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Magneto
 Once a
close friend of mutant mentor Charles Xavier, the genetic terrorist known as
Magneto is now his deadliest foe. The self-anointed Master of Magnetism has
dedicated his life to the advancement of Homo superior, even if he must bring
about humanity's downfall to ensure the ascendance of mutantkind. Arguably the
most powerful man on Earth, Magneto believes that mutants represent the next
step in human evolution ... and he's grown weary of waiting for Homo sapiens to
cede control of the planet!
Real name: Magnus
Occupation: Would-be world conqueror
Group affiliation: None, formerly the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants
Base of operations: The Blue Area of the Moon
First appearance: X-Men (Vol. 1) #1 (1963)
Height: 6'2"
Weight: 190 lbs.
Eyes: Bluish-gray
Hair: Silver
Powers: Magneto is a mutant with the ability to shape and manipulate magnetic
fields, both natural and artificial. Using his powers to augment his strength,
he can lift up to 100 tons. Magneto also possesses minor psychic skills, such as
the ability to create a mental barrier against psionic attack and read minds on
a basic level.
Weapons: Occasionally, Magneto has employed magnetically powered devices of his
own design, such as a machine capable of inducing earthquakes and volcanic
eruptions from afar.
History: Long before he learned of his mutant powers, the charismatic subversive
now known as Magneto felt the bitter sting of discrimination. He spent his youth
interred at the Nazi death camp in Auschwitz, Poland, and was the only member of
his family to survive the Holocaust. To Magnus, this experience bluntly and
irrevocably demonstrated the potential for inhumanity of an intolerant majority.
After World War II, Magnus married Magda, a Gypsy girl he had rescued from
Auschwitz. Their first child, Anya, was born several years later. When a mob
prevented the couple from rescuing their young daughter from a fire, Magnus
lashed out with his fledgling mutant abilities. In a white-hot moment of rage
and pain, he killed his attackers and several onlookers. A terrified Magda fled,
never having revealed that she was pregnant.
Arriving in Israel, Magnus worked as a volunteer orderly at a psychiatric
hospital near Haifa that treated Holocaust survivors. There, he befriended
Charles Xavier, a young mutant telepath. Xavier held fast to his optimistic
belief that Homo sapiens and Homo superior could coexist, while Magnus foresaw
mutants as the new minority to be persecuted for their differences. He
desperately tried to share his friend's hope, however, even as his sanity slowly
began to ebb. Eventually losing his grip, Magnus began planning his campaign
against what he perceived to be the inferior species of man. He swore history
would not repeat itself. Determined to conquer the human race and prevent the
oppression of his kind, Magnus became known to the world as the genetic
terrorist Magneto. Xavier's original students, the X-Men, thwarted his initial
plot: the takeover of the Cape Citadel missile base. When next they clashed,
Magneto had assembled the first Brotherhood of Evil Mutants -- which included
Wanda and Pietro Maximoff, a.k.a. the Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver. Not until
years later would Magneto learn they were his children.
Rarely has Magneto hesitated to employ extreme tactics to enforce his misguided
agenda. Still, certain missteps have caused him to question the morality of his
chosen path. Battling Xavier's second team of X-Men, Magneto struck down the
adolescent sprite known as Shadowcat. Shocked and dismayed by his own actions,
he withdrew to Asteroid M, his space-borne fortress. Some time later, he
surrendered himself to the law to stand trial for past deeds. A special tribunal
of the International Court of Justice convened to judge him for crimes against
humanity, but violence cut short the proceedings before a verdict could be
reached. Meanwhile, an ailing Xavier pleaded with Magneto to assume control of
his school and help guide the X-Men in his absence. Posing as Xavier's cousin,
Magnus mentored the next generation of genetic heroes. But relations between the
New Mutants and Magneto grew progressively worse, and they frequently disobeyed
his orders -- resulting in the death of one of their own and pushing their
teacher over the edge. Distraught over the pending Mutant Registration Act and
dissatisfied with "Xavier's way," Magnus abandoned the team.
Magneto attempted to follow his own path, but soon grew disgusted with the fight
against anti-mutant bigotry. As before, he secluded himself on Asteroid M. Once
again, Magneto became a "villain" in the world's eyes -- if not his own. Xavier
remained hopeful that he could convince his old friend to set aside his
extremist beliefs -- that is, until Magnus forcibly extracted the Adamantium
implants grafted to the skeleton of the feral X-Man known as Wolverine. To
Xavier, this act proved Magneto to be irredeemable. He telepathically
lobotomized his one-time ally, temporarily rendering him a vegetable.
When Avalon fell to Earth his mind was restored by the villain Astra, who sent
her creation, Joseph to destroy him. Joseph was unable to kill Magneto.
Magneto was contacted by Apocalypse and dediced to join him, in the Blue Area of
the Moon they set up a headquarters. Joseph met Rogue and she believed he was
Magneto, so did he. So Joseph took his
place.
The world believed Joseph to be the real Magneto. Joseph and Rogue married, and
joined Onslaught. Onslaught gave them dominion over Europe, where Jospeh lived
Magneto's life, with several Acolytes by their side.
However the real Magneto was hiding in the moon. Watching the events in Europe
carefully, hating Joseph for taking his happiness with his family. When The
Resistance attacked Joseph, who was Onslaught's most powerfull general, Magneto
sent Amelia Voght to help them. In the battle with the Resistance Joseph died, no one ever knew he wasn't
the real Magneto.
Magneto stayed in the moon with
Apocalypse and his Acolytes. Amelia took care of bringing the remaining Acolytes
with her. When he learned of his son's demise in the hands of Venom, all he
wanted was to perform vengeance on the symbiote. It wasn't meant to be. Magneto
carefully chose the time to attack. Several Sentinels where about to exterminate
the symbiote and his family, and several others. But MAgneto arrived. He easily
disabled the Sentinels and controled the motor functions of those present,
released Venom and stated he was going to kill him. But then several others
appeared. Including Dr Doom. Magneto repeated the procedure, but Doom had a
failsafe, a shield of his own, which interacted with Magneto's powers, giving
him a backlash which made him loose conciousness. Several of the people gathered
here where teleported to the future due to the meddlings of Roma. Magneto
was one of them. After regaining conciousness he found out his powers have
abandoned him, and he recently met a gold skinned mutant by the name of Shadow....
Magneto returned to the present,
finding himself amidst the vastness of space, in Snark World...
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