When Disney+ revived “X-Men: The Animated Series” with the 2024 release of “X-Men ’97,” the X-Men’s archenemy Magneto had a different role — and a different look to go with it.
Magneto has been both friend and foe to the mutant team — originally, he was a close ally of the X-Men’s leader Charles Xavier. The original “X-Men: The Animated Series” ended with Charles Xavier near death and taken to heal on an alien planet. In “X-Men ’97,” it was revealed that Charles entrusted stewardship of the X-Men to Magneto. As the X-Men’s new leader, Magneto swapped out his signature helmet for a flowing mane of silver hair and a costume emblazoned with a large “M.”
“X-Men ’97” executive producer Brad Winderbaum explained the reasoning behind redesigning the iconic “X-Men” villain for the animated series’ revival in an interview with the Television Academy.
“The famous [Marvel comic] book that we’re drafting from here is ‘The Trial of Magneto,'” Winderbaum said of Magneto’s “X-Men ’97” makeover. “In ‘The Trial of Magneto,’ he’s got silver fox hair. He’s got the muscle shirt — he’s a ‘zaddy.’ We’re driving at that to parallel his emotional and mental shift, or at least his struggle to shift.”
Magneto’s new look on X-Men ’97 drew on important comic book roots
The first season of “X-Men ’97” adapted elements of “The Trial of Magneto” — originally titled “The Trial of Magneto!” from “Uncanny X-Men” #200 (1985) — in its second episode, “Mutant Liberation Begins.” The episode saw Magneto agreeing to appear before a court to atone for his past crimes, only for the trial to be disrupted by anti-mutant extremists. In the comics, it was during this story that Charles Xavier entrusted his school and his X-Men to Magneto. Magneto agreed to Charles’ wish with some trepidation. The same storyline played out — albeit slightly differently — on “X-Men ’97.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Brad Winderbaum explained that Magneto “ultimately wants to protect people like him, and he doesn’t believe that peaceful coexistence is possible.” His vision of the future relationship between mutants and humans was the opposite of Xavier’s, yet he respected his old friend enough to try to honor his wishes. “So when Magneto is tasked with fulfilling Xavier’s dream, he is outside of his comfort zone,” Winderbaum said. “And that is extremely rich territory.”
By the end of the first season of “X-Men ’97,” Magneto had returned to his classic costume and found himself trapped in Ancient Egypt with Xavier, Beast, Rogue, and Nightcrawler.
