Target: Magneto!

 

The 1980s were a seesaw of change in regard to the man known as Magneto, the mutant master of magnetism, whose cruel and brutal brand of villainy reaches back almost sixty years. Beginning in 1981, Uncanny X-Men writer Chris Claremont set Magneto on a course for redemption following a fierce battle with his longtime foes after yet another attempt on his part to claim world dominance. In 1983, he made overtures toward peace with Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch, who were celebrating the birth of Pietro's daughter, Luna, and learned to their shock that Magneto is their father. Nearly a year later, he and Charles Xavier agreed to an uneasy alliance when they and the X-Men were transported by the Beyonder to another world (along with other super-beings), a truce that continued three months later when Magneto answered a call from a critically injured Xavier to lead the X-Men to investigate the Beyonder's appearance on Earth. Later that year, after a foiled attempt by Freedom Force to capture him, Magneto agreed to be placed under arrest and subsequently appeared before an international tribunal convened to hold him accountable for past crimes, a judgment he avoided when terrorists led by Fenris assailed him. Three months later in 1986, he again reached out to his children when Wanda gave birth to his two new grandchildren.

Just over a year later, the X-Men, who had acclimated to Magneto's presence among them, clashed with the Avengers as well as the Soviet Super-Soldiers when Magneto investigated the fall to Earth of his former asteroid base--culminating in his reappearance before the world court where judgment was finally rendered in his delayed trial. Yet in mid-1989, we began to see signs of the man he was, when he seized control of the Hellfire Club and chose a new, less passive course in preparing for a mutant/human war he saw as inevitable.

Stepping back three years prior, however, we find him still very much Magneto the reformed, as he attempts to ascertain the status of Xavier's--that is, his--students, the New Mutants, currently boarding at the Massachusetts Academy prep school run by Emma Frost of the Hellfire Club. Yet unknown to him, plans have been put in motion to avert his possible interference--and as a result, local law enforcement, while lacking concrete details*, feels it prudent to reach out to the Avengers for assistance in dealing with the threat potential associated with Magneto.

*The details being sparse, to say the least--in particular, the Snow Valley Sheriff makes no inquiry whatsoever as to the identity of Frost's informant. Was it someone known to her whom the Sheriff could follow up with? Or was the caller anonymous? Regardless, the Avengers scramble as if they've been supplied with all the information they need to bring Magneto back in chains.

There's no end to the Avengers' speculation on the matter of Magneto's motivation--though given their experience with Magneto, it's little wonder that they're ready to assume the worst, his voluntary appearance at the world court notwithstanding.

(Having also been deceived and used by Dr. Doom, and more than once, Namor elevating Magneto to such a classification rather than simply emphasizing him as being of the same calibre as Doom is curious, though just an observation on my part.)

And so, in accordance with longstanding Marvel tradition, battle lines are being drawn which play into the hands of whoever has instigated this plot (assuming that's the case--even we don't know their identity, at this point)--and from the looks of things, Cap is on board with his team in acting first and asking questions later. Yet the question to ask now is: Are the Avengers prepared to believe anything but the worst of Magneto?

As it happens, Magneto is in transit himself to Massachusetts, along with Warlock, his young student who himself happens to be their means of transport. En route, we continue to see a very different Magneto than the man the Avengers are prepared to confront.

The Avengers having ascertained that Magneto is within the strange craft, a leaping Hercules brings it down with one triphammer blow, unaware that it's Warlock that has been struck and seriously injured. But while Magneto is justifiably distracted, the Avengers are not.

Magneto manages a maneuver that sends both Captain Marvel and Hercules miles away for what would be the duration of this battle (though you can probably make a good guess as to that development's likely reason), and, afterward, slips away himself. But while the remaining Avengers fan out, doubts surface in Captain America as to the guilt or innocence of the one they pursue--while the Black Knight raises a blunt yet valid point which remains the common denominator in this mission against Magneto.

Meanwhile, Illyana Rasputin, one of the New Mutants at the Academy, acts on her fellow student Amara's detection of Magneto in the immediate vicinity, and uses her teleporting talent to arrive at the battle site and take a hand in the situation, regardless of how Magneto feels about it. And while the Avengers they fight show no signs of letup, Cap continues to question Magneto's actions and rationale.

Yet while Illyana reappears at the Academy and gathers the rest of her classmates to return to the site, the other Avengers act to subdue their foe--which, as it happens, finally gives Magneto and the Avengers an opportunity to diffuse the situation (though admittedly unlikely, while Magneto persists in keeping mum on certain details). But Magneto's entreaties are rendered moot with the arrival of the New Mutants, and Illyana's quick removal of both Warlock and Magneto. As for the Avengers, most of them appear to have made up their minds about Magneto, given the appearance and actions of his rescuers.

It's pertinent to note the Wasp's position as team leader in this affair, insofar as she's maintained an intense focus on the mission and positioning of her team members rather than allowing room for second thoughts to surface as they have with Cap--which makes it fair to wonder how this situation would have turned out if their positions were reversed, and Cap had been leading the team. In the Avengers title, the Wasp has been keenly aware of the invaluable asset she has in Cap, receptive to his input, interpretations and observations--a stance which, had it migrated over under Claremont, might have changed the tenor of this encounter significantly. Instead, her end goal remains turning Magneto over to the Feds--while rashly confirming the team's working theory (ironically proposed by Cap) of Magneto indoctrinating children into a new Brotherhood, based only on circumstantial evidence.

At any rate, for Magneto--and for Frost, whom we've discovered was the culprit in arranging to have the Avengers sicced on Magneto in the first place--the outcome has worked out favorably for the New Mutants, who have felt on edge in their new surroundings but, with Frost and Magneto now on the same page, are fortunate to have two educators who have made their well-being their priority, even if Frost hasn't exactly changed her stripes. It's an epilogue that's bound to satisfy the book's dedicated readers--and even as someone who has only read a handful of issues of The New Mutants (but still collected X-Force steadfastly--someone explain that to me, please), I was pleased to see things circle back to this point.