Summary

• Magneto's ideals were initially to create a world where mutants wouldn't fear humans, his methods often extreme.
• Magneto has a complex history as a villain and hero, with some of his most shocking moments being the murder of Charles Xavier and when he ripped Wolverine's adamantium from his skeleton.
• Magneto's character evolved from villain to vigilante to eventually an X-Men hero, showing a range of redemption and brutality.

Magneto’s time as a villain is utterly legendary, though that’s only a fraction of what makes him such an iconic Marvel Comics character.

Erik “Magnus” Lehnsherr (or Max Eisenhardt) never set out to be an evildoer for its own sake, or even for the sake of personal gain or power. Magneto only sought to shape a world where mutants wouldn’t have to live in fear. More often than not, his methods were extreme - even unjustifiably so. However, his intentions were as pure as he had the capacity to muster, and when viable alternatives would arise, Magneto has never been above changing his mind, so long as it’s for the betterment of mutantkind.

Magneto is a complex character who seemingly perpetually rides the line between villain and hero, yet throughout every storyline he’s a part of, fans can’t help but fall more in love with the mutant revolutionary, no matter which side of that metaphorical line he lands. Here are the 10 best Magneto comic stories in Marvel Comics history, ranked!

10 Magneto Finally Does the Unthinkable: Kills Xavier

Ultimatum #2 by Jeph Loeb and David Finch

In the Ultimate Universe, Magneto decides the entirety of humankind needs to die in response to Scarlet Witch’s assassination in Ultimates 3. So, Magneto uses his mastery of magnetism to tilt the world on its axis, causing major flooding around the globe - including and especially New York City. Of course, Earth’s Mightiest Heroes (including the X-Men) launch an attack against Magneto, though before that inevitable strike, Magneto sneaks into the X-Mansion and murders Charles Xavier, so that his old friend can no longer interfere with his villainous schemes.

Not only does Magneto prove he’s a global threat in a way he never has before during Ultimatum, but he also finally does the unthinkable and kills Charles Xavier. This story is arguably Magneto at his most villainous, making it one any fan of the character will want to read. However, the fact that it takes place in the Ultimate Universe does detract from the wider significance of Magneto’s personal lore, making it one of his least impactful - albeit insanely brutal - stories to date.

9 Magneto’s Debut Sets the Stage for His Golden Age of Villainy

X-Men #1 by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby

Magneto may bounce back and forth between villain and hero in the more modern era of Marvel Comics, but originally, Magneto was a dastardly villain of the highest caliber. That much is made clear upon his first appearance, when Magneto attempts to steal nuclear warheads and plunge humanity into chaos. Thankfully, the X-Men rise to the occasion and stop Magneto before his villainous scheme comes to fruition, though this is just the start of his vile villainy.

After this conflict, Magneto would go on to create the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, and even tangle with other heroes, including the Avengers, Thor (solo), and the Fantastic Four, just to name a few. He was a true supervillain right alongside some of the other original greats like Doctor Doom and Loki, and that era in Magneto’s career (while a bit outdated now) began with his first appearance.

8 Magneto is Banished to a Far-Off World By One of the Strongest Beings in the Universe: The Stranger

X-Men #11 by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby

Magneto’s quest to shape a better world for mutants has more or less kept him bound to Earth, aside from when he ventures off-world in pursuit of said quest (ie, Asteroid M or Arakko). That’s why it’s especially notable when Magneto tangles with one of the strongest beings in the Marvel Universe: the Stranger. The Stranger is a cosmic entity born from the merging of billions of people on his dying homeworld. He’s strong enough to impersonate a Beyonder, and is even the one responsible for creating Ego the Living Planet.

However, before readers learn any of that, the Stranger battles Magneto, a conflict that results in Magneto (and Toad) being banished to a far-off world. While Magneto would eventually find his way back to Earth, this story is especially significant, as it positions Magneto as a villain of cosmic importance for the first time - an event that acts as the proverbial cherry on top of Magneto’s golden age of villainy in Marvel Comics.

7 Magneto Becomes the ‘Mutant Punisher’

Magneto Vol. 3 by Cullen Bunn and Gabriel Hernandez Walta

After years of being a supervillain, followed by many attempts at being a full-time hero alongside the X-Men, Magneto decides to become a street-level vigilante, avenging innocent mutants that were murdered by humans. In a weird way, Magneto basically becomes a ‘mutant Punisher’, as he punishes those who kill mutants that would otherwise be forgotten by society, and he does so in a viciously murderous fashion.

Indeed, Magneto’s first victim had his molars ripped from his mouth before Magneto ‘replaced’ those molars with yards of metal spikes driven into his mouth and through the back of his skull. Now that’s a murder that would even make the Punisher squeamish, as well as incredibly proud, and this is easily one of the most badass eras in Magneto’s comic book history.

6 Magneto Makes His First Steps Toward Redemption in the Face of Utter Tragedy

X-Men: God Love, Man Kills by Chris Claremont and Brent Anderson

After two mutant children are killed by anti-mutant extremists, Magneto finds their corpses, and he vows to make those who are responsible pay for what they've done. However, as opposed to forming a team of supervillains to take them out (or doing so himself in a style that would make the Punisher proud), Magneto instead reaches out to the X-Men. Erik wants real change to come from his actions in this case, not another excuse for more mutants to get hurt or killed. In truth, this is one of the first times readers see Magneto actually care about mutantkind, not just the eradication of humankind.

God Loves, Man Kills is a storyline that came out when Magneto was still very much an irredeemable villain, which makes the fact that he was open to working with the X-Men utterly shocking (even if such things are old news these days). This storyline is the first time fans see Magneto even tenuously aligned with the X-Men, marking this as his first real steps toward redemption.

5 Magneto Begins to Genuinely Change After Nearly Killing Kate Pryde

Uncanny X-Men #150 by Chris Claremont and Dave Cockrum

During one of the X-Men’s fairly run-of-the-mill missions to take down Magneto, things get a bit more intense than they usually do. When the team has Magneto pinned against the wall, he uses his powers to create a blast of electromagnetic energy that surges through Shadowcat’s body, seemingly killing her. Magneto did this out of pure survival instinct, but after he realized what he had done, he all but begged the rest of the X-Men to kill him on the spot.

Nearly killing Kate Pryde made Magneto realize that he had lost his way. He wanted to make a better world for the next generation of mutants like her, but instead, Magneto seemingly killed her while Kate was trying to fight for a better future for herself. This was the most impactful moment of clarity Magneto ever experiences in Marvel Comics, and is assuredly how he was ever able to find redemption.

4 Magneto’s Backstory as a Survivor of the Holocaust is a Sobering Look at His Traumatic Past

X-Men: Magneto Testament by Greg Pak and Carmine Di Giandomenico

Before this limited series was released, Marvel Comics fans were well aware that Max Eisenhardt was a survivor of the Holocaust. However, knowing that he experienced one of the most heinous atrocities against humankind in history is very different from witnessing his experience on the page, and X-Men: Magneto Testament holds nothing back.

The limited series speaks for itself in of how impactful it is on Magneto’s larger storyline, as he survived the worst of what humanity has to offer only to realize that it was about to happen all over again, but to mutants. And the difference this time is that Magneto has the god-like power to keep something like that from happening, and he will stop at nothing to achieve that end.

3 Magneto Faces the Crimes of His Past on His Road to Redemption

Uncanny X-Men #200 by Chris Claremont and John Romita Jr.

After years of villainy behind him, and following the profound moments of clarity from both Uncanny X-Men #150 and God Loves, Man Kills, Magneto finally decides to turn himself in to the law, and face the crimes of his past. This is the Trial of Magneto, as Magnus stands on the world stage before a tribunal that will decide the punishment he should face for his many years of terrorism and villainy.

Magneto argues that he fought for the protection of mutantkind, though he doesn’t try to claim that he was always in the right. He knows that acting with such violence will not be tolerated, no matter the reason, and he’s willing to face those consequences head-on, as he’s genuinely trying to make amends for the sins of his past. This moment is an ultimate turning point for Magneto’s character, and the story ends with Erik taking Xavier’s place as the leader of the X-Men (if only for a short time).

2 Magneto Leads the X-Men, & Rips Apocalypse to Pieces

“Age of Apocalypse” X-Men Alpha #1 by Scott Lobdell, Roger Cruz, and Steve Epting

In another instance where he takes charge of the X-Men following Professor X’s death, Magneto becomes the X-Men’s leader in the alternate timeline of the Age of Apocalypse (which began in X-Men Alpha #1). This storyline allowed Magneto to shine like he never had the chance to before, as the world was reduced to a post-apocalyptic wasteland under Apocalypse’s rule, and Magneto led an elite strike-force of mutant heroes fighting Apocalypse’s tyranny in a way that only someone as ruthless as Erik could do.

Magneto proves himself worthy of leading the X-Men in the Age of Apocalypse when he faced-off against Apocalypse himself in X-Men Omega #1 - and ripped the tyrant to pieces with extreme prejudice. Not only was this storyline one of Magneto’s most impactful - as it proved he could be a hero even under the most grim circumstances - but it was arguably the most badass Magneto has ever been, with his brutal victory over Apocalypse solidifying that fact.

1 Magneto Returns to a Life of Villainy in the Most Extreme Ways Possible

Fatal Attractions (reading order: X-Factor #92, X-Force #25, Uncanny X-Men #304, X-Men Vol. 2 #25, Wolverine Vol. 2 #75, and Excalibur #71)

Despite his steady character development that saw Magneto become a genuine hero, he proves that old habits die hard. Soon after the X-Men’s ‘90s relaunch with the comic's Volume 2, Magneto is once again the team’s greatest foe. While his original stint as an X-Men villain was marked by dastardly schemes of all sorts that were always quickly thwarted by the X-Men, Magneto takes his villainy a bit more seriously this time.

Magneto uses his immense power to create an electromagnetic pulse that ripples across the entire planet. Then, when the X-Men launch an attack against him, Magneto doesn’t pull his punches - and he certainly doesn’t feel guilty afterward. In a moment of extreme villainy, the Master of Magnetism rips the adamantium from Wolverine’s skeleton after Logan slices him with his claws, which - to this day - is marked as perhaps Magneto’s most iconic in his Marvel Comics history.

While the storylines that show Magneto stepping up as a hero are important to his story arc as a whole (especially given his status as a mutant hero in the current X-Men canon), Magneto is arguably at his best when he is as he was introduced: a villain - and Fatal Attractions shows Magneto at his most dangerous. That’s why this is the best Magneto comic story in Marvel Comics history, even when compared to the other must-read storylines.