Forgive me if my history is faulty, but weren't the targets of the Bosnian genocide from a certain sect of the Muslim faith? There might be some uncomfortable political connotations from changing evil mutant terrorist Magneto from a Jew to a Muslim.
The X-Men Cinematic Universe (General Discussion)
- Thread starter DigificWriter
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I get your point, but Bosniaks weren't the sole target of ethnic cleansing and attempted genocide in the Yugoslav Wars.
ETA: Honestly, if they were to redo Magneto's origin story in this manner, I wouldn't be surprised if they kept it vague which side of the conflict he came from, to avoid exactly that sort of problem.
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Not to be too political, but there are lots of Israelis born after the Holocaust who proudly credit the intensity of their views on being the children of survivors, so an extremist Magneto born in the 50s or even after would hardly be implausible. That said, I agree there are lots of other sources of mass anguish that could work.
Making him be a child of a holocaust survivor is doable I suppose, but to me that feels like a slightly different kind and magnitude of baggage than one that experienced it personally. Indeed, it's not so much about the camps themselves or even surviving them as living through the build up prior to the camps. "It always starts with identification" etc.
Seems to me like the simplest solution would be to either just keep Magneto as a holocaust survivor but also have longevity be part of his mutation, or keep the details of his background very vague.
On the other hand recasting him as a Rwandan might be doable if they want to make it a more recent and specific. An African anti-hero would certainly be an interesting change of pace if nothing else. For all it's overtures of being about civil rights, the main X-men line-up always seemed a little lacking in diversity.
Seems to me like the simplest solution would be to either just keep Magneto as a holocaust survivor but also have longevity be part of his mutation, or keep the details of his background very vague.
On the other hand recasting him as a Rwandan might be doable if they want to make it a more recent and specific. An African anti-hero would certainly be an interesting change of pace if nothing else. For all it's overtures of being about civil rights, the main X-men line-up always seemed a little lacking in diversity.
That's pretty much what he's always been. If he were a straight-up villain it'd be hard to credit his and Xavier's enduring friendship and mutual respect despite having diametrically opposed viewpoints.Anti-hero Magneto
All those were added later. In the beginning (Silver Age and Early All- New All Different) he was no friend of Xavier and was probably a step behind the Red Skull in all out villainy. It was Claremont who decided to ignore his past and transform him into a "noble" villain like Doctor Doom, who was clearly an influence on Claremont's Magneto. It snowballed from there till we got anti-hero Magneto.
I thought the same thing when it was pointed that it's becoming increasingly more difficult to establish Magneto as a Holocaust survivor (unless, as you suggested, longevity was also one of his mutations). There's no reason why he has to be a white man from the WWII era and I would be intrigued to see the character as a Rwandan if handled right and with respect.
Would that be so bad? I rather have my villains have depth and reason for the things they do than outright cartoonish evil for the sake of evil.
Too many X-villains have become sort of good guys.
Magneto can have depth and reasons with out being a misunderstood anti hero doing bad things for the right reasons.
The best villains are the heroes of their own stories. Magneto sees himself as a freedom fighter, protecting his people from what he's sees as an inevitable future of oppression or extermination. I'd take that over a two dimensional villainous nutter any day. Magneto is not, nor should he be Skeletor.
I've no problem with that, I'm sure Hitler thought of himself as a hero. No doubt he saw him self as defender and protector of the Aryan race against the evil of lesser beings And make no mistake about it, Magneto was a wannabe Hitler wishing to enslave and exterminate the "inferior" humans. He was also willing to exploit and kill other mutants. I can't see Xavier ever being friends with that guy.
Way to not like the way a character has been consistently portrayed for over 30 years now. Are we still upset Batman's gloves aren't still purple, too?
Hugely popular villains inevitably become (anti-)heroes in comics. From Venom and Sabretooth to Black Widow and Catwoman or Harley Quinn.
Has the Joker ever been a protagonist?
Protagonist? Of course!
I'm not asking for Skeletor. I'm asking for Hitler, Kim Jong-un or (insert genocidal dictaor here) Magneto doesn't have to be a mustache twirling, cackling villain to be a genocidal monster.
Yes, I have opinions about certain characters and how they've been portrayed. Shocking isn't it?
I'm cool with the current gloves, but I'm not a fan of unshaven psycho-ninja Batman.
Having Magneto exist in a world where there are non-mutant superbeings who seem to get by fine by cooperating with the Government and being respected by the public would be something worth watching. I mean, the Avengers might serve as alternative role models to Magneto AND Xavier and we'd get to see what their own opinions of them would be. Magneto would probably think that they're misguided patriots whose hearts are in the right place (Captain America) but are just delaying what he seems as the inevitable.
The best way to test a character's mettle is by challenging what they stand for, and seeing Erik in world where there's more than just Humans and Mutants and other alternatives to his revolutionaries and Xavier's Hiding would be a good story.
The best way to test a character's mettle is by challenging what they stand for, and seeing Erik in world where there's more than just Humans and Mutants and other alternatives to his revolutionaries and Xavier's Hiding would be a good story.
It would seem that Gambit is going ahead into production...
http://comicbook.com/marvel/2017/12/18/channing-tatum-gambit-budget-filming-location-start-date/
http://comicbook.com/marvel/2017/12/18/channing-tatum-gambit-budget-filming-location-start-date/
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