The conflict between Professor X and Magneto has grown in depth since the characters’ creation. The Master of Magnetism is now seen by some as more anti-hero than villain. Likewise, many of Charles Xavier’s actions have been called into question in retrospect. Despite these changes, X-Men #35 finds Magneto saying something that would have once been unthinkable.
The opening story of X-Men #35 finds Magneto saving Professor X from an assassination attempt engineered by Wolverine. After sending Logan flying, the two frenemies have their first long talk since the Resurrection of Magneto event. Now going by the name Max (rather than his longtime alias of Erik), the Master of Magnetism speaks of why the Krakoa experiment failed.
Magneto admits that his separatist agenda was a mistake. For all his hopes that Mutants might live in peace apart from Humans, every effort toward that end was met with resistance. However, Magneto thinks this is not because of the inherent corruption of humanity, but the inherent corruption of power. Those with power, Human or Mutant, will not stand for any threat to their own power. To that end, the resistance he hoped for must come from all of the hated and feared, against those who would use their power to control others.
Magneto Admits Xavier was Right in X-Men #35
Surprisingly, Professor X is unmoved by his friend’s revelation. Instead, he laughs at the irony. For years they had debated the virtues of separatism versus integration, regarding the Mutant population. Now, with Xavier having compromised his beliefs and his ethics to make Krakoa work and save the world, Magneto has embraced Xavier’s idealism. Yet Magento still can’t bring himself to say three simple words. “Xavier was right.”
The irony of their role reversal is heighted by the rest of X-Men #35. While Magneto now hopes to lead a unified army of the oppressed, Xavier uses his powers with lethal intent from his prison cell. This is engineered through a subtle telepathic command he programmed into Reed Richards and Tony Stark. Specifically, that the technology that limits his powers allow him the loophole of being free to save Mutant lives. This loophole does not, however, prevent Xavier from forcing a murderous bigot to walk off a rooftop. This practice is precisely the sort of thing Magneto would have once condoned and Xavier would have condemned.
X-Men #35 is now available in comic shops everywhere.
