Wolverine Villains | X-Factor Villains | X-Force Villains | X-Men Movie Villains

           Wolverine-Logo-600x257 Villains

Comics
Abomination | Absorbing Man | A.I.M. | Annihilus | Apocalypse | Arcade | Arnim Zola | Aryan | Avalanche | Banapur Khan | Baron Strucker | Baron Zemo | Bastion | Batroc | Beetle | Beyonder | Bi-Beast | Blastaar | Black Cat | Blackheart | Blob | Bolivar Trask | Boomerang | Brood | Brotherhood of Mutants | Bushwacker | Bullseye | Cameron Hodge | Cannibals (Marvel Universe Vs) | Cassandra Nova | Celestials | Collector | Contagion | Count Nefaria | Crimson Dynamo | Crossbones | Crossfire | Crusader | Daken | Damage | Dark Beast | Dark Phoenix | Dark X-Men | Deadpool | Deathwatch | Doctor Doom | Dr. Octopus | Dr. Rice | Donald Pierce | Dracula | Egghead | Ego | Electro | Emma Frost | Enchantress | Galactus | Gorgon | Green Goblin | Hammerhead | Hand | Hellfire Club | Hit-Monkey | HYDRA | Holocaust | The Hood | Hulk | Impossible Man | Inspector Krahn | Iron Monk | Jack O' Lantern | Juggernaut | Kang | Kingpin | Killer Shrike | Klaw | Kraven | Lord Deathstrike | Lady Deathstrike | Lady Mastermind | Lt. Ethan Warren | M.O.D.O.K. | Madame Masque | Madame Viper | Maestro | Magneto | Master Mold | Masters of Evil | Master of Illusions | Mauvais | Mr. Jip | Mojo | Mole Man | Morlocks | Mister Sinister | Mysterio | Mystique | Namor | Nightmare | Nimrod | Nitro | Norman Osborn | Nuke | Omega Red | Onslaught | Overdrive | Piledriver | Prime Evil | Professor Thorton | Puma | Punisher | Punisher (Earth-95126) | Quicksilver | Romulus | Red Ghost | Red Skull | Reavers | Rhino | Sabretooth | Sabretooth Army | Sandman | Savage Land Mutates | Sauron | Scarlet Witch | Sebastian Shaw | Sentinels | Shadow King | Shingen Yashida | Shocker | Silvermane | Silver Samurai | Sin | Skaar | Spiral | Spot | Stryfe | Stepford Cuckoos | Super-Apes | Symbiotes | Taskmaster | Thanos | Thunderball | Thomas Logan | Tiger Shark | Tinkerer | Titania | Titanium Man | Toad | Tarantula | Ultron | Vampires | Venom | Vermin | Vulture | Wendigo | Whiplash | Whirlwind | White Rabbit | William Stryker | Winter Soldier | Wrecker

Movies
Hulk Vs. Wolverine: Professor Thorton | Deadpool | Lady Deathstrike | Sabretooth | Omega Red
X-Men Origins: Wolverine: William Stryker Jr. | Sabretooth | Weapon XI | Agent Zero | Blob | Carol Frost
The Wolverine: Silver Samurai | Madam Viper | Shingen Yashida | Noburo Mori | Magneto
Logan: Essex Corp (Zander Rice, Donald Pierce, X-24 & Reavers)

Television
Wolverine and the X-Men: Brotherhood of Mutants (Magneto, Mystique, Scarlet Witch, Juggernaut, Quicksilver, Avalanche, Blob, Pyro & Toad) | Dark Phoenix | Bolivar Trask | Sentinels | Sabretooth | Mutant Response Division (Colonel Moss) | Shadow King | Hellfire Club (Sebastian Shaw, Donald Pierce, Harry Leland, Selene Gallio, Emma Frost & Stepford Cuckoos) | Master Mold | Silver Samurai | Professor Thorton | Mister Sinister | Apocalypse
Marvel Anime: Wolverine: Shingen Yashida | Hideki Kurohagi | Omega Red | Vadhaka | A.I.M.

Video Games
Black Cat | Brigade | Fault Zone | Hazmat | Johnny Ohm | Niles Van Roekel | Solara | The Wink | Vulture

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