One of the coolest parts of ‘X-Men: First Class’ was when Erik Lensherr goes Nazi hunting in an effort to get revenge on his mother’s murderer, Sebastian Shaw, and all those who worked with him. Now, as part of All-New Marvel NOW, Magneto is going hunting again in his own solo title from Cullen Bunn and Gabriel Hernandez Walta, except this time he’s tracking down those who persecute mutantkind.
In the first issue, the Master of Magnetism makes his intentions clear when he makes his mark on a doctor from Missouri who has committed crimes against mutants. From there, he tracks down another killer in Mountain Air, California, who actually turns out to be a dormant Omega Sentinel. Now, Magneto has a whole new mystery on his hands as he looks to find out where this death machine came from and he started by heading to the place where the man/sentinel was from.
The one-time villain has always been an interesting character. His origins in World War II are a complex tale that haven’t been explored as much as other periods in his life, so I’m really glad that now it’s being spotlighted in his new series. But at the same time, he gets to show the ruthless warrior that’s been somewhat at bay lately since he’s joined the X-Men. He’s kind of taken up the role of the Punisher, except he does it for mutants everywhere. He’s taking out those who commit crimes against mutantkind in the most violent ways possible.
Speaking of violence, Bunn has got to be one of the most violent writers on my pull list right now. At the same time, he’s pretty hilarious, but the kills in this Magneto series are super creative. The one that comes to mind is the one from the first issue in the opening moments of the book that involve replacing fillings with metal rods. What a way to start off a new series! It’s certainly memorable and since then, Bunn has delivered even more gruesome kills at the hands of Magneto. I’m looking forward to seeing what other moments like this the writer has planned in the future.
For all the things that I love about this book, there is one thing that I’m not entirely on board with. I know that Magneto is undercover right now as he continues on his mission, but he just doesn’t have the look that I immediately associate with the character. Obviously, he’s not going to go around wearing the helmet while he’s trying to be incognito, but I’m not really a fan of the bald head. I miss the distinguished white locks under the helmet. On the cover of issue two, I thought that Charles Xavier was back. That’s definitely not the case (yet), so I wish that they had kept the hair. But even without it, Magneto still looks like a badass.
As someone who doesn’t dabble in X-Men books very often, I’m definitely into Cullen Bunn’s ‘Magneto’. I’m looking forward to seeing what else Magneto pulls out of his bag of tricks as he continues to track down the source of the Omega Sentinels.
Final Score:
MAGNETO #1
Written by Cullen Bunn
Art by Gabriel Hernandez Walta & Jordie Bellaire
