Real Name: (?) Magnus (?) Affiliation: Ruler of Genosha, Acolytes, Leader Previous Affiliations:Hellfire Club NY, New Mutants (Headmaster), Brotherhood of Evil Mutants (I) Aliases: Erik Magnus Lehnsherr, Grey King, White King II, Michael Xavier, Erik the Red Status: Presumed deceased (Wolverine) Relatives: Magda (wife, deceased), Anya (daughter, deceased),
Pietro Maximoff (Quicksilver, son),
Wanda Maximoff (Scarlet Witch, daughter),
Crystal (daughter-in-law), Luna Maximoff (granddaughter) Powers: One of the most physically powerful mutants, Magneto has control
over all forms of magnetism, including electro-magnetism or electricity. He can
fly, project a force field, cast energy bolts, or stop the flow of blood to an
opponent's brain. He can sense metal around him, and has been seen deflecting
asteroids with his vast power. He is one of the few mutants who can single-handedly
fight all of the X-Men to a standstill. Magneto
was not always a villain: A survivor of the Holocaust, Magnus discovered his powers
after the war, when his daughter Anya was trapped in a burning house and no one
would help. Magnus lashed out at the crowd with his power, and later, killed some
bandits who attacked him on the road. Fearing his abilities, Magnus' wife Magda
left him, and soon died after a difficult childbirth, leaving behind twins who
would be raised by gypsies and who would grow up to become Quicksilver and the
Scarlet Witch. Magnus made his way to Israel, where he worked as an orderly in
a hospital for Holocaust survivors, and where he and Charles
Xavier met and became friends. The two even shared the dream of harmony between
man and mutant. As years passed, however, Magnus grew disillusioned by mankind's
low level of tolerance, and fearing another Holocaust, took an aggressive and
lethal stance against humans. The X-Men battled Magneto (and his Brotherhood of
Evil Mutants) time and again, until he was reduced to infancy by Mutant
Alpha, one of his own creations. The young Magnus was transferred to Muir
Island, where Moira MacTaggert attempted to control his rage by manipulating
his DNA, in the hopes that the world would be spared Magnus' wrath when he grew
up. Magnus did grow up, but faster than expected, as Eric
the Red II used Shi'ar technology to bring
Magnus to adulthood only a few months later. Magnus returned to his old ways,
even going as far as destroying a Russian city with a rerouted magma flow and
sinking the Russian sub Leningrad with all hands aboard. Although Moira's
procedure would later be proven a failure, the "new" Magneto eventually felt remorse
for his actions and turned himself over to the World Court, to be tried for crimes
against humanity. Magnus would surely have been found guilty, except for the intervention
of Fenris, who attempted to assassinate Magneto, Xavier,
and Gabrielle Haller, the trio of friends who had foiled their father Baron von
Strucker's plans years before. The courthouse was destroyed, and Magnus and Xavier
were left alone as Xavier's body deteriorated beyond repair. As Corsair
and Xavier's love Lilandra came through a Stargate
to bring Xavier back to the Starjammer, where
Shi'ar technology could heal him, Xavier made Magneto promise to protect their
dream, and to take over as Headmaster of the School
for Gifted Youngsters. While the X-Men were more or less independent, Magnus
did supervise the New Mutants until he applied for and was appointed to the position
of White King of the Hellfire Club. After Inferno,
Magneto was alone again, and reappeared briefly in the Savage
Land, an old haunt of his, where Zaladane, a
servant of the High Evolutionary, had taken control of the Mutates, more of Magnus'
creations. While preparing for the inevitable confrontation, Magnus saved Rogue
from a version of Ms. Marvel that had been generated upon her return
from the Siege Perilous. Rogue and Magneto teamed
up with Ka-Zar and S.H.I.E.L.D. to defeat Zaladane,
but afterwards Magnus dropped out of sight again. He returned when a group of
mutants, the Acolytes, begged him to step in and help
the mutants who were being oppressed and enslaved in Genosha. Magneto agreed,
and when the X-Men tried to stop him, the Acolytes captured them and they were
brought to Asteroid M to be "reprogrammed"
by Moira, also a captive. The process, however, was a failure, and during the
ensuing battle, Magneto was severly injured. The Acolyte Cortez,
who claimed to be healing Magneto, was actually using his power-amplification
ability to mask Magneto's pain, but letting his "master" weaken in the process.
Cortez further betrayed his leader when he triggered the nuclear missiles Magnus
had set up around the asteroid. It took all of Magnus' power to keep the station
from blowing up, but the damage was too severe. While the X-Men escaped, Magneto
and the remaining Acolytes crashed to Earth. Months later, the wreckage was discovered,
and Magneto was missing, implying that he had survived. He returned, stronger
than ever, to a larger, more fanatical following of Acolytes, and co-opted the
remains of Cable's space station, Graymalkin,
into a new orbital base he called Avalon. When
Magnus threatened the Earth once more, Xavier and the X-Men journeyed to Avalon,
where after physically pulling all of the adamantium out of Wolverine's
body, his mind was apparently wiped by Professor X and he remained on Avalon in
a vegetative state. After the fall of Avalon, Magnus was thought to have become
"Joseph," but Magneto's reappearance rendered that supposition
false. In that appearance, Magnus dressed as Erik the Red, and put Gambit
on trial for assembling the Marauders and precipitating
the Mutant Massacre. He then went back into
hiding, emerging only briefly to kill the forger who had created the "Erik Lehnsherr"
identity for him years ago. After a few more weeks of preparation, Magneto launched
his offensive: another electromagnetic pulse that began to spread across the globe.
This time, he was attacked by Astra II, a former member
of the Brotherhood, and the creator of Joseph, who was revealed to be a clone.
Apparently, after the fall of Avalon, Astra found Magneto and healed his mind,
so that she could use his DNA to create a clone. She intended for the clone to
kill Magneto, but the Master of Magnetism proved too resourceful, and was only
injured, while the clone was knocked on the head and became an amnesiac. Astra
had Joseph attack Magnus while he was controlling the Earth's magnetosphere, which
severly disrupted Earth's magnetic field. It was all Magnus could do to keep from
becoming pure EM energy. The (un)timely intervention of the X-Men distracted him,
however, leaving Joseph to fix the magnetosphere. Magneto was briefly subdued
by the X-Men as Joseph made the ultimate sacrifice to destroy his template's machines,
but before the battle could resume, a U.N. ship landed in the Arctic Circle, and
Magneto was offered sovereignty over the island of Genosha
in return for some security considerations and a promise never to initiate hostilities
against the nations of the world. Magnus accepted, but after everyone else left,
discovered that his powers were gone. Whether this developed from fatigue or something
else is as yet unknown. Magnus recouped his strength and set about consolidating
his political power and regenerating his physical power. He was opposed by a mutate,
the son of the late Genegineer, as well as by Quicksilver and Rogue. After defeating
the mutate zealot's forces, however, Rogue left, but Magnus had Voght
manipulate Pietro into staying as a member of the cabinet, in the hope that he
would learn to be a loyal son. Then, Magneto was captured by Apocalypse
along with a number of X-Men and used as part of the machine that channeled the
power of The Twelve into the High Lord. However,
Magneto's physical weakness and inability to access his powers short-circuited
the machine. In the ensuing fight, he found he could commandeer Polaris's
powers and use them as his own. When Apocalypse was defeated, Magnus returned
to Genosha with Polaris, and began teaching her to expand her control, while using
her as a front for his own power. In the last six months, Magneto has managed
to rebuild much of war-torn Genosha, and put the mutants in charge. Many of the
liberties of the humans have been restricted, but in many ways, they are living
productive and even happy lives. The sole exception was the city of Carrion Cove,
which started a rebellion. They had technology that they felt could not be allowed
to fall into Magneto's hands, namely, the genetic manipulation chambers from the
mutate process, which would allow Magneto
to re-establish his full mutant power. Though the U.N., rogue Acolytes, Cortez,
and the Avengers opposed him, Magneto finally
made it to the chamber and healed his weakened body, leaving him more powerful
than ever before.
Recently, when Colossus sacrificed himself to cure the Legacy Virus, Magneto suddenly found himself with legions of subjects who were now healthy rather than dying. He immediately declared war on humanity, and his first step to victory was actually kidnapping Charles Xavier, using him as a rallying point for his mutate armies. The X-Men, of course, ran to save their mentor, but they were a raw group of untested newbies led by Phoenix. Cyclops and Wolverine were there as well, and with a combination of distraction and illusion, the team managed to free Xavier. As the X-Men prepared to leave, Magneto taunted them again with the fact that they will lose because they refuse to cross their moral line and do what is necessary, whereupon Wolverine proved Magneto wrong by stabbing him in the chest. Magneto is presumed dead, though his death has not be verified yet.
Real Name: (?) Magnus (?)