Magneto

Born Max Eisenhardt, a Jewish boy who survived the Holocaust, he emerged from that trauma with the power to generate and manipulate magnetic fields. Determined that mutants would never suffer persecution as he had, he debuted as the X-Men's first great nemesis in 1963.

Few characters in Marvel history have loomed as large — or as long — as Magneto, who burst onto the scene in The X-Men #1 in 1963, conjured by the legendary partnership of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby at the very dawn of the Silver Age. For more than six decades he has haunted the pages of The Uncanny X-Men and beyond, racking up nearly a thousand catalog appearances and an extraordinary 44 key issues that collectors prize — a testament to how consistently this character has shaped the Marvel universe's most charged and emotionally resonant corner. He shares his world with titans like Cyclops, Wolverine, and the man known as Erik Lehnsherr, and his membership in the X-Men themselves makes him one of mutantkind's most complex and consequential figures. Whether you're a lifelong devotee or just discovering why mutant mythology matters, Magneto is the place to start.