Eric Lensherr is a fictional Marvel comic book villain . The character has the ability to control the metal through the action of a magnetic field. For this, the antihero received the nickname Magneto. He is one of the most powerful mutant humans on the planet and confronts his former friend Charles Xavier, or Professor X, and his team.
Eric Lensherr Biography and character of the hero
Eric's real name is Max Eisenhardt. He was born into a family of Germans with Jewish roots. During World War II, the boy was separated from his family and taken to secret laboratories for research. His parents end up in a Polish concentration camp.
German scientist Sebastian Shaw immediately notes that Eric has supernatural powers. He begins to carry out terrible experiments on the boy. After several years after the war, the young man decides to find his tormentor and destroy him.
Severe childhood and military hardships made the hero tough. Eric Lensherr believes that only mutants have the right to exist, and only those who unconditionally obey him.
The analytical mindset, the ability to set great goals and achieve them made Magneto the leader of the rejected mutants. Lensherr feels danger perfectly, and it is extremely difficult to set a trap for him.
Along with this, Magneto reads a lot, loves chess. He spends a lot of time training not only the mind, but also the body. In this he helps swimming and hand-to-hand combat.
Eric cannot be called kind and responsive, but he is definitely not bad either. This person knows the feeling of helplessness, and therefore he takes care of many of his wards in his own way.
Friends or foes
The story of friendship, turning into a feud between Eric Lensherr and Professor X, is the main storyline of all mutant films. They met in the days of their youth, when they were looking for the Nazi Shaw. Even then, Charles knew about the existence of his gift of telepathy.
Misunderstanding between friends arose when Magneto decided to destroy humanity. Xavier disagreed and founded a team of X-Men who were interfering with Eric's plans. He, in turn, freed the first mutant - Wolverine, who later joined the Professor.
To resist Xavier's gift to Eric helps the helmet, which he himself created. Without him, Charles's team managed to put Magneto in a special prison for a long time.
Despite all the conflicts, it is Charles who saves a friend from death when his unborn son is trying to deal with the villain. The Professor is also trying to bring Eric back to normal by erasing his memory. But these efforts did not bring the proper result. Being ordinary, Lensherr starts a family, he gives birth to twins - Pietro and Wanda. First, the daughter dies, and after a few years, the son, who joined the detachment of superheroes. After this, Magneto begins to hate people even more.
In many sources, there is information that Eric Lensherr and Charles Xavier are slash friends, that is, their communication can be called not only friendship. But all this is just speculation. In fact, they are like-minded, only the way to achieve the goal is different for them.
Who played Magneto?
In all films with the participation of the character, he is played by the actor of British cinema and television Ian McKellen. He is known for his role as Gandalf in the cult film Lord of the Rings and its sequels, for which he received the American Guild Award and an Oscar nomination for the second time. The first happened in 1999 for his work in the drama "Gods and Monsters." The actor Eric Lensherr played the role perfectly. He accurately felt the inner tragedy of the hero and transferred it to the screen.
In three parts of the film "X-Men" Magneto in his youth was played by the Irishman Michael Fassbender. He was also twice nominated for an Oscar: for his roles in the films 12 Years of Slavery and Steve Jobs.
Interesting details
Comic creators Stan Lee and Jack Kirby are the "parents" of the character, who began his activities in 1963.
Magneto first appeared on television in 1978 in the serial film Fantastic Four.
In 2009, the famous IGN Internet portal called Magneto “the greatest villain of comics” and gave him the first place out of a hundred.
The character moderately consumes alcoholic beverages. Favorite is Scotch.
Magneto is an antihero not only in X-Men. He participates in the cartoon version of Spider-Man.
Eric Lensherr has in-depth knowledge in physics, genetics and high technology. This helps him to create the necessary devices to fight enemies.