Magneto #2: Puppet or Puppet Master?

Who is Magento? And who does he want to be? The doom of humanity? Or the mutant liberator? The line between the two is being forcibly blurred to the point of eradication. But why? “Why” is the question of issue #2. Why is Irae so obsessed with Magento? Why does she want to bring back the two-dimensional bad guy Magneto?

Magento’s internal struggle continues as he finds himself in rather unusual circumstances as his present and many past mistakes continue to struggle inside and outside of himself. Wrath and her group of sisters, who are meant to be the new evil mutants, paint a predictable yet intriguing picture of who or what these characters are.

It is likely we won’t find out the truth about who Irae is until the next or even the last issue. Still, her worship of Magento is conditional on his mutant menace days, and she will stop at nothing to get Erik to awaken and destroy humanity.

But who is she? She claims to be a daughter. But does that mean biologically? Perhaps. Perhaps not. Or is she some biproduct of Magneto’s past actions?

The story continues to captivate readers, and DeMatteis continues demonstrating his understanding of Magento and X-Men history. But he is also clearly trying to give fans and Magneto himself a deeper understanding of the character. It is as much an action-packed story as it is a character study with plot.

He even gives us a bit more of the New Mutants and their dynamics that he did not have space for in the first issue. It is a reminder, amid all the Fall of X stuff, of a group of teenage mutants who are just trying to do their best. The New Mutants get their moment, as the perspective splits between what is going on with Magento and what is going on with his students. And they are just as important to understanding Magneto as Queen of Wrath, perhaps more so, if the comic is going where it could possibly be going.

The art, while illustrating different characters, still feels out of place compared to the serious tone of the story. However, it is possible to look past that and enjoy the story, vibrant colors and all.