Magneto's 10 Greatest Movie Moments

6. Young Magneto In Auschwitz Extermination Camp - X-Men (2000)

Before the first X-Men film was released, comic book movies were more or less the kiss of death for the beloved characters. We were all pleasantly surprised when the actual film was released. It was clear that the film wasn€™t going to treat its source material like it was something simply meant for kids. Nothing expressed this quite as well as the opening scene of the film, where we also meet a young Magneto. In 1944, a young Erik Lehnsherr is forcibly separated from his parents by Nazi soldiers in German-occupied Poland. Under this stress, Lehnsherr's powers began to manifest and in his fright, twists open the metal fence separating him from his parents before being knocked unconscious by a German soldier. This scene would be expanded upon years later in First Class but in retrospect this was a pretty bold scene to kick off the franchise. You have to admire Bryan Singer for having the courage to do this opening, most superhero movies don't approach this level of depth and maturity nowadays, which is a shame.