X-Men Black: Magneto #1

Reviewed by: Robbie Rowe

Rating: 7 out of 8

Erik Lensherr is a man of principle. This doesn’t make life any easier for him, but then again, life was never made easy for the Master of Magnetism. When he was but a boy, he was one of many prisoners of Auschwitz. I’d say he was likely there because, looking at his surname, he was likely Jewish – but I doubt being a

Mutant made things easier either, or earned him any reprieve.

Most of the time in X-Men comics and those therein, Magneto and his old friend Charles Xavier have clashed over just how they as Mutants should treat humans, or how they as Home Superior, as Mags sometimes says, should be treated. This is the 1st of 5 issues focusing on X-Men villains, with a continuing Apocalypse story through all 5.

In the Magneto story, X-Men legend Chris Claremont returns to write, someone

who brought Wolverine, Nightcrawler, Storm and more onto the X-Men for the

first time. This story’s a lot more dialogue driven than you might be used to, or

have expected for a Magneto story. It can be fairly political as well, with one key

element being children being imprisoned due to being or suspected of being

Mutants.

That has a strong parallel to what President Trump did to immigrant children

earlier this year, so I’m left wondering whether Claremont did this purposefully as a commentary/criticism of what Pres Trump did, or a new commentary on how people, like Mutants, can be treated just because they’re different.

The art is fine, but ultimately I really prefer the art for the Apocalypse story, just a lot nicer to me. For me, personally, I feel Erick’s a lot more compassionate and

kinder than he usually is, though maybe that’s how Chris wrote Magneto, or just

how he’s changed since I last read him.

One of my greatest compliments for this X-Men Black series is that you not only get 1 X-Men villain, like Magneto this time, Mojo next time, but two. Even though I’m not really into Mojo compared to other X villains and I’m not so sure I like the sound of the Mystique story, I might still give them a go, if only for more of Apocalypse. He doesn’t look overly different from how he looked in X-Men: Apocalypse, or indeed X-Men The Animated Series and is written very well.

What’s happening to Apocalypse/En Sabah Nur here is very curious and rather

worrisome for one of the first Mutants. It’s a very unexpected development, as is what happens to him after, leaving me curious just where things will go for

Apocalypse next time, in X-Men: Black Mojo #1 next week. I definitely

recommend giving this series a go, if only for the 5 part Apocalypse story, but for sure for a look at Emma Frost, Juggernaut, Mystique and other memorable

menaces.