Summary

• Magneto takes on a surprising new role as the latest "Professor X" in the X-Men team, signaling a major shift in his character.
• With Xavier as a villain, Magneto's star rises as he leads the team with a stern hand, adopting classic Xavier mannerisms.
• The classic roles of Xavier and Magneto are flipped in this new series, with Magneto now as the stern mentor figure in charge.

Warning: Spoilers for X-Men (2024) #1 ahead!The Krakoan age has come to an end, and a new age of Magneto taking up an unexpected role that promises many intriguing issues to come.

X-Men (2024) #1 by Jed MacKay, Ryan Stegman, JP Mayer, and Marte Gracia introduces Magneto as he arrives to threaten the local police chief, who is visiting the new X-Men base outside Merle, Alaska. Magneto's new look is a far cry from his traditional "supervillain" armor, instead seeming to draw heavy inspiration from his long-time friend and enemy, Charles Xavier.

Sitting in a floating chair and clad in a sweater and blazer, Magneto looks very much like a new "Professor X." The similarity is driven home when Kid Omega greets Magneto as "Professor M" (much to Magneto's annoyance).

Magneto Is The Newest "Professor X"

With a new team of X-Men, it makes sense that there would be a new "Professor" figure. The role of "Professor" has always been integral to the team, persisting from the moment Charles Xavier first gathered them together up to the Krakoan age. However, Xavier's actions at the end of the Krakoan era (teaming up with Orchis to wipe out humanity) have firmly cemented him as a villain; as of X-Men (2021) #35, he remains willingly imprisoned, although still able to effect the world through his telepathy.

The landmark X-Men (2021) #35 is by Gerry Duggan, Al Ewing, Kieron Gillen, et al.

Ironically, Magneto's star has risen while Xavier's has fallen. Not only has Magneto behaved more like an antihero than a villain in contemporary comics (see the Resurrection of Magneto (2024) miniseries for a prime example), but recent media like the X-Men '97 animated series and Magneto (2023) have called back to the 1980s, when Magneto led the X-Men and New Mutants. "Magneto-as-Professor" has been building in the zeitgeist for a while now, and in hindsight it seems that these recent callbacks were to help better establish Magneto in his current role.

Magneto (2023) is by J.M. DeMatteis, Todd Nauck, and Rachelle Rosenberg.

Resurrection of Magneto (2024) is by Al Ewing, Luciano Vecchio, David Curiel, and Jesus Aburtov.

The Classic X-Men Roles Have Flipped

Magneto's new position essentially means that his and Charles Xavier's roles are reversed in this new series: now Magneto is the stern "Professor" figure, while Xavier is the mutant terrorist. This is a fascinating inversion when one considers the characters' extensive histories together and competing philosophies. While Magneto recently itted, "Xavier was right," in X-Men (2021) #35, it doesn't mean his personality has mellowed: Magneto makes it very clear that he is the iron will behind the X-Men's current facility, and that he will meet any act of aggression toward "his" X-Men with extreme violence.

It is fascinating to see Magneto adopting Xavier's classic chair, clothes, and mannerisms while retaining his own sharp edges. Time will tell if this is a tribute to his fallen friend Xavier, or if it hints at a deeper change within Magneto's heart; either way, Magneto has adopted the "old, stern mentor" role in contrast with Cyclops and Beast's gentler leadership of their younger contemporaries. Whichever way events play out, Magneto's unexpected turn as the X-Men's "Professor M" is not to be missed.

X-Men (2024) #1 is available now from Marvel Comics.