In this feature we examine 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 an interesting retcon and counter-retcon regarding Magneto's role with the Hellfire Club.
In Uncanny X-Men #200 (by Chris Claremont, John Romita Jr. and Dan Green), a severely injured Charles Xavier (at the time, it was thought to be a FATAL wound, but right after this, Lilandra shows up and reveals that they can still save him in outer space) makes Magneto promise to take over as the new headmaster of Xavier's school...
Ten issues later, the Hellfire Club offers Magneto a spot in their Inner Circle...
In New Mutants #51 (by Claremont and Kevin Nowlan), Storm convinces Magneto to join and the two join together, in a plot point that no one, Claremont included, ever referenced again...
For instance, when Havok discovers Magneto is part of the Hellfire Club in Uncanny X-Men #219 (by Claremont, Bret Blevins and Green), it sure seems like it is JUST Magneto as a King...
In any event, early in his tenure with the Hellfire Club, the Mutant Massacre happened and the X-Men ended up being dispersed everywhere anyways. Notice why Magneto does not go with the X-Men to fight the Marauders...
The Hellfire Club part of Magneto's life was really only present in New Mutants issues, and even there, not THAT often.
Okay, so everything now comes to a head in New Mutants #75 by Louise Simonson and John Byrne (the X-Men, at this point, have seemingly been killed in Dallas), where Simonson and Byrne retcon all of Magneto's activities as the X-Men Headmaster up until this point. Check it out on the next page, as well as Claremont's counter-retcon...
So Simonson and Byrne (and inker Bob McLeod) have Sebastian Shaw pissed at Magneto over the effects of Inferno, which he tries to pin on Magneto. So they have a fight between each other while the New Mutants are trapped nearby, listening in...
This is all very in keeping with something that John Byrne and others at Marvel at the time were pushing for (Roger Stern was another one), a return to villainy for Magneto. And here, they more or less got their wish.
Magneto ends up defeating Shaw and taking over as the SOLE King in the Hellfire Club...
Claremont, as you might imagine, was not thrilled with this turn of events. So in Uncanny X-Men #253 (with art by Marc Silvestri and Steve Leialoha), Claremont retcons the retcon and reveals that Magneto is only PRETENDING to be a villain, so that he will take the attention away from the rest of the mutants out there...
It's a very clever retcon, because it allows for other writers to use Magneto as a villain if they want, while Claremont could still stick with "but he's secretly not a bad guy!" stuff.
As for the "Grey King," well, I guess that could be its own Abandoned Love right there (and I'll also be addressing some more Claremont Magneto retcons in the future).
If you have an idea for a future edition of Abandoned an' Forsaked, drop me a line at bcronin@comicbookresources.com!