Warning: contains spoilers for X-Men #35!Magneto’s mutant-versus-human ideals have been a key component in X-Men lore, but all of that has changed as the Master of Magnetism has abandoned them. Since the 1980s, Magneto’s moral compass has shifted, and nowhere was this more apparent than in the Krakoan era. Now, in X-Men #35, as the age of Krakoa winds down, Magneto has made one important change to his mission.

X-Men #35 is written by Al Ewing, Gerry Duggan and Kieron Gillen, and drawn by a rotating team of artists including Phil Noto and Joshua Cassara. Professor X is being hauled to a secure holding facility. Magneto hijacks the vehicle carrying Professor X, and the two have a heart-to-heart talk. Magneto says he is done playing by the usual rules, those of nations and laws. Magneto explains that in “embracing the world’s power, I turned my back on the world. I won’t again.”

Magneto then says he now fights for all oppressed people–human or mutant.

Magneto Has Been All Over the Place Morally

The Krakoan Era Gave Magneto a Genuine Chance at Redemption

Since his debut in Uncanny X-Men #1 over 60 years ago, Magneto has been a consistent presence in the team’s life–sometimes as a thorn in their side and other times as an ally. Magneto was instrumental in helping found the mutant nation of Krakoa, alongside Professor X and Moira McTaggert. Magneto was killed, and forsook the Resurrection Protocols. However, Storm traveled to the next life and brought Magneto back to the land of the living. Magneto’s time in the afterlife gave him ample opportunity to reflect on his own life.

Magneto’s drift to the side of good did not happen overnight, and it came with massive setbacks. In the 1980s, writer Chris Claremont began the rehabilitation process for Magneto, having him appear before the World Court to answer for his crimes. He then became the Headmaster of Xavier’s School. Magneto’s first go-round as a good guy ended in 1991’s X-Men #1, in which he returned as a villain. Magneto’s villainous ways carried on well into the 2000s. In Grant Morrison’s New X-Men, Magneto was revealed to be taking power-enhancing drugs, which seemed to short circuit any future redemption arcs.

Magneto Has Made the Most of His Redemption Arc

The Oppressed People of the World Have a New Friend in Magneto

However, the Krakoan age gave Marvel a “white-knight” version of Magneto, right down to his all-white uniform. Magneto’s time on Krakoa forced the Master of Magnetism to reflect on the mutant versus human binary, and he found it lacking. Magneto realized it is in actuality the “haves versus the have-nots” and he has cast his lot with oppressed people the world over. How Magneto’s new mission will play out in the X-Men’s forthcoming “From the Ashes” era remains to be seen, but his new attitude marks a seismic shift in his character development.

X-Men #35 is on sale now from Marvel Comics!