Entertainment
X-Men Officially Reveals Magneto’s Replacement
The X-Men‘s Master of Magnetism is in a bit of a strange spot right now. As the MCU assembles its X-Men for Jake Schreier‘s much-anticipated first mutant movie in 2028, Magneto was surprisingly left out of the picture. Instead, the focus of casting has been on the younger heroes, like Jean Gray (Sadie Sink) and Cyclops (Kit Connor), who’ll join Christopher Abbott‘s Charles Xavier and likely tangle with Adam Driver, who was instead tapped to play Nathaniel Millbury, another name for Mister Sinister. In live-action, at least, that leaves one of the series’ most iconic characters up in the air after Ian McKellen reprises the role in Avengers: Doomsday, with an eye towards future installments as the point to introduce a new iteration.
Marvel Comics similarly has Magneto taking a bit of a back seat at the moment during the new DNX crossover. The special event sees the X-Men teaming up with the Fantastic Four to help save the veteran mutant from a mysterious condition that has left him in a dire state, all while confronting a major threat from 3K, led by an older version of Beast, who seeks to unleash the X-virus upon the world. As both groups act upon what they learned from the dark future of the Age of Revelation, the latest issue of the X-Men comics breaks off for a telekinetic showdown for the ages with one of 3K’s members and one of the most powerful telepaths around, Cassandra Nova. The spiritual opposite of Xavier, given form by the professor’s overwhelming potential, she’s a threat that few telepaths, let alone other mutants, could stand against, but Jed McKay and Netho Diaz‘s run has a strong candidate to step in and succeed Magneto at such a crucial time.
Spoilers ahead for X-Men #37
Cassandra Nova Meets Her Match in Magneto’s Spiritual Successor
Issue #37 finds Quentin Quire going “brain-to-brain” with Cassandra, and while he talks a big game, he quickly backs it up with a showcase of skills in the mindscape. While his opponent vomits bugs and summons Sentinels, the young mutant plays the classics by calling in the X-Men in a physical manifestation of their powers clashing together. In a particularly poignant moment, as they pit their ideals against one another, Quentin invokes Magneto and how the mutant grew to understand what it meant to truly protect his kind without affecting another. Like Magneto, he learned from past mistakes, now believing that “There is only the oppressed and the oppressor” and that genes do not decide who is greater.
Their battle feels like a collision between the old mutant supremacist Magneto and the reformed leader now fighting for a better future for everyone. Quentin counters Cassandra’s assertion that human extinction is the only way to save mutantkind, actively summoning the visage of his northern star as a reminder of how he was inspired to see the world and the people in it differently. His arc as a hero directly mimics his mentor, and it’s that determination to create a better tomorrow for mutants without any more oppression that allows him to overpower Cassandra and deliver a very fitting, vital blow. The fight doesn’t end in that moment, but it’s a symbolic victory and a passing of the torch to the next generation of heroes empowered by the efforts and ideals of those who came before.
X-Men #37 is now available for purchase. Stay tuned here at Collider for more on the latest Marvel Comics issues as they release each week.
- Release Date
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May 5, 2028
- Director
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Jake Schreier
- Writers
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Joanna Calo, Lee Sung Jin, Michael Lesslie
- Franchise(s)
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Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), X-Men
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Inde Navarrette
Rogue / Anna Marie
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Kit Connor
Scott Summers / Cyclops
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Samara Weaving
Emma Frost
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