In the Michael Fassbender took over the role for the prequel films.
Both McKellen and Fassbender are brilliant actors and most fans agreed they both made for excellent Magnetos. But who is the best? Though there are a lot of similarities in their versions, there are enough differences to compare the two and determine where each of them came out on top.
McKellen: Originated The Roles
Magneto had been an iconic character in the comics for decades before the X-Men ever hit the big screen. But the casting of Ian McKellen immediately felt like the perfect way to introduce a live-action version of the character.
McKellen shaped the version of Magneto that many people think of when discussing the character. While Fassbender did a lot to make the role his own later on, he is clearly inspired by McKellen's layered and compelling performance.
Fassbender: Deeper Origins
The first X-Men film opened with an incredible sequence in which a young Magneto is being taken from his family at a concentration camp during World War II. It is the first time we see him use his powers and brilliantly establishes the character.
However, those dark and tragic origins are explored even deeper in the prequels. While it is not always necessary to see where famous villains came from, Fassbender makes Magneto a more fascinating character that audiences can sympathize with as well as fear.
McKellen: His Powers
It's hard to say which version of Magneto is more powerful in the films. Both perform incredible feats, but McKellen's Magneto probably gets to do the coolest things with his powers.
The first film has a memorable sequence of Magneto facing off with an army of police, only to turn their guns on them. X2: X-Men United gives him that fun prison break sequence. And X-Men: The Last Stand even has a scene of him lifting the entire Golden Gate Bridge, which is pretty cool.
Fassbender: The Action Version
Though he gets to use his powers in cool ways, Ian McKellen was in his sixties when he was cast as Magneto, so he wasn't going to be getting too involved in the action scenes. By contrast, the Magneto role was one of the first opportunities for Fassbender to show off his action star skills.
It made for a striking difference to see a young, badass Magneto who was front and center in the action set pieces. He still gets to retain a lot of the elegance of McKellen's take on the role while also getting in on the action.
McKellen: Relationship With Professor X
The relationship between Professor X and Magneto is likely the most important one in the entire X-Men universe. The films did so well in finding excellent pairs of actors to bring this relationship to life. While it is interesting and somewhat heartbreaking to see Fassbender and James McAvoy at the beginning of this relationship, there's no beating McKellen and Patrick Stewart.
The chemistry between these two is so wonderful and the relationship evolved into something much more complex than what we see in the prequels.
Fassbender: A More Prominent Role
The X-Men universe has so many fascinating characters, which has often been a problem for the movies. With each movie having to focus on the entire team, many great characters get pushed to the sidelines. While McKellen's Magneto was always prominent, others often took the spotlight.
In X-Men: First Class, Fassbender's Magneto is arguably the main character. While the other films are more of an ensemble, he is always at the center of things, allowing the character to develop a lot over the course of his four films.
McKellen: More Experienced
It is quite impressive that one can look at McKellen and Fassbender in the X-Men films and tell that they play the same person at different times in their life. However, McKellen's Magneto becomes the more interesting of the two simply because of the longer life he lived.
While it is intriguing to see where Magneto came from, McKellen's performance already tells the audience so much. We know he suffered and was persecuted and now we see that pain callous over, making him a formidable yet sympathetic character.
Fassbender: The Antihero
Part of the fun of seeing Magneto and Professor X in their early days is that we get to see them fighting on the same side. Though they have different ideologies in First Class, they forces to take down a common enemy.
It is fun seeing these two together with Magneto in a more heroic role while still staying true to what makes his character so interesting.
McKellen: The Villain
While the antihero take on Magneto in First Class was effective, the prequel films never seemed to know how to push the character into the true villain territory of McKellen's version. He seems to jump back and forth between being good and bad until it gets tiresome.
McKellen's Magneto was able to be a complex and layered character while still being an effective villain. He was a radical-minded mutant doing what he thought was best for his kind, but that included mass killing and even sacrificing his old friend if necessary.
Fassbender: Nazi Hunter Storyline
Though First Class was a solid look at Magneto's early years, many fans wanted to see a full solo film dedicated to his exploits as a Nazi hunter. Certainly, one of the most memorable scenes for the character is seeing him take revenge on a group of Nazis years after the war.
The scene is thrilling and plays into the character's sympathetic side as he seeks revenge for the crimes against his family. It is also an effective way of showing Magneto as a character to be feared as he takes no mercy on these men and relishes the killing.
