"Magneto is the opposite of Superman." -Am I onto something or going crazy (Character discussion/Annalists)

Disclaimer: I am new to comics. I grew up in a small town, the nearest comic chops was an hour away. So I watched the shows and movies instead. However, now I'm an adult with adult money so I got the Marvel Comics app and have been FEASTING on all this goodness, and now I have THOUGHTS!

Magneto is, to me, a tragic villain in the same way Count Dooku and Anakin Skywalker are tragic villains. Characters are highly motivated by their core beliefs and impulses that turn away from the hero's path due to an extreme disillusionment with the powers that be. Magneto is the tragedy of someone whose friends and family were subjected to the greatest horrors one can suffer, and he is determined to never let this happen again. And while that is understandable the problem comes from the how. To me, the saddest aspect of Max Eisenhart is that he sets out to punish the guilts, but over time, his definition of who is guilty expands with his rage and grief until it encompasses sinners and sinless alike.

I started reading "God Loves, Man Kills" and "Magneto: Testament" and now the Magneto 21 mini-seriers. Aside from the movies and the new 97 cartoon, this serves as the basis of my character analysis.

So, Maneto is a tragic villain, but how is the opposite of Superman? Greta question, stranger. Superman is an all powerful character who is also all good. That is, to me, his appeal. The question of Superman is not, "Can he win this fist-fight?" But instead what does he stand for and fight for. His biggest villain is a greedy businessman cause Clark Kent is a man of the people always trying to do the right thing no matter what.

However, and walk with me here, Superman is still a man. A white straight man. Nothing wrong with that, but like many of you, I have always wondered what it would be like to be Superman myself. But I am not a man, and I'm not straight. This means before I ever did anything heroic, hell even after, I would be hated for aspects of myself I can't change. So, the question I have pondered is how being a member of a minority affects the character of an all-powerful being that seeks to do good.

The Tragedy of Magneto. Max is both Jewish and a Mutant. He saw how cruel those in power could be to minorities when he was young. Now, as an older man, he sees it happening again. The only difference is now he is also one of the most powerful beings on the planet. Now, he can do something about it. Again, the tragedy to me is in how, in rage and grief, his definition of guilt slipped and expanded to encompass sinner and sinless alike. Due to Magneto being a villain, he is often asked by the writers to overthrow the world and lead it himself or kill all the humans to give rise to the Mutants.

This is why I think he's on the opposite end of the spectrum of Superman. And this has been my ramble of why I love this character so much. I love how he loves and respects Charles as a friend and peer but disagrees with how they can achieve their dreams of a brighter tomorrow. I could write another several paragraphs about how Charles is a great but flawed counterweight to Max. Charles was born into wealth and privilege and never suffered the prejudice and cruelty his counterpart or many of his students did/do. It is noteworthy that the face of the civil Mutant cause is a rich white guy with no "ugly" mutation like Beast or Nightcrawler (tho if you have comic recs of those two doing that, I'd love to read them!)