Magneto (comics)

Magneto is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, commonly in association with the X-Men. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appears in The X-Men #1 (cover-dated Sept. 1963) as the archenemy of the X-Men.The character is a powerful ""mutant"", one of a fictional subspecies of humanity born with superhuman abilities, who has the ability to generate and control magnetic fields. Magneto regards mutants as evolutionarily superior to humans and rejects the possibility of peaceful human-mutant coexistence; he aims to conquer the world to enable mutants (whom he refers to as ""homo superior"") to replace humans as the dominant species. Writers have since fleshed out his origins and motivations, revealing that his extreme methods and philosophy derive from his past as a Holocaust survivor determined to protect mutantkind from suffering a similar fate at the hands of a world that fears and persecutes mutants. He was once a friend of Professor X, leader of the X-Men, but their different philosophies caused a rift in their friendship. Magneto's role in comics has varied from supervillain to antihero to superhero, having served as an occasional ally and even a member of the X-Men at times.His character's early history has been compared with the civil rights leader Malcolm X and Jewish Defense League founder Meir Kahane. Magneto resents the pacifist attitude of Professor X and pushes for a more aggressive approach to achieving civil rights. In 2011, IGN ranked Magneto as the greatest comic book villain of all time, outranking 99 other villains for the top spot.Sir Ian McKellen portrayed Magneto in four films of the X-Men film series, while Michael Fassbender portrayed a younger version of the character in the 2011 prequel X-Men: First Class. In addition, both actors reprised the role in the film X-Men: Days of Future Past, set in two different eras. Fassbender will reprise his role in the 2016 film X-Men: Apocalypse.