Warning: SPOILERS for X-Men Red #7In keeping with his long history as one ofhis old friend Professor X.
With the events of A.X.E.: Judgment Day by Kieron Gillen and a whole host of creators in full swing, characters all over the Marvel Universe are coming to with their verdicts at the hands of the Celestial known as the Progenitor. While some heroes like Cyclops or Miles Morales have been lucky enough to have been deemed worthy, other characters like Daredevil or even Charles Xavier haven’t been so lucky. But while his old partner may have been found wanting by their manmade Celestial judge, Magneto es with flying colors in X-Men Red #7 by Al Ewing and Madibek Musbekov– and the Progenitor’s decision saying a lot about the difference between Magnus and the Professor in the process.
X-Men Red #7 opens with the death of Magneto in the arms of the iconic X-Man, Storm following his battle with the Eternal Uranos. As Erik spends his final moments warning Ororo of their old friend Xavier, he finds himself visited by none other than the Progenitor in the proud form of his deceased daughter, Anya. Seeing the sacrifices that Erik has made and ing the sum total of his life, the Celestial es the Master of Magnetism, confirming that in Magnus’ last moments he genuinely made a difference for his people – which is all he has ever wanted to do.
The Death of a True X-Men Hero
Throughout his publication history, Magneto has frequently walked the line between hero and villain. While he has occasionally tilted into a full-blown evil megalomaniac, his most popular characterization is that of a principled albeit somewhat radical freedom fighter for mutant rights. Magnus has always been a man of conviction, and this is the trait that initially brought him and Charles together. The future leaders of the X-Men always knew that they would do whatever they could to protect their species, although they famously disagreed over what methods to take. But unlike Professor X, Erik has been consistently honest about what he is, even when his violent actions turned him into a monster.
In his lifetime, Magneto has truly sought to be the hero his people needed even if his methods have occasionally been crueler than many would prefer. In contrast, Charles’ seemingly more noble persona often belied a darker, more manipulative nature. While Xavier frequently claims to be a good man leading mutantkind into an age of peace, the arrogance and hubris of the X-Men's founder has frequently crossed the line toward outright villainy on more than one occasion and even threatened the world.
Magneto may be one of Marvel’s most notorious villains, but nobody can argue that he isn’t also one of the X-Men’s greatest champions. Through his conviction, his principles, and his actions, the Master of Magnetism has always given everything he has to the cause of mutant liberation in ways that even Charles Xavier has not. And while it may be a matter of time before Magus returns from the grave, in the interim, the citizens of Krakoa just may realize that Marvel Comics’ Magneto has always been more of a hero than the X-Men’s very own Professor X.
