Magneto was always one of the X-Men's greatest foes but things have changed a lot lately. For most of his existence, he's been one of the Marvel Universe's greatest villains but in recent years, he's been a member of the X-Men more often than not, helping to protect the mutant race from all manner of harm.
Part of the leadership of the mutant nation of Krakoa, Magneto's place among the X-Men is pretty unassailable. However, the question has to be asked if the extremely well-dressed mutant Master of Magnetism should even be with the X-Men. While he's done his share of good deeds, there are years of atrocities in his closet.
10 Proved He Should Be On The Team: He Helped Train The New Mutants
Professor X and Magneto have always had a pretty complicated relationship, with it vacillating between friendship and bitter hatred. So, when Xavier left Magneto in charge of the Xavier Institute it was both a shocking surprise and a move that made total sense. Magneto's mania for protecting young mutants made him the best person for the job, regardless of any enmity.
Magneto did a great job, as well, mentoring the team better than anyone would have imagined. He showed just how useful he could be teaching the next generation of mutants something besides mutant supremacy.
9 Why He Shouldn't Be On The Team: His Legacy Of Mutant Supremacy Created Many Foes For The Team
Magneto is directly responsible for several teams, including the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants and the Acolytes, that have made a lot of trouble for the X-Men and human/mutant relations over the years. Even when Magneto is out of the picture, like one of those times when he's licking his wounds after cheating death again, his legacy of mutant supremacy haunts the team.
Magneto is a magnetic man, one who can easily convince followers of the rightness of his cause. The fervor he awakens in them stays long after he's gone and has caused a lot of problems over the years.
8 Proved Why He Should Be On The Team: He Spoke Out Against The Phoenix Five
When Cyclops, Emma Frost, Magik, Colossus, and Namor gained the power of the Phoenix Force, Magneto was excited for the mutant utopia they planned to build, even trying to talk Xavier into supporting them. However, as time went on, he soured on them and began to speak out against them to other mutants.
This was very dangerous and pretty out of character for Magneto; he's all about mutants using their powers to re-order the world and the fact that he even spoke at all, even telling off Cyclops and Emma, was a big deal at the time and showed a change in the man.
7 Why He Shouldn't Be On The Team: His Rage Can Lead To Him Doing Some Very Bad Things
Magneto has a lot of negative traits and one of the worst is his anger. On the one hand, his anger at humanity is perfectly understandable- humans slaughtered his friends and family, humans killed his wife and first daughter, and humans keep trying to commit genocide against mutants. However, he's extremely liable to fly off the handle, which is a bad look.
The X-Men have to walk a tightrope and having Magneto around (someone who can snap at any time and just randomly decide to exercise his massive power and destroy everything in his way) can make the team look bad.
6 Proved Why He Should Be On The Team: He Worked With Them Against Reverend Stryker
There have been lots of times when Magneto was noble even as a villain and one of those times was when Reverend Stryker and his Purifiers began attacking mutants. Now, this is obviously something Magneto would get involved in; anyone killing mutants and being racist against them raises his ire. However, it's how he dealt with the whole thing that proves what kind of person he can be.
Instead of just busting in and killing everyone in his way, Magneto worked with the X-Men against Stryker and the Purifiers, teaming with his greatest enemies. This was a big deal at the time and showed he was able to work with those he disagreed with.
5 Why He Shouldn't Be On The Team: He Has No Problem Brutalizing Its Members
Magneto's battles against the X-Men have been pretty extreme over the years. There's a lot of bad blood between him and many members of the team. The main difference is, with some exceptions, the X-Men weren't ever trying to kill him. However, pretty much every time they fought, Magneto tried to kill at least one of them.
Even when they were trying to kill him, he was known to go too far, like when he tore out Wolverine's adamantium, a move meant to put him through the most pain before he died. Even now, a lot of the X-Men don't exactly trust Magneto after everything he's done to them.
4 Proved He Should Be On The Team: He Saved Kate Pryde When She Was Trapped In A Massive Bullet
When the denizens of the alien Breakworld attacked Earth, they fired a massive bullet at the Earth. Kate Pryde got onto it and used her powers to phase it so it would pass through anything in its way, saving the Earth and everything in its path. Magneto, in order to prove that he had changed his ways, used his magnetic powers to bring the bullet back to the Earth.
This took a lot of power and concentration and was an unprecedented act for Magneto. It also proved that he had changed as a person and had earned a place on the team.
3 Why He Shouldn't Be On The Team: He Has A Massive Body Count
Magneto has killed a lot of people over the years. One time, he let off an electromagnetic pulse that turned the electricity off across the planet and caused widespread devastation. The number of people that died, both directly and indirectly, was shocking. That's just one example from Magneto's long career as a villain.
Now, the X-Men aren't exactly the most squeaky clean team in this regard- Wolverine has killed thousands over the years- but anyone killed by an X-Man was a combatant. Most of Magneto's body count has been innocent people and putting him on the X-Men makes the team look forgiving of those kinds of actions.
2 Proved He Should Be On The Team: Worked For Years Behind The Scenes To Lay The Groundwork For Krakoa
When Professor X met Moira MacTaggert, she opened her mind to him and revealed her history and her many lives. The two began an unprecedented labor, one they recruited Magneto for. They began the establishment of a mutant nation. It took a decade but the three of them worked in secret together to give mutants everything they would need to start their own country on the mutant island of Krakoa.
Magneto did a lot of work behind the scenes to give his people hope and security, even though he had actively fought against many of them for years. Even the best heroes find it hard to work with their enemies and Magneto pulled it off.
1 Why He Shouldn't Be On The Team: He's As Racist As The People He Hates
Magneto has one thing in common with the humans he hates so much and it's the biggest reason why he shouldn't be with the X-Men- he's a racist. Magneto believes wholeheartedly that mutants are better than humans and should be in charge of them, which is exactly the attitude he decries in others.
The X-Men have always been anti-racist; even at the worst of times, they just want to be left alone. Magneto, on the other hand, wants mutants to rule the Earth and prove their superiority. His racism makes him just as bad as those he calls racist- it's the pot calling the kettle black.