8 Smartest Decisions In Marvel Villain History
7. Magneto Strips Wolverine's Adamantium - Fatal Attractions
Depending on how you look at it, this moment from 1993's Fatal Attractions was either the smartest thing Magneto's ever done or potentially the dumbest. Either way, there's no denying it isn't found wanting for iconicity.
Magneto is a cruel tyrant most of the time, but he was at his most ruthless in this particular tale, which was actually released to celebrate the X-Men's thirtieth anniversary. Needless to say, Wolverine has probably seen better birthdays, with Fatal Attractions also marking the occasion Magneto finally uses his powers to wrest Logan's adamantium from his own skeleton, through his skin, and out of his body completely.
It's rendered in excruciating detail by artist Andy Kubert, but the consequences don't stop there. Magneto's act of torture is emotionally motivated, based on the fact Wolverine nearly killed him moments earlier, but it unintentionally hands him a pyrrhic victory. He renders one of the X-Men destructible, and when Professor X lashes out in retaliation and mentally destroys him, also succeeds in bringing his old adversary down to his level.
Sure, it might be slightly disingenuous to call that a clever move given how it ended for him, but he does basically win... right?
Look, it was either this or the whole Xorn thing from New X-Men. Magneto's a crafty character regardless.