Through all his appearances, Magneto has been consistently inconsistent. From Ian McKellen putting on the helmet for the very first time in 2000, to Michael Fassbender’s descent into a twisted mentality, his psyche continues to fascinate fans, regardless of the medium he appears in. The complexities in his intentions and motivations are what make him as beloved as he is.
With this in mind, fans would not be happy if he was disrespected through a word as plain and simple as evil. Interestingly enough, it would seem that McKellen and Fassbender also do not appreciate such words being used to describe the character’s motivations.
Michael Fassbender and Ian McKellen Do Not Appricate Magneto Being Called Evil
During an interview with Collider, Michael Fassbender was asked if his version of Magneto was going down the same ‘evil’ path that Ian McKellen’s version of the character ends up at. Rather than answering the question point-blank, the actor took quite an offense at the choice of words used to describe his character.
Well I think Ian McKellen might have a problem with that. I’ve seen an interview with him speaking about Iago and how he’s an evil character and he’s like, “Evil, I don’t know what to do with that word.” And that’s true, trying to unravel a character, “evil” is just too broad a word and too cloudy a word—how do you access it, and how do you bring that characteristic and display it in a character without being “Mwahahaha!”
He started by dissecting the word ‘evil’ itself, stating that it was far too simple of a term to describe something as complex as Magneto. He mentioned that the meaning of evil was far too simple for it to be used on someone like Erik Lehnsherr. With this in mind, he started to talk about the misguided actions that Magneto has taken over the years that have gained him the ‘evil’ reputation he has today.
He mentioned that Magneto was a character that had been hurt in his past, and the trauma that the pain left him, shaped him into who he became throughout his story. His approach toward the character’s psychology would certainly be appreciated by fans, as it did not come from a place of judgment, but understanding.
[Magneto’s] somebody who’s been injured, somebody who’s had all his loved ones taken away from him. He’s quite singular in his thoughts and yes there’s an element of a megalomaniac in there, and an aspect of a dictator for sure. So I always had those things in mind when I was playing him, so I don’t think it’s any more of a progression towards Ian’s Magneto. I think he was kind of doing the same thing.
Finally, Fassbender answered the question, stating that he did not try to emulate any sort of descent into madness for his character. He simply tried to do justice to the way that McKellen played the role and tried to stay consistent.
The Trial of Erik Lehnsherr
Although many could look at his actions at face value, Erik Lehnsherr is a lot more complex than this. His actions are not rooted in a desire to do evil. Instead, they come from the hands of a young boy who lost everything he had to a kind of discrimination that started the Second World War.
Who then saw something similar happening to a part of the population that was simply trying to make it through their lives without being killed for simply who they were. The fact that Mutants were being forced to experience something similar to what he experienced in Nazi Germany—his motivations to enforce a sort of dictatorship on humans does not come from an evil place. Instead, it comes from a place of self-preservation.
Similar to many in history, Magneto and Professor X had a difference in ideals but a common goal. They wanted mutants to have a safe world to simply exist in.
However, Charles used an approach of revolution through peace, whereas Magneto wanted to create it by force. While many may call the bodies he left in his wake an indication of the evil that lay under his skin, there was good in his intentions.
These blurry lines are what make the character as appealing as he is and what makes fans hesitant to call him evil.
