Heores for Hire: The health impacts of working in comics

 

 

On the 17^th February 2015, British Comic Book artist Brett Ewins passed away. Ewins best known for his work on ‘Judge Dredd,’ ‘Rogue Trooper,’ and ‘Bad Company,’ in the anthology magazine ‘2000AD,’ was only fifty nine years old when he died. He was a respected artist within the industry as well as being a significant influence on street artists.

Like so many comic book creators and artists his work load as an artist had a profound impact on his life. In 1991 Ewins suffered a nervous breakdown, which led to the loss of several commissions from DC Comics and Penguin Books. He was diagnosed as having bi-polar disorder, the medication he took to treat his condition meant he could only work for approximately two hours a day. In 2012 his illness led to an altercation with police and his hospitalisation. He died in February 2015 following a short illness.

Brett Ewins was a talented artist who influenced a generation of readers and future artists with his work. The greatest tragedy appears to be that the medium that he loved played a significant role in his untimely death.

Being a comic book professional is not easy, many of those involved in the industry spend years trying to break into comics. After that they have to manage deadlines, maintain discipline, sacrifice their social/family time and ultimately work as a freelancer. The life of a freelancer can be daunting, many operate from studios at home but the work can be all consuming. Comic book artist and writer Phillip Hester provides some insight, “Most cartoonists are free-lancers working from home…family pressures can tempt you into pushing professional obligations to the back, confident you can catch up with a few all-nighters…problem is all-nighters get harder and harder as you age…spending so much time alone, sleep deprived and often wired on caffeine will stress you out and ultimately take a toll on your health.”

The impact this lifestyle has is profound and it has already had a significant impact on the industry’s talent.  Mark Gruenwald a writer, editor and penciller with Marvel Comics, known for his work on Captain America died in 1996 aged 43 as a result of a heart attack. Mark Wieringo an artist known for his work on The Flash for DC Comics and Fantastic Four for Marvel died in 2007 aged 44 as a result of aortic dissection.

The artist Scott Clark, known for his work for DC Comics and Wildstorm died suddenly in 2013 aged 43. Paying tribute to his colleague DC Comics Co-Publisher; Jim Lee said, “He was one of the regular crew of guys who worked well into the night (every night), took dinner at Denny’s at 2am and played ping pong in between drawing pages. We will all miss him dearly.”

In paying his respects to his colleague, Jim Lee may have described the very lifestyle that may have contributed to Clark’s death. In 2010, a study by Denmark’s National Research Centre for the Working Environment found that men who work more than 45 hours a week are more than twice as likely to die from heart disease if they are unfit. Although the health implications for a life in the comic industry is not exclusive to men, there are a high proportion of men working in the medium and in general men appear to be in denial about their health.

A survey carried out by The Men’s Health Network (MHN) in the UK in 2011 found that nearly 70% of men find it easier to care for their cars rather than their personal health. The most probable reason for this trend is a narrow definition of masculinity that pervades society. Young boys are taught that ‘big boys don’t cry,’ which creates the message in later life that to ask for help is a sign of weakness. As a result men are ignoring symptoms of treatable health conditions because they are too proud to admit they need help.

Asking for help is a big step but for comic book creators there are additional hurdles. Due to the nature of freelance work and the inconsistent income streams available, not all comic book creators have Health Insurance in place to cover any eventualities. This is particularly prevalent among the older writers and artists. Some creators who are lucky enough to find work with one of the big companies may benefit from their health policies, but for those that don’t the charity The Hero Initiative provides a financial safety net for those who need emergency medical aid, although its funds are solely dependent on the donations of others.

This week marks Men’s Health Week in the UK (15^TH-21^st July), now is perhaps the perfect time with superheroes riding the crest of a wave to remind the men in our lives that they don’t have to be superman, that it’s ok to get checked out with their doctor and talk about their anxieties with a trusted friend or loved one.

It’s also worthwhile considering the many comic book creators who labour long and hard to bring us the titles we enjoy every week and every month. If you can please donate on-line to the Hero Initiative as you will be making a real difference to the lives of writers and artists everywhere.

Who is the bigger villain; Professor X or Magneto? PART TWO: The Bronze Age (1970-1985)

 

We continue our debate on two of the best known characters from the Marvel Universe and the question as to who is the true villain in the X-Men series.

Last time we explored the Silver Age X-Men stories and arrived at the conclusion that Professor Charles Xavier was the bigger villain. It was a close call, as Magneto is no boy scout. Still, I felt it was sufficient to say that the Silver Age Xavier was just a bit too creepy to warrant anything other than the label of biggest villain. However do not despair loyal Xavier fans, this is a marathon not a sprint and we are only beginning round two of our inquest into the biggest villain of the X-Men series.

Just to re-cap the rules; There are three rounds (we are about to explore round two) each round represents a specific era for comics. In order to determine the biggest villain of each round I will base my conclusions on the crimes, damage and deaths attributed to each character. Simple.

So without further ado, let’s jump into…

Round 2; The Bronze Age (1970-1985)

A decline in sales of Uncanny X-Men in 1970 left the series in hiatus until its re-launch in 1975 with Giant Sized X-Men, #1. That issue re-introduced Professor Charles Xavier, but this time as the mentor of an international cast of mutants including Storm, Colossus, Nightcrawler and Wolverine. The creative team who rescued Uncanny X-Men from languishing in reprint hell were writer Len Wein and artist Dave Cockrum. They handled the re-launch and the initial issues of the series before the writing duties were assumed by Chris Claremont who went on to achieve a decade spanning influential run on Uncanny X-Men. Our debate will be based mainly on the stories from Uncanny X-Men from 1975 to 1985, so let’s begin by exploring the behaviour of Charles Xavier.

Top Reasons why Professor Xavier is the biggest villain of The Bronze Age (1970-1985)

1.       The Death of Thunderbird (Uncanny X-Men #95 & #96)

 

John Proudstar AKA Thunderbird was one of the mutants Xavier recruited in haste to rescue his original students trapped on the island of ‘Krakoa.’ When we first meet Thunderbird in Giant Sized X-Men, he was wrestling a bison. It is apparent that Thunderbird has insecurities about the treatment of the Native American people, Xavier appears to play on these insecurities. When Thunderbird initially refuses to help Xavier he says, “Then perhaps what they say is true! Perhaps the Apache are all frightened selfish children.” It is enough to persuade Thunderbird to join the X-Men but using racial slurs does not seem to fit with Xavier’s ideology for his school. Instead it portrays Xavier as being ruthless in achieving his goals by any means necessary.

Thunderbird died on his first mission, post Krakoa, when the X-Men fought Count Nefaria. While Nefaria attempted to escape on board a jet, Thunderbird attacked the jet as it took off and caused it to explode mid-air, killing both Nefaria and himself. Just before the jet exploded Thunderbird can be heard shouting, “I’m a man Xavier, a warrior of the Apache—and today I’m going to prove it!” It seems on this evidence that Xavier’s goading of Thunderbird to join the X-Men really played on his mind.

The issue was never really sufficiently addressed until one hundred issues later when Thunderbird’s brother James sought out Xavier for revenge in Uncanny X-Men #193. When James Proudstar confronts Xavier he believes that he controlled Thunderbird’s mind and tricked him into joining the X-Men. Xavier defends himself by saying, “He joined me of his own free will, James, and of the same free will, he chose the moment and manner of his death.” In the end James Proudstar believes Xavier, however the events cast doubt over Xavier’s integrity, especially in how he recruited Thunderbird and how he deployed him in a mission when the team had very little training together.

2.       The Dark Professor (Uncanny X-Men #106)

 

The M’Kann Crystal story arc featured a version of Charles Xavier which would have particular significance for the character long term. Uncanny X-Men #106 featured a twisted and evil astral projection of Professor Xavier representing the dark side of his psyche.

During a training exercise in the Danger Room the current X-Men are attacked by astral versions of the original team. It is then revealed that the dark side of Xavier’s psyche is controlling them. In the end the true Xavier vanquishes his evil side by using his mind to turn the astral X-Men against their controller.

When they disappear back to the astral plane Xavier tells his team, “That was my…evil self, X-Men. The Charles Xavier who would use his powers for personal gain and conquest—the Mr. Hyde to my Dr Jekyll, usually I have no trouble keeping that part of my psyche in check.”

The Dark Professor only features for half a dozen panels but it provides a talking point for fans to discuss if Xavier’s actions are motivated by purely honourable ideas. Furthermore his dark side manifests itself with the intention of murdering his students. It’s more than a bit worrying that in his own words, he has to keep that part of his psyche in check. It begs the question how hard is it for Xavier to hold back from being a murderous villain?

3.       Xavier murders the Shadow King  (Uncanny X-Men #117)

 

Following a battle with Magneto in his Antarctic base, Xavier believes his new X-Men are dead. Luckily they’ve survived in the Savage Land and are making their way home by the opening of Uncanny X-Men #117. That issue sees a reflective Xavier flash backing to his time in Cairo. During that time he meets Amahl Farouk a powerful telepath, and the future x-villain Shadow King in the thieves’ quarter of Cairo.

Xavier resolves to bring the criminal to justice and he becomes locked in a battle on the Astral Plane with Farouk. At the time Xavier was a novice in terms of fighting on the Astral Plane but he manages to defeat Farouk by shooting a laser of telepathic energy into his brain.

The incident provides another talking point for fans. Xavier commits murder, albeit in self-defence, but it is his views on Farouk that are the most interesting. He describes him as the first evil mutant he ever met and how he made him realise, “how deadly mutant powers could be in the wrong hands.” It sets Xavier up as an extremely arrogant individual, he sits in judgement of other mutants yet he has little consideration for the moral and ethical use of his own powers.

4.       An inappropriate relationship with Gabrielle Haller (Uncanny X-Men #161)

While Xavier was lying in a catatonic state fans got the opportunity to see a flash back to his first meeting with Magneto. At that time Xavier was assisting his colleague Daniel Shomron in Haifa, Israel with the treatment of survivors of Nazi concentration camps. It was then that we met Magneto, then known as Magnus who was working as a volunteer in Dr Shomron’s hospital.

Fans were also introduced to Gabrielle Haller, a young woman who was in a catatonic state following her experiences in Dachau. Xavier uses his telepathic powers to enter Gabrielle’s mind and break down her defences before learning of the horrors she faced in the concentration camp at the hands of the SS. Gabrielle regains consciousness and over the following weeks Xavier begins a relationship with Gabrielle. What makes this situation worse is that Xavier acknowledges that this is a bad idea, but he does it anyway and he says, “I should not do this. But if it makes us both happy and brings us the solace we seek what then is the harm?”  Well the harm is in breaking the professional boundaries of the patient-doctor relationship, for a start, and furthermore, entering into a relationship with a vulnerable person.

Gabrielle suffers a further ordeal when she is captured by Baron Von Strucker’s Hydra and forced to reveal the location of Nazi Gold. Xavier and Magneto rescue her from Hydra and that is where the flashback ends. Xavier’s actions cast doubt over his suitability for operating a school for gifted youngsters. To make the matters worse, fans would later learn that the relationship with Gabrielle Haller begot a son; Legion, who Charles was unaware of for many years. Legion would have a profound impact on the X-Men’s universe and perhaps this should be seen as karma for the actions of Charles Xavier.

5.       Generally being nasty to everyone throughout the entire Bronze Age.

If it’s one thing that the Bronze Age demonstrates it’s that Charles Xavier is generally a selfish individual, he treats others unfairly and he has a habit of abandoning the X-Men on a regular basis. It seems a harsh statement about the founder and mentor of the X-Men but the evidence stacks up. Following Giant Sized X-Men #1, Xavier pitted his untrained new team against Count Nefaria, which results in the death of Thunderbird. As leader of the team, Cyclops takes the loss of Thunderbird particularly badly, blaming himself for the events leading up to his death. In contrast Xavier does not share the same level of grief and instead is worried about Cyclops and the amount of mistakes that he is now making (Uncanny X-Men #96). It sets up a precedent with Xavier that he takes his frustrations out on Cyclops.

Xavier’s behaviour is not exclusively aimed at his students. Believing the X-Men have been killed in battle with Magneto in the Antarctic (Uncanny X-Men #117) Xavier travels with his new girlfriend Lilandra to the Sh’iar’s home planet and generally spends all of his time being bored, or feeling inadequate, even though he is spending his time with the woman he loves (Uncanny X-Men #122 & #125).

When Xavier return in Uncanny X-Men #129 he resumes his duties as leader of the X-Men but not before criticising Cyclops leadership style. He belittles Cyclops as he believes he has not made the group gel as a team. It’s almost as if Xavier enjoys bringing Cyclops self-esteem to new depths, and he does it consistently as during the conclusion of The Dark Phoenix Saga, Xavier challenges the Shi’ar to a duel of honour with the X-Men. The battle results in the defeat of the X-Men and the apparent suicide of Jean Grey. It leads to Cyclops leaving the team which at that point seemed like the best decision he ever made considering all the strife caused by Xavier.

Xavier also leaves a lot to be desired when it comes to how he administers his school. In Uncanny #149 he lambasts Kitty Pryde for phasing through his computer as he insists on never being disturbed while working on his computers. It sounds a bit suspect to me. What is even more concerning is that Xavier is a Professor in a school for gifted students yet he never teaches anything. When Kitty Pryde receives the letter from her parents confirming her transfer to Emma Frost’s Massachusetts academy all the students are standing around, some of them in their bathing suits in Xavier’s office. It hardly seems appropriate to be in your principal’s office in your bikini.

One unsavoury characteristic left over from the Silver Age that remained present in Xavier’s personality during the Bronze Age was his misplaced affection for his female students. Xavier re-affirms the fact that he once thought he loved Jean Grey (Uncanny X-Men #101), he also receives a honeymoon photo from Cyclops and Madylene Pryor of both of them in bed (Uncanny X-Men #178) and he also has thoughts about Storm’s attractiveness (Uncanny X-Men #180). It is an unusual character trait, and it’s one that casts Xavier as a creeper, almost predatory individual. As a fan I understand that this period in comics was written by middle-aged men and perhaps there are large elements of the male fantasy being played out. However it still leaves me feeling that Xavier is a sleazy character in this respect.

Aspects of Xavier’s character such as his misplaced affection for others wouldn’t be such a problem if he had other more redeeming characteristics. He is almost ego-centric in his pursuit for the peaceful co-existence of human and mutants.  When the time displaced Rachel Summers recounts future events to the present day X-Men, in Uncanny X-Men #188 readers would have seen a tearful and morose Xavier, but his emotions belie his true thoughts. He isn’t crying for the loss of any individual but because Rachel’s future means the end of his hopes and dreams. It is worrying that an individual such as Xavier would put dreams, ideas and theories above the lives of others.

By the end of the Bronze Age, represented by Uncanny X-Men #200 Xavier is again facing certain death as a result of a mugging in Uncanny X-Men #192. Initially Xavier is healed by the Morlocks following the mugging but this is only temporary, and the exertion of leading the X-Men coupled with the trial of Magneto (Uncanny X-Men #200) leaves him at death’s door if not for the intervention of Lilandra and the Starjammers. At the end of the Bronze Age, Xavier is whisked away to the Shi’ar’s home planet. The X-Men are again without their mentor, yet somehow from my point of view it doesn’t seem such a bad position to be in.

Now in the interest of fairness and equity let’s examine the Bronze Age Magneto.

Top Reasons why Magneto is the biggest villain of the Bronze Age

1.       Magneto almost obliterates the X-Men (Uncanny X-Men #104)

Although Uncanny X-Men went into hiatus in 1970, both the X-Men and Magneto periodically appeared in other Marvel titles. During the interim Magneto fought Professor X and the Defenders (Defenders #15-#16) using alien technology he created Alpha the ultimate mutant. Alpha rebels against Magneto and reduces him to infancy. Professor X then places the infant Magneto in the care of Moira McTaggart on Muir Island.

When Magneto eventually returns in the revamped Uncanny X-Men he has been restored to the physical peak of his adult life by a Shi’ar agent posing as, ‘Erik the Red.’ Magneto escapes his cell on Muir Island and engages the newly formed X-Men in battle. As this was the team’s first meeting with Magneto they had not been trained for facing him. Magneto begins by magnetically pulling apart the X-Men’s hovercraft as they travel to the island, he dispatches each of the X-Men one by one, either by dropping large piles of equipment on them or in the case of Banshee encasing him in metal.

The X-Men are soundly beaten and reluctantly retreat under the order of Cyclops. Magneto takes a moment to enjoy his win before departing Muir Island. Unwittingly, during the battle Magneto has freed another captive individual; Mutant X who is later revealed as; Proteus the reality warping mutant son of Moira McTaggart. Freeing Proteus led to the death of several people in Scotland including Proteus own father, as well as a great deal of emotional pain for Moira McTaggart. It is enough to assume that Magneto brings pain and destruction wherever he goes.

2.       Magneto Triumphant! (Uncanny X-Men #112)



 

It seems being reduced to an infant and being cared for on Muir Island really bothered Magneto. So much so that he blamed the X-Men even though he created the mutant that turned him into a child and he was battling the Defenders when it happened. Still, super irrationality seems to be a characteristic of super-villains.



Nevertheless, Magneto extracts his revenge on the X-Men by initially gate crashing another villain’s scheme. In Uncanny X-Men #111 the X-Men are captured by Mesmero and are being mind-controlled by him in a travelling circus. The Beast who was with the Avengers at this point investigates and manages to free the X-Men but before they can confront Mesmero, Magneto crashes the party and kidnaps the X-Men taking them to his sub terrain Antarctic base. He defeats the X-Men one by one, then shackles them in chairs that reduces them to the physical capabilities of an infant. Magneto even has a robot ‘Nanny,’ who cares for the X-Men. He describes it as their prison, relative to his own imprisonment as an infant on Muir Island. It’s a rather elaborate plan and it is eventually foiled by the X-Men but it shows Magneto’s mean streak.

3.       The Sinking of the Leningrad & the destruction of Varykino (Uncanny X-Men #150)
 

Up until Uncanny X-Men #150 Magneto’s plans as a super-villain had been elaborate and usually involved blowing up South American countries or building mind control devices. Uncanny X-Men #150 marks a key change in the development of the character of Magneto. In this particular issue Magneto’s plan is the nuclear and conventional disarmament of the world’s nations. Magneto’s rationale is that the politics of the Cold War is not only the biggest threat to the human race but also Mutant-kind.

As expected the world’s leaders do not take Magnetos demands kindly. The Russians send a nuclear submarine; The Leningrad to attack Magneto on his island base. He uses his magnetism to destroy the submarines controls and sink it. The vessel is a Delta II class fleet submarine, it carries a complement of 130. There were no survivors. In retaliation for the Russian attack, Magneto levels the soviet city of Vary Kino, by creating volcanic eruptions in the city. He holds back long enough to allow the city to be evacuated but not before threatening the Russians that Moscow will be next.

Up until that point the act of aggression against the Russian sailors marks the single most evil act committed by Magneto. It also marks a turning point for Magneto, the climax of issue #150 involved Kitty Pryde phasing through Magneto’s computers (as she had previously done on Xavier’s), it has the desired effect of scrambling Magneto’s records. Magneto turns on Kitty, but crucially he does not kill her, in fact he has a moment of clarity stating, “In my zeal to remake the world, I have become much like those I have always hated and despised.” This single issue denotes Magneto as a conflicted, and perhaps, sympathetic character. In the years that followed Magneto would grow into the role of an anti-hero and become a permanent fixture within the X-Men series.

4.       Stealing Nazi Gold (Uncanny X-Men #161)
 

During Uncanny X-Men #161 the readers are witness to the first meeting between Magneto and Xavier in flashback form. In that issue Xavier’s lady friend Gabriel Haller is kidnapped by Hydra because of her knowledge on the location of a stash of Nazi Gold. Magneto and Xavier team up for the first time to rescue Gabrielle. During the rescue mission Magneto battles the Hydra leader Baron Von Strucker; armed with his ‘Satan Claw,’ in a cave. Magneto defeated Strucker, gave him a brief speech about how Mutants will inherit the Earth, then he stole the gold, promising to put it to good use and then collapsed the cave on Von Strucker.

The idea of stealing gold from the Nazi’s seems an honourable deed in theory. However the historical context to the Nazi’s gold casts Magneto as an even bigger thief. During World War II the Nazi’s acquired Gold through looting assets from Austria, Czechoslovakia and Danzig as well as expropriating gold from Belgium and the Netherlands. The most sinister means of acquiring gold came from the concentration camps, where property was taken from the camp victims such as wedding rings, jewellery and gold teeth. These effects were melted down for gold bullion.

In effect although Magneto is stealing from the Nazi’s he is really stealing from the aforementioned countries and his own people, those who suffered with him in the concentration camps. If Magneto feels the best use of the gold was for the building of asteroid space stations or attacks on world nations then he probably is a lot more deluded than first thought.

5.       Being the absentee father of Quicksilver & Scarlet Witch (Vision & Scarlet Witch #1-#4)
 

Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch were the long suffering brother and sister who were part of Magneto’s Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. During the Silver Age it had been generally accepted that they were the children of the Golden Age heroes The Whizzer and Miss America. During the Bronze Age their back story became all the more convoluted.

By the 1980s Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch were part of the Avengers team. Avengers #186 provided a new back story for the siblings. They were raised by the High Evolutionary’s cow-human hybrid servant Bova. The sibling’s real mother had sought sanctuary in the High Evolutionary’s Wundagore base from her husband who she described as acquiring powers and being driven mad with taking over the world. Their mother, named, Magda fled Wundagore after giving birth. The High Evolutionary decided it was best to place the new born twins with a couple who were already expecting a child; the Whizzer and his wife. The Whizzer’s wife died in child birth and the grief was too much for him to raise children so the High Evolutionary eventually decided to place them with the nearby travelling family; the Maximoffs who had recently lost their children.

Readers of both The Avengers and Uncanny X-Men at this point in comics history would have picked up on Magneto’s connection to the story as in Uncanny X-Men #125, Magneto while recovering from a recent battle reflects on his long lost wife; Magda.

The connection is finally officially revealed in The Vision & Scarlet Witch #4. Magneto had been unaware that Magda had been pregnant, but he had learned the truth from Bova upon a return to her cottage in Wundagore. This was at a time when Magneto was entering his anti-hero phase and was more remorseful for his past transgressions. He reveals the truth to Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch as Crystal and Quicksilver present their new born baby; Luna.

An argument could be made on behalf of Magneto that he did not know that Magda was pregnant when she fled. However it also highlights his own irrational behaviour that his wife would leave him in the way she did. Furthermore the problem doesn’t lie in not knowing Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch were his children but more in the fact that upon learning this he does not interact with them. There appears to be very little significant stories featuring the family together. In this sense Magneto is cast as a deadbeat father. It is perhaps less significant in the modern era as the back story to Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch has been retconned again, and currently Magneto is not the sibling’s father after all.

So now after round two the verdict is…

Magneto is the biggest villain of the Bronze Age!

It hardly comes as a surprise this round, but it was close. Xavier has highlighted yet again that his actions are often questionable and he is capable of very dark deeds such as murder, even if it is in self-defence.

Magneto on the other hand is declared the biggest villain of the Bronze Age because he murdered 130 sailors on the Leningrad submarine. It’s interesting because Claremont explored the consequences of that particular course of action during the ‘Trial of Magneto,’ in Uncanny X-Men #200. It could be argued that by the end of the Bronze Age, Magneto is more of a hero than he has ever been before, especially following his story arch in Secret Wars I, when he began questioning his human hating ways. Readers also got to see more of his history as a heroic Nazi hunter and liberator of the Jewish people during World War II when Kitty Pryde and him visit the Holocaust Memorial in Uncanny X-Men #199. However his past transgressions leading up to his epiphany were enough to convince me that he is the greatest x-villain of the Bronze Age.

Interestingly, we have the contest level at 1-1, so join me next time for the third and final round; The Modern Age!

What makes 'V for Vendetta,' so inspirational?



By Bernard O’Shea

03/11/14





As the fifth of November approaches, it is perhaps timely to explore the cultural impact of one of the finest graphic novels in existence; ‘V for Vendetta.’

Over the last number of years this graphic novel and its subsequent movie version, has featured regularly in the media spotlight most often in a political context.

In 2008 the hacker-activist group ‘Anonymous,’ organised a protest in London against Scientology where the protestors dressed as the fictional character ‘V,’ from, ‘V for Vendetta.’ In May 2009, protestors dressed up as V and set off a fake barrel of gunpowder outside Parliament in demonstration against British MPs’ expenses. In November 2012 the wearing of Guy Fawkes masks painted with the colours of the UAE flag during the UAE National Day was declared illegal.[1]

The stylised Guy Fawkes mask associated with the character, ‘V,’ has become a fashionable symbol for those who wish to associate themselves with anti-establishment politics.

It is almost unfathomable that a comic book could have such a profound impact on the political activities of so many individuals. Therefore it is worth examining why does this work of fiction inspire so many people? and What is the significance of V?

‘V for Vendetta,’ originated in British anthology magazine, ‘Warrior,’ the brainchild of former Marvel UK editorial director Dez Skinn. The magazine brought together established British comic book creators and new and emerging talent such as writer Alan Moore. In 1982 Skinn asked David Lloyd to create a mystery strip for Warrior and suggested Alan Moore as the writer having previously worked with both in Marvel UK. When Warrior folded in 1985, V for Vendetta was acquired by DC comics in 1988; who reprinted the original black and white Warrior issues in a 10 issue colour format and printed the final issues. It is nowadays most commonly available as a fully coloured graphic novel published by Vertigo an imprint of DC Comics.

‘V for Vendetta,’ presents a post apocalyptic, dystopian vision of the UK set in an alternative 1997. In this timeline, Nuclear War has rendered much of the world uninhabitable. What remains of the UK is controlled by a fascist party named, ‘Norsefire.’ They rule the UK as a police state, having used concentration camps to exterminate all possible opposition.

Enter ‘V’ the charismatic, anarchist revolutionary who adopts the guise of a modern day ‘Guy Fawkes.’ V’s mission is to inspire the populace to mount an insurrection against its rulers. That mission begins with V extracting revenge on prominent members of the state who held him captive in Larkhill; one of the states concentration camps. He is aided in this mission by his aptly named young protégé, ‘Evey Hammond.’

Evey Hammond is a central character in V for Vendetta and in many ways readers experience this Big Brother-esque future through her. When the story begins Evey is sixteen years old and V saves her from government agents known as ‘Fingermen.’ The story details how she lost her family, how she loses her lover to the criminal connections of Norsefire and how she grows in self-awareness and in her understanding of V.

An understanding of the character ‘V,’ is key to establishing why the story resonates with people today. Very little is actually known about the character V. Although there are many theories about the real identity of V. Some people believe V is a character that the reader encounters during the course of the story. Some say V is Evey’s father. There are those who say that V is ‘Valerie,’ another prisoner from Larkhill concentration camp. There are some who theorise that Alan Moore drew inspiration for V from an earlier idea for a strip called the ‘Doll,’ which he had submitted in 1975 to publishers DC Thomson which featured a Transsexual terrorist.[2]

The answer to V’s true identity is intriguing, but it is irrelevant. It is not so much who V is but what V is. V wears the face of Guy Fawkes, perhaps the one figure in British history who best represents the spirit of revolution. In doing this V becomes more than just a person, V becomes a symbol of revolution. It doesn’t matter if V is Evey’s father, Valerie or a transsexual. The image V projects as a revolutionary is more important that what meaning can ever be achieved as a person. Evey Hammond grapples with this throughout the story but she eventually understands it, and in one of the most important lines from the story she says of V, “If I take off that mask, something will go away forever, be diminished, because whoever you are isn’t as big as the idea of you.”[3] The power of symbols are that they point to larger meanings, V confirms this in a description of himself at one point in the story; “There’s no flesh or blood within this cloak to kill. There’s only an idea. Ideas are bulletproof.” Perhaps V understands that where there is fear and apathy, where people have been let down by their politicians, it takes more than an individual to inspire people into action. It requires symbolic power, something for people to believe in, to help them break free of tyranny.  

People identify with V because he represents anyone who has ever been a victim of the state; anyone who has ever been abused, mistreated, neglected or cheated. V is a symbol for the oppressed in society. We identify with the romantic notion of the anarchist working from within to topple the system. Secretly, we wish we could be V.

However there cannot really be a romantic version of anarchy. In many ways V is summed up by the words of the Russian revolutionary Sergey Nechayev who in his book, ‘Catechism of a Revolutionary,’ said; “The Revolutionary is a doomed man. He has no private interests, no affairs, sentiments, ties, property nor even a name of his own. His entire being is devoured by one purpose, one thought, one passion – the revolution. Heart and soul, not merely by word but by deed, he has severed every link with the social order and with the entire civilized world; with the laws, good manners, conventions and morality of that world. He is its merciless enemy…”[4]

V is an anarchist, strong in the belief that the state is immoral but V is also all-consumed by the vendetta. He is in his own words the ‘villain,’ of the piece; the enemy of the state. V carefully dismantles the many arms of the state including the church, the media, parliament, the judiciary and police in an effort to bring about complete chaos. The only glimmer of sentiment seems to come from his relationship with Evey and his collection of memorabilia in the Shadow Gallery. Yet, this at times seems superficial, he is often cruel to Evey and throughout the story he remains morally ambiguous and vindictive when it comes to achieving his goal.

Revolutionaries are often divisive figures, the old adage that one man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter. The main principle of the ‘Catechism of a Revolutionary,’ was that a revolutionaries, ‘end will justify their means.’ As a revolutionary figure ‘V,’ attributes his actions to the higher goal of freedom. He explains to Evey as they load a train with explosives intended for Number 10 Downing Street; “Anarchy wears two faces, both creator and destroyers, thus destroyers topple empires; make a canvas of clean rubble where creators can then build a better world.”[5] Perhaps V understands that the world sometimes needs someone who will do the unspeakable, who will transcend their human boundaries, who is willing to sacrifice their lives for a brighter tomorrow.

In this way we can see how V might be viewed as a revolutionary icon in the same way as Che Guevara is. Che Guevara died a young man and as a result he has been immortalised as a symbol of revolution. When people wear a t-shirt with Che Guevara’s face or when they put on a V mask what they are really doing is emulating their revolutionary heroes. People need symbols to inspire them, to remind them that unless you stand for something you are likely to fall for anything.

The themes of freedom and revolution contained in V for Vendetta obviously inspired filmmakers to produce the 2005 movie version of the graphic novel. The film starred Natalie Portman as Evey Hammond and Hugo Weaving as V and was directed by James McTeigue based on a screenplay by the Wachowskis.

Alan Moore distanced himself from the movie, as with every film adaptation of his works. He criticised the Wachowskis screenplay because it did not reflect the spirit of the original material. Instead he felt it was more a liberal fantasy about Bush-era America, which more about liberalism versus neo-conservatism.

To an extent Moore has a point, the movie does differ greatly from the graphic novel. Evey and V’s relationship is more prominent, supporting characters stories are streamlined and the anarchist values of the comic book are non-existent. That said very few works of fiction that cross mediums ever really live up to the original. V for Vendetta the movie can be enjoyed in its own right, and like most film adaptations is connected a wider audience with the original source material.

Hugo Weaving as 'V,' in the 2006 film adaptation of 'V for Vendetta.'

The movie has had an obvious cultural impact as demonstrated by the internet based ‘Anonymous,’ protest group whom has adopted the Guy Fawkes mask as its symbol. This is a direct consequence of the V for Vendetta film, as in one key scene a large crowd disguised in ‘V,’ costumes and masks converge on the centre of London to make a stand against the tyranny of their government. Essentially the act, turns the Norsefire slogan; ‘Strength through unity,’ on its head. Similar scenes have been replicated by protestors on a number of occasions since the film was released.

Artist David Lloyd has gone on the record to say, “The Guy Fawkes mask has now become a common brand and a convenient placard to use in protest against tyranny-and I’m happy with people using it, it seems quite unique, an icon of popular culture being used this way…my feeling is the Anonymous group needed an all-purpose image to hide their identity and also symbolise that they stand for individualism – V for Vendetta is a story about one person against the system.”[6]

It seems fitting in a way that a fictional story about a lone anarchist who wanted to inspire the masses would in reality inspire an anti-establishment protest group to adopt him as their symbol for their ongoing crusade against the systems of government around the world. Even Alan Moore admits he has been tickled by the thought, but then again why wouldn’t he after all the best ideas are bulletproof.

Please note part two of the ‘Who is the biggest villain; Professor X or Magneto?’ will follow in due course.

 

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[1] Walters Rosie (2011) ‘V for Vendetta masks: Who’s behind them?’ BBC News Magazine – Accessed 28/10/14.

[2] Moore, Alan (1983) ‘Behind the Painted Smile,’ Warrior 17.

[3] Moore, Alan (w), Lloyd, David (p) ‘V for Vendetta,’ DC Comics, p. 250

[4]  Nechayev, Spartacus Educational website by John Simkin.

[5] Moore, Alan (w), Lloyd, David (p) ‘V for Vendetta,’ DC Comics, p. 266

[6] Walters Rosie (2011) ‘V for Vendetta masks: Who’s behind them?’ BBC News Magazine – Accessed 28/10/14.

Who is the biggest villain; Professor X or Magneto? PART ONE: The Silver Age (1956-1969)

By Bernard O’Shea

17/09/14

Every story needs a hero and a villain; Glorious and virtuoso good guys locked in an eternal struggle with villainous, moustache twisting bad guys. Or so they say. The problem with heroes and villains is that it isn’t always easy to tell which one is which.

Take for instance Marvel’s premier team of mutant superheroes the Uncanny X-Men. On one hand you have the founder of the X-Men; Professor Charles Xavier, an advocate for mutant rights by peaceful means he is also a high level telepath and a scientist. On the other hand, you have the X-Men’s arch foe; Magneto, the mutant master of magnetism, he prefers a more militant approach to mutant rights. He also has an affinity for wearing red and he has more civilian names that Tiger Woods has golf clubs. When Uncanny X-Men #1 was published in 1963 that was pretty much how the dynamics of the hero villain relationship was set-up.  

Now, I grew up in the ‘90s, therefore I read X-Men comics throughout most of that decade. I was also present for the video games, the animated show, and the comics based on the animated show. However, there remains one constant throughout this period. I never liked Professor Xavier; in fact I will go as far as to say that I found him to be really annoying. I thought it was just the way he was being portrayed in the comics that I read at the time, but I’ve since gone through the back issues and it hasn’t altered my opinion.

As I’ve grown into an adult I will even go as far as to say, and I paraphrase two well-know podcasts on the topic of the X-Men, when I say, I think Magneto had some valid points. He has an interesting back-story and his ideology isn’t totally dissimilar to Xavier’s contrary to popular belief. Maybe I’m becoming more of a cynic as I get older but I am identifying more with Magneto these days.

Professor Xavier and Magneto have traditionally been labelled as representing people on opposite sides of the divide. Most famously they have been compared to Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X, however such a comparison is lazy, ill-informed and insensitive to the real life Civil Rights Movement and the politics therein.

Nothing is ever as black and white as it seems, and when I did take the time to review past issues of Uncanny X-Men I personally felt Xavier wasn’t always the ‘good guy,’ his students may have felt he was.

Therefore I will now conduct a simpler exercise to determine who the bigger villain is; Professor Charles Xavier or Magneto.

The rules are simple; there will be three rounds, (like a good amateur boxing match), in each round I will explore the stories featuring both characters from a specific era e.g. Silver Age, Bronze Age and the Modern Age. In order to determine a winner of each round I will score them based on number of deaths attributed to a character, property damage or the inexplicable hurt caused by them to others.

On occasion I may have to refer to stories out of sequence, but only to lend some sense of linear storytelling to this article. Don’t get blame me, blame the sprawling history and inconsistent continuity of the X-Men franchise.

so here we go…

Round 1: The Silver Age (1956-1970)

Professor Xavier:

Let’s start with Professor Charles Francis Xavier, the founder, mentor and leader of the Uncanny X-Men. I already hear the cries, “How can Xavier, possibly be a villain?” Well if the Silver Age is anything to go by there is plenty of evidence to suggest that his heroic front is a little more ambiguous than it seems. People may say I am mad but let’s face it there was a team of professional writers and editors in charge of the title, so any repercussions from what I am about to write must be laid at their creative doors respectfully.

Xavier first appears in X-Men Vol. 1 #1, this was the premier issue that introduces the original five X-Men as well as Magneto. The problem with the Silver Age X-Men is that a lot of the stories aren’t very good, the characterisation took a long time to establish and mostly what people associate with being good about X-Men didn’t appear until Giant Sized X-Men #1, in 1975 when Len Wein and later Chris Claremont were writing the series.

That said there is enough action in the Silver Age for the purposes of this experiment. The first issue also gives us a bit of an insight into the deviousness of Professor Xavier. X-men #1 begins with the original team meeting Jean Grey aka, ‘Marvel Girl,’ this was supposed to be her first visit to the X-Mansion, however as it is later revealed in 1981’s Bizarre Adventures #27, that Xavier had been training her for many years before the events of X-Men #1. It is later revealed that he had been suppressing her telepathic powers, in order to help her to better adapt to them.

This is something I find very strange and creepy, considering that Jean Grey plays along with this façade and does not let the others know of her previous relationship with Xavier. I would be willing to let this pass if not for Xavier’s omission in X-Men #3 that he is in love with Jean, but that he cannot tell her because he is in a wheelchair and she is love with Scott.

Now I don’t know about anyone else, but I think the bigger stumbling blocks are that Jean is underage, Xavier is middle-aged and it violates the whole teacher-student relationship as well as several important laws. The idea seems to have been discarded for a long time, and although Xavier never acted on it, it does cast him in a much different light when you read it by today’s standards.

That aside X-Men #1 set-ups the premise of the series; Xavier is presented as the champion for the peaceful co-existence of mutants and humans. Mutants are the next step in the evolutionary chain, which in the early 1960s are feared and hated because of their difference. You can begin to see how some people feel this is a civil rights analogy, yet this is the very reason I feel that the X-Men flounders in this respect, because there is a distinct lack of diversity in the team, which is made up of largely middle-class, WASP-ish teenagers.

Also a major contradiction for me in respect of Xavier’s dream of peaceful co-existence is his method for achieving it. Does he organise peaceful protests? Does he engage in debates on the issue in the public domain? Does he advocate on behalf of the rights of Mutants? No. He trains them how to fight and he gives them matching uniforms. Technically, under the Geneva Convention, Xavier has created his own Army or at the very least a paramilitary group. It doesn’t sound very peaceful to me.

There is a strong argument that Magneto had to be prevented from launching the nukes in X-Men #1, but come on couldn’t he have phoned the Avengers.

I hope readers are beginning to see where I am going with this. When you stop and think about even the name ‘X-Men,’ it’s a bit self indulgent. I understand that in the first issue he provides some waffle about the ‘X,’ relating to some sort of ‘X-gene,’ present in mutants, but he also claims to possibly be the first mutant. I think he wants the name to be ‘Xavier’s Men,’ I don’t think there’s any doubt about it especially when the guy is arrogant enough to believe he’s the first of his kind. I also like to think Xavier had been reading DC Comics ‘Doom Patrol,’ which debuted in June 1963, two months before X-Men #1 and stole the idea for his team from that series (I jest). Despite all this by the end of X-Men #1, Xavier and the team have foiled the plans of Magneto.

When you examine the Silver Age closely you begin to see some dubious decisions being made by Xavier. His commitment to the peaceful co-existence of mutants and humans appears to be by any means necessary. In X-Men #2 when Teleford Porter aka ‘The Vanisher,’ decides to steal US Defence plans Professor X wipes his memory. Again, that’s a very peaceful and ethical way of dealing with fellow Mutants.

 It also sets a precedent for actions that will happen much later in X-Men continuity. It also sets the precedent for the Silver Age, in X-Men #3 Xavier detects a new mutant; The Blob, when he sends the X-Men off to recruit him, he is living with the Circus, the Blob refuses to join the X-Men so they attack them, because if he won’t join you, beat him. When the Circus gang join in and give the X-Men a bit of a pasting, Xavier mind wipes them as well. Xavier also later mind wipes the Mimic in issue #19 because he can’t stand his obnoxious behaviour. Some might say it was all necessary, I say it’s a blatant abuse of his powers and more fitting with the behaviour of a villain.

Something that becomes a bit of a running theme in Silver Age X-Men is people wanting to blow things up. Perhaps it’s a sign of the times, with real life ‘Cold War,’ themes being present in the writing at the time. It just seems every X-adventure in the early issues is to prevent someone nuking someone else.

In X-Men #4 Magneto plans to blow up a South American country; Santa Marco, with his newly formed ‘Brotherhood of Evil Mutants,’ at the end of this issue the plan is foiled but Xavier tells his students that he has lost his powers. It’s all lies because he gets them back in the next issue, in fact he never lost them to begin with, it was all a ruse as part of a ‘graduation,’ test.

Bloody hell professor! these guys have only been together for five issues and you are letting them go off on their own to fight super-powered villains. I definitely think there is a case for child endangerment here given the ages of some of the team at this point. What if things went wrong would he just go off and recruit a new team? Well actually…ahem…we may address that in a further round.

Xavier’s prowess as a villain knows no bounds. If it wasn’t enough to jeopardise his students safety as part of a graduation exercise, after they do defeat the Brotherhood, Xavier takes himself off to Europe to settle a score with the demonically named, ‘Lucifer,’ who is trying to blow up, some stuff, well it’s never really made clear but Xavier feels it’s important to initially abandon five teenagers in his home in order to defeat him.

Around X-Men #10 & #11 we see Xavier allow a cosmic force in the form of the ‘Stranger,’ kidnap Magneto and Toad, without much concern for the well-being of either and we also see some interesting back story for the professor in X-Men #12. This helps provide further insight into the selfish mindset of the Professor.

Xavier’s origin in a nutshell is this, his parents worked on the atom bomb experiments, his father Brian dies in an atomic blast. His mother Sharon marries her husbands lab partner Kurt Marko. Kurt’s son Cain comes to live with them all in the X-Mansion. Kurt is abusive, Sharon dies, everyone hates everyone, Cain especially hates Charles, there’s a fire, Kurt dies. Cain and Charles go off to fight in the Korean war. Cain deserts and Charles goes after him. At this point Cain finds the Cyttorak Ruby and becomes the Juggernaut but the cave he finds it in collapses on top of him. Rather than dig him out Charles thinks it’s best to let sleeping dogs lie and abandon him.

Now it’s a fairly sympathetic back-story but if the flashbacks are anything to go by, and if I was Cain I would hate Xavier’s guts as well. The flashback’s reveal Charles was a bit of a-know-it-all and he wore suits while he was at home, what child does that?! Also it’s enough to be super peeved at someone who abandons you under tons of rubble. I personally like to think there’s some additional beef relating to a will and/or ownership of the X-Mansion that Charlie fails to recount in X-Men #12. At least it would explain why he abandoned Cain in Korea. Inevitably, the Juggernaut is vanquished by the X-Men and some mind blasts courtesy of Xavier.

The remainder of the Silver Age period provides further situations to speculate over the heroic qualities of Professor X.

Following an epic battle with the Sentinels, in X-Men #14-16 Iceman is left in a Coma, around this time Magneto re-enters the fray, hoping to settle his score and start a mutant army using Angel’s parents. Now, against all medical knowledge and ethical practice, Xavier believes the best course of action is to bring Iceman out of his coma, and fight Magneto. I think that justifies another count of child endangerment. Xavier also assists in the kidnapping of an individual, namely Magneto again, by the Stranger, again. Xavier also performs a mind wipe, again, this time on the Angel’s parents at the end of X-Men #18.

If the Silver Age tells us anything it’s that Xavier’s dream for a peaceful co-existence with humans comes at a high cost. He will literally sacrifice his students to achieve it. I feel he’s a fanatic, he’s obsessive with his dream and he will pursue it by any means necessary.

He’s also a bit of a moaner. In the modern age of comics Xavier is representative of the diversity in comic books. In the Silver Age he seemed to spend several issues expressing his angst about being a wheelchair user. In X-Men #23 he develops his own leg braces that help him walk again. Versions of this device will continue to crop up in X-Men continuity right through into the modern age. They never became a regular thing, but the question that is crying out to be answered is if Xavier was such a good guy why didn’t he patent the invention and make it available to the public. If you ask me he’s a selfish git.

Mid point of the Silver Age run of X-Men we see the creepy Xavier return to the fore. In X-Men #32 it’s revealed that Xavier has been keeping doors locked from his students, particularly the basement door as he’s been keeping a comatose Juggernaut down there. It’s a bit Norman Bates if you ask me. It’s also at this point that Xavier considers that he should have acted more resolutely in Korea, and he makes a botched attempt to wake up and reform the Juggernaut. Naturally things go wrong and it eventually leads to Juggernaut joining Factor 3 and that particularly nefarious group kidnapping Xavier.

When Xavier is eventually rescued, his gift to his students in X-Men #39 is new individual uniforms. The only question hanging over the new uniforms is why did Marvel Girl forsake trousers for a mini-skirt? She did design it herself, but if Xavier was acting as an appropriate adult he may have asked her to re-consider. Again, the Silver Age relationship between Charles and Jean seems dubious to me.

Not long after that episode Xavier begins acting more oddly than he has done in any previous issue. He is like a creepy Hitchcok-ian ‘Uncle Charlie,’ only sharing his secret with Jean Grey and throwing mood swings. In X-Men #42 the team go face to face with Grotesk, the subterranean, sub-human supercharged by radiation. He proves more than a handful for the X-Men and so Xavier has to join them in the field to defeat the villain. The climax results in the death of Xavier. He reveals at the end of the issue that he has already been dying of a terminal illness.

That appears to be the end of Charles Xavier except in 23 issues later in X-Men #65 it all turns out to be lies and Xavier has been hiding out in the basement of the X-Mansion, surviving on fun size Mars no doubt. It had been an editorial idea to kill off Xavier in X-Men #42 as an attempt to counteract poor sales on the title. He returned in X-Men #65 to prevent the Z’Nox alien race from taking over the world. He does this by reaching out across the world to form a cosmic love ray to repel the Z’Nox.

It may have been enough to scare the Z’Nox away but it wasn’t enough to halt declining sales and after one more issue X-Men fell into reprints and went into a five year hiatus until Giant Sized X-Men #1 in 1975.

That concludes the Silver Age in respect of Professor Charles Xavier, so let’s take an account of his misdemeanours so far;

• Training a small army of child soldiers.
• Suppressing Jean Grey’s telepathic ability.
• Inappropriate feelings for his female student; Jean Grey
• Being arrogant and naming the team after himself.
• Ripping off the Doom Patrol.
• Mind wiping people on at least five separate occasions.
• Attempted kidnapping of the Blob.
• Numerous counts of Child Endangerment.
• Party to the human trafficking of Magneto and Toad.
• Abandoning his half-brother under a mountain in Korea.
• Holding his half-brother captive in the basement of the X-Mansion.
• Not sharing his ‘helps you walk again,’ leg braces invention with the wider public.
• Faking his own Death.
• Facilitating the assisted Death of the Changeling.
• Effectively killing off any new X-Men material for 5 years.

Now let’s have a look at…

Round 1: The Silver Age (1956-1970)

Magneto:

Magneto is the most famous X-Men villain; created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby he also made his first appearance in X-Men Vol.1 #1. In more recent years Magneto has gained an almost ambiguous relationship with super-villainy. Some view him almost as an anti-hero of sorts, largely because of his interesting and varied back-story. Stan Lee is quoted as saying, “I did not think of Magneto as a bad guy. He just wanted to strike back at people who were so bigoted and racist…he was trying to defend the mutants, and because society was not treating them fairly he was going to teach society a lesson. He was a danger of course…but I never thought of him as a villain.”[1] Now either Stan Lee has a very bad memory or he has started to ret-con his own memories but if you read the Silver Age Magneto, I can assure you he is very much an out and out crack pot villain.

Most of the depth and characterisation of Magneto is largely established in the Bronze Age by Chris Claremont. It would be nice to think that Stan Lee and Jack Kirby had the ideas all mapped out at the beginning. However, as I see it Marvel in the early 1960s was a conveyor belt of superheroes; a lot of what I see in the Silver Age Marvel titles are rifts off the Fantastic Four and Amazing Spiderman books. The same idea repeated again and again in slightly different ways. That said, the Silver Age Magneto is the most memorable villain, as we can all see from his longevity into the present day.

When we first see Magneto in X-Men #1, he is attempting to capture Camp Citadel a Nuclear Missile base with the rather vague idea of seizing control of the camp as a display of Mutant power. It’s a rather aimless mission, but that’s probably down to this being the first issue and Lee and Kirby wanting to establish the premise and introduce the original characters of the X-Men title.

If it’s one thing we can say about the Silver Age in relation to Magneto it’s that it provides him with his style. During the Silver Age the X-Men changed their costumes numerous times, however Magneto’s red and purple centurion style garb became his defining feature.

The thing I like about Magneto is that he’s a stylish villain, he like the Liberace of super-villains. He is also guilty of the same arrogance Charles Xavier, naming things after himself such as his Magneto car (why he has a car when he can levitate is beyond me) and the coolest liar even; Asteroid M. By the standards of the X-Men title, it seems that in the 1960’s people just stuck their initials on to the names of things to declare ownership rights.

Asteroid M

Magneto does stop short of naming his group of evil mutants the ‘Magneto-Men,’ instead they are named the ‘Brotherhood of Evil Mutants.’ The ‘Evil-Mutants,’ part aside, the ‘Brotherhood,’ part generates an impression that Magneto’s mutant faction are more politically minded, almost concerned about the socio-political needs of mutants. Historically, there have been political organisations that have been known as ‘brotherhoods,’ e.g. the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) also referred to as ‘The Fenians,’ were an oath bound fraternal organisation dedicated to the establishment of an Irish Republic which were active between 1858 and 1924.

The Silver Age doesn’t really set the Brotherhood up as a political organisation. Although, I do feel that the idea of a Brotherhood is more consistent with the idea of advocating and promoting Mutant Rights. Magneto chooses to deploy the Brotherhood as another paramilitary style organisation but I feel to give him credit he is, to an extent, sheltering and safeguarding Mutants under the banner of the Brotherhood. In this sense, despite his character flaws he is more consistent with his message than Xavier. He’s not operating a personal strike force on the pretence that they are being used in a violent struggle to achieve a peaceful co-existence.

The Brotherhood, make their debut in X-Men #4. The original members are Toad, Mastermind, Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch with Magneto as the leader. Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch are portrayed as the reluctant villains, however it is worth remembering that Magneto saved them from an angry European lynch mob, the kind that used to roam the Marvel Universe up until the late 1980s. There membership of the Brotherhood is as a result of their feeling that they have a debt to repay. I feel in respect of the pair it lessens the idea that Magneto is a villain that coerces Mutants into joining him. It stands in contrast to the X-Men’s violent, attempted recruitment of the Blob in X-Men #3. I just feel that despite the lack of any real characterisation for Magneto in the Silver Age, on occasion his values are more consistent with his actions than perhaps Xavier’s are.

That said I’m pretty sure that Stan Lee only envisaged Magneto as a villain in the early days. X-Men #4 involves Magneto planning to blow up a South American country. As per his first appearance the plan is suitably vague and it doesn’t come to fruition. He does manage to kidnap the Angel in X-Men #5 which results in a battle with the X-Men on Asteroid M.

X-Men #7 sees Magneto come into contact with the Blob. If you recall Charles Xavier mind wiped the Blob in X-Men #3 so Magneto helps the Blob get his memories back and then he offers him a place in the Brotherhood to get revenge on Charlie and the X-Men. In fairness, if I just remembered that someone had mind-wiped me and I had lost a significant period of my life I’d be pretty ticked off and want to settle a score so I don’t think that Magneto can be blamed for putting the Blob up to anything.          

X-Men #11 is interesting because it includes an appearance of the cosmic being known as the ‘Stranger.’ The Stranger is a peculiar character because at this point he is very much a Sci-Fi inspired character; he had appeared in the Fantastic Four but had never been given a proper origin or explanation. He appears at a point in X-Men history before the whole space opera style stories were a regular feature. He seems a bit out of place in the title. Anyway, to cut a long story short, the X-Men and the Brotherhood both try to recruit the Stranger and the end result is that he takes a shine to Magneto and the Toad and decides to take them back to his home planet and place them alongside his other other-worldly collectibles. Essentially, the ‘Stranger,’ is a cosmic Human Trafficker. None of the so-called heroes in the vicinity attempt to stop this, so we can only assume from this episode that Xavier would rather see Magneto out of the picture than as part of his peaceful co-existence dream. 

When Magneto next appears it’s in X-Men #17 and essentially the story plays out as Home Alone, only Magneto plays Macaulay Culkin’s part as Kevin. Basically, there is a stranger lurking in the X-Mansion setting up deadly booby traps like greased up floors etc and the X-Men can’t figure it out. At the end of the issue it’s revealed to be Magneto. Apart from breaking and entering and being in breach of health and safety, all in all it doesn’t add up to much of an evil plan.

Rather it appears to be a set-up for his real plan to create a clone army using Warren Worthington’s parents. One of the frustrating things about Magneto, and something that is quite apparent in the Silver Age is that there is no consistency with how his powers are written. Magnetism is seemingly a by word for any superhero power that can be given to him for the purposes of storytelling. In X-Men #18 he is able to hypnotise the Worthington’s with his ‘magnetic personality.’ It’s a bit of a stretch to be fair. Safe to say the Clone army never get’s off the ground, Magneto fights to a standstill with Iceman before being defeated by the rest of the X-Men and re-captured by the Stranger.

When Magneto resurfaces in X-Men #43 we first see him rejoicing in the death of Charles Xavier. A very villainous thing to do, but, when viewed in light of later continuity which sets up their relationship as friends, then I’d be pretty happy that my one-time friend, who has basically ignored the fact that we were friends for 43 issues, and who was happy to allow me to be human trafficked, had passed away.

When the issue begins it is worth noting just for the purposes of continuity that Magneto has been off tussling with the Avengers. In Avengers #47-49 Magneto has escaped the Stranger’s prison with the Toad. He regroups the Brotherhood and demands his own island nation for Mutant-kind. To me it sounds like his best plan yet, but as always he gets beat down by a team of superheroes. It’s revealed in X-Men #43 that Magneto has secretly coerced Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch into re-joining the group. During the battle with the Avengers he uses his powers over magnetism to deflect a bullet, so that it grazes the Scarlet Witch. He then promises to develop technology that will heal hear. I guess Mutants in the 1960s were funny about basic first aid and visiting the hospital, but anyway.

The story which begins in X-Men #43 runs into X-Men #45 and crosses over with Avengers #53. The story in a nutshell is that Magneto has developed a new niche; stealing cargo ships and using their contents to build his own mind control device for the purposes of taking over the world. At this point he is hiding out with the Brotherhood (minus Mastermind and the Blob), on a secret island location. The X-Men find it and promptly get captured. Angel escapes and goes to the Avengers for help; Cyclops also has a fist-fight with Quicksilver.

In between all that we see Magneto being really nasty to Toad. Now it’s probably fair to say that despite taking mutants into the Brotherhood, Magneto has been a bit of an ass to everyone. For months he allowed Mastermind to sleaze around the Scarlet Witch and he generally thrown his weight around and insult everyone whilst all the time demanding their undying loyalty. In this story he really lays into Toad, maybe he’s just antsy because he had to spend several months with him locked in a glass cabinet, but it’s really unfair to Toad. At one point in Avengers #53 he says to Toad, “I’ve kept you around because you are so laughingly, fawningly pitiful.” It maybe doesn’t sound too bad by today’s standards but Toad’s thin skinned. In the end it all backfires on Magneto as he is defeated by the Avengers and the X-Men and Toad decides to get his own revenge by blowing up the island base making his escape in a plastic ship, the reason being Magneto can’t use his powers to levitate onto and escape. The final panels depict Magneto falling to his doom.

In X-Men #49-52 the villainous Mesmero, reveals that Bobby Drake (Iceman’s) new girlfriend Lorna Dane (Polaris) is really the daughter of Magneto and has her own magnetic powers. Magneto shows up but the big reveal turns out to be that it was all a lie concocted by Magneto, Lorna is not his daughter he had just been fooling in order to make use of her magnetic powers. The fiend. Strangely enough the action all takes place on another island and at the end Magneto blows it up. It’s becoming a regular occurrence for Magneto to do this which must really annoy the people who draw maps, without even considering the ecological and environmental damage he must be causing by blowing up all his bases. 

Magneto can be perhaps pardoned for that last crime as it is later revealed in X-Men #58 that the Magneto that Mesmero was working for was really a robot. The real Magneto appears to be missing in action.

It’s not long before he turns up again. Following an adventure in the Savage Land fighting Sauron, the X-Men encounter Magneto again in X-Men #62. This time he’s self-styling himself as the ‘Creator.’ By this stage his evil plans are becoming more elaborate. He wants to raise a mutant army to conquer the world. When he first re-appears, he is out of costume and he rescues the Angel from a dinosaur attack. At this point no one recognises him until he puts on his helmet. He gives Angel a new blue and white costume but that’s just so he can use it to drain energy from him. His plan in the Savage Land amounts to genetically engineering new mutants. His plan is foiled by the X-Men who bash up his base ruining his power source which depowers his Savage Land mutates and causes them to revert to their normal form. In this sense his crime of genetically engineering new mutants is lessen as it seems the changes are really just cosmetic or augmentative at best.

X-Men #63 proves to be Magneto’s last Silver Age appearance in an X-title as X-Men went into hiatus for five years. So at this point it is worth adding up Magneto’s list of crimes against humanity;

• Taking control of a Nuclear Missile base by force
• Attempting to blow up a South American country
• Breaking and entering of the X-Mansion
• Violating Health and Safety procedures in the X-Mansion
• Coercion and holding the Worthington’s Captive
• Child Endangerment
• Coercing the Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver into re-joining the Brotherhood.
• Attempted mind control
• Bullying and emotional abuse of the Brotherhood.
• Emotional blackmail of Polaris (later attributed to robot Magneto)
• Causing serious ecological and environmental damage by blowing up at least two island bases. (Although technically, Toad blew up one and Robot Magneto blew up the other one).
• Genetically engineering/augmenting a Mutant army.
• Attempting to take over the world with a Mutant army.

So after one round the verdict is…

Professor X is the biggest villain!

 So many of you will be jumping up and down and shouting at the result, but I just feel that Charles Xavier is the bigger villain. Magneto has been clearly portrayed as a villain and many of his schemes are a direct threat to both human and mutant kind.

However, that does not excuse the fact that Charles Xavier is claiming to be a pacifist yet operates a clandestine personal strike force. He has also mind-wiped several individuals, which raises important questions about his real ethics, values and motives. Plus there is all that angst and unresolved issues relating to Jean Grey, it’s all a bit overwhelming for me as a reader.

At least Magneto is consistent. I am not saying he’s not a villain but I just feel Xavier is a bigger villain.

That said, it’s still all to play for, as there are two more rounds to go before we finally decide who is the biggest villain; Professor Charles Xavier or Magneto?

Next Time: The Bronze Age!

If you are a long-tine X-Men fan or would like to learn more about them then you may enjoy the’ Rachel and Miles Xplain The X-Men,’ podcast. It provides an in-depth look at the X-Men comics, movies and animated series. It’s a lot of fun. Check out the website; http://www.rachelandmiles.com/xmen/

Special thanks to www.comicsrecommended.com for the use of a number of their .jpegs.

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1. [1] Marvel Spotlight: Uncanny X-Men 500 Issues Celebration, p. 5-7