One of the most iconic and powerful comic book supervillains / anti-heroes of all time, Magneto has served as the X-Men's archenemy-cum-ally for more than 50 years. Whether you like him or not, there's something truly compelling about Magneto, often regarded, wrongly or rightly, as Marvel's answer to Malcolm X. A Holocaust survivor on a mission to protect mutantkind at all costs, Magneto has fought against or outright murdered many humans over the years, as well as various mutants who've opposed him.
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He also inadvertently caused the deaths of millions of mutants by gathering them on Genosha, making them an easy target for Cassandra Nova and her Sentinels. Fortunately, women in the Marvel universe really dig a man with a past, and over the years, Magneto has used his most potent superpower -- procreation -- to spawn sons, daughters, clones and even genetically engineered uber-beings. CBR lists 15 of his most magnetic children.
15 ANYA
"Classic X-Men" #12 describes the tragically short life of Anya Eisenhardt, Magneto's first child and the sister that Pietro and Wanda never had a chance to meet. Magneto's original name was not Erik Lehnsherr, but Max Eisenhardt, who changed his name to Erik after escaping a Nazi concentration camp with his girlfriend, Magda. After the end of World War II, Erik and Magda came out of hiding and married, giving birth to Anya shortly afterwards. The family moved to Ukraine, hoping to find a fresh start, but Erik's powers manifested at his new job, drawing unwanted attention to the family.
One night Erik returned home to find his house on fire but was unable to rescue Anya because police officers arrested him for assaulting his boss with his newfound powers. In retaliation, Erik killed everyone in the city of Vinnitsa; terrified by her husband's powers, Magda fled, not telling Erik that she was pregnant. This event reinforced Erik's hatred for humanity, setting him on the path to becoming Magneto.
14 SCARLET WITCH
Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, Wanda Maximoff first appears with her brother Pietro in "X-Men" #4, as a submissive member of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants who is often abused by Magneto. It's not long before she joins the Avengers and couples up with Vision, but her unstable powers frequently put the world in jeopardy. Eventually, after she is responsible for the death of Hawkeye and the destruction of Vision, the Avengers begin to contemplate killing her.
This leads to a chain of events that produces the infamous "House of M" storyline, in which Wanda warps reality to create a world where everyone has their heart's desire. In this reality, Wanda and her brother rule by Magneto's side until her father discovers what she's done and kills Quicksilver, prompting Wanda to depower 90% of the mutant population. Although a recent retcon revealed that she's actually a non-mutant who was given powers by the High Evolutionary, she's been the daughter of Magneto for the last 40 years, which qualifies her for this list.
13 QUICKSILVER
Arriving 24 years after DC's speedster, The Flash, Pietro Maximoff, has had a long and tortured history with Magneto, who up until recently was his father. His original origin story described his mother Magda fleeing to Wundagore Mountain and hiding the twins from their father Magneto after witnessing him kill an angry mob. But unlike his father, Quicksilver would become a superhero, joining the Avengers and then X-Factor.
Over the years, he's both opposed and aided Magneto, serving at his side when he ruled Genosha and savagely beating his powerless father in "Son of M." Like his father, he also has a dark side, being the one who persuaded an emotionally vulnerable Wanda to warp reality in "House of M" and attempting to release the Terrigen Mists upon the depowered mutant population, despite its hazardous effects. Although he's no longer truly the son of Magneto, Quicksilver has also inherited his father's sense of superiority, viewing all humans as inferior.
12 POLARIS
The result of an affair between Magneto and her mother, Lorna Dane's father believed that she was his daughter until she was three years old. Lorna's magnetic powers manifested while flying with her folks and the resulting magnetic pulse destroyed the plane and killed her parents. Her powers remained dormant until her first appearance in "X-Men" #49 when Mesmero forces her powers to manifest with his Genetic Stimulator Machine. In a bizarre turn of events, an android then reveals that Magneto is Lorna's father, a fact which is confirmed in "Uncanny X-Men" #431.
Lorna bonds with her father when she goes to aid him in Genosha, enjoying the training he gives her in the use of her similar powers, but it's not long before he attempts to use her as a weapon in the Genoshan civil war. The Sentinels destroy Genosha in "New X-Men" #15 and Lorna is left utterly broken after witnessing the massacre, becoming a darker and more violent version of herself. When Havok breaks off their engagement and leaves her for Annie Ghazikhanian, she falls to pieces, requiring Juggernaut to knock her out and Professor X to put her back together again.
11 MAGNUS
A bright light that burned for only two issues before being extinguished, Magnus had the potential to become one of Marvel's greatest heroes; unfortunately, it wasn't to be. Born on Earth-27 to Magneto and Rogue, who were both outlawed X-Men and reformed villains, Magnus survived a traumatic birth to enter a relatively happy childhood. As a boy, his powers of magnetism surpassed his father's, giving him mastery over all magnetic forces and the ability to remold all metallic substances, including adamantium. His second mutation manifested at age 13 and that's when things took a turn for the worse.
In "Exiles" #1, we read that he manifested an ability similar to his mother's, only far more deadly. Upon touching Rogue, she became a statue of solid steel and the young Magnus became distant and lonely, while his father returned to his former villainous ways. He found redemption by joining the Exiles, a group of time and space traveling superheroes, but their partnership didn't last long, for Magnus was soon required to make the ultimate sacrifice to stop Charles Xavier's A-Bomb. He was created by Judd Winick and Mike McKone.
10 CHARLES LEHNSHERR
The next child of Magneto had the same parents but with a different twist. In "X-Men: Alpha," Earth-295's Magneto and Rogue realized their similar magnetic powers made Magneto immune to Rogue's absorption abilities and they began a relationship. Rogue gave birth to Charles, who Magneto named after his deceased friend Charles Xavier. This took place in "Age of Apocalypse," an alternate timeline that was created when David Haller traveled back in time and accidentally killed his dad, Charles Xavier, instead of Magneto. Don't mess with time, everyone!
Charles' childhood was soon ruined by Bishop, who realized that he had fractured memories of the original timeline, inspiring Magneto to send out groups of X-Men to attempt to change history. Bishop and Magneto were captured by Apocalypse's forces, and Charles was sent into the Morlock Tunnels under the protection of Nanny, his guard robot. After his dad slew Apocalypse, Charles came to live in the rebuilt mansion once owned by his namesake, Charles Xavier. Sounds like a happy ending, right? Wrong. Charles was apparently killed in front of his father by Demon Ock, the "Age of Apocalypse" version of Doctor Octopus.
9 NINA GURSKY
Based on Anya Eisenhardt, Nina Gursky appears in "X-Men: Apocalypse," where her death serves as a catalyst for Erik's third transformation into the supervillain Magneto. Ten years after the events of the movie "X-Men: Days of Future Past," Erik Lehnsherr is living a relatively normal life as Henryk Gurzky, a steelworker. Erik inadvertently reveals himself as a mutant after using his powers to save a coworker, and upon returning home that night, tells his wife Magda that they must leave immediately.
They find their daughter Nina in the custody of police officers who now know Erik's real identity and that he was responsible for the events in Washington. Erik surrenders to the police in exchange for his family's freedom, but Nina loses control of her mutant abilities, resulting in a swarm of birds attacking the police. Nina and Magda are killed when one of the officers accidentally shoots them with an arrow and Erik then kills the officers with Nina's metal locket. Once again, he loses his family and becomes Magneto, paving the way for Apocalypse to recruit him.
8 PLAGUE
Here comes another child from an alternate reality, but be warned, it's a strange one! "X-Men Millennial Visions" #2001, the one-shot series, offers us a glimpse into a twisted future where our favorite heroes are radically different. In "Brother(hoods) Keeper," we discover that Magneto and Rogue Darkholme, a combination of Rogue and Mystique, had a child named Plague. Together they make up one disturbing family, all swearing allegiance to the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. Rogue is also less than faithful to Magneto, regularly cheating on him with Gambit. Standard stuff, really.
Their daughter Plague is a devilish creature (picture the girl from The Exorcist) with the charming ability to create and control tiny robotic viruses, dubbed "Microsentinels," which she uses to burrow into a victim's skin and unleash all manner of nasty diseases. The story comes to a conclusion when Peter Wisdom, a British MI-13 agent, infiltrates the Brotherhood and manages to persuade Plague to betray her family. Hopefully, she'll never visit the Marvel canon universe!
7 ZALADANE
Gerry Conway's Zaladane is another comic book enigma that is still unsolved today. In "Astonishing Tales" #3, we're introduced to Zaladane, the self-proclaimed half-sister of Polaris and a power hungry priestess of Garrok the Petrified Man; a god worshiped by the Sun People in the Savage Land. After somehow discovering that her sister had powers, Zaladane (real name Zala Dane) was immensely jealous, venturing all over the world in an effort to obtain her own powers. Eventually, she came across the Savage Land and there claimed power for herself, becoming a master sorceress and using technology to mutate herself.
Interestingly, her powers bear a slight resemblance to those of Scarlet Witch -- could Magneto could be her father too? She certainly shares his desire to subdue the earth. In "Uncanny X-Men" #275 we read that she's stolen both Polaris' and Magneto's powers and, along with the Savage Land Mutates, is attempting to manipulate the Earth's magnetic fields. She meets her end in that issue when Magneto regains his powers and reverses her blood flow. Ironically, Magneto is unaware of their possible blood connection at the time.
6 VISION
Would Magneto make a good father-in-law? Probably not. Created by Roy Thomas and John Buscema, Vision was originally the "child" of Ultron ("Avengers" #57), but quickly rebelled against him to join the Avengers and help them defeat him. Vision soon became involved with the Scarlet Witch, married her and using Wanda's hex powers, conceived twin boys. But unfortunately, all of Magneto's children are cursed with his own bad luck in relationships and Wanda's unstable powers destroy both their marriage and Vision himself.
Vision is repaired by Tony Stark and Hank Pym, and in "Avengers" #24, he goes to Utopia to confront Magneto on Wanda's whereabouts, accusing the Master of Magnetism of ruining his children's lives. Magneto subdues Vision but spares him, knowing that Wanda still cares for the synthezoid and that she would never forgive Magneto if he killed him. Then again, he does end up destroying Vision in "Exiles," when he hurls a large asteroid at Earth. So, it's not the closest relationship.
5 CRYSTAL
Magneto's former daughter-in-law, Crystal, has had a turbulent relationship with his son Quicksilver, who like his father, is unable to keep a woman for long. The first marriage between a human and an Inhuman, Crystal first met an injured Quicksilver in "Fantastic Four" #131 and their romance began when she nursed him back to health in Attilan. They eventually married and had a child named Luna, who surprisingly was without powers. After learning the truth of who his children are, Magneto reveals himself as Pietro and Wanda's father in "Vision and the Scarlet Witch" #4 where he also meets Luna, who softens his heart towards humanity.
Over the years Crystal and Quicksilver have split and reunited several times, with Crystal finally calling it quits after Quicksilver kidnaps Luna and exposes her to the Terrigen Mists in an effort to give her powers ("Silent War" #1). Crystal is able to manipulate the four basic elements (fire, water, earth and air) and is now happily married to Ronan the Accuser, who she married in order to forge an alliance between the Kree and the Inhumans. She was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby.
4 JOSEPH
From his first appearance in "Uncanny X-Men" #327, Joseph was believed to be a younger amnesiac version of Magneto by both the X-Men and the Acolytes. Upon meeting him, Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch were also shocked by their father's apparent transformation into a kind and generous soul, and the X-Men accepted him into their ranks when he joined the fight against Onslaught. Unsurprisingly, he was attracted to Rogue, who turned him down in favor of Gambit.
In "X-Men" #87, he is revealed to be a clone of Magneto, who lost his memories when his creator Astra sent him to kill Magneto. But before he has a chance to contemplate his true identity, he's required to face Magneto for the second time, an event which ended in Joseph sacrificing himself to save the world from Magneto's magnetic destruction ("X-Men" # 87). In some ways, Joseph's death is a missed opportunity for Magneto, who could have had a fresh start as a hero. He was created by Scott Lobdell, Andy Kubert and Joe Madureira.
3 ALPHA
Not content with having mutant children, Magneto decided to create one of his own after stumbling upon the wreckage of a long-abandoned Deviant city while imprisoned in the center of the earth. Inside the city he found experimental evolutionary technology placed there by the half-Inhuman, half-Deviant Maelstrom that would enable him to create the ultimate mutant. Xavier and the Defenders attempted to prevent Magneto's creation from hatching in "Defenders" #15 but they were defeated by the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants and Alpha entered the world.
Initially a speechless brute, the continually-evolving Alpha defeated the Hulk and teleported the Brotherhood to the United Nations at Magneto's command, who then ordered the creature to slay the Defenders. Magneto was convinced by Charles Xavier and Dr. Strange to abandon his mad plan and Alpha left Earth to pursue its own destiny. Alpha possesses unmeasured telekinetic, teleportation and telepathic powers, as well as a highly advanced intellect and was created by Len Wein and Sal Buscema.
2 EXODUS
Although not his biological son, Exodus is the closest thing Magneto has to the perfect son, being a mutant who shares all of his values and completely dedicated to his cause. He's also an omega level mutant, possessing vast superhuman powers including telepathy, telekinesis and teleportation, as well as superhuman durability and healing. His high power levels are most likely a result of his encounter with Apocalypse, who he met in the 12th century during the Crusades. Apocalypse sought to use him as a weapon, but Exodus rejected the false god and was imprisoned in stasis for his rebellion.
Centuries later, in "X-Factor" #92, Magneto found and freed him, indoctrinated him into his violent ways and selected him to lead the Acolytes. His criminal career highlights include turning a S.H.I.E.L.D carrier into a Cerebro type device, defeating the combined forces of the X-Men and Avengers, and forcing Charles Xavier to face his greatest failures. Like Magneto, he often shows no regard for human life, viewing humans as inferior to mutants. Exodus was created by Scott Lobdell and Joe Quesada, and like most of Magneto's kids, has recently turned against him, oddly, in a bid to impress him.
1 ONSLAUGHT
The world isn't ready for Magneto and Xavier to couple up and procreate, but they did have a child together and it wasn't the IVF kind. Enter Onslaught, the terrifying result of an angry Charles Xavier shutting down Magneto's mind after he removed Wolverine's adamantium. Making his first full appearance in "X-Men" #52, we discover that Onslaught is a near-omnipotent being formed of Magneto's anger, grief and lust for vengeance combined with every negative feeling Xavier has suppressed over the last 30 years. Despite resembling Magneto, Onslaught is made of psionic energy and possesses the combined powers of both Magneto and Xavier.
Fueled by Xavier's failure to unite humanity and mutantkind, Onslaught planned to transform the entire human race into a collective consciousness, absorbing Franklin Richards and X-Man to gain enough psionic power to do it. The non-mutant members of the Avengers, the Fantastic Four and Doctor Doom all seemingly perished trying to stop him in "Onslaught Marvel Universe" and although they would later return in "Heroes Reborn: The Return" #4, so would Onslaught in later issues. Scott Lobdell, Mark Waid and Andy Kubert were the disturbed minds behind Onslaught's creation.
Are there other children of Magneto that should be on this list? Let us know in the comments!