MAGNETO
The embodiment of the phrase “One man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter”. Magneto has dedicated his life and his extraordinary powers to defending the mutant species by any means necessary. He is a sometimes-foe, sometimes-friend to the X-Men, yet has always maintained his radical and separatist vision.
Master of Magnetism
The Strangest Villain of All
In Uncanny X-Men (1981) #1
Magneto reveals himself to the world in grand fashion when he single-handedly takes over the Cape Citadel missile base in Florida. Professor X learns of this and sends the newly formed X-Men on their first field mission. Magneto takes on all five X-Men alone, but they eventually force him to retreat!
God Loves, Man Kills
In X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills - Special Edition (1982)
The Purifiers, a racist religious extremist group led by Reverend William Stryker, begin their crusade to rid the world of mutants with the murder of two children. Magneto discovers their bodies, and sets off to take revenge upon those responsible. Teaming with the X-Men, they must question what methods to use in order to defeat their enemy without becoming just like them.
The Trial of Magneto
In Uncanny X-Men (1981) #200
Magneto is put on trial to answer for all the crimes he committed across the globe. When the Fenris twins attack during the trial, Magneto must back up the words he spoke in his defense, and show what kind of man he has truly become! And, with Professor Xavier’s health failing, could his school be in for a shake-up with a new headmaster?
Acts of Vengeance
In Captain America (1968) #367
Seeking any allies he can find in his fight to protect mutants, Magneto aligns himself with a group of super villains. However, Magneto has another goal in mind; he wants to get close to the Red Skull and make the Nazi war criminal pay for the horrors he participated in during World War II.
Fatal Attractions
In X-Men (1991) #25
Accompanied by his Acolytes, Magneto creates a mutant sanctuary on the Avalon space station (re-named Asteroid M). They kindly extend invites to the X-heroes to join them before they destroy all of humanity, but when the X-teams refuse, Magneto unleashes a powerful electromagnetic burst onto Earth! This event also saw Magneto strip Wolverine of his Adamantium skeleton! Check out that now-classic moment here!
Iron Throne
In Magneto Rex (1999) #1
Hoping to create a nation where mutants can be free from oppression, Magneto travels to Genosha where he ousts the corrupt government and inserts himself as the country’s new ruler. With his Acolytes and ex-lover Rogue by his side, can Magneto maintain order?
House of M
In House of M (2005) #1
In the aftermath of Avengers Disassembled, Magneto blames himself for his failings as a father that contributed to Scarlet Witch’s mental breakdown. Meanwhile, the X-Men and Avengers debate whether Wanda is too dangerous to be left alive. When the two teams go to confront her, she recreates the world into a reality in which mutants are dominant and her family rules the country.
Once Upon a Time in Germany
In X-Men: Magneto Testament (2008) #1
Witness the definitive origin of the Master of Magnetism in this harrowing series. Before he became Erik Lensherr, Max Eisenhardt was just a normal Jewish boy growing up in 1930s Germany. When the Holocaust worsens, Max begins to change in both mind and body into the man called Magneto!
Nation X
In Uncanny X-Men (1981) #516
Magneto…X-Man! Erik joins what’s left of mutantkind on Utopia, an island nation built from the ashes of Asteroid M. And upon arriving, Magneto’s thrown straight into the frontlines against a pack of creatures that have been weaponized with Adamantium!
Return to Form
In Magneto (2014) #1
After falling in with Cyclops and the X-Men, Erik Lehnsherr became just one more pawn in another man's war. But now, determined to fight the war for mutantkind's survival on his own terms, Magneto sets out to regain what he's lost...and show the world exactly why it should tremble at the sound of his name.
Mentor of Magnetism
In X-Men: Blue (2017) #1
After the world-shaking events of IVX (read it in full as a Discover Reading List!), the original five X-Men are here to bring mutant criminals to justice and restore a heroic sheen to their team. But with a new leader in Jean Grey and a new mentor in their “arch-frenemy” Magneto, will old rivalries and new conflicts tear these heroes apart?