Magneto(X-Men: The Animated Series)

**Erik Lehnsherr**, better known as **Magneto**, is a major anti-hero of *X-Men: The Animated Series*. He is the secondary antagonist of Season One and a major character of Season Two and Season Four. He is a mutant who believes mutants should dominate the world. He is the best friend and occasional enemy of Charles Xavier and an on-and-of ally of the X-Men.

Magneto's family were killed in a destructive war. Shortly after, he became a doctor and befriended colleague and fellow mutant Charles Xavier. When confronting the people who started the war, Magneto attempted to kill them but Xavier stopped him, and the two part ways. Magneto began launching a campaign against humanity, and started a war against Xavier. Xavier was inadvertently paralysed for life, but he managed to defeat Magneto. Years later, he came into conflict against Xavier and his team of X-Men once more, kidnapping Senator Robert Kelly. However, he was badly wounded by the Sentinels, who took Kelly back in an attempt to conquer the world. Magneto formed an alliance with the X-Men and stopped Kelly. Mister Sinister later had Morph lure Magneto to the Savage Land, where he also found Xavier. The two, stripped of their powers, were captured by Sinister until the X-Men arrived and a battle started. Following his defeat, Magneto bid goodbye to Xaiver and departed once more. Magneto realized that mutants would never find peace on Earth and has astronauts build a sanctuary for mutants in space. Magneto led many mutants into the sanctuary, in which Xavier, Gambit and Beast were included, wanting to see how the sanctuary was. Mutant Fabian Cortez betrayed Magneto and sent him into outer space in an escape pod, but he returned in time to defeat Cortez. Magneto formed an alliance with mutant Mystique upon hearing the powerful mutant Apocalypse has began recruiting villains to aid him in destroying all of time, and feigned to join him to discover his plan. Once they learnt the plan's true nature, they betrayed him and fought him alongside the X-Men and their allies in a battle for all of time. After Apocalypse was defeated, Magneto joined Xavier once more to make the world peaceful for mutants.

### **Biography**

Erik Lehnserr lost his parents during a war. After it he became a doctor at a psychiatric hospital and became the close friend of fellow colleague Charles Xavier, who was also a mutant. When the ignitors of the war kidnapped a patient, Erik and Xavier set out to save her. In revenge for his family, Erik attempted to kill them but Xavier stopped him. Erik believed that mutants must dominate the world and vanquish humanity while Xavier believed mutants must use his powers for the good of mankind. Erik splits ways with Charles and becomes renames himself Magneto. He comes into conflict with Xavier and his heroic mutant team known as the X-Men on many occassions, and Magneto unintentionally paralyses Xavier for life. Xavier eventually defeats Magneto and he goes into hiding. He eventually created the Savage Land and its mutates in Antartica.

When member of the X-Men Beast was imprisoned by the Mutant Registration Agency, Magneto attacked their headquarters and attempted to rescue him, but he claimed that he wanted to stay to face judgement in trial and prove mutants are peaceful so Magneto left. Magneto sent his minion Sabretooth to pose as an innocent mutant wounded at Beast's trial to enter the X-Mansion. Magneto then attacked the Drake military base and fired nuclear missiles, overpowering Wolverine, Cyclops and Storm. The three managed to stop the missiles so he grabbed Xavier's attention by attacking a chemical plant. The X-Men arrive and confront him. Magneto deflects Cyclops' optical beams with his magnetic field, absorbs Storm's lightning and uses his magnetic rays to blast Rogue backwards. He then fires his ray and releases toxic gas that nearly kills Cyclops and collapses a wall on top of Storm. Xavier arrives and argues with Magneto befores the latters uses his magnetic rays to destroy his hoverchair. Xavier projects images of his family's death in Magneto's mind, defeating him and forcing him to escape.

Apocalypse sends the Brotherhood of Mutants to assassinate anti-mutant Senator Robert Kelly, and when they fail Magneto is inspired to finish their job and kidnaps him. Before he could kill him and begin the war between mutantkind and humanity, the Sentinels flew in, badly wounded Magneto and retrieved Kelly as they wished to replace the brains of the worlds' leaders with computers and take control of the world. The X-Men take Magneto back to the X-Mansion and nurse him back to health. The X-Men left to confront Mastermold and the Sentinels as Magneto stayed behind. The Sentinels shot Xavier down while he was in the Blackbird but Magneto arrived, deciding to help his old friend, and stop the ship from crashing. Magneto used his rays to free Rogue from being crushed by train carriages and created a magnetic field around the heroes when Mastermold's exploded. Xavier flies the Blackbird towards Mastermold and Magneto forms a magnetic field for protection. Xavier successfully destroys the villain and Magneto bids goodbye to Xavier.

Under the influence of Mister Sinister, Morph lured Magneto to the Savage Land by posing as Xavier in distress, and did the same to Xavier. When the two arrived, they were immediately consumed by an avalanche. Upon emerging, they discovered that they had no powers and Xavier could walk again. As they travelled the Savage Land, they continously confronted the mutates, who served a new master. Eventually, they captured Xavier and Magneto and brought them to their new master, Mister Sinister. Using Xavier, Sinister summoned the X-Men and captured them as well. Sinister then used Magneto's genetic material to enhance the powers of his mutate Vertigo. Wolverine, the rebel Ka-Zar and his tribe attacked Sinister's base and freed the heroes. Magneto encases Vertigo in pieces of metal only to be struck in the back by Sinister's concussive blasts. Sinister prepares to destroy him but Cyclops' blasts him back with his optical beams. Eventually, Cyclops and Morph destroy Sinister and Magneto parts Xavier as a friend once more.

Magneto recieves a letter that his wife Magda is alive, and she will be at her graveyard, so he breaks into the X-Mansion and tells Xavier about this news. Before going to the graveyard, he tells Xavier not to help him, but the latter fears it is a trap and sends Wolverine and Beast to watch him. It turns out to be a trap set by the Scarlett Witch, Quicksilver and the New Men, and the three of them are captured and taken to the High Evolutionary. He then betrays Scarlett Witch and Quicksilver and imprisons them as well, revealing when Magda ran away from Magneto due to his mutant domination beliefs she was pregnant with the two of them. They manage to escape, defeat the New Men and dsetroy the High Evolutionary's lab. Quicksilver and Scarlett Witch still blame Magneto for his mother's death and leaves.

Magneto allies with the mutant Mystique and discovers Apocalypse is recruiting mutants to kidnap the world's psychics from the Axis of Time. To learn his true plan, they feign to return to evil and join him. Magneto, Mystique and Sabretooth are sent to kidnap Psylocke from the protection of Wolverine and time-traveller Shard. Magneto deflects Psylocke's blasts with his magnetic forcefield and binds Psylocke in broken parts of a barrel. Wolverine jumps on Magneto into the ocean but a ship takes Wolverine onboard. Magneto then levitates the ship and crashes it onto the dock. Magneto opens a portal and leaves with Psylocke and Mystique while Sabretooth is defeated. When Apocalypse finally gathers all of his psychics, Magneto and Mystique demand to know his plan, so he explains to them that he plans to destroy the psychics and release a pulse of energy powerful enough to destroy all of time. The two reveal they knew Apocalypse couldn't be trusted and planned to double-cross him. Apocalypse binds Magneto in his robotic hands but Mystique frees him. Apocalypse opens fire at them but they dodge it. Apocalypse enlarges himself and sends a powerful blast at Magneto but he uses his magnetic rays to blast Apocalypse out of the fortress. The rest of Apocalypse's minions: the four Horsemen, Mister Sinister and the Nasty Boys confront them at Apocalypse arrives. Vertigo screams her psionic blasts at them but Magneto fires his magnetic rays at the villains. War chases them through a hallway as he continously fires on them. They reach Wolverine and free him from his chains, but Death flies in and shoots them both unconscious. They awaken and manage to escape before Apocalypse's fortress is destroyed. Teaming up with the X-Men, Cable and Bishop, Magneto contionusly destroys pieces of broken rubble. Magneto flies towards Apocalypse but the villain blasts him backwards. Wolverine grabs Magneto before he falls. Wolverine then slips off but Magneto saves him in return. Xavier and all the freed psychics imprison Apocalypse in the Astral Plane. As they return to their time, Magneto decides to join Xavier on his mission for peace between humans and mutants.

### **Powers and Abilities**

#### Powers

* **Magnetokinesis:** Magneto has complete control over all forms of magnetism, and has allowed him to go against many powerful mutants, even Apocalypse, and held his own. Magneto can cover the planet with a electromagnetic pulse with the ability to devestate it.
	+ **Magnetic Force-Fields:** Magneto can protect himself and others with a magnetic force-field able to withstand high amounts of force, including Cyclops' optical beams and Psylocke's blasts.
	+ **Magnetic Armor:** Magneto's armor can withstand force, similar to his magnetic force-fields, including adamantium.
	+ **Magnetic Rays:** Magneto can fire powerful rays and electromagnetic pulses, shown being able to blast Apocalypse away while at full power.
	+ **Magnetic Flight:** Magneto is capable of flying in the air for as long as he wishes.
	+ **Geomagnetic Link:** Magneto's powers play a crucial role in Earth's electromagnetic field.
	+ **Metal Manipulation:** Magneto can manipulate metal, including levitating and moving it.
	+ **Electromagnetic Spectrum Manipulation:** As well as metal, Magneto can manipulate electromagnetic spectrum.
		- **Electrokinesis:** Magneto is capable of projecting powerful bolts of electricity, and can also absorb them.
		- **Wormhole Creation:** Magneto can create a portal anywhere on all of space and time.
		- **Photokinesis:** Erik can manipulate and direct fields of light.

* **Telepathic Resistance:** To some extent, Magneto can resist telepathic attacks for a period of time.

#### Abilities

* **Genius Intelligence:** Magneto is a genius in various fields of science. He is also a master strategist, as shown being able to go up against Charles Xavier for many years and trick Apocalypse into believing he is loyal.
* **Multilingual:** Magneto can speak fluently in English, Arabic, French, German, Hebrew, Polish, Russian, Ukrainian and Yiddish.

### **Trivia**

* *Comic Book Resources* ranked second out of the top ten villains of the series, praising his relationship with Xavier and his role as an anti-hero.