Anghus Houvouras reviews Magneto #1…
“Once the deadliest, most feared mutant mastermind on the planet, MAGNETO is no longer the man he once was. After falling in with Cyclops and the X-Men, Erik Lehnsherr became just one more pawn in another man’s war. But now, determined to fight the war for mutantkind’s survival on his own terms, Magneto sets out to regain what he’s lost…and show the world exactly why it should tremble at the sound of his name. Magneto will safeguard the future of the mutant race by hunting down each and every threat that would see his kind extinguished—and bloody his hands that they may never be a threat again.”
Magneto is a character I’ve loved for a long time. My first exposure to him was in the excellent Super Villain Team Up series of the 1970’s that featured all your favorite would be world-dominators. In the issue, Magneto confronts the Red Skull about his Nazi past and the heinous holocaust he and his allies perpetrated. Magento locks Red Skull in a basement with a small supply of water with the goal of letting him die slowly. It was a powerful scene, and a window into the darkness of both characters.
The difficulty of a character like Magneto is the pendulum swing his characterization has taken over the years. He’s a villain, though one with a tragic past that somewhat explains his actions. Eventually he abandons his terrible ways and becomes a reluctant hero. Then he turns evil again. No wait, he’s a good guy. Oh wait, no it was all a trick he’s really evil again and killing people indiscriminately. There’s conflict worked into the character. Sometimes Magneto feels like a blank slate who can be whatever the writers wants him to be. That is both a blessing and a curse.
My curiosity was piqued when Marvel announced a new Magneto ongoing series, mainly because the publisher is doing the best work in years and are having a great deal of creative success with their second and third tier characters (Hawkeye and Superior Foes of Spider-Man immediately springs to mind). Writer Cullen Bunn and artist Gabriel Hernandez Walta have delivered a solid first issue which deals with many of the complexities of the character while setting him off on his own path.
Magneto is always most interesting when his back is to the wall, and that’s where we find him. Living in a seedy hotel, bereft of a secret island base, henchman, or technology. He’ investigating the murders of some mutants and dealing with his powers which have been on the fritz since the events of Avengers vs. X-Men. The first issue spends most of its time inside Magneto’s head, giving us his perspective on the current state of the world. He’s a little angry and a little paranoid. Unfortunately, he lacks the ability to sit back and do nothing. Once he knows the identity of this mutant killer, he must take action, even if it puts him in harm’s way.
Magneto #1 is another great first issue from Marvel. Cullen Bunn does a great job weeding through the many incarnations of Magneto to give us a take on the character that feels ‘right’: a driven, often obsessed man who will fight for the rights of his fellow mutants. Walta’s art is grounded and a little dirty. It’s the kind of art that feels well suited for a crime story or the kind of exceptional pulp Dynamite is putting out right now. It works very well for the more low key dynamic of the book. I mentioned books like Hawkeye and Superior Foes before, and Magneto fits nicely into that mold. Books like Daredevil and the new Moon Knight that successfully match writers with artists for characters delivering a lo-fi take on a character.
I’m excited to see where Bunn and Walta take Magneto next. This is a series with a lot of potential.
Anghus Houvouras is a North Carolina based writer and filmmaker. His latest work, the novel My Career Suicide Note, is available from Amazon.
Originally published March 6, 2014. Updated April 11, 2018.
