Every superhero (and superhero team) has a rogue gallery to keep things interesting.After all, without a good stock of villains, what would be the point of dressing up in garish, tight-fitting getups and parading around the city like a crazy person?
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Besides trying to land a gig on MTV, that is. |
But there’s always one standout, one villain that comes to define the dichotomy between good and evil, no matter how expansive the variety gets.
Batman may have the Riddler, Poison Ivy, and Penguin to tangle with, but it’s the Joker who takes the top slot in his gallery.
Spider-Man gets put through his paces by the Sandman and Dr. Octopus, but it’s Norman Osborn’s Green Goblin that steals the show.
For the X-Men, none of their villains can hold a candle to Magneto.
Sure, he’s one of the good guys now, and even before the current status quo he briefly served the greater good as the headmaster of Xavier’s school, but from their very first mission, the X-Men and Magneto have locked horns in battles most epic.
While Xavier preached coexistence, Magneto’s experiences in the Nazi camps brought him to the conclusion that humans were only capable of great evil and for mutants to survive, they would have to conquer.
Over the years, the X-Men battled Magneto on every continent, in space, and even in a volcano, each side being pushed to the brink on several occasions, but never going down for the count.
Of all their battles, perhaps the one with the most serious ramifications took place in 1993's Fatal Attractions.
Having been believed killed in an explosion aboard Asteroid M at the end of Claremont’s run of the X-Men in 1991, Magneto made his return as the collected X-Teams mourned the recent loss of Colossus’ sister, Illyana.
Co-opting Cable’s space station, Graymalkin, Magneto established Avalon to be a haven for all mutants who tired of oppression on earth. With the help of the mysterious Exodus, Magneto gathered any mutants who wanted to join him, regardless of prior allegiances, a strategy employed by Cyclops years later in his creation of Utopia on the wreckage of Magneto’s own Asteroid M.
Naturally, the X-Men weren’t going to take this lightly and after Magneto retreated to space, with the now defected Colossus in tow, Xavier formed a strike force to confront him on his own turf.
In the fight on Avalon, Magneto tore through Quicksilver, Rogue, Gambit, and Wolverine while Xavier and Jean Grey tried to assault his mind.
But Jean faltered when she felt Xavier was going too far by using Magneto’s personal losses against him, and that opening allowed Magneto to tear the adamantium off Wolverine’s bones, leaving him near death.
Xavier’s rage at seeing another loved one at death’s door led to him using his powers to wipe Magneto’s mind, leaving him in a vegetative state as Avalon burned around them.
Magneto’s return and subsequent defeat held dire ramifications that snowballed on the X-Men for years.
Wolverine’s loss of adamantium led to the revelation that his claws were actually bone all along, and that he was born them, despite having no memory of them prior to his Weapon X days.
This of course paved the way for Marvel to finally reveal his beginnings in the aptly named miniseries, Origin.
The longer he went without the adamantium, the more savage and vulnerable he became, his condition eventually leading to his manipulation at the hands of Apocalypse, who replaced the nigh unbreakable metal and transformed him into his Horseman of Death.
But it was Xavier’s mindwipe that really did the damage, his actions giving birth to the entity known as Onslaught, who nearly ended all existence and, in the eyes of the world, killed the Avengers and Fantastic Four—in reality, they were transported to another world manufactured by Franklin Richards.
Onslaught’s attack gave a further setback to human-mutant relations, and opened the door for Bastion’s Operation: Zero Tolerance movement to take root, the irony being that it was Xavier’s actions that would become the impetus for humans to react in the very way Magneto always feared they would.
Magneto may be on the side of the angels now, but Fatal Attractions, and his battle with the X-Men, will long be remembered not only for what transpired during its brief six issues, but for the aftereffects that reverberated throughout the Marvel Universe for years.
But will Magneto even stay with the X-Men after this year’s Avengers Vs. X-Men event, especially as his own daughter figures to play a prominent part in the drama?
Maybe we haven’t seen the end of Magneto/X-Men smackdowns after all…
Batman may have the Riddler, Poison Ivy, and Penguin to tangle with, but it’s the Joker who takes the top slot in his gallery.
Spider-Man gets put through his paces by the Sandman and Dr. Octopus, but it’s Norman Osborn’s Green Goblin that steals the show.
 |
Of my myriad of enemies, none vexes me as much as lactose. I’m don’t tolerate that crap. |
For the X-Men, none of their villains can hold a candle to Magneto.
Sure, he’s one of the good guys now, and even before the current status quo he briefly served the greater good as the headmaster of Xavier’s school, but from their very first mission, the X-Men and Magneto have locked horns in battles most epic.
While Xavier preached coexistence, Magneto’s experiences in the Nazi camps brought him to the conclusion that humans were only capable of great evil and for mutants to survive, they would have to conquer.
Over the years, the X-Men battled Magneto on every continent, in space, and even in a volcano, each side being pushed to the brink on several occasions, but never going down for the count.
 |
Not gonna lie, seeing stuff like this as a kid will leave a mental scar or two. |
Of all their battles, perhaps the one with the most serious ramifications took place in 1993's Fatal Attractions.
Having been believed killed in an explosion aboard Asteroid M at the end of Claremont’s run of the X-Men in 1991, Magneto made his return as the collected X-Teams mourned the recent loss of Colossus’ sister, Illyana.
Co-opting Cable’s space station, Graymalkin, Magneto established Avalon to be a haven for all mutants who tired of oppression on earth. With the help of the mysterious Exodus, Magneto gathered any mutants who wanted to join him, regardless of prior allegiances, a strategy employed by Cyclops years later in his creation of Utopia on the wreckage of Magneto’s own Asteroid M.
 |
Magneto had to be pissed that when this was HIS idea, they blew his ass up. |
Naturally, the X-Men weren’t going to take this lightly and after Magneto retreated to space, with the now defected Colossus in tow, Xavier formed a strike force to confront him on his own turf.
In the fight on Avalon, Magneto tore through Quicksilver, Rogue, Gambit, and Wolverine while Xavier and Jean Grey tried to assault his mind.
But Jean faltered when she felt Xavier was going too far by using Magneto’s personal losses against him, and that opening allowed Magneto to tear the adamantium off Wolverine’s bones, leaving him near death.
 |
Nice going, Jean… |
Xavier’s rage at seeing another loved one at death’s door led to him using his powers to wipe Magneto’s mind, leaving him in a vegetative state as Avalon burned around them.
Magneto’s return and subsequent defeat held dire ramifications that snowballed on the X-Men for years.
Wolverine’s loss of adamantium led to the revelation that his claws were actually bone all along, and that he was born them, despite having no memory of them prior to his Weapon X days.
This of course paved the way for Marvel to finally reveal his beginnings in the aptly named miniseries, Origin.
The longer he went without the adamantium, the more savage and vulnerable he became, his condition eventually leading to his manipulation at the hands of Apocalypse, who replaced the nigh unbreakable metal and transformed him into his Horseman of Death.
 |
Pictured: One of approximately 629 times Wolverine tried to kill his friends due to mind control. |
But it was Xavier’s mindwipe that really did the damage, his actions giving birth to the entity known as Onslaught, who nearly ended all existence and, in the eyes of the world, killed the Avengers and Fantastic Four—in reality, they were transported to another world manufactured by Franklin Richards.
Onslaught’s attack gave a further setback to human-mutant relations, and opened the door for Bastion’s Operation: Zero Tolerance movement to take root, the irony being that it was Xavier’s actions that would become the impetus for humans to react in the very way Magneto always feared they would.
Magneto may be on the side of the angels now, but Fatal Attractions, and his battle with the X-Men, will long be remembered not only for what transpired during its brief six issues, but for the aftereffects that reverberated throughout the Marvel Universe for years.
But will Magneto even stay with the X-Men after this year’s Avengers Vs. X-Men event, especially as his own daughter figures to play a prominent part in the drama?
Maybe we haven’t seen the end of Magneto/X-Men smackdowns after all…
 |
And this is NOT a guy you want to be messing with… |
