Magneto has had an interesting relationship with the X-Men since their first conflicts. Though he made his debut opposing the X-Men, ultimately their intentions are similar. Both Magneto and Charles Xavier want what they believe is best for mutants, though their methods vary dramatically. The far more violent methods of the Master of Magnetism have seen him branded as a villain. While he has certainly behaved like a villain, Magneto is fighting for his people when all is said and done. His more abrasive and aggressive actions have earned him enemies and rivals across the Marvel Universe, though no one has had more Magneto-related headaches than the students of Xavier.
Outside of their problems with Magneto, the X-Men still exist in a world that hates and fears mutants. As such, mutants have had their backs against the wall more times than they can count. Persecuted, silenced and even dealing with groups who would hunt them to extinction, mutants have often needed to stand together. Before they are members of the X-Men or members of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, these mutants are genetic brethren. Magneto has found himself on the same team as the X-Men several times as a result of the world around them. There have even been times where Magneto has led his own X-Men teams, which has earned him the respect of some of their roster. The tumultuous relationship with the X-Men aside, we'll take a look at who Magneto hates and who Magneto rates!
20 FIGHT WITH: WOLVERINE
Wolverine and Magneto have never been the best of friends, even when they've been working alongside one another. On paper, a man with a metal skeleton should naturally be an enemy of a man who can control metal. Magneto also doesn't approve of Wolverine's rough and ragged demeanor, believing it to be uncouth.
In one infamous clash between the two, Magneto ripped the Adamantium from Wolverine's bones. This event was excruciatingly painful for Logan, as although his healing factor is powerful, it only kept him together as the pain engulfed him. The whole process turned Wolverine feral for a while, with the trauma regressing the hero to an animalistic state. This piece of artwork was done by Nok Chang.
19 RESPECTS: XAVIER
Charles and Max were once extremely close friends, though Charles knew Magneto as Erik at the time. The two found solace in one another, bonding over their mutant powers and want to make the world better for their people. Due to their conflicting visions, however, their relationship soon broke down.
Where Charles would take the path of least resistance, Max wanted to use more intimidating methods. The contention saw the two part ways, with Xavier forming the X-Men and Magneto forming the Brotherhood. The respect for Charles never left Max, and the two would ally together several times after their initial parting.
18 FIGHT WITH: CYCLOPS
Despite the fact that Scott mirrored Magneto and his ideals in the months leading up to his end, he never really got on with Magneto. Even when working together, Magneto found himself clashing with Cyclops. During Avengers Vs. X-Men, Magneto was one of the first X-Men to try and rebel against the Phoenix Five, alongside the likes of Cannonball.
Before his descent, Scott was Xavier's golden boy. As a result of being nominated to lead the X-Men towards Charles' dream, Magneto detested the naive boy scout that Cyclops appeared to be. Cyclops led his team to several of Magneto's defeats, which will have left a bruise on Max's ego.
17 RESPECTS: SABRETOOTH
When forming his Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, Magneto appreciates a reliable subordinate. Victor Creed's violent and efficient methods make him an important and lethal vanguard for Magneto's vision. It also helps that Sabretooth is willing to deal with X-Men like Wolverine, who Magneto would rather not waste his time with.
When Magneto formed his own X-Men team, a newly realigned Sabretooth was one of his first choices. He was chosen alongside more traditional X-Men like Psylocke. Despite the events of AXIS changing Creed into a hero, Magneto still respects and trusts him to play his part, even though he did not have his lethal tendencies any longer.
16 FIGHT WITH: JEAN GREY
Being one of the original X-Men, Jean is certainly no stranger to conflict with Magneto. The classic roster of X-Men and Magneto clashed numerous times, with Magneto being their most dangerous enemy for a long time. Though times have changed, it's still hard for Magneto to trust Jean.
Recently, Magneto helped the All-New X-Men by giving them a base of operations in Madripoor. Through their adventures, multiple futures were shown to the team, all showing them eventually coming into conflict with Magneto again. This did indeed come to pass when at the end of X-Men Blue, the Master of Magnetism formed a new Brotherhood of Mothervine mutants, abandoning Jean and her X-Men.
15 RESPECTS: POLARIS
Though Polaris' relationship with her father Magneto has not been ideal, Max has a great deal of respect for her. The two were estranged from one another, with his paternity of Lorna confirmed in the pages of Uncanny X-Men sometime after her debut. While the trust may not go both ways, Magneto believes that Lorna is a capable and reliable ally.
While Magneto worked with the All-New X-Men, they went missing for a time. To replace them, Magneto brought in several allies including Danger, Daken, Bloodstorm and Polaris herself. Polaris would lead this temporary incarnation of the X-Men Blue team with his direction, alongside a mutant vigilante group known as the Raksha.
14 FIGHT WITH: COLOSSUS
Much in the same way that Wolverine wouldn't do too well against Magneto, Colossus' metal powers don't fare much better. Piotr is a gentle guy despite his size, powers, and ability to crack skulls, so Magneto's war-like approach isn't his style. Magneto sees the same naivety in Colossus that he saw in the original X-Team.
When Colossus and his sister Magik shared some of the Phoenix Force, they showed quite a lot of disrespect to Magneto. They looked down on him as they believed they now had the power to save mutant-kind, finally succeeding where Max had failed all those years before.
13 RESPECTS: DANGER
Danger began life as the training facility for the X-Men in the depths of the X-Mansion. It then turned out that the amount of data and exercises programmed into it over the years had turned it sentient. Danger then attempted to end the X-Men, using the data it had stored on all their combat training. Though a formidable foe, Danger eventually relented, joining the X-Men.
When Magneto formed X-Men Blue with the All-New X-Men, he recruited Danger to help train them. Danger proved to be a very dependable and resourceful ally, acting not only as a mentor to the young mutants, but also as their own private jet.
12 FIGHT WITH: ARCHANGEL
As if Magneto's history with Warren Worthington wasn't enough to sustain a grudge between the two, Archangel adds another layer to their contempt. Having fought Warren back when he was Angel and an original X-Man, Magneto isn't a fan of him, to begin with. Later, when Angel became Archangel thanks to Apocalypse, this became an even bigger headache for Max.
Magneto helped Warren try to reform from his sinister alter ego, even making him a new costume. However, after every chance granted to him by Magneto, including involving him with Max's incarnation of the Uncanny X-Men, Warren always returned to his sadistic Archangel persona.
11 RESPECTS: ELIXIR
Though they did not interact much while Josh was alive initially, Magneto respects his powers. Elixir's ability to heal people to an extreme degree makes him a very useful asset. Though he was believed to have perished after being assassinated by an anti-mutant group, Josh Foley returned.
When he emerged from his grave he was met by Magneto and his newly formed Uncanny X-Men. Angry at the state of the world around him, Josh lashed out and almost destroyed Magneto's whole team. With his secondary mutation to degrade cells, he almost took them all apart, until Magneto was able to reason with the wayward youngster.
10 FIGHT WITH: BEAST
Beast is one of the original X-Men and as such, has had a lot of experience in dealing with Magneto. Even his younger, time-displaced counterpart has had run-ins with the Master of Magnetism. Magneto has had to deal with Beast's intellect as much as his acrobatics. With younger Beast, Magneto has even had to deal with McCoy's dabbling in the occult.
Beast and Magneto have found themselves on the opposite sides of various conflicts. During the events of Inhumans Vs. X-Men, Beast was so committed to finding a way to resolve the factions differences that he set up camp with Medusa of the Inhumans. This once again brought him into contention with the likes of Cyclops, Emma Frost and, of course, Magneto himself.
9 RESPECTS: ROGUE
Rogue made her debut as part of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, so Magneto has been aware of her abilities for a long time. She was brought to his attention via her adoptive mother, Mystique. Though Rogue made the switch to the X-Men, the mutual respect is still present, even if she doesn't always trust Magneto.
In some instances, the two have even been involved romantically. In the Age of Apocalypse reality, in particular, Magneto and Rogue are closer than in any other instance and lead the X-Men together. Rogue was also once involved with a clone of Magneto, who went by the name Joseph.
8 FIGHT WITH: ICEMAN
Bobby Drake is an Omega Level mutant and as such is a formidable foe for Max. Though he didn't know his full potential back when Magneto was the X-Men's primary villain, he's sure getting there now! Both present-day Iceman and Time-displaced Iceman do not have much love for Magneto, a bias picked up from those early conflicts.
In addition to the two 616-universe Icemen, Magneto doesn't seem to have luck with Bobby in other universes either. In the Age of Apocalypse universe, Bobby betrays Magneto's X-Men and sells them out for his own survival. A misdeed that would be avenged by one of Magneto's lieutenants, Nightcrawler.
7 RESPECTS: NAMOR
Both Magneto and Namor know what it's like to lead their people back from the brink of certain doom. Where Magneto has had his wars with humanity, Namor has too. The two leaders respect one another, owing to their mutual hatred for oppressors such as the Axis forces during World War Two.
These two elder statesmen of the mutant race have been fighting for their own and their people's survival for decades. When Namor Joined the X-Men following the events of House of M, Magneto joined also. Having these two titans of mutantkind on the same side proved paramount in defending Utopia from those who sought to snuff them out.
6 FIGHT WITH: CABLE
Though he proved to be a valuable ally against Apocalypse, Cable hasn't really gotten on with Magneto. His inability to work for long with Magneto is seemingly a problem he inherited from his father, Cyclops. Though Magneto helped protect Utopia and Hope Summers from anti-mutant forces, trust is not something Cable has for the magnetic menace.
On one occasion, Magneto pulled all of the techno-organic virus from Cable's body, similar to the way he removed Wolverine's Adamantium. Though you'd think removing the debilitating virus would be a kind gesture, it was not. An excruciatingly painful affair for Cable, Magneto can be very sadistic when he wants to be.
5 RESPECTS: EMMA FROST
Emma Frost and Magneto share a few common traits. They're both skirting the line between hero and villain on most days, they're not fully aligned with Charles' dream and they're both willing to do whatever it takes to protect mutantkind.
There are several instances in which Magneto and Emma have formed a tenuous alliance. Though more recently they clashed over Mothervine, Magneto knows that Emma is dangerous and a potent ally to have. They both assisted Cyclops while he was on the run following Avengers Vs. X-Men and Emma also called upon Magneto to help with her plot against the Inhumans.
4 FIGHT WITH: CANNONBALL
Magneto has tried several times to fit in among the ranks of the X-Men. On one such occasion, Magneto tried his hand at being a headmaster at the X-Mansion. Under Magneto, the New Mutants were formed, with several future X-Men and Avengers making up their ranks. Sunspot, Magik and Dani Moonster all enjoyed a tenure on the New Mutants.
One such mutant, who would one day be called to join the Avengers, was Cannonball. Cannonball studied hard to become the leader of the New Mutants, becoming a trusted and dependable asset. When Magneto eventually returned to villainy, the New Mutants helped stand against him, with Cannonball leading the charge.
3 RESPECTS: PSYLOCKE
Elizabeth Braddock has had an interesting relationship with X-Men teams. She has been on the more orthodox teams, where they operate within the guidelines of Xavier's dreams. She has also been sanctioned to join the more covert, lethal arms of the X-Family such as Uncanny X-Force.
One unorthodox team she was drafted on to was Magneto's X-Men, during their war with the Inhumans. Magneto respected Psylocke's work and earning her trust was important to him. Though he never did earn it, Psylocke proved dependable. She even threatened to end him should he start crossing any lines, Magneto did, so she made good on that promise.
2 FIGHT WITH: MARROW
A lost and angry mutant, for a time Marrow seemed like the exact kind of recruit Magneto would draft into his Brotherhood. However, Marrow already belonged to a group known as the Morlocks. Morlocks lived in the sewers, shunned by humanity and fiercely protective of their own.
Marrow has no love for Magneto, not believing him to care for mutants as he preaches. She believed that if Magneto stands for mutants he should stand for all mutants, not just those who are able to live in society. She mistrusts him as he has never done anything to ease the plight of the Morlocks.
1 RESPECTS: MONET ST. CROIX
One of the more aggressive of the X-Men, Monet is an incredibly powerful fighter. Tired of the more passive methods of the regular X-Teams, she jumped at the chance to join Magneto's team. Magneto formed his very own Uncanny X-Men to enact a stronger method of protecting mutants. Monet formed a relationship with Sabretooth, seemingly due to Magneto bringing the two together.
Monet was tasked with protecting mutants no matter what methods, helping Magneto resolve a worldwide plot against mutant healers during the M-Pox crisis. Unfortunately, she would fall under the influence of her brother, Emplate, employing more lethal tactics to protect mutantkind.