Magneto’s name is pretty much synonymous with the world of X-Men, both in the comics and live-action spectrum. The infamous Marvel villain made his debut in the very first comic, The X-Men #1, and has appeared in all of the main X-Men live-action movies. Now, it makes sense why Magneto is such a big part of this world. He’s essentially the best friend of Charles Xavier. Sure, he may fling a bus at Professor X, but the brotherly love between the two men has always been well-documented. The second incarnation of X-Men (First Class, Days of Future Past, Apocalypse) did a better job of exploring their volatile dynamic. Both have the same mindset but different ideologies about the world, more so about humans in general.
It was fun watching Michael Fassbender and James McAvoy bounce off one another. Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen were a joy to watch as well. Seeing these men’s views on the world clash always brought a nice perspective on not just their characters, but the X-Men universe as a whole. Erik watched his mother shot dead right in front of him. It’s understandable why he thinks humans are evil and why he opted to murder Sebastian Shaw. However, since the live-action films relied on the relationships between these two characters so much, their bittering grew tiresome as time went on. It became the Erik, Charles, Raven/Mystique show, featuring everyone else. In the case of the first X-Men, replace Raven/Mystique with Logan/Wolverine. The X-Men world doesn’t need Magneto at this point. Logan proved that notion since it’s a tremendous feature that doesn’t have Magneto insight for one second.
To truly freshen up the world of X-Men, it would be better to keep Magneto away from the next version of X-Men movies. It’s time to put the focus back on characters such as Cyclops, Jean Grey, Storm, Rogue, or whoever the filmmakers decide will be a part of the next class. The films have spent some much time playing off the dynamic of their characters that there’s been barely any love shown to the core mutants outside of Professor X. The only reason that Raven/Mystique is given a major focus is due to the fact that it feeds into the conflict between Charles and Erik. Oh, and Jennifer Lawrence becoming a huge star likely had something to do with that as well. How can the likes of Rogue exist in the first edition of the series, but be relegated to a lame love triangle following the first X-Men? In the comics, Rogue is the most powerful mutant in the universe. She’s an incredibly complex character who has to deal with the fact that she can drain the life out of a human being and recapture their memories and powers. Scott Summers is supposed to be the leader of the X-Men. You wouldn’t know that because he’s mainly they’re as a blocker for Logan’s love for Jean Grey. He’s also a very complicated individual with amazing powers.
Don’t even get me started on Storm. Exactly what was the point of her role if all she was going to do was play with the weather every now and then. I can pretty much say that about everyone outside of the Erik and Charles circle. The crazy thing is that the story between Magneto and Professor X never reached the incredible heights from the comics. The creation of Onslaught – which is due to the darkest regions of both mutants – could’ve been a fun detour that really capitalized on their constant rivalry. There’s even a point where Magneto and Professor X build a mutant nation together. There are so many directions that their relationship could’ve went, but the live action series never truly stretched beyond the basic level. The world of X-Men needs a fresh coat of paint, and it would be better off if Magneto wasn’t in it this time. He’s by no means a terrible character and when written properly, Magneto can have the strongest arc out of all of the X-Men. There’s no word on when the X-Men will finally make their debut in the MCU. Based on Patrick Stewart’s appearance in the Doctor Strange: Multiverse of Madness trailer, it seems as if this is the opening for the X-Men to arrive. However, Professor X died in Logan, so it wouldn’t make much sense to bring him back unless Marvel wants to pretend that the best X-Men live-action movie no longer counts in their world. Either way, Magneto shouldn’t be in the next set of films, and if he does come back, can the focus not solely be on his love/hate relationship with Charles?
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