Real Name: Erik Magnus LehnsherrThe two forces clashed but Apocalypse and his followers were too powerful and too great in numbers. This resulted in Apocalypse gaining control of North America while the X-Men were driven into hiding. Soon after Weapon X joined the X-Men, Apocalypse planned to launch a nuclear arsenal. Magneto left the Scarlet Witch to protect the students at Wundagore Mountain while he led the X-Men in a fight to stop Apocalypse. While the X-Men were fighting to prevent Apocalypse from launching the missiles, Apocalypse’s son Nemesis attacked Wundagore. The Scarlet Witch and a new student by the name of Rogue managed to drive off Nemesis but Wanda died from her wounds. This loss was meant to cause Magneto to abandon his dream but it only strengthened his resolve. He was also not alone in his time of pain because of the support of the X-Men and in particular, Rogue.
As time progressed, the support Rogue provided for Magneto turned to love. Eventually, Magneto expressed his love for Rogue and revealed that their similar magnetic powers allowed them to touch and they kissed. Gambit witnessed this and became enraged at Magneto since he too loved Rogue. The X-Men were soon attacked by Wolverine, a servant of Apocalypse, and Rogue chose to save Magneto instead of Gambit. This rejection caused Gambit to leave the X-Men. Without Gambit, Rogue and Magneto’s relationship grew and they married. The two also had a son together that Magneto named Charles.
Years went by and Magneto’s X-Men grew in numbers. However, they never seemed to be getting any closer to ending the reign of Apocalypse. Magneto had almost lost hope when he came across the stranger Bishop. Bishop told Magneto that this reality was never meant to be and was all a result of the death of Charles Xavier. Magneto believed him and formulated a plan to change the course of history and in doing so, prevent Apocalypse from ever taking control. To do this, he sent Nightcrawler, Colossus and Shadowcat as well as his old friend Gambit on separate missions to retrieve essential parts to his plan. Nightcrawler was sent to find the mutant Destiny, who could validate Bishop’s claims. Colossus and Shadowcat were to retrieve Colossus’ sister Illyana Rasputin, who had the dormant mutant power to transcend time. Finally, Gambit was sent to the far reaches of the Shi’ar Empire to bring back the M’Kraan Crystal. Since the crystal is the nexus of all realities, Illyana could transport Bishop back in time and prevent Legion from accidentally killing Charles Xavier. In case Bishop’s story was false or Magneto’s plan failed, his teams of X-Men remained focused on defeating the forces of Apocalypse.
Unfortunately, Magneto was captured by Apocalypse before he could execute his plan and taken prisoner in Apocalypse’s citadel. He tried to break Magneto’s spirit but Magneto vowed to fight for Charles’ dream with his dying breath. Apocalypse then decided to take him up on that idea. The arrival of X-Man turned the tide and the two battled against Apocalypse and Holocaust (the current form of Nemesis). At the same time, the X-Men had fought their way into Apocalypse’s stronghold in an attempt to regain the M’Kraan crystal. Once they obtained it, Magneto’s plan was ready to go. Illyana, Destiny and Bishop entered the very heart of the M’Kraan crystal and Bishop was sent back in time to stop Legion.
Back in the Age of Apocalypse, the battle was not over. Magneto returned to his fight against Apocalypse, stronger than ever. Using all his might, he defeated Apocalypse by tearing him apart. The joy of victory was short lived as the European High Council carried out their plan to bomb all of Apocalypse’s empire. Standing with his wife Rogue and son Charles, Magneto could only hope that Bishop had succeeded in his mission. As the bombs dropped, Magneto thanked Charles Xavier one last time for giving his life meaning and providing him with a dream worth fighting for.
While Bishop was successful in stopping Legion, the Age of Apocalypse remained and Magneto stopped the falling bombs, saving countless human lives. Over the next year, Magneto and the X-Men worked hard to rebuild the world Apocalypse had nearly destroyed. They also worked to rebuild trust with the humans who had survived. The President of the United States believed in Magneto’s dream and made him director of mutant affairs. As part of this position, Magneto would bring those mutants responsible to justice and protect those who are innocent. Even though these times seemed to lead towards a bright future, Magneto was hiding a very dark secret. A secret only Sinister knew. Magneto did not stop the bombs from falling, it was Jean Grey.
As the bombs were falling, Jean manifested a godlike force that stopped them from detonating. Nobody but Magneto realized this so the public believed him to be responsible for saving their lives. Humans saw Magneto as a hero and Magneto saw hope towards his dream of a peaceful coexistence. That is what caused him to not reveal the truth. Sinister also knew the truth and to keep Sinister quiet, Magneto had to promise to never seek Sinister out. After revealing this secret to his X-Men, they sought out Sinister only to discover Jean alive and under his control. Jean had manifested the power of Mutant Alpha, the very first mutant whose genetics gave birth to all mutants. The ensuing battle took the lives of several X-Men, including Magneto’s son Quicksilver. The X-Men prevailed because Logan and Psylocke were finally able to break Sinister’s conditioning over Jean. For deceiving the world, Magneto handed himself over to the police and accepted his punishment of incarceration. At his request, Jean Grey agreed to lead the X-Men in his place and continue towards their dream of peace.
Recently, when Sabretooth visited his home reality to inquire about Wild Child, Magneto was back in his office as Director of Mutant Affairs, so at some point his sentence apparently was commuted.
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