By Marc Strom

UNCANNY X-MEN #516

The X-Men's greatest foe returns on September 16 in the pages of UNCANNY X-MEN #515, but neither the mutant community nor readers will know quite what to expect of him when he makes his long-anticipated reappearance.

While fans have seen glimpses of Magneto since writer Matt Fraction began his run on the series with UNCANNY X-MEN #500, he hints that readers have yet to fully grasp just how much the Master of Magnetism has changed since he last faced Marvel's Merry Mutants.

"We've never ever seen Magneto like we're about to see him," Fraction cautions. "His reasons for returning here and now, the why of it all...it's new territory for our dear old master of magnetism. As the X-Men are on new ground so, too, is Magneto."

Part of that change comes with a new view on the relationship between humans and mutants, one that poses a stark contrast to his previous belief that mutants were meant to replace humans.

DARK AVENGERS/UNCANNY X-MEN: EXODUS #1

"Magneto thinks mutants are humanity's vestigial tail," remarks Fraction. "But why? How did he come to this?"

According to Fraction, even the tiny mutant community centralized in San Francisco won't know how to react to Magneto's return given all the changes.

"Nobody knows what [his return] means because he's never...it's new," emphasizes Fraction. "He's never less than ominous, I suppose, but his presence only serves to augment the new status quo the team finds itself in after DARK AVENGERS/UNCANNY X-MEN EXODUS #1."

Looking back at Magneto's history, Fraction picked out some of the defining stories that shaped his understanding of the character.

"UNCANNY X-MEN #1, #200, Grant [Morrison's] handling of the man [in NEW X-MEN] and Greg Pak's marvelous MAGNETO: TESTAMENT, just off the top of my head," lists Fraction. "He's one of Marvel's best."

Throughout that history, Magneto has undergone quite a bit of change, starting out as a straight-up super villain and eventually becoming the leader of Charles Xavier's school and then becoming a symbol to an entire generation of young, angry mutants.

UNCANNY X-MEN #1

"He's clearly become a richer, more complex, more intricately complicated man," Fraction says of the character's evolution. "And he very clearly is not the same as when we met him; I think the X books are all better off or it. I'm looking forward to taking him to somewhere even newer still."

Looking forward to the coming "Nation X" storyline, Fraction gave readers one last tease of what Magneto's future holds in store:

"What if the boogeyman was actually on your side?"

Pick up your copy of UNCANNY X-MEN #515 on September 16.

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