All throughout December, we will be examining comic book stories and ideas that were not only abandoned, but also had the stories/plots specifically "overturned" by a later writer (as if they were a legal precedent). Click here for an archive of all the previous editions of The Abandoned An' Forsaked. Feel free to e-mail me at bcronin@comicbookresources.com if you have any suggestions for future editions of this feature.

Today, we look at Magneto's history of NOT being Jewish for a time.

Enjoy!

When Chris Claremont first examined Magneto's background, it seemed clear that Claremont believed that Magneto was Jewish. This, itself, of course, was a retcon for Magneto (as his Holocaust background was added to the character retroactively) but it was a retcon that didn't NECESSARILY contradict Magneto's earlier appearances (there is a strong argument to be made that Magneto's Holocaust background doesn't really fit with his earliest appearances, but it is not like there was ever a time when Magneto said he WASN'T Jewish, ya know?).

Here is a bit from Uncanny #150...





Here is a bit from Uncanny #199...





And here is a bit from Classic X-Men #19...



It all seems pretty clear that they're going for Magneto as being Jewish.

But then 1993's X-Men Unlimited #4 came out, making Magneto be in the camps for a reason OTHER than being Jewish...







A few years later, this was retconned in X-Men #72...













Those pages, of course, don't explicit say that he IS Jewish.

I dunno if they established that anywhere before 2008's Magneto Testament #1, where we both learn Magneto's real name, Max Eisenhardt...







as well as get confirmation that he is, in fact, Jewish...



And he has been Jewish ever since.

If you have a suggestion for a future edition of Abandoned an' Forsaked, drop me a line at bcronin@comicbookresources.com!