Magneto’s heroic turn during Age of Apocalypse is a memorable one, and now it’s been immortalized through a fantastic new cosplay. Magneto has oscillated between heroism and villainy throughout the decades, but this cosplay makes a compelling argument that his tenure as leader of the X-Men is one that shouldn’t ever be forgotten.
Instagram user @ghostxposure has posted an edit of @mark_knight_rises’ Age of Apocalypse Magneto cosplay that brings the villain’s heroic alternate-universe counterpart to life like never before. It might have only been a brief heroic outing, but it’s one with an outsized legacy.
Sporting Magneto’s classic red costume and helmet, this pitch-perfect cosplay is enhanced by the editing, which adds flourishes of purple magnetic power, making it appear that Magneto is controlling metallic rubble with his powers. The look is capped off with white contact lenses which only add to the idea that Magneto is using his powers.
The Age of Apocalypse is one of the Biggest X-Men Events Ever
The Age of Apocalypse is the X-Men mega-event of 1995. When Professor X’s son Legion goes back in time to kill a pre-villainy Magneto, Xavier instead takes the blow, dramatically altering the timeline. In the new present, Apocalypse has taken over the United States, with the main Mutant resistance coming from a new group of X-Men led by a heroic Magneto sporting longer hair and married to the X-Men’s Rogue. The story concludes with the timeline being reverted to its natural state, but in accordance with Marvel multiverse rules, this means that the Age of Apocalypse still exists in an alternate reality that has been visited on occasion since.
The idea of a heroic Magneto has been played with for decades. Originally little more than a maniacal super-villain, writer Chris Claremont gave Magneto his tragic holocaust survivor backstory as well as his friendship with Professor X. Under Claremont’s influence, the villain took on a more heroic role throughout the 1980s. However, with the relaunch of the X-Men in 1991, Magneto was back to villainy, a status quo he’d continue throughout the 1990s. This context is the reason his Age of Apocalypse counterpart is so striking; at the time, in-continuity Magneto had rarely been more villainous.
Magneto in a Heroic Role isn’t a new Idea
Magneto’s Age of Apocalypse design has carried into mainstream continuity. 1995’s X-Men #46 by Scott Lobdell, Andy Kubert, Kevin Somers, Malibu, and Richard Starkings introduces Joseph, a seemingly amnesiac Magneto who becomes a hero. Clearly meant to capitalize on the visual of Age of Apocalypse’s Magneto, Joseph is eventually revealed to be a clone of Magneto and has mostly been a villain since. Whether in the event of Age of Apocalypse or in the form of Joseph, the idea of a heroic long-haired Magneto has persisted — which is no wonder, as terrific cosplays like this one prove that it’s a fantastic design through and through.
