Although Spider-Man is most often associated with the famous motto, that “With great power must also come great responsibility,” There is another Marvel character who lives his life according to the same logic: Magneto. As revealed in an early issue of Ultimate X-MenThe mutant villain has his own version of the iconic line to live by – with a much darker twist.
Ultimate X-Men #5 By Mark Millar, Andy Kubert, Danny Mickey and Joe Weems Show Cyclops joins forces with Magneto’s Brotherhood of Mutants. Cyclops left the newly formed X-Men in the previous issue, having had a fight with Charles Xavier, and witnessed a kiss between Jean Gray and Wolverine.
In the Savage Land, Magneto tells the frustrated Cyclops that humanity is “A fundamentally flawed creation,” so mutants must replace them as soon as possible. Magneto says, “As the more intelligent species, one might even say it is our moral responsibility,” put a sinister twist on Spider-Man’s own guiding principle.
Magneto believes in “great responsibility” with an evil twist
The Magneto of Marvel’s Ultimate Universe, although similar in many ways, has some notable differences to his Earth-616 counterpart. In particular, the Magneto of Earth-1610 is depicted as a much more hostile, villainous take on the character, showing an outright disgust and hatred of the human race. While Marvel’s main Magneto certainly views humans as inferior and often plays the role of the villain, Ultimate Magneto takes those feelings a step further. He is repeatedly shown to call for the extermination of the human race, viewing it as the natural conclusion of his fight for mutant superiority.
Magneto’s speech to Scott Summers, however, shows that Earth-1610’s version of the villain has one important similarity to his Earth-616 counterpart: he still sees himself as the hero. Through his own warped logic, Magneto actually thinks along the same lines as Spider-Man Both characters believe that their immense power gives them a level of moral obligation that others do not have. While Peter Parker takes this to mean that it is his job to protect others, however, Erik Lensherr finds his role in subjugation. He thinks it’s his job to save Earth from humanity—and even save humans from themselves.
Ultimate Magneto and Ultimate Spider-Man are polar opposites
Magneto’s quote highlights an interesting distinction between himself and the ultimate Spider-Man. The darker, more vengeful version of Magneto is, in many ways, in line with the rest of the Ultimate Universe. When Marvel decided to create this new continuity, a more modern and grounded spin on their original universe, many heroes and villains received much harsher characteristics. Captain America is cruel, Hank Pym is more abusive, and Mister Fantastic eventually becomes one of Marvel’s greatest villains. An even more villainous Magneto feels appropriate given how much more violent the Ultimate Universe is in general.
This all contrasts with Spider-Man, A notable exception to the grittier characteristics of the Ultimate Universe. While many 1610 heroes are complete jerks – as Spider-Man notes several times – Peter remains true to Uncle Ben’s words, wanting only to help others. Ultimate Spider-Man has its share of tragic stories and angry outbursts, but the younger Peter Parker maintains the character’s humor and levity throughout, sometimes even more so than his 616 counterpart’s stories at the time. Magneto is one of Ultimate Marvel’s greatest villains, however Spider-Man remains the greatest hero of the universe – which makes his eventual death even more tragic.
Ultimate X-Men #5 is available now from Marvel Comics.