Summary
- Magneto’s complex relationships with his children, such as Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver, have evolved over time.
- Lorna Dane, aka Polaris, is Magneto’s only living biological child and has a tumultuous history with him.
- Magneto’s family extends beyond his biological children, including grandchildren, in-laws, and other connections through marriage and chosen family.
The iconic X-Men hero, and former villain, Magneto is a one-of-a-kind Marvel character with a fascinating history that spans six decades. Over Max Eisenhardt’s long publishing history the Master of Magnetism has gone through multiple history-shifting retcons, and his family – both biological and chosen – have steadily expanded throughout the years, often coming together in times of great calamity or change.
Magneto tragically perished during Uranos’ attack on Arakko during the A.X.E.: Judgment Day crossover event, but the recent Resurrection of Magneto limited series saw the beloved X-Man brought back to life, partially against his will. Marvel has teased an even greater emphasis on the extended Magneto Family in the X-Men’s upcoming “post-Krakoa” era, so below is a primer on some of the most important members of the Magneto Family throughout Earth-616 history.
15 Wanda Maximoff
Perhaps the most famous familial connection that Magneto has is to two of his children, the Scarlet Witch and her twin Quicksilver. Wanda Maximoff and Magneto’s father-daughter relationship has always been complex, with Magneto treating Wanda and Pietro terribly after recruiting them into his original Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, unaware that they were allegedly his children. It was eventually uncovered that Wanda and Pietro were Magneto’s biological children… until the 2014 AXIS event, which saw this retcon retconned, revealing Magneto was not their biological father, and they weren’t mutants at all. Regardless, recent Krakoa Era comics have seen Wanda and Magneto reaffirm their love for each other as chosen parent and child.
14 Pietro Maximoff
While Wanda and Erik’s relationship was often tense and dramatic, it was nothing compared to the traumatic relationship between Pietro and his father. Quicksilver was always desperate for Magneto’s attention and praise, and the cold antihero never gave it to him, instead treating him with disrespect and condescension. Magneto famously murdered Quicksilver after House of M, and their relationship was never the same after Pietro was resurrected. The reveal that the twin’s biological parents were Django and Marya Maximoff made it so that Quicksilver felt even less of a connection to Magneto, and seemed disinterested in repairing their relationship.
House of M
is a 2005 Marvel crossover event that saw Quicksilver manipulating his sister the Scarlet Witch into using her reality-warping powers to create a world where mutants controlled everything
13 Lorna Dane
Magneto’s third child, and as of now his only living canon biological offspring, is the magnetic X-Men hero Lorna Dane, also known as Polaris. Lorna has a complex and traumatic history with Magneto and her powers, having accidentally killed her parents as a young child after her mutant powers activated. After discovering that Magneto was her biological father – having had her mind wiped and altered as a child by Mastermind – Lorna started a long process of attempting to bond with her father and gain his respect, a journey that has not yet concluded. Over the years Polaris has paid homage to her infamous father many times and will do again in her upcoming return during the Fall of the House of X.
12 Wiccan & Speed
While Wanda Maximoff is no longer canonically Magneto’s biological daughter, he has made it very clear that he views her as his child, meaning that Wanda’s children are still his grandchildren in his eyes. Tommy, the hero known as Speed, and Billy, the powerful warlock called Wiccan, are the Scarlet Witch’s “children,” born from the souls of Wanda’s imaginary children from her House of M reality. During the event Avengers: Children’s Crusade, the twins discovered that Wanda was their mother, and also met Magneto for the first time, sharing a very intimate and sweet interaction with their grandfather.
11 Crystalia Amaquelin & Luna Maximoff
Magneto’s extended family has also given him relatives by marriage, seeing as both Wanda and Pietro have been married to other Marvel heroes before. Quicksilver famously married the Inhuman princess Crystal in 1974, becoming the first-ever marriage between an Inhuman and a human. While living in the Inhuman city of Attilan, Pietro and Crystal eventually had a child, Luna, before their marriage deteriorated, who eventually developed empathic abilities as an Inhuman. While Quicksilver and Magneto have not had the same reconciliation as Scarlet Witch and their father, Magneto presumably still sees the powerful young Luna as a precious grandchild of his.
10 The Vision
The daring and beloved marriage between the Scarlet Witch and the Synthezoid the Vision remains a major talking point for fans, even though they have not been romantically involved in years. Their secretive romance was a shock for many heroes in the Marvel Universe. However, once Magneto stopped his villainous ways and attempted to make amends with Wanda and Pietro, he accepted the Vision as his son-in-law, even attending a famous Thanksgiving family dinner in 1986’s Vision & the Scarlet Witch #6. Still, the relationship between Vision and Magneto has remained tense, with the two battling each other several times over the years.
9 The Eisenhardt Family
Born Max Eisenhardt, Magneto grew up as a young Jewish boy in Nuremberg, Germany, before his father relocated the entire Eisenhardt family to Poland following the horrific Kristallnacht. Sadly, the Eisenhardt’s did not remain safe in Warsaw, forced into the Jewish-only Warsaw Ghetto by the Nazis after WWII officially began. Attempting to escape from Warsaw, the family was captured by the Nazis and murdered in cold blood, with Magneto being saved by his father Jakob but forced to hide with his dead family in a mass grave. Max was eventually captured and sent to Auschwitz, where he continued to witness the cruelty and brutality of humankind, which shaped much of his origins as a human-hating villain.
The 2008 limited series
X-Men: Magneto Testament
, by writer Greg Pak, changed Magneto’s history and origins forever, canonically making him the sole survivor within his family of the Holocaust.
8 Magda & Anya
The loss of Magneto’s beloved wife Magda and first child Anya has played a major role in his history and development. Max fell in love with the Romani woman Magda as a child, and then reunited with her in the Auschwitz concentration camp, escaping together and forging a simple life in a mountain village before having their daughter Anya. Moving to the larger city of Vinnytsia, Magneto used his powers to retaliate against his boss, leading the boss to call the KGB on him. Magneto was forced to watch Anya die in a fire in front of him, before killing the KGB officers, prompting Magda to run away from him in fear, before she eventually passed away herself.
7 Joseph
While Magneto might not consider his errant clone Joseph to be part of his family, the cloned Master of Magnetism is undeniably a part of the Magneto Family legacy. Created by former Acolytye Astra, Joseph was left amnesiac after an attempt to kill his template Magneto. Joseph was eventually taken in by the X-Men and started a romance with Rogue, convinced he was Magneto… until Magneto reappeared alive. Joseph sacrificed his life to put a stop to Magneto’s reign of terror but was brought back once again by Astra, this time as the villainous leader of his own Brotherhood. While he was killed again, Joseph was recently resurrected by Hexfinder to help her kill the Scarlet Witch, until he betrayed Nicola and once again sacrificed himself.
6 Elena Perez
Elena Perez aka Irae, Queen of Wrath, is the “newest” member of the Magneto Family, debuting in the recent flashback miniseries Magneto. Detailing a previously unexplored time from when Magneto was running the Xavier School and leading the New Mutants, Magneto saw the debut of Irae, a character who claimed to be the daughter of Magneto. Eventually, it was revealed that Elena, who has the power of pyrokinesis and can psychically cause targets to experience intense rage, witnessed a brutal attack by Magneto when she was a child which activated her powers. Irae told Magneto that she was “born of his rage,” and although she died in his arms, Magneto did admit that she should be considered his daughter.
5 Theodore “Teddy” Altman
Teddy Altman, aka “Hulkling”, entered the picture as Billy Kaplan’s boyfriend and fellow founder of the Young Avengers. The two continued to date until taking the next step with a wedding. As Billy’s husband and the Scarlet Witch’s son-in-law, Hulkling is officially a part of the Magneto Family – and a powerful one at that. Teddy is the only son of famed Kree warrior, Mar-Vell, and Princess Anelle of the Skrulls, making him the bridge between two warring people. After taking his rightful place as Space King Dorrek VIII, Teddy began the arduous task of uniting his people with Billy at his side. With their marriage going strong, Hulkling will be part of the family for a long time to come.
4 Viv Vision
Despite their complicated history, Wanda Maximoff and Vision still hold a great deal of love for one another. When Vision created an android family for himself, he modeled his “new” wife directly from the Scarlet Witch. This endeavor ended tragically, with his daughter, Viv, being the only survivor. Viv has started to build a life for herself since her creation, including forging bonds and joining the Champions, as well as tentatively building a relationship with her brothers, Billy and Tommy. Wanda Maximoff has formed a relationship with Viv, too, and admitted that she considers her to be a daughter, which truly cements Viv’s place in the family.
3 Zaladane
Zaladane, or Zala Dane, was introduced as the supposed sister of Polaris. While her lineage was never fully explored, she claimed to be Lorna’s sibling and proved capable of stealing Polaris’ magnetic abilities for herself. Her status as a powerful sorceress and ruler of the Savage Land gave her a great deal of leverage, but Magneto eventually put her to death for altering Earth’s magnetic field. Zala Dane never claimed that Magneto was her father and could have merely been Lorna’s half-sister via her mother, but either option grants her a spot in the Magneto Family. Unfortunately, that association was nowhere near enough to save her life.
2 Jeff & Rebecca Kaplan
To say that Billy Kaplan and Tommy Shepherd have confusing parentage is an understatement. While they are undoubtedly Wanda and Vision’s twin boys, they were also born into the world to other families, and Billy is fortunate enough to claim Jeff & Rebecca Kaplan as his parents. The couple raised him in a loving home and continued to offer a stable, accepting environment as Billy revealed his relationship with Teddy Kaplan, told them about developing superpowers, and discovered his other mother, the Scarlet Witch. They’ve opened their home to anyone important to their son and continued to be involved in his life, making them a sweet stand-out in the family.
1 Natalya Maximoff
When a spell revealed that Magneto was not the biological father of Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch, the question of their true parentage began. Wanda discovered the answer when she encountered Natalya Maximoff, the original Scarlet Witch, on the mystical Witches’ Road. The High Evolutionary stole the twins away from their mother, Natalya, and they were eventually raised by their maternal aunt and uncle, Marya and Django Maximoff. Wanda inherited her mother’s magical abilities and the “Scarlet Witch” title. Natalya’s time with the twins was brief, but she provided answers that Wanda, particularly, had desperately sought. She left her stamp on their lives, even if she was not able to raise them.
Natalya Maximoff sacrifices her soul to save magic and witchcraft in
Scarlet Witch (2016)
#14.
The Magneto Family is a complex weaving of chosen family, biological secrets, and confusing retcons, that make for a nuanced and important legacy in the Marvel Universe. With Magneto recently resurrected in Resurrection of Magneto, the only thing that can be sure about what comes next for the iconic X-Man and his unique family is that it will be filled with drama, love, and sacrifice.