Magneto is perhaps the greatest X-Men villain of all time, and among the greatest Marvel Comics villains ever. But Erik Lehnsherr is also one of the most complicated characters in the Marvel Universe. He has been a hero as often as he's been a villain, capable of wholesome acts.
From his dramatic turn toward the good during the 1980s under the stewardship of legendary X-Men writer Chris Claremont to his recent tenure as a founding member of the Quiet Council on Krakoa, Magneto is a powerful force for good in the world, or at the very least, a symbol of moral ambiguity.
I, Magneto
Until the 1980s, Magneto was simply a villain, the leader of the Brotherhood Of Evil Mutants that included his (sometimes) children, the Scarlet Witch. That all changed in one of the most dramatic moments in X-history. In Uncanny X-Men #150, written by Claremont and drawn by Dave Cockrum, Magneto injures Kitty Pryde and realizes she's Jewish, as he is. This sparks a serious bout of recrimination on his part and leads him on a journey that will ultimately bring him into the fold of the X-Men as a true hero.
Saving The Man Trying To Put Him In Jail
Magneto's long, slow arc away from being a standard villain to a hero reached something of an apex in Uncanny X-Men #200, again by Claremont (as all 1980s Uncanny X-Men comics were) and drawn by John Romita Jr. Magneto is on trial for his many crimes against humanity. Magneto ends up saving the life of his own prosecutor.
The supervillain Fenris, the child of Baron Von Strucker, a villain some might consider wasted in the MCU, attacks the trial and Magneto uses his powers to not only save the man trying to put him away but the lives of everyone in attendance.
Defending Dani Moonstar
After his trial, Magneto takes over running Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters after Professor X leaves to rehabilitate from his injuries. Magneto becomes responsible for the New Mutants, the class of young mutants in training, and in one key moment, defends the honor of Dani Moonstar.
After Dani is accosted by a group of college men from a fraternity in issue #35, Magneto shows that while he's a good guy, people want to stay off his bad side. He destroys the fraternity and strikes fear in the hearts of its .
Taking Down The Red Skull
Magneto has done some villainous things, but he doesn't have much empathy for other Marvel supervillains. He certainly doesn't have any for the Red Skull, one of Captain America's most powerful villains. The two team up with other villains during the Acts Of Vengeance storyline in 1990, but then Magneto realizes Red Skull is a former Nazi.
The gambit of all the supervillains teaming up to take advantage of the Avengers' troubles ends when Magneto metes out justice on Red Skull. He ultimately buries him alive, leaving him to die.
Defending Krakoa
Magneto has been back and forth as a villain for decades. Most recently, in the Dawn Of X era in current X-Men comics, he has allied with the X-Men again. When the alien Cotati invades the world during the massive Empyre storyline, Magneto gets one of his best hero moments ever. In issue #11 of the ongoing X-Men series, Magneto shows both how great of a leader and a hero he is.
He works with Magma, who creates a volcanic eruption, and Iceman, who freezes the lava, to create metal-heavy rocks Magneto then unleashes as spears against the alien horde.
Discovering His Powers
One of Magneto's best moments came early in his life when he discovered his mutant powers. This has been depicted a few times in the comics and in the movies, particularly his appearance in The Matrix.
Giving What He Doesn't Have
Another key scene from the same series shows how truly wholesome and giving Magneto can be. After Magneto escapes the concentration camp that he was confined in, he has nothing. All he has is a scrap of food. He gives it to another man, worse off than he is, despite the fact Magneto has nothing to eat for himself.
The Magneto series was written by Cullen Bunn and drawn by Gabriel Hernández Walta, who also drew The Vision mini-series that was one of the comics that inspired WandaVision.
Destroying Apocalypse
One of Magneto's most heroic moments is also one of his most violent, but it was all in the name of a good cause. In the alternate dystopian future of the Age Of Apocalypse event in the '90s, Magneto is the leader of the X-Men. He faces off against Apocalypse, who has destroyed the world, and Magneto rips him apart.
Magneto seizes on the iron in Apocalypse's blood and completely shreds the supervillain, ending his genocidal reign. Magneto was also married to Rogue in this timeline, and they had a child together, in one of the more unexpected X-Men romances.
Rescuing Kitty Pryde
Kitty Pryde played an unexpected role in Magneto's development as a hero. He returned the favor years later in one of the greatest demonstrations of his power. At the end of the original Astonishing X-Men run in the early 2000s, Kitty had been trapped inside a giant bullet hurtling aimlessly through space. Magneto rescued her by magnetically drawing on the bullet from millions of miles away. The effort overwhelms him though and leaves Magneto in a coma for a period of time after.
Visiting The Holocaust Museum
Kitty Pryde and Erik Lensheer's shared background leads them to another critical moment that shows the depth of his character. In Uncanny X-Men #199 in 1985, he visits the Holocaust Museum in Washington D.C. alongside Kitty and reveals much of his pain and fear stemming from his experience. His confronting the horrors of the past leads him to a realization about his own violent actions, which in turn compels him to turn himself in to the authorities that will put him on trial in the very next issue.
