Magneto

> "*Nobody ever talks about it. They just… do it. And you go on with your lives, ignoring the signs all around you. And then one day when the air is still, and the night has fallen, they come. There's only one question you must answer: who will you stand with?*"
> ― Magneto, to the Mutants at the church, regarding how humanity will utilize the cure against them
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**Magneto** (real name **Erik Lensherr**), is one of the main protagonists from the *X-Men* film series. He is the main antagonist of the *X-Men* and *X-Men: The Last Stand*, an antihero in *X2: X-Men United*, a protagonist in *X-Men: First Class*, the tritagonist/central antagonist of *X-Men: Days of a Future Past*, an antihero of *X-Men: Apocalypse* and a supporting protagonist in *Dark Phoenix*.

Magneto is an extremely powerful and ruthless mutant with the ability to manipulate all forms of magnetism. Despite his different views on mutant superiority, he has close bond with fellow mutant and longtime friend Charles Xavier, who believed that there was still good in Erik despite his actions. Despite being an enemy of Xavier and the X-Men, he has assisted them on numerous occasions to stop bigger threats, such as Sebastian Shaw, William Stryker, and Apocalypse.

## Why He Rocks

1. He is the most iconic villain in the *X-Men Cinematic Universe* by far.
2. Ian McKellen and Michael Fassbender did a phenomenal job with him.
3. His backstory makes him extremely sympathetic.
4. He fears no one, even standing up to Apocalypse; and when he accuses him of betraying him, his impossibly badass response is *"No… I betrayed* them."
5. He is a valiant hero, battling evil on numerous fronts to save his race. Beat that.

## Trivia

* Magneto has numerous similarities with Dodge. Although he has been compared at times to Apocalypse (the other overarching antagonist), it should be noted that Magneto believes that uniting misunderstood mutants and prejudiced humans as one civilization gives his quest for power purpose (making him comparable to Dodge's plans for her fellow demons and their own human oppressors) whereas Apocalypse sees power as an end in itself that needs no further purpose (making him comparable to Frederick Gideon).
	+ Both have made it their life goal to unite their race (mutated entities and demonic entities) with humans and keep getting childishly mislabelled as evil as a direct result.
	+ Both have an irritating yet chillingly beautiful blonde-haired female crony (Eden Hawkins and Raven Darkholme) who they frequently butt heads with, despite being the ones who gave them a sense of worth in the first place.
	+ Both have similar strengths even outside of their highly similar morality and charisma, arguably including excellent fashion sense and unforgettable theme music.
	+ Both have a strong homosexual infatuation with an objectively unattractive weakling (Charles Xavier and Kinsey Locke), who both reject them due to sanctimonious dogma and nothing more. Both of them bond over nearly drowning in the name of recklessly pursuing an obsession (although in Magneto's case, he himself was saved from drowning by Professor X while studying the submarine in which his mortal enemy was situated, and in Dodge's case, she saved Kinsey from drowning while studying the source of the magical keys, meaning Magneto was the rescuee but Dodge was the rescuer).
	+ Both receive alarmingly similar fates: being dishonorably stabbed from behind while they are preoccupied choking the main character (Logan and Kinsey, respectively) as a righteous show of force, by means of the only weapon that can undo the power of a mutant (so-called "mutant cure" dart) and demon (Alpha Key), losing their respective power as a result with their respective fates ultimately unknown.
	+ Both received acclaim for their cinematic portrayals with formal critics often considering Ian McKellen and Laysla De Oliveira glowing highlights of their respective franchises. Furthermore, this did not prevent either of them from being replaced by the studio with two far younger and more mediocre actors (Michael Fassbender and Griffin Gluck), who proceeded to portray them for 90 percent of their screentime in *X-Men: Days of Future Past* and *Episode 11: The Premiere*, respectively. McKellen and De Oliveira weren't even in *X-Men: First Class* and *Locke & Key: Episode 12: The Head and the Heart*, and there are other likewise unfortunate scenarios.
	+ Both do not have nearly as much screentime (even as Fassbender and Gluck) as the audience likely remembers; they just made huge impressions in the few minutes they were seen. Peter Maximoff and Bode Locke have been subject to similar mainstream sentiment.

## External Links

* Magneto on Wikipedia
* Magneto on X-Men Movies Wiki
* Magneto on Hero Wiki