10 Things You Didn't Know About Magneto

7. He's Always Been A Hero

X-Men Apocalypse Charles Xavier Magneto
20th Century Fox

Sort of. Magneto's recent tenure of Cyclops's team of X-Men isn't the first time the character has played the hero. Despite referring himself and his followers as the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants in their first appearance, many readers and writers have considered Magneto as a hero, albeit a particularly dark one, for years.

In the Secret Wars, the first ever large-scale Marvel crossover event, way back in 1984, a large number of characters were abducted from Earth by the Beyonder and sorted into two groups, with the heroes on one side and the villains on the other. Surprisingly for some, Magneto was grouped with the heroes as opposed to the villains. It was later revealed that the Beyonder had looked into the minds of his captives and grouped them according to their desires.

Because Magneto's goal of mutant liberation was considered selfless, unlike villains such as Dr Doom and Galactus, he was deemed to be a hero. In subsequent years, Magneto has become something of an alignment yo-yo, moving back and forth from hero to villain to anti-hero depending on the story and the writer at the time. He's been on trial and exonerated for his crimes against humanity at least twice (although the second time he manipulated the judge using mind-control technology), and even acted as headmaster of the Xavier Institute under the guise of Michael Xavier.

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With a (nearly) useless degree in English literature and a personal trainer qualification he's never used, Freddie spends his times writing things that he hopes will somehow pay the rent. He's also a former professional singer, and plays the saxophone and ukulele. He's not really used to talking about himself in the third person, and would like to stop now, thanks.