Review: MAGNETO #1

MAGNETO #1
Written by Cullen Bunn
Art by Gabriel Hernandez Walta
Published by Marvel Comics
Release Date: March 5, 2014

MAG2014001_DC11_LROne of the greatest, most complicated characters in all of comic books gets the All-New Marvel NOW! treatment as Cullen Bunn and Gabriel Hernandez Walta bring us Magneto. It may have taken over fifty years for “The Master of Magnetism” to graduate from major supporting character, and occasional limited series star to a full fledged ongoing title bearing his name, but if the first issue is any indication the wait will have been entirely worth it.

The character known as Magneto is one of the most complicated characters to ever come out of the House of Ideas. He has been the X-Men’s biggest villain, Charles Xavier’s best friend turned bitter enemy, sympathetic and tragic Holocaust survivor, reformed member of the X-Men, notorious member of the Phoenix Five, and one of the Marvel Universe’s most wanted. What Cullen Bunn succeeds with the first issue of Magneto is embracing all of the character’s history to cut to the core of who he is. There’s one thing that has never changed about Magneto; no matter what role he has played throughout his history, the well being of mutantkind has come before everything else. Bunn takes this fundamental characteristic and uses it to setup a new status quo that is not only the most interesting take on the character in years, but one that is easy for new readers to understand while fitting in with everything readers have come to know about Magneto. In other words, Bunn succeeds at walking a fine tightrope between being accessible for new readers without alienating long time fans of the X-Men. A big reason why the creative team is able to pull this off is because the book’s concept is easy to understand while making perfect sense for the character. Magneto has decided that he will take it upon himself to travel the world and take out threats to mutants or punish those that have harmed them. This debut issue is focused on setting up this status quo. Magneto is on the run, out to protect mutantkind, and willing to kill those who stand in his way. Where it would have been easy to try and make title character a hero who is easy to cheer for, Bunn wisely keeps from turning our protagonist into a full fledged hero. Instead, Erik is a brutal character who thinks he is doing what his best for his people. He does bad things to bad people, but does that make him a good guy? The character is kept in the grey area that has made him so complicated and intriguing throughout the years.

The idea that Magneto would hunt down those who would do his people wrong isn’t a new concept at all. In fact a take on the concept was one of the most memorable parts of the X-Men: First Class movie. What elevates this take on the character to another level is the very street level take on it that Bunn has employed. As seen in the events of Uncanny X-Men and briefly touched upon here for new readers, Magneto is a wanted man, and S.H.I.E.L.D. is after him. This, combined with his powers being on the fritz, forces Erik to live a more low key life than ever before. The issue reads like more of a Punisher comic that a X-Men comic. Things like hiding out in old hotels with fear that he will be recognized, using the old school tactic of tracking incidents using newspaper clipping and maps give the book a real street level feel that I never expected to see from a book starring one of the greatest superhero villains ever, but it works wonderfully. A lot of this feel can be attributed to the stylings of artist Gabriel Hernandez Walta and colorist Jordie Bellaire.

Gabriel Hernandez Walta does an amazing job capturing the tone of Bunn’s script, and his ability to balance the street level feel with the use of Magneto’s character is a highlight of the book. The book starts off and ends with beautiful renderings of Magneto’s powers at work. The ability for Walta to nail both the quiet moments and the big action moments are as important, and as impressive as any aspect of the book. Whether it’s the big action scene at the end or the quiet scenes in the hotel room, everything looks wonderful. While the line work of Walta’s is stellar, the colors of Jordie Bellaire cannot be overlooked. Over the past several months she has proven to be one of the premiere colorists in the business, and the absolute best when going for that street level, indie feel. Her work here is more than just cosmetic, as the use of the colors in Magneto’s search for metal  to use as he enters a conflict are creative tricks that add a nice touch to the storytelling on the page.

Overall, the debut issue of Magneto was everything I wanted it to be and more. I may have been expecting the basic concept, but the execution by Bunn, Walta, and Bellaire help set it apart from your average superhero book. A street level look at one of the last characters you’d expect to see in this light, combined with the complexity that has made Magneto so intriguing makes for a great first issue, and hopefully the beginning of a title unlike any of the other x-titles currently being published.

The Verdict: 9.5/10

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2 Comments

  1. ron fett said:

    I really enjoyed this one. I’ll definitely be adding it to my list.

  2. Nick C said:

    Nice review, you nailed what made this issue so good. Walta is an impressive talent. He came out of nowhere and crushed it. It’s a shame this issue got overshadowed by other Marvel #1’s.

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