The last issue of Magneto had the once master of magnetism show his age and still manage to take down a group of people that were capturing and killing mutants for sport. Only, we were to find out that there was a much bigger game being played here with what was happening with the remains of the dead mutants.
Now I’d like to stop and point out for a moment that this felt very out of continuity of the rest of the ‘X-Men’ world. The one where there are so few mutants left that the X-Men are still actively tracking down and collecting each new one that shows up so there shouldn’t be a ton walking around to be kidnapped and turned into slave fighters. Yup. So with that out of the way, it was still a really good issue and the cliffhanger played directly into this one as opposed to many of the story lines that seem to have all ended rather abruptly.
Cullen Bunn still has the writing for Magneto down perfectly and is able to show us the conflicting sides of the character. From a man who has come from nothing to become one of the most powerful beings in the world to now having a shadow of the power that he once had. He is still brilliant and strong which is getting him quite far on his mission but he cannot quite literally change the world as he once was able to. That loss is the core of this issue both spiritually and for his own mission.
Javi Fernandez had a mixed run on art in this issue where some of the scenes felt well put together and others were missing on the quality I would want for Erik. The flash back scenes all felt perfect to their respective time periods and a few of them seemed familiar when related to the events that his current benefactor were involved in. Does he suspect what her real motivations might finally be? Still some of the current shots of our anti-hero felt a little off.
The issue has a lot of great fighting going on as well as some fantastic interactions with S.H.I.E.L.D. who are still chasing him from when he rather briefly worked with him before turning once more into being an outlaw. Only if you haven’t been paying attention, this mission isn’t the standard run in and wipe out the humans who are ruining the lives of mutants. As I mentioned above there is a much bigger game being played here and it all pans out on the last two pages in what could be viewed as the biggest cliffhanger yet, depending how the next book opens.
In this issue, Magneto ends up committing an act that could be seen as stepping over the line in doing exactly what it is that he is fighting against. I am just curious as to if the deal with the devil he makes here will cure him, addict him, be a stopgap measure, or something else entirely. I love the way it played out on page as you could feel the resignation in his actions and can tell how hard the decision he is making is on him. He’d better hope his gambit pays off as the next issue is the ‘March to AXIS’ as he will play a key role in the upcoming Avengers and X-Men themed AXIS event that is soon to kick off!
MAGNETO #8
Writer: Cullen Bunn
Artist: Javi Fernandez
