Magneto: 9 Unpopular Opinions About The Comic Books, According To Reddit
Magneto is a complex character with a checkered past. A leader, villain, and current member of the X-Men, Magneto's journey has perhaps been one of the most interesting in comics. The Marvel mutant is an incredibly popular character, but some opinions from fans might actually be relatively unpopular.
Whether it's surrounding the character's villain-to-hero narrative arc or his complicated relationships with other characters, some of these opinions aren't shared by fans of the X-Men franchise. On social platforms like Reddit, comic book aficionados debate the merits of the Master of Magnetism and share their beliefs that may not be held by the majority.
9 Magento Is Too Powerful To Interact With Other Marvel Heroes
It's probably fair to say that Magneto is pretty overpowered. While he does have weaknesses and has been defeated by other heroes, Magneto is one the strongest members of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants and wields incredible power. On a thread discussing his set of abilities, Lodekim said "Maybe not the most popular opinion but I think stuff like this is why the X-Men and mutants in general work best in self-contained stories."
They note that it usually results in a character like Tony Stark having to come up with a reason to neutralize his powers. However, it's these differences in scale that create the exciting conflict audiences look for, with each hero being pushed to their best due to Magneto's power levels.
8 Magento's Plans Are Flawed
AichSmize's Reddit thread levies criticism at the character for a flawed logic in his plans. They note that "If Magneto eliminates humanity, he also eliminates new mutants." They suggest his thoughts are short-sighted and therefore that Magneto perhaps isn't actually intelligent in his judgment.
There is now so much nuance to the character though that this unpopular opinion doesn't hold much weight. Magneto knows that his older plans were born of the rage he felt at the time. He no longer wants to eradicate the human race to protect mutants. Instead, he has joined Xavier in trying to negotiate a fragile peace between the two species.
7 Magneto's Origin Story Should Be Changed
Magento's origins as a Holocaust survivor is such a crucial aspect of the character. It fueled his rage for humanity and informs every decision in his life. If Magneto was to be brought into the MCU, the story has to include his role in this tragic historical event .
Khajiithassweetroll's thread suggests that it would need to be changed or modernized, saying that "there are other events that could work in his backstory instead of the Holocaust." That would be a terrible mistake as it's such an important part of who he is. Marvel could very easily explain the fact that he ages slowly to account for an inevitably younger actor in the role.
6 Magneto's Best Moments Are In The Movies
Magneto has been a part of some iconic moments throughout the comics, as YeaYeaYeaWeGetIt's thread proves. VonDread suggested the unthinkable though saying that "Honestly, I think his best moments are found in the X-Men movies." They go on to list a few including his fantastic prison escape in X2.
While the X-Men films might feature some of Magneto's best quotes and memorable action sequences, the character's core can be found in the comics. Whether it's by beating Apocolypse, or by giving one of his ideological speeches to his Acolytes on Asteroid M, there are moments on the printed page that could never be surpassed on the silver screen.
5 Magento Has Always Been Good
If there's one thing that fans can agree on despite the term villain being unpopular, it's that Magneto is far from good. Even when trying to portray the hero he will resort to tactics perhaps more violent or manipulative than a hero normally would. During Demolition Man's thread though xavyre said that "Magneto has always been good. Occasionally some poor writers have come around and decided to make him evil."
This is a bad take considering the best writers have leaned into his evil past and provided a deeper analysis of his actions. Magneto will never be considered on binary terms as only a good or bad guy, but to suggest previous writers have mishandled his heroism seems like a misunderstanding of the character.
4 Magneto's Comic Book Series Wasn't Good
It's rare to find a solo run for Magneto, which is why fans were excited for the title released throughout 2014 and 2015. While Pferg33's thread heaps almost universal praise on the title for Cullen Bunn's great handling of the antagonist, Iamnotdaredevil had a different opinion.
They were "unimpressed. I had heard good things and while it wasn't bad, I just got sick of the self brooding, 'I am Magneto, I was the leader of Mutants' blah blah and it gets old." Most fans would counter this though suggesting the book really played on some of the core emotions of the character by genuinely exploring the trauma at the heart of his motivations while forcing him to face the repercussions of his past. To ignore Magneto's own belief that he is the true leader of his people would be to deny an essential trait of the character.
3 Magneto Shouldn't Be Buff
Comic book fans are well aware that there's a certain design style associated with Marvel characters. They are usually portrayed as the absolute height of human fitness, but tequilaconquistador has questioned why this is the case for Magneto.
They say that Magneto "is almost never seen engaging in physical combat, so why is he always drawn as being super buff?" The thread goes on to discuss why it's unnecessary for the character, but purists will know that it's largely as a homage to the classic style of the character from his early days. Almost all male heroes created in the '60s had unnaturally strong physiques and Magneto was no exception. To deny this key character design to adhere to a false sense of reality would be wrong.
2 Magneto Should Be The X-Men's Leader
Erik has become pretty entrenched as a member of the X-Men in recent years despite the terrible things Magneto has done and while he now showcases his leadership skills, he had previously answered to Scott Summers in his early days with the team. Fans felt like this was a great role for the character as it forced him into moments of conflict that allowed him to showcase his ideology while also acting as a foil to Cyclops.
But richb83 seems to have disliked the change for the character saying at the time that "The one thing I don't like is him being a member of a team instead of a leader or teacher. His latest stint as a goon of Cyclops seemed so unlike him." However, it's this evolution that allows the character to still remain relevant to a modern readership while allowing the stories to be fresh. If Magento had not gone on this journey and had not had to serve under someone, he may not have learned some of the lessons that now influence him when he has to protect Krakoa.
1 Grant Morrison's New X-Men Does Not Contain a Good Magneto Story
Grant Morrison's 2001 New X-Men run is perhaps one of the most vital eras of X-Men comics. It really paved the way for the mutant landscape today and is well known for its portrayal of Magneto as Xorn. In ThisJustin182's thread discussing great starting points for fans to read about Magneto, it was natural for New X-Men to be mentioned.
Fans might find it unpopular that zooxanthellae said a key Magneto story is"definitely not Morrison's New X-Men." While they may feel the portrayal of Magneto was lacking, his surprise death at the start of the run effectively raised the stakes and implemented a new status quo for the team. The X-Men were no longer going to fight the same villains; instead, they'd face new threats like Cassandra Nova. When Xorn was later revealed to be Magneto, it was not the traditional intimidating foe they've encounter before. Instead, this Magneto consumed the mutant drug Kick and didn't care much for other mutants. In the current Marvel continuity, some of these changes might have been undone, but in 2001, they significantly shifting the status quo for the character and the X-men franchise.