A History of Magneto Switching From Villain to Hero

Magneto, one of the most engaging characters in the Marvel Universe, has become a villain again. This is just the latest in a series of such moments for the character, so let’s look back at his history and all the times he (or a clone) became an X-Man.

Master Of Magnet

Magneto was introduced in Uncanny X-Men #1 as the first villain for the team. In his original incarnation, he was more one-note. While he had a more relatable mission than someone like Doctor Doom, he was very much a bad guy without depth. His desire to supplant humanity with mutants was treated as a villainous objective, although this changed when the character got possibly the most tragic origin in Marvel canon.

Magneto became a Holocaust survivor. Once liberated, he led a quiet life with his wife Magda until their home (with their daughter) was burnt to the ground. He killed the villagers responsible, terrifying his wife with his display of power. He took the name Erik Lehnsherr and traveled the world, meeting Charles Xavier and fighting Nazis. Xavier’s compassion for humanity stood in stark contrast to the harsh lessons Erik had been taught over his life, and the two parted ways.

Uncanny X-Men Vol. 1 #161 (Claremont/Cockrum)

Erik became determined to lead mutants to world domination as Magneto, which morphed from a more straightforward villainous scheme to just a way keep mutants safe. This didn’t work, but he did become a prominent villain by fighting the X-Men, the Defenders and the Avengers.

Reform (And Rejection)

God Loves, Man Kills (Claremont/Anderson)

The seeds for Magneto going good came with God Loves, Man Kills. Magneto and the X-Men formed an alliance when the forces of Reverend Stryker attacked. While Magneto decides against staying with the X-Men, he departs on decent terms. When he fears he has killed Kitty Pryde during a later battle, he’s horrified and surrenders. During Secret Wars, the Beyonder declared his intentions more altruistic than vengeful and sorted him with the heroes -- surprising everyone, including Magneto. All this softened his views on humanity, and he voluntarily turned himself over to the authorities in Uncanny X-Men #200. He joined the ranks of the X-Men and became the teacher for the New Mutants, but his tenure as headmaster didn’t go great.

A disastrous alliance with the Hellfire Club, breaking-up with Lee Forrester, the death of Doug Ramsay, the Mutant Massacre and the apparent loss of the X-Men during Fall of the Mutants all broke his spirit. He became desperate to protect mutants, and formed alliances with villains to that end. Following a brutal mission alongside Rogue and Nick Fury, he renounced his attempts to reform.

This period saw Magneto revert to villainy hard. He destroyed submarines to steal nuclear missiles. He built Avalon to serve as the home for the Acolytes. During a battle with the X-Men, he pulled the adamantium from the bones of Wolverine. Magneto got mind-wiped for that, leading to Onslaught and the creation of his clone, Joseph.

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Joseph joined the X-Men while a restored Magneto bided his time. Eventually, Magneto resurfaced and Joseph died in battle (before being revived because everyone in comics gets revived). But following the Magneto Wars, Lensherr took control of Genosha -- for a year or so before it got blown up. Believed dead, the X-Men were shocked when their newest member, Xorn, revealed himself to be Magneto. He destroyed much of New York City before being beheaded by Wolverine. But then (literally a month later), he was revealed to be alive in the ruins of Genosha. Turned out that Xorn had been pretending to be Magneto pretending to be Xorn. Comics, everybody.

The Meanest X-Man

The events of House of M brought Magneto back, with Quicksilver using Scarlet Witch to create a reality where Magneto ruled the world. Enraged about all that pain and suffering done in his name as a result, he killed Quicksilver and caused Scarlet Witch to trigger the Decimation event.

Left without his powers for a few years, Magneto hid. He had small roles in the following years before returning to prominence during Nation X. He officially rejoined the X-Men’s ranks after being impressed by the construction of Utopia. He befriended Namor and helped construct a new Atlantis alongside Utopia. He helped save Kitty Pryde from the Break-World bullet and defended the island from Nimrod's attacks during Second Coming. He helped bring down the Phoenix-empowered forces at the end of Avengers vs. X-Men and went on the run -- but was very much an X-Man.

Becoming a vengeful protector to mutant kind in his solo book, his morality was tested by AXIS and his resolve broken by Inhumans vs. X-Men. His dedication to protecting mutants during that event was pivotal to the X-Men surviving, but he was pushed to his absolute limits.

During Secret Empire, Magneto did his best to protect mutants by agreeing to an armistice with Hydra Captain America, helping Beast and Emma Frost create New Tian as a safe haven during the crossover. He then faked his death and slipped back into hiding, giving him time to form new plans. He became a mentor for the time-displaced original X-Men before seeing the dark future that comes about because of their presence. Broken by the hellscape he saw, he gave up on any ambitions of being a “hero” and has officially gone back to villainy.

Back And Forth

Magneto has spent a lot of time both as a hero and a villain. It stems from his motivations and desires, to the point where even abstracts of the universe considered him more a hero than a villain. But Marvel never knows what to do with him, leading to a lot of confusing back-and-forth with the character over the years.

It’s sad, because the story of his reformation and commitment to Xavier speaks to the core of the franchise. Magneto as an X-Man is way more compelling than as a misguided baddie, but, if history is anything to go by, readers will just have to wait a few years before he’s back to being a hero.