Magneto (film character)
| Erik Lehnsherr Magneto | |
|---|---|
| X-Men film series character | |
| First appearance | X-Men (2000) |
| Based on | |
| Adapted by | |
| Portrayed by | Other:
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| In-universe information | |
| Full name | Erik Lehnsherr |
| Alias | Henryk Gurzsky |
| Species | Human mutant |
| Occupation |
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| Affiliation | |
| Family |
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| Spouse | Magda Gurzsky |
| Children |
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| Relatives | Dawn Dane (granddaughter) |
| Religion | Judaism |
| Origin | Germany |
| Nationality | German Jew-American |
| Auschwitz number | 214782 |
Erik Magnus Lehnsherr, also known as Magneto, is a character primarily portrayed by Ian McKellen and Michael Fassbender in 20th Century Fox's X-Men film series. Based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name, he has appeared in eight installments of the franchise. McKellen played Magneto in the original trilogy films X-Men (2000), X2 (2003), and X-Men: The Last Stand (2006), in addition to making a cameo in The Wolverine (2013); while Fassbender portrayed a younger version of the character in the prequel films X-Men: First Class (2011), X-Men: Apocalypse (2016), and Dark Phoenix (2019). Both actors' iterations appeared in different time periods in X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014).
As in the comics, Magneto is depicted as a powerful mutant, a subspecies of humans born with superhuman abilities, who can manipulate and generate magnetic fields. He is a Holocaust survivor who regards mutants as being superior to humans, and seeks to enable them to replace mankind as the dominant species on the planet.