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Still from X2 (2003)
Character · by Jordan Okafor

Magneto: The X-Men Films' Master of Magnetism

Magneto is the mutant who controls metal and magnetic force in the Fox X-Men films, played by Ian McKellen as the older man and Michael Fassbender as the younger one across eight films, from X-Men (2000) to Dark Phoenix (2019). His real name in the films is Erik Lehnsherr, and he is the leader of the Brotherhood and the longtime friend and opponent of Professor X.

Image: TMDB

Who Plays Eric Lehnsherr / Magneto?

Who Is Magneto in the X-Men Films?

Magneto is Erik Lehnsherr, a boy held at Auschwitz in 1944 who bends a metal gate with his mind and grows into the most persistent opponent, and occasional ally, of the X-Men. His power in the films is control over metal and magnetic force, which he uses to move, bend and tear metal from a distance. Does Magneto fly? The films do not build his scenes around flight, so the plain answer is that he commands metal and the metal does the work.

Two actors carry the role. Ian McKellen plays the older Magneto in x men 2000, x2 x men united, x men the last stand and the 2023 scenes of x men days of future past. Michael Fassbender plays the younger Erik in x men first class, the 1973 scenes of Days of Future Past, x men apocalypse and dark phoenix. Brett Morris is credited as Young Magneto in the 2000 film, and Magneto also turns up in a mid credits scene of the wolverine 2013.

The credits are not consistent about his name. He appears as "Magneto", "Erik Lehnsherr", "Erik Lehnsherr / Magneto", "Eric Lehnsherr / Magneto" (the spelling used for X2), "Erik Lensherr / Magneto" (the spelling used for Dark Phoenix), "Young Magneto" and "Young Erik". All of them are the same character. Comics readers may look for the name Max Eisenhardt, but no film credit uses it, and the films also never label him an Omega level mutant: on screen his power is simply control of metal and magnetic force. The same goes for Polaris, a name no film credit or plot summary attaches to the daughter Erik loses in Apocalypse. For the wider cast, see x men characters and x men cast.

Eric Lehnsherr / Magneto Films

Magneto's Story Arc Across the Fox FilmsSpoilers

Magneto's arc runs from a survivor's rage in 1944 to an uneasy peace with Xavier in 1992, and it is told out of order because First Class, Days of Future Past and Apocalypse go back in time. In x men first class (2011), directed by Matthew Vaughn, Erik hunts Schmidt, who kills his mother in the camp and later calls himself Sebastian Shaw. Erik kills Shaw with the coin Shaw once used to test his power. When human navy ships fire on the mutants, Erik turns the missiles back on them, and a stray bullet leaves Charles paralyzed. Erik takes the name Magneto and leaves with Raven.

In x men 2000 (2000), directed by Bryan Singer, Magneto kidnaps Senator Kelly and turns him into a mutant with a machine, then plans to use Rogue's absorbing power to run it on the world leaders at the Ellis Island summit. The X-Men stop him at the Statue of Liberty, and Xavier visits him in his plastic prison cell. In x2 x men united (2003) he escapes with Mystique's help and rescues the team when fighter jets bring down the X-Jet, forming an alliance of convenience against Stryker.

X-Men: The Last Stand (2006), directed by Brett Ratner, has him raise an army and attack Alcatraz, where the source of the mutant cure is held. In x men days of future past (2014) he is an ally in the 2023 timeline, then in 1973 he is freed from a deep Pentagon cell with Quicksilver's help, takes control of the prototype Sentinels and attacks Washington, D.C., to kill the president. In x men apocalypse (2016) he hides as a factory worker in Poland, loses his wife and daughter, and joins Apocalypse as a Horseman, before he and Storm turn on Apocalypse. In dark phoenix (2019), directed by Simon Kinberg, he takes in Hank McCoy and hunts Jean Grey. A mid credits scene in the wolverine 2013, directed by James Mangold, shows him meeting Logan at an airport two years later, warning of a new threat, with Xavier at his side.

Magneto's Relationships: Professor X, Mystique and the Rest

His defining relationship is with Charles Xavier, a friendship that survives every split. They recruit mutants together in First Class, fall out over whether mutants should live peacefully with humans, and meet again as opponents in the original trilogy, where Xavier tells him in his cell that he will be there to stop him. See professor x for the other half of that story.

Mystique is his closest follower. Raven chooses to follow him at the end of First Class, and in X2 she helps him escape and then disguises herself as Wolverine to get the team into Stryker's base. Read more at mystique x men. Wolverine and Magneto cross paths twice: Magneto saves the team after the X-Jet is shot down in X2, and he warns Logan of a new threat to mutants in the airport scene of The Wolverine, which makes wolverine x men a natural companion read. In X-Men (2000) Magneto takes Rogue to power his machine, which would kill her, so rogue x men sees his worst side first.

Family is thinner than fans of the comics might expect. In Apocalypse, Erik loses his wife and daughter when his powers are revealed, and that loss pushes him toward joining Apocalypse. Quicksilver (Peter Maximoff) keeps a link to Erik to himself at the end of Apocalypse, and quicksilver x men covers that thread. Jean Grey also crosses his path, first as an ally in The Last Stand and later as his target in Dark Phoenix (see jean gray), and he fights beside storm x men against Apocalypse.

What Happens to Magneto? Weakness and FateSpoilers

Magneto survives every film he appears in, but the fates differ by timeline: he is stripped of his power in The Last Stand and sitting in Paris with Xavier by the end of Dark Phoenix. In The Last Stand a cure dart hits him on Alcatraz, and he is left a powerless man in a park, playing chess alone while a piece twitches slightly, hinting that some power may remain. The cure is the clearest weakness the films give him, since his power works on metal and the cure removes the power itself.

The films also show that he can be contained. In X-Men (2000) he is held in a plastic prison cell, and in Days of Future Past he is locked in a deep Pentagon cell. Days of Future Past then erases the grim 2023 future, which wipes out the version of the story in which he and Xavier are allies in hiding. In Dark Phoenix he meets Xavier in Paris for a game of chess, the two reconcile, and a phoenix shape appears in the sky.

What comes next for the character is not confirmed. Marvel Studios has an untitled X-Men film dated May 5, 2028 in US theaters, directed by Jake Schreier. According to TheWrap, the cast announced at D23 on August 14, 2026 includes Christopher Abbott, Sadie Sink, Kit Connor, Samara Weaving, Inde Navarrette, Maya Boyd and Adam Driver. No source confirms a Magneto casting, so any question about a Magneto MCU actor stays open until Marvel says otherwise. Our coverage of that film sits at new x men movie.

Magneto's Best Moments, Ranked by Taste

In my opinion, the missile turn in First Class is the best Magneto scene, because it shows the exact moment a friend becomes an enemy and it is Fassbender's most chilling stretch of the film. Xavier is hit by a stray bullet in the same sequence, and that cost gives the later split between the two men real weight.

It could be argued that the plastic cell scene at the end of X-Men (2000) is almost as good. McKellen and Patrick Stewart share a quiet room, years of history sit between them, and Magneto promises to escape and carry on while Xavier replies that he will be there. The rest of the saga is, in some sense, an answer to that exchange.

Perhaps the most underrated beat is the chess piece in The Last Stand, which hints that the cure did not finish him. I would also rank his X2 rescue of the team highly, since it shows he is useful as an ally without softening him, and the Dark Phoenix chess game in Paris gives the two men a gentler farewell than their rivalry usually allows. For a full comparison of the films he appears in, see x men movies ranked.

Facts

FAQs

Is Magneto a villain or hero?

He is both, depending on the film. He is the antagonist in X-Men (2000), The Last Stand, and for much of First Class, Days of Future Past (1973) and Dark Phoenix. He saves the team in X2, fights Apocalypse alongside Storm in Apocalypse, and is an ally in the 2023 scenes of Days of Future Past.

Does Magneto fly?

The films do not build Magneto's scenes around flight. His power is control over metal and magnetic force, which he uses to move, bend and tear metal from a distance, so the metal does the work.

What is another name for Magneto?

His real name in the Fox films is Erik Lehnsherr. Credits also spell it Eric Lehnsherr (X2) and Erik Lensherr (Dark Phoenix), and list the younger version in X-Men (2000) as Young Magneto. No film credit uses the comics name Max Eisenhardt.

Is Magneto an Avenger?

No. In the Fox X-Men films Magneto leads the Brotherhood and sometimes works alongside the X-Men, but he is never part of the Avengers.

Is Magneto the biological father of Wanda?

The Fox X-Men films never say so. No cast credit or plot summary for these films includes a character named Wanda. The only child Erik is shown with is the daughter he loses, along with his wife, in X-Men: Apocalypse, and the film does not name her Wanda or Polaris. Marvel Studios has not confirmed any Magneto casting or storyline for its untitled X-Men film.

What is Magneto's weakness?

The clearest weakness in the films is the mutant cure, which strips his power in X-Men: The Last Stand. He is also held by a plastic prison cell in X-Men (2000) and a deep Pentagon cell in Days of Future Past.