Sunday, June 5, 2022

Character Analysis: Magneto

 

Background



  • Names: Magneto, Master of Magnetism, Max Eisenhardt, Erik Lensherr, Magnus

  • Height: 6’2” | 1.88 meters

  • Weight: 190 lbs | 86.2 kg

  • Grew up in Auschwitz

  • Classified as an Omega-level mutant

  • Groups: Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, X-Men, Hellfire Club, Quiet Council of Krakoa

  • Sometimes believed to be the father of Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch

The mutant master of magnetism has gone by many names: Erik Lensherr, Magnus, and most recently Max Eisenhardt. But regardless of what he wishes to be called at any given time, Magneto started out as a young child who grew up in Auschwitz in Nazi Germany. Forced to work as a corpse burner, and having seen his parents die, he eventually escaped, married a woman named Magda, and had a child. Unfortunately, when Max developed and used his mutant powers, KGB operatives brutally beat him and set his home on fire, and he was forced to watch helplessly as his young daughter burned to death. After flying into a rage and taking revenge on the operatives holding him, causing Magda to flee in fear, Max began to work toward ending mutant discrimination by any means necessary. It was then that he met and befriended Charles Xavier, whose ideals he would remain in conflict with for the rest of his life. Eventually, Xavier formed a school for gifted mutants, and a crime-fighting group based out of it called the X-Men, in an attempt to create a safe place for young mutants. At around the same time, however, Max had decided to take a different approach, forming the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, and beginning a campaign against the human race, attempting to create a world where mutants can be happy, through war rather than peace. It was then that he took the name “Magneto”.

This Brotherhood would come into conflict with the X-Men numerous times, and Magneto became known as the group’s archnemesis, but he’s not really that bad of a guy. He’s only really doing what he does in order to create a better world for his people, and he was even considered to be a hero by the Beyonder. Over the years, despite founding the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, he’s also been an important member of other groups too, like the Hellfire Club, the Quiet Council of Krakoa, and even the X-Men, leading them for years in Xavier’s absence. Regardless of what side he’s on or what tactics he’s willing to employ, Magneto will always continue to fight to create a better world for mutant-kind.

Experience

Having been born before World War 2, Magneto has many decades worth of experience, and has fought in countless battles against a wide variety of enemies. He has fought against and alongside the X-Men, and has experience leading X-Men teams, as well as the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. He has shown to be a skilled and cunning tactician, employing a variety of clever strategies to win. While he does not have explicit martial arts training, he should likely be at least adept, given he has shown to be capable of fighting hand-to-hand.

Equipment

Helmet

Magneto’s helmet is not just for style, it grants him protection from all manner of telepathic attacks. It has repelled demons from entering his mind, resisted telepathic scanning, nullified both mental communication and mind reading from Emma Frost (an Omega Level telepath), and blocked Red Skull’s telepathy during AXIS, which was taken from Charles Xavier, the most powerful telepath on the planet. Magneto has also shown to be able to break his helmet down into shrapnel and use it as a weapon.

Suit

Magneto’s suit is composed of a metal-mesh armored fabric, said to be stronger than steel but as pliable as cloth. It has even withstood a slash from Wolverine’s claws, preventing them from cutting too deep, possibly suggesting that Magneto can increase its durability to a level rivalling Adamantium. 

With his powers, Magneto can form his costume seemingly out of thin air at a moment’s notice, change its appearance however he chooses, and disassemble it just as easily.

Cape

Magneto’s cape is laced with metal fibers, granting extra protection and allowing him to control it. Magneto has shown to be capable of forcibly expanding it outward in order to push enemies away from himself.

Powers & Abilities

Mutant Physique

Mutants are naturally stronger and more mentally capable than humans, and Magneto is no exception. He has easily beaten superhumans to death with his bare hands, gone hand-to-hand with powerful mutants like Namor, and survived direct hits from all manner of foes. He has even indicated that his physical abilities are just as powerful as his magnetic ones, though officially he is only ‘supposed’ to be somewhat physically superhuman.

Mutants are also stated to possess an elevated metabolism and superior immune system compared to normal humans, which allows them to handle extreme injury more easily than humans can.

Genius Intellect

Magneto is not only a powerful mutant, but also a genius. He can build complex machines in mere seconds, and create country-destroying bombs from scratch. He has deciphered an alien language completely unfamiliar to him, and created a massive facility that was such a masterpiece, even super-geniuses like Tony Stark or Reed Richards would supposedly have been proud of it. He’s also a highly gifted tactician, capable of laying traps for opponents in advance, or creating devices to restrain the X-Men’s powers.

Magnekinesis

The cornerstone of his powers which all of his other abilities stem from, Magneto possesses the mutant ability to manipulate magnetic forces, granting him control over a broad variety of metal materials, even including unusual materials like Uru and Vibranium. He can move and shape metal telekinetically, from a planetary to subatomic scale, using it to attack and defend. He can alter the polarity of magnetic waves, and shape them however he likes in order to produce force, and is even capable of altering the entire planet’s magnetic field. He can even magnetize things like boulders, allowing him to control objects which are not typically magnetic, though has still shown an inability to affect things like plastic and wood. Even when deprived of metal, however, he can pull iron particles from the air, or summon metal to himself from extremely far away, so he is never truly without access to ammunition.

Barriers

By altering magnetic waves, Magneto can create barriers to shield himself from all manner of attacks. These barriers are incredibly durable, capable of blocking attacks from characters like Thor and Hercules. They can be used to block mental attacks from Prof. X and Emma Frost, keep Magneto alive in the vacuum of space, and repel attempts to passively drain his power. He can also compress his barriers around an enemy to crush them, Booster Gold style. Having a barrier up does not prevent Magneto from attacking at the same time.

Extrasensory Perception

Magneto possesses the ability to sense various types of energies. He can detect magnetic energy, even from entire galaxies away, and sense danger via shifts in the Earth’s magnetic field. He can see the entire world as a series of patterns of force and energy, and perceive people and structures on an atomic and even subatomic level. He can see the movement of electrons, and sense the destruction of planets across the cosmos. He has used his sensory abilities to discern the destination of Nightcrawler’s teleportation by sensing magnetic disruptions. He has also shown the ability to emit a magnetic pulse through an area, allowing him to mentally map out its layout in a manner similar to sonar. At one point, Deadpool was unable to successfully sneak up on him, as he was able to detect the metal in Deadpool’s weapons. He has even shown to be capable of perceiving more esoteric things, such as Charles Xavier’s mental emanations.

Flight

By interacting with magnetic field lines in his vicinity, Magneto can apply his magnekinesis for high-speed flight. He is capable of outspeeding characters like Rogue and Iron Man in flight, and even traversing intergalactic distances in short time-frames, provided he has access to oxygen, as well as magnetic field lines between his starting point and his destination.

Biological Manipulation

One of Magneto’s more powerful abilities, his magnetism grants him the capability to affect a person’s body. The most common manner in which this has manifested is blood manipulation. He can manipulate a person’s blood flow to create entire thoughts in their brain, mind controlling them. He can reverse a person’s blood flow, slow the flow of oxygen to the brain, freeze their blood in place to paralyze them, and even cause seizures, strokes, and organ failure. He can also nullify the effects of drugs through manipulating a person’s blood.

In addition to blood manipulation, Magneto can affect a person’s biology in other ways. He can prevent a person’s nerves from recognizing pain, and once even ripped a pair of giant slugs out of a child’s stomach without killing him… somehow.

Perhaps most devastatingly, when sufficiently pissed off, he has shown the ability to instantly kill everything within a 1-kilometer radius of himself by shutting down their nervous system.

Telepathy

Though he used this more early on in his history, Magneto has shown powerful telepathic capabilities, supposedly second only to Charles Xavier. He has telepathically communicated with Charles, as well as his underlings in the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. In addition to mere communication, he has shown hypnotic powers. He has matched Xavier’s mental power, and even amplified it to the point of allowing telepathic communication with Galactus.

Astral Projection

Magneto can send forth an astral projection of himself, though only does so occasionally. This form is intangible, and Magneto can project it at light-speed.

Invisibility

Magneto has shown the ability to create a “magnetic blanket” to render himself invisible. Another example of him doing so.

Magnetic Energy Constructs

Magneto occasionally demonstrates the ability to create solid objects out of magnetic waves. For instance, he once created a “magnetic bridge” to walk on.

Electricity Manipulation

Magneto is capable of manipulating electricity, allowing him to call down lightning, as well as redirect and absorb things as powerful as Storm’s lightning. He can also produce multi-kilovolt electrical charges, capable of easily one-shotting characters who are physically street tier, like Beast and Kitty Pryde. He can ionize the air by manipulating electrons, and generate electromagnetic pulses.

Energy Draining & Absorption

Magneto has demonstrated the ability to drain and absorb energy. He has absorbed Storm’s lightning, and can siphon magnetic power from other sources. He has done so from the planet, as well as other planets across the cosmos, in order to amp himself. He has absorbed power from others too, including his daughter Polaris, and even the Phoenix (though Jean was weakened at the time).

Matter Manipulation

Magneto possesses the ability to manipulate matter at an atomic and even subatomic level. Some examples of this include fusing metallic particles in the air atom-by-atom to make a comb, restructuring metal at a molecular level in order to strengthen it a thousandfold, manipulating subatomic nuclear structures, dispersing ice into hydrogen and oxygen, and threatening to scatter Hulkling’s atoms with a mere glance.

Gravity Manipulation

Magneto has shown the ability to control gravity, neutralizing or reversing its effects at will. He has stated that canceling gravity in a target’s vicinity could cause them to be hurled into space by the force of the Earth’s rotation.

Weather & Wind Manipulation

Magneto has shown to be able to control the weather. He once created a whirlwind around a Sentinel, sucking in super-cold air from the atmosphere to reduce its surface temperature to nearly absolute zero and drastically lowering its durability, subsequently causing a snowstorm. He has also caused an electromagnetic storm, powerful enough to knock out all mechanical and electronic systems in an 800 square mile perimeter.

Radiation Manipulation

Magneto’s control over magnetism also grants him broad control over the electromagnetic spectrum, allowing him to control radio waves, UV and visible light, infrared radiation, and gamma waves.

Power Nullification

Magneto possesses the ability to prevent others from using their powers, which may be linked with his biological manipulation. He has used this to “jam” Jean Grey’s psionic powers.

Wormhole Creation

Weird power, but Magneto can create wormholes. Not sure what this has to do with magnetism, but whatever.

Non-Physical Interaction

Magneto has the ability to affect intangible targets with his powers. Not only does he regularly control intangible things like various types of radiation, but he has also affected Vision despite the latter’s intangibility, and could move the Breakworld Bullet, despite the fact that Kitty Pryde was making it intangible at the time.

Sound Manipulation

Magneto has shown the ability to manipulate sound waves. He has used this to reflect Banshee’s sonic scream back at him.

Super-Conductivity

An extremely lesser-used ability of Magneto’s, it has been shown that extreme cold enhances his magnetic powers by turning him into a super-conductor.

Resistance to Mind Control, Possession, etc.

While he has been affected by mind hax before without his helmet, Magneto has also countered possession from characters like Karma and Proteus, can cast characters like Psylocke and Mosaic out of his mind, fought off Emma Frost’s mind hax without his helmet, and can nullify the effects of mind control drugs via blood manipulation.

Resistance to Power Nullification

Magneto has resisted a gun designed to neutralize his powers, and is so powerful that Rogue’s power absorption failed to affect him in any meaningful way.

Feats

Overall

-Classified as an Omega Level mutant

-First archnemesis to the X-Men

-Founded the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants

-Formerly the White King of the Hellfire Club

-Considered by some to be the most powerful mutant/supervillain/man on the entire planet

-Led several X-Men teams in Charles Xavier’s absence

-The United Nations security council has multiple protocols in place specifically related to dealing with him

-Has defeated the X-Men, Phoenix, Hulk, Dr. Strange, Valkyrie, Hercules, Iron Man, Human Torch, Namor, Red Hulk, The Wasp, Spider-Man, Captain America, Red Skull, Nighthawk, Mesmero, Cable, Quicksilver, Predator X, Proteus, Mystique, Gorgon, Medusa, Baron Strucker, Sebastian Shaw, Zealot, Dr. Doom, Joseph, Sabretooth, Blob, Silver Samurai, Genocide, Exodus, Apocalypse, and more

Strength

Physical

-Staggered Cyclops

-Smashed a wooden table, asserting that his physical strength is equal to his capabilities with magnetism

-Traded blows with Sebastian Shaw

-Made Cable bleed

-Fought Namor hand-to-hand

-Grappled with Gambit

-Backhanded Rogue

-Easily snapped a man’s neck

-Made a Predator X bleed with a kick, though nearly broke his leg

-Beat Red Skull to death

With Powers

-While far from his peak, redirected the Breakworld Bullet, pulling it to Earth at near-light speed. The bullet was stated in a later issue to be moon-sized, though there are also some statements and instances to suggest it might be much smaller.

-Can consistently bend or damage Adamantium. Has torn out Wolverine’s skeleton multiple times, ripped apart an Adamantium Sentinel’s head, and shaped Adamantium into swords.

-Ripped apart a door that was composed of Vibranium.

-Banshee once compared the power he felt from Magneto to the time when Phoenix saved the universe. This is referring to the time when she stopped the creation of a neutron galaxy which would collapse into a gravity well large and powerful enough to destroy the universe.

-While describing Magneto’s powers, Charles Xavier mentioned that magnetism is one of the four foundation elements of the universe, in the same manner as the Phoenix Force. He also added “I suspect there’s literally nothing he could not do.”

-Stated that he “embodies a primal force of reality, one of the building blocks of creation”. Subsequently stated that his powers allow him to tap into “the direct primal force of the cosmos itself”.

-Claimed to be the “undisputed master of the force that binds the universe”.

-It was said that “the upper limit of Magneto’s power cannot be surpassed in any measurable fashion”.

-While siphoning magnetic energy from distant planets, he compared the strength of his own attacks to being bludgeoned by a sun.

-Claimed to have “power enough to crush this planet”.

-Blocked a plasma blast powerful enough to punch through planets.

-Has altered the planet’s magnetic field.

-Said to be far more dangerous than a storm powerful enough to shake a fortress far more massive than any structure on Earth. It also shook a citadel as large as Chicago, which was hundreds of miles away. Johnny Storm claimed that the storm was “like all the hurricanes on Earth for 1000 years rolled into one”. Just a portion of this storm’s energy was able to empower both Titania and Volcana (Titania alone being powerful enough to contend with She-Hulk).

-Survived and somewhat channeled an overflow of energy that was going to completely destroy the planet’s atmosphere.

-Created a massive surge of energy visible in comparison to the planet’s curve, affecting clouds on a continental scale.

-Overpowered Namor with his magnetism, asserting himself to be superior.

-Powerful enough to halt Mjolnir multiple times, as well as break Thor’s grip.

-Knocked out Hulk, Valkyrie, Nighthawk, and Doctor Strange all at once with a single attack. Subsequently creates a magnetic field powerful enough to restrain all of them.

-Repelled Mjolnir, Iron Man’s armor, and Captain America’s shield all at once, sending all three careening backward.

-Drove Hercules back, to the point where Beast was concerned that Hercules would be killed.

-Briefly restrained the Hulk, and then knocked him into Hercules when he broke free.

-Matched Dr. Doom’s power. And again.

-Oneshot Iron Man, Human Torch, and Wasp all at once, while claiming that of all the heroes present during Secret Wars, only Thor is his equal. This scene was later shown again, with Thor being present and getting blown back as well, adding credibility to the statement.

-Magnetically shielded the X-Men from a casual attack from Galactus. It was stated that all of the X-Men would have died from it.

-Broke Hercules’ grip, which he stated not even the Titans could break, and knocked him away.

-Simultaneously blocks strikes from Thor and She-Hulk, claiming that their physical strikes cannot break his shield (though, it’s worth noting that Thor was injured at the time).

-Dispersed Jim Hammond Human Torch’s fire.

-Created a container that not even Wonder Man could escape from.

-Oneshot Rogue.

-Was so powerful that being subjected to Rogue’s power absorption barely even impacted him. Rogue has notably absorbed power from many very powerful beings, such as Thor, Juggernaut, and Wonder Man.

-Ripped Apocalypse in half in an alternate timeline.

-Beam struggled with Havok and overpowered him.

-Restrained Red Hulk with metal, and later blasted him back.

-Caused Red Onslaught to cry out in pain.

-Damaged Iron Man’s Endo-Sym armor and nearly killed him.

-Cracked Emma Frost’s neck when she was in her diamond form.

-Restrained Apocalypse with Polaris’ help.

-Prof. X forced him to hurl the space station Avalon far into space. 

-Caused an electromagnetic storm powerful enough to knock out all mechanical and electronic systems in an 800 square mile perimeter.

-Raised an island out of the ocean.

-Nearly destroyed an island while asleep.

-Toppled a mountain.

-Concentrated a field of energy powerful enough to raze a small city.

-Counteracted a massive earthquake.

-Altered the position of 37 orbital satellites all at once, threatening to drop them on cities across the world.

-Pulled down several satellites from orbit and dropped them consecutively on an enemy.

-Blocked nuclear explosions multiple times.

-Mentions that were he not severely weakened, he could have ripped an entire facility from the ground and thrown it into space.

-With Psylocke’s help, lifted a mile-wide asteroid 3 miles into the air.

-Effortlessly moved around a massive space station stated to weigh a thousand tons.

-Balanced a 1000-ton platform on top of a meter-wide spire.

-Sunk a submarine from 1000 miles away

-Magnetically lifted a large cube of gold.

-Lifted a 170-ton tower and dropped it on Iron Man.

-Ripped the X-Men mansion out of the ground and lifted it into the air.

Speed

-Siphoned energy from planets “across the cosmos” near-instantaneously.

-Harnessed magnetic waves to fly from a planet in another galaxy to Earth in mere minutes.

-Pulled satellites from Jupiter to Earth in moments.

-Reacted to and stopped Thor’s hammer mid-flight.

-Reacted to a hammer thrown by an amped Juggernaut, who was implied earlier in the issue to be beyond Thor’s level.

-Reacted to Iron Man and hurled him into Captain America.

-Regularly reacts to and/or tags Quick-silver.

-Regularly blocks Cyclops’ Optic Blasts, which are consistently stated to be lightspeed

-Deflected a photon attack from the Dazzler.

-Projected his consciousness at lightspeed.

-Moved the Breakworld Bullet at near-light speeds.

-Halted a Sentinel which seemingly moved from near the Moon to the Earth between panels.

-Flew from the Earth to the Moon.

-Even while he was injured, Rogue struggled to keep up with his flight speed.

-Caught up to Iron Man’s flight speed.

-Hit Psylocke faster than she could stab him.

-Has reacted to or blocked lightning multiple times.

-Transported a ship from the Earth’s surface to Asteroid M (in orbit), in “minutes”.

-Flew up to a space station from Earth just because he can.

-Traveled 3000 miles in a short timeframe.

-Moved a huge metal platform at 287 miles per hour.

Durability

Physical

Note: It’s often unclear whether or not Magneto has a barrier up at any given moment. Generally, if something is shown damaging him or hitting him directly, I will assume it’s without barriers unless stated otherwise, since that seems the most reasonable. However, keep in mind that it’s possible he has barriers up for some of these, they don’t always specify.

-It is established that Magneto’s powers put physical strain on his body, and channeling too much power can kill him. With this in mind, his durability should be somewhat relative to his standard level of power.

-Survived a strike from Angel.

-While not using his magnetic powers at all, survived being punched by Black Bolt and Karnak.

-Survived a beating from Mister Two.

-Withstood his own magnetic force being reflected onto him.

-Survived being battered by a miniature blizzard from Storm. The bitter cold and hundred-knot winds “sliced through to the very marrow of his bones”.

-Survived a slash from Wolverine’s claws.

-Survived punches from Colossus, including one that struck him directly in the face.

-Survived a direct surprise hit from Cyclops’ optic blasts.

-Survived Vision partially solidifying his hand inside his chest.

-Survived the Wasp’s sting.

-Survived an impact which broke his barrier and destroyed Asteroid M, and subsequently falling from orbit.

-Took Namor’s near-full-force punch to the face.

-Survived a direct hit from Psylocke.

-Survived another slash from Wolverine’s claws, with his suit preventing them from cutting too deep.

-Once again survived being blasted with his own electromagnetic power.

-Survived one of Gambit’s cards hitting him directly in the face.

-Survived energy that would have destroyed the planet’s atmosphere.

-Tanked a direct hit from Iron Man’s repulsors.

-Survived the iron in his blood being turned mostly into lead

-Survived a blast from Proteus, as well as being launched into orbit on a boulder at blinding speed. Subsequently survived riding the boulder back down to earth and then having it explode.

-Got hit with a miniaturized neutron star bullet.

-Survived a direct hit from Unit, who oneshot Juggernaut Colossus in the same fight.

-Survived a “Mach 5” punch from Quicksilver, though the numbers provided suggest Quicksilver’s actual speed to be higher.

-Survived being struck with the magnetic energy of Jupiter.

-Momentarily survived an attack from Phoenix Cyclops, but probably would have died if Scarlet Witch hadn’t intervened.

-Survived an attack from Havok.

-Survived a blast from a Stark Sentinel.

-Survived a bloodlusted attack from Scarlet Witch, though was incapacitated.

-Temporarily survived having six aneurysms at once.

-Survived Miss Sinister’s laser to the back

-Survived another direct hit from Cyclops’ Optic Blast.

-Survived being impaled through the stomach by Wolverine in a simulation. It was established that safety protocols were disengaged and that he was very much in danger of dying.

-Tanked Storm’s lightning.

With Barriers

-Blocks heavy artillery, and Cyclops’ full power is needed to break it.

-Blocked several strikes from Mjolnir. Beast later reaffirms that Thor’s hammer couldn’t break Magneto’s magnetic shields.

-Cyclops’ full power can no longer break it.

-Blocked Ghost Rider’s Hellfire.

-Blocked a punch from Hercules.

-Withstood an onslaught from a weakened Phoenix.

-Survived a combined sneak-attack from Cyclops, Banshee, and Storm.

-Survived a blast from the Phoenix.

-Blocked hits from Cyclops, Colossus, and Wolverine’s claws all at once.

-Blocked a plasma blast powerful enough to punch through planets.

-Blocked Iron Man’s repulsors.

-Blocked a blast from a Sentinel.

-Survived an energy attack from Scarlet Witch.

-Survived plasma shots hotter than the Sun.

-Blocked a strike from cosmic Spider-Man, and deflected a blast from him.

-Held open the bite of a t-rex.

-Blocked an attack from an amped Sebastian Shaw.

-Blocked a laser from Miss Sinister and an energy attack from Havok at the same time.

Scaling

-Cyclops: Magneto regularly blocks Cyclops’ Optic Blasts with little difficulty, even at full power

-Quicksilver: Magneto regularly reacts to and/or tags Quicksilver while he is moving at high speeds

-Mr. Fantastic: Reed stated that he would need hours of prep to defeat Magneto

-The Thing: Magneto has proven himself superior to Namor, who has fought Thing multiple times

-Havok: Magneto has overpowered Havok, taken direct hits from him, and blocked his attacks even when Havok was amped

-Hulk: Magneto has knocked Hulk unconscious and restrained him, and has also shown to be comparable to similar characters like Red Hulk and She-Hulk

-Hercules: Magneto has broken Hercules’ grip, blocked his strikes, and attacked him so fiercely that Beast was afraid he might be killed

-Thor: Magneto has claimed to be Thor’s equal, has blocked strikes from Mjolnir, and has halted Mjolnir mid-flight

-Miscellaneous

Weaknesses

-Typically cannot manipulate non-magnetic objects like wood and plastic

-Powers fluctuate based on his health and age

-Channeling too much energy can put a strain on his body and even kill him

-Magnetism has been disrupted by Wonder Man’s unstable ionic energy fields

-Has inconsistent performance when it comes to controlling Vibranium


2 comments:

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  2. The Marvel Universe is at least 1 Trillion light years, but in that panel it never says that it's near the edge of the universe, only that some planets are that far away. In Thor King Size Special Vol. 1#2 it says the Marvel Universe is 1 Trillion Thought Years. In the source material for Marvel, it states that the speed of thought is significantly faster than light. So how large would the Marvel Universe be, if you measured it based off that.

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