Real name: Erik Magnus Lensherr
Occupation: Would-be world conqueror, mutant terrorist
Group affiliation: Brotherhood of Mutants
Base of operations: Savage Land
First appearance: Ultimate X-Men #1 (2000)

History: The charismatic subversive known as Magneto once worked alongside Professor Charles Xavier to construct a sanctuary in the forgotten jungles of the Savage Land, a refuge for anyone seeking respite from the kind of persecution mutants face. The two worked in harmony for a time, but their bond began to fray as Magneto grew increasingly hateful toward mankind.

Magneto came to believe that Homo superior represented the next step in human evolution, and that Homo sapiens should live under mutant rule. Xavier did not share his view. Ultimately, the two engaged in a fierce struggle that ended when Magneto paralyzed Xavier from the waist down with a metal spear through the back.

His adversary out of the picture, Magneto made open anti-human attacks on both Washington, D.C., and New York City. His terrorist army, the Brotherhood of Mutants, included his son and daughter: the hex-casting Scarlet Witch and the fleet-footed Quicksilver.

In retaliation for Magneto's acts of terrorism, the U.S. government unleashed the Sentinels -- android assassins programmed to halt the mutant threat by any means necessary. Unshaken in his plans to subjugate the human race, Magneto kidnapped the president's daughter. The Brotherhood's efforts were opposed by the one force Magneto believed to be a true threat to his cause: Xavier's X-Men, sworn to protect the very society that had rejected them.

In an attempt to eradicate Magneto and the Brotherhood, the U.S. government launched a major offensive on their jungle sanctuary. Many mutants were killed, but Magneto survived. Deciding that the time had come for humans to pay for their crimes against his people, he attacked Washington with a fleet of reprogrammed Sentinels.

Reviled as freaks and outcasts, the X-Men stood in defense of the nation's capital as humanity's last hope. Magneto appeared to die during the climactic confrontation, transformed in a living super-magnet by his one-time friend.

Height: 6'2"
Weight: 190 lbs.
Eye color: Bluish-gray
Hair color: Silver

Powers: Magneto is a mutant with the ability to control magnetism. As such, he can shape and manipulate natural and artificial magnetic fields. It is unclear whether he must draw magnetic force from outside himself, nor is it clear whether Magneto's power is psionic or purely physiological in nature.