Will MCU Magneto keep the Holocaust back story?

[Temp_User]

You could have him hunting older Nazis in the 70s.

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Doesn't have the same vibe with being a real nazi hunter scouring South America for the likes of Eichmann in the early years of post-WW2. Whenever i think of 70's Nazi's, first thing that comes to my mind would be the neo-nazi conspiracies of Robert Ludlum or Frederick Forsyth (similar to Hydra).

 

[NCR Ranger]

Three easy ways to hand wave off the top of my head is 1) he ages slower 2) he jumped ahead in time 3) he found a way to de-age or otherwise keep himself younger. Boom done.

Changing his back story would be the worst option when I doubt most people give two shits about the reason why a holocaust survivor doesn't physically look like he isn't pushing 100 in the MCU. As long as they get some of that sweet Magneto action on the big screen.

 

[-Pyromaniac-]

I mean he okay'd erasing Wanda and Pietro's Jewish/Roma heritage, having them work with the Nazi-derived organization willingly, and the casting of white actors for both so I wouldn't be so sure on that one.

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these are all valid points but I'd argue magneto is much bigger than them, but good points

 

[Rhomega]

They didn't mention even in a quip that Carol hadn't aged at all in almost 30 years.

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To be honest, that never came across my mind.

 

[Smokey_Run]

In a world that's is showing an increase in right wing rhetoric every year and where Holocaust ignorance and outright denial is increasing, I'd go so far as to argue that it would be an injustice to rewrite his origin story and to contribute to a decreasing cultural awareness of the horrors of the Holocaust. If there is any character who should keep his origin and make up whatever comic book power excuse possible to answer for his slower aging or time travel or whatever, it's Magneto.

Survey finds 'shocking' lack of Holocaust knowledge in people under 40

Sixty-three percent of those surveyed did not know 6 million Jews were murdered in the Holocaust. Over half of those thought the toll was under 2 million.

www.nbcnews.com

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I was going to more or less post something similar. In today's world, and it's crazy to say this, we need big properties showing stuff like the Holocaust. Stripping the character of his origins would actually be a massive disservice in today's world.

 

[Deleted member 7051]

They didn't mention even in a quip that Carol hadn't aged at all in almost 30 years. I was on the train "they'll change it somehow" until then, but now I'm sure he'll be someone in their 50s and the audience will just assume he ages more slowly.

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I assume Carol is immortal now, like she just doesn't age any more. Chances are Wanda is too, since they both got their powers from an Infinity Gem and - as far as I'm aware - the Eternals also got their powers from the Infinity Gems and they don't age either. Those guys are literally thousands of years old.

 

[SasaBassa]

In a world that's is showing an increase in right wing rhetoric every year and where Holocaust ignorance and outright denial is increasing, I'd go so far as to argue that it would be an injustice to rewrite his origin story and to contribute to a decreasing cultural awareness of the horrors of the Holocaust. If there is any character who should keep his origin and make up whatever comic book power excuse possible to answer for his slower aging or time travel or whatever, it's Magneto.

Survey finds 'shocking' lack of Holocaust knowledge in people under 40

Sixty-three percent of those surveyed did not know 6 million Jews were murdered in the Holocaust. Over half of those thought the toll was under 2 million.

www.nbcnews.com

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Jesus, I knew education was in dire straits due to our leadership but JFC how?

Won't lie, I'm much less open to changing his origin now.

 

[nded]

I actually wouldn't mind a very old Magneto who is still a major threat due to complete mastery of his powers.

I'd change almost anything else about the character in order to keep the Holocaust survivor origin.

 

[Maligna]

I actually wouldn't mind a very old Magneto who is still a major threat due to complete mastery of his powers.

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The only problem with this is they'd probably get what, one or two movies out of him?

 

[Metallix87]

The only problem with this is they'd probably get what, one or two movies out of him?

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That's the MCU way.

 

[Maligna]

That's the MCU way.

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I refuse to believe they will give Magneto the Ultron treatment. He's gotta be like Loki, right?

 

[Metallix87]

I refuse to believe they will give Magneto the Ultron treatment. He's gotta be like Loki, right?

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It could go either way, in my eyes. There are tons of X-Men villains to leverage for sequels. The only character I believe is definitely getting the Loki treatment in the near-future is Doom.

 

[Htown]

Just wondering what we think they will do to justify a 90+ year old man being a major villain and a character that will likely have to stick around for at least another decade on screen.

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nothing about his powers has anything to do with his physical strength

why can't he just be 90+?

 

[T002 Tyrant]

Time Travel exists, I'm sure Wanda can find out she's adopted and use her chaos magic to bring her father into the 21st century.

 

[ThatCrazyGuy]

I was going to more or less post something similar. In today's world, and it's crazy to say this, we need big properties showing stuff like the Holocaust. Stripping the character of his origins would actually be a massive disservice in today's world.

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I await the scenes where he hunts down some Nazi fucks.

I hope Feige doesn't shy away from this.

 

[Deleted member 7051]

I actually wouldn't mind a very old Magneto who is still a major threat due to complete mastery of his powers.

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Oh oh oh I know what they can do.

We get a really old Magneto, at this point he's like 90 years old but his mastery of his powers are so vast that, in one timeline or alternate Earth, he singlehandedly crushed Thanos and his armies when they arrived to take the Mind Gem. Magneto had no vested interest in saving humanity from Thanos, but his daughter loved Vision and so he wouldn't allow Thanos to take that love from her because he knows how much that hurts.

Stuff happens, Magneto dies in the end... then... the post-credits tease is a visibly much younger Magneto waking up from an organic-looking pod, with Xavier waiting for him and saying "Welcome back to Krakoa, Eric."

 

[nded]

The only problem with this is they'd probably get what, one or two movies out of him?

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They don't have to hire an actual 90+ year old actor. Even if they do I think it's possible to do the character justice within one or two movies.

 

[Amiablepercy]

I actually wouldn't mind a very old Magneto who is still a major threat due to complete mastery of his powers.

I'd change almost anything else about the character in order to keep the Holocaust survivor origin.

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I know Michael Fassbender probably has much more interesting projects to consider but it would be so cool to get a few scenes with Wanda, Pietro, and Erik. So cool. Maybe 'Dr Strange and the Multiverse of Madness' might throw us some tidbits like that.

 

[Tavernade]

I'm sure they could find an excuse for him to still be alive but have that backstory. We already have Hydra experimentations in canon, plus he could come from a different part of the multiverse/timeline. It really depends on how they want to integrate the X-men cast into the MCU.

What they should really think about is creating a Captain America situation for him that's future-proof. Captain America has a similar situation but, if Wikipedia is correct, they created the 'frozen in ice after WW2' thing about twenty years later, and now that's an iconic part of his character. If they find a way to future proof Magneto like that, they can then fix this problem into the future for any other adaptations or alternate universes.

Also I am 100% on board for Magneto-as-the-hero movies.

 

[Ravelle]

Yes, the multiverse where we are going to get the mutants are simply not at the same point in time that we are today. All of the mutants that come over from the other timeline are going to have to adjust to being in a world that is more advanced than the 80s (or 90s). It would add a fun dimension to all of these characters instead of "now there are more guys with powers but they don't have origin stories for their powers"

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Or the other way around. Earth-1191 Possibly, 80 years in to the future where mutants have been put to camps and have those branded M tattoo's on their face. Magneto could come from that timeline where he lost Wanda at a young age.

 

[Sheev]

Let's not swap around genocides. These days the world has enough holocaust erasure as it is.

 

[MarcelloF]

Keep him Jewish and a Holocaust survivor. You don't even need to explain any age discrepancy. People will either not think about it or assume it's mutant stuff. No one cared in Endgame that Carol didn't age (Though, I'm sure it'll be talked about in CM2 when she meets Monica again). I'm sure people just assumed space or Kree stuff or her powers were the reason and didn't care.

I do hope they keep him and Xavier older men. At least in their 60s. Not a fan of the buff, Magneto from comics and games and stuff. He doesn't need to be physically threatening with his powers. McKellen was great as him.

 

[ThatCrazyGuy]

Nobody cares Carol and Agnes didn't age. They will think of something.

 

[Weiss]

Or the other way around. Earth-1191 Possibly, 80 years in to the future where mutants have been put to camps and have those branded M tattoo's on their face. Magneto could come from that timeline where he lost Wanda at a young age.

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This would be the worst. Total rewrite and gutting of everything Magneto stands for.

 

[Zippedpinhead]

It is absolutely integral to the character that he be a child during a genocide of which he is almost a victim. The holocaust would likely be the best way to characterize him, but to say that is the ONLY way is really missing the fact that genocide has happened all over the world during the past 100 years.

Some examples: The Bosnian Genocide of the 90's would be thirty years before any potential MCU adaptation putting it about ten years older than Magneto's original comics introduction (1963). The Rwandan genocide occurred during the same time period and would also offer a drastically different portrayal of the character.

Erik's backstory requires him to view first hand what happens when a group of people marginalize and systematically exterminate another group. but saying that Magneto could only be this exact protrayal forever is missing what could be interesting, different yet earily similar backstories from modern events.

Or you could just say that his mutant gene ages him slowly and handwave it.

 

[Calvinien]

They could update it so that instead of WW2, it was one of the balkan conflicts. Hell, for consistency's sake they could make him Sokovian. Have his parents be the ones who fled the holocaust but he ends up losing his children in whatever war it was that orphaned scarlet witch. Maybe that puts himina coma for a few years and he is assumed dead or something to explain how scarlet witch doesn't know he's alive.

That the guy who made the weapons that destroyed his family is now lauded as a hero could be an interesting dimension to the character, especially for the ineviatable Xmen vs Avengers movie.

 

[Ravelle]

This would be the worst. Total rewrite and gutting of everything Magneto stands for.

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Well, not literally of course but something along those lines. Just thinking of ways to keep Magneto on a not so old man age when he's introduced. Grabbing Magneto from an alternate timeline or universe seems odd too, when he gets janked to either this universe or to the recent times, he's gonna be a fish out of water and nowhere to go with his ideals if he's alone without any other mutants.

Even introducing him this late without timetravel stuff and multiverse seems not to fit anywhere.

 

[Metallix87]

FWIW, I DO hope they retcon Wanda and Pietro to be his children somehow.

 

[JahIthBer]

After Wandavision, i don't even know if X-Men will appear in the MCU anytime soon & if they do, i think it will be in a very different form. Im not expecting something similar to Fox Magneto at all, especially if Denzel as Magneto rumours are true.

 

[TSM]

The MCU already has several characters with strong ties to WWII. I'm not seeing how one more would even be an issue.

 

[Siresly]

Just make up some bullshit? Time travel, cryogenics, regeneration, deaccelerated aging, parallel universe on a delayed timeline, cloning, created from witch powers, rejuvenation injection, blessed by the magical trunk of the miniature elephant Bongo. Whatever fits the best.

 

[RROCKMAN]

Nah that shit will be toned down 100 percent

 

[WrenchNinja]

It's only an "issue" in relation to Xavier and him first meeting decades earlier, him remaining an antagonist against the X-Men, and being able to be in multiple films, and the solution to that is Magneto can easily just lie about his age to Xavier and have slow aging as an additional power. You can literally write around anything. So this is a non-issue.

 

[Jag]

Jesus, I knew education was in dire straits due to our leadership but JFC how?

Won't lie, I'm much less open to changing his origin now.

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It's sad that comics have to pull the weight that education failed. Watchmen on HBO brought attention to the Tulsa massacre. The MCU can do the same for the Holocaust.

It's no coincidence that the creators of these characters did it to mirror the world around them.

 

[Okii]

Answering the question of where the mutants have been this whole time in the MCU could sold the problem itself. Taken from a different timeline, frozen in time, any number of things can answer that question so I absolutely think they will keep his backstory, it's too important to his character.

 

[imbarkus]

Maybe the mutant gene ensures longevity?

 

[Whitemex]

Nah they'll keep it but he'll have slowed aging due to magnets

Plus Bucky's been unfrozen since before Tony was a kid and he looks pretty good for an 80+ year old man

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I thought he was put on ice off and on over the years?

 

[THErest]

Keep his origin unchanged.

As others said, let his powers explain his age (or lack thereof). Easy enough. Like, his powers allow him to actually and miraculously benefit from those magnetic bracelets. Boom, done.



I must say, though, I am still as fascinated/puzzled as ever with the apparent obsession with and assumption of this idea that mutants and the X-Men will come from another universe. That is not necessary at all. They provide an allegory of the racism and oppression in our society. It's no stretch at all to say that we haven't seen mutants yet because they were hiding, keeping a low profile, not relevant to previous plots (so they didn't need to be featured in previous movies). Or, the X-Men could have been active for years, but in secret. As colorful and explosive as they can be, Xavier can just sit back and mind-erase witnesses to cover their tracks. Again, easy explanation that doesn't break or muddle the allegory by making them come from another world.

 

[I am a Bird]

They could always retcon magneto into a different concentration camp or just do what they did previously and have some kind of slow aging or time stuff.

 

[DanteSparda504]

I'm gonna go with the off the wall answer in that we wont actually see Magneto as we know him in the MCU.

He will get the MJ treatment. We'll see a character with a similar skill set maybe, but it wont actually be Magneto/Erik

 

[VorpalNonsense]

I think they'll keep some form of it and do something funny with his aging, like slowed aging or put in stasis or something.
And I predict his name will be Erik M. Eisenhardt.

(Although I guess they could get nazis in whatever era they want thanks to Hydra persisting over the years but that would be kinda weak.)

 

[AWizardDidIt]

No, I don't think they will. Marvel has updated the history of their characters in the past, like Punisher's roots in Veitnam (arguably just as important as Magneto's WW2 origin) was updated to the Iraq war in more recent incarnations. I think it's likely Marvel will invent a fictional atrocity to base Magneto out of that parallels the holocaust but with a much lighter touch because frankly I don't expect Disney is going to get into such an ugly thing.

 

[RadzPrower]

...we wont actually see Magneto as we know him...

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Magneto "as we know him" isn't exactly clear-cut these days either. I mean, they're all hanging out together will some of their greatest villains in recent years on Krakoa, so that's something a lot of people that don't follow comics wouldn't even know. The closest the general populace might associate a "good" Magneto with is the reboot Fox movies.

 

[m_shortpants]

I'm going to ask a serious question here, I'm not a comic book guy but...can Magneto be black? As in, a person born in to Jim Crow era south, etc? I know at times Magneto / Xavier have been made analogues to Malcolm and MLK Jr....so...

or is his identity as a Jew core to his character in every version?

 

[Tuorom]

The end of DNA is capped off by a telomere. This structure is composed of various minerals and metals like iron, cobalt, molybdenum (I'm just making this up).

Aging occurs because the telomeres shorten/damage from mitosis and eventually cannot sustain the process.

But say you could influence metals, then you could be essentially immortal by manipulating the health of your telomeres!

Science!

 

[TSM]

No, I don't think they will. Marvel has updated the history of their characters in the past, like Punisher's roots in Veitnam (arguably just as important as Magneto's WW2 origin) was updated to the Iraq war in more recent incarnations. I think it's likely Marvel will invent a fictional atrocity to base Magneto out of that parallels the holocaust but with a much lighter touch because frankly I don't expect Disney is going to get into such an ugly thing.

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I don't remember if they even touched on anything like that in the Cap movies which I assume means they didn't.

 

[Sordid Plebeian]

they gonna make him fall into a vat of magnet soup at the magnet factory

 

[Maligna]

I'm going to ask a serious question here, I'm not a comic book guy but...can Magneto be black? As in, a person born in to Jim Crow era south, etc? I know at times Magneto / Xavier have been made analogues to Malcolm and MLK Jr....so...

or is his identity as a Jew core to his character in every version?

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I'm almost afraid of what the online backlash from the viewing audience would be.

 

[Gaia Lanzer]

I dislike the idea of "slow aging" because if we have Magneto and he's a long-stay in the MCU (because he's fuckin' MAGNETO), the actor WILL age in real-time. All the actors in the MCU have aged in real-time since the beginning. Of course, they could got the route of Thor, but it really depends on how old or young the actor they cast for Magneto is.

I rather personally like the idea that is was frozen, similar to Winter Soldier. Unless they want to continue the whole "CG-aided fountain of youth" they've done in the MCU by depicting younger versions of various characters/actors, I guess that would be the correct course to go to portray a slow-aging Magneto.

 

[Salty Rice]

I hope so.

Replacing one real life terrible and tragic event with another like its nothing and interchangeable would be pretty disgusting if you think about it.

They have enough means to make him born during that time and still be in the present day.