Magneto (film character) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Erik LehnsherrMagneto |
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| X-Men film series character | |
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| First appearance | X-Men (2000) |
| Last appearance | Dark Phoenix (2019) |
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Other:
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| Aliases | Henryk Gurzsky |
| Species | Human mutant |
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| Family |
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| Spouse(s) | Magda Gurzsky |
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| Relatives | Dawn Dane (granddaughter) |
| Religion | Judaism |
| Origin | Germany |
| Auschwitz number | 214782 |
Erik Magnus Lehnsherr, also known as Magneto, is a character primarily portrayed by Ian McKellen and Michael Fassbender in 20th Century Fox's X-Men film series. Based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name, he has appeared in eight installments of the franchise. McKellen played Magneto in the original trilogy films X-Men (2000), X2 (2003), and X-Men: The Last Stand (2006), in addition to making a cameo in The Wolverine (2013); while Fassbender portrayed a younger version of the character in the prequel films X-Men: First Class (2011), X-Men: Apocalypse (2016), and Dark Phoenix (2019). Both actors' iterations appeared in different time periods in X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014).
As in the comics, Magneto is depicted as a powerful mutant, a subspecies of humans born with superhuman abilities, who can manipulate and generate magnetic fields. He is a Holocaust survivor who regards mutants as being superior to humans, and seeks to enable them to replace mankind as the dominant species on the planet.
Contents
Characterization
Comparison between comic and cinematic portrayal
Some aspects of Magneto's character have been changed, added or omitted from his comic book counterpart. In the books, Quicksilver / Peter Maximoff has a twin sister named Wanda, also called Scarlet Witch; for a long period of time they were considered to be Magneto's children. In the films, Peter has at least one sister who is unnamed; an extended scene in X-Men: Days of Future Past - The Rogue Cut hints at the two having another unnamed sister. Bryan Singer has made it clear that the cut (from the theatrical film) scene is merely a nod to the fans who would get the reference, since in the comics Magneto has a daughter named Lorna Dane, also known as Polaris, with powers virtually identical to Magneto's. Peter's younger sister is never referred to as Wanda and it is only confirmed that Peter himself is the offspring of Erik Lehnsherr in the film series, leaving the paternity of the sister(s) unknown. Singer had said about Peter's unnamed sister in X-Men: Days of Future Past,
- Is that the Scarlet Witch? No, that's his little sister. I even had a line which I cut, where Quicksilver's mother says to the little girl, 'Go up and bug your sister,' and the little girl says, 'She bugs me!' You never see the older sister, but it was to imply that there is an older sister for comic book fans. I ended up cutting it.
The role of Sebastian Shaw in Magneto's backstory in X-Men: First Class is unique to this film, while Mystique barely had any association with Magneto in the comics, but is his most trusted henchwoman in the 2000-2006 trilogy and has a complicated relationship with him in the prequel films. Magneto also never helped found the X-Men like in the films, where he is shown to have helped Charles Xavier organize the team when they were still friends.
In the comics, Magneto's real name has been revealed to be Max Eisenhart, with Erik Magnus Lehnsherr being an assumed identity; in the films, this name is never used, only that of Erik Lehnsherr.
Powers and abilities
Magneto has been classified as a "Class 4" mutant, being described as greater than Class 3 while Jean Grey is the only Class 5 mutant Charles Xavier knows of. Magneto in the film series has been shown to be able to control only ferromagnetism, meaning he can only manipulate a limited number of ferromagnetic metals such as iron, nickel, cobalt or adamantium, an alloy including iron. As such, he would not be able to stop most types of bullets, explaining why he failed to save John F. Kennedy. The force necessary to move the massive Golden Gate Bridge (in The Last Stand) would require a force a million times stronger than the strongest magnet created by humans so far.
Merchandise
In 2000, Toy Biz released a series of action figures including a 10" Magneto figure. As part of the 2000 film's 20th anniversary in 2020, Hasbro released action figures in the Marvel Legends series from the film, with Magneto being released in a two-set with Professor X. The Magneto figure comes with replaceable heads for both Michael Fassbender and Ian McKellen's versions of Magneto.
