Most all my toons are magic for this reason. 
I'm too lazy to come up with backstories for all of them so the phrase "It was like 'MAGIC'" comes into play a lot. LOL
This and it makes it easier for me to find enhancements, the color thing doesn't always work for me.
That last is true; my husband's Blaster, whose powers are (mostly) due to the Chernobyl plant accident, was initially rolled as a mutant. At least in all his rerolls that mistake has been corrected.
On the topic as a whole; I mostly play what works concept-wise, and, for some reason, I don't have many mages. Perhaps because I largely play psionicists of various kinds (which, in my book, go straight into Natural origins). I have a total of one magic-oriented character who is also magic-origin. My other character who can be considered as dabbling in magic - at least theoretically - is a Natural (and, frankly, barely has any powers at all).
In my experience people choose for concept. Magic-background concepts allow for all sorts of interesting background stories. not that Science and Mutation characters don't, but at least it's easier to come up with original stuff that way.
I also know some people who play only magic and Science because they don't want to buy their SOs in Founder's. Go figure.
Cynics of the world, unite!
Taking Care of the Multiverse
For me it's because magic covers a lot of origin territory. An example of my magic-origin characters:
Erin Brand - a woman who inherited her grandfather's longevity and his indestructible emerald blade. She's the closest I have to a fantasy roleplay type character, albeit a modern era one.
Dead Serious - a woman who was killed by Vazhilok's minions and resurrected by a higher power in a different body.
Officer Howard - a police officer who was bitten by a werewolf.
Count Gregor - a Russian vampire whose resting place was contaminated by radiation from Chernobyl. I could've gone science origin with him, but he was magic before science figured in.
And this last one brings me to another point. For me, if part of a character's powers can be explained by one origin and another part by another origin, there is a hierarchy.
1) Pretty much everything trumps Natural - if I'm a martial artist who can summon dark forces to protect me, my origin is going to be magic. Unless all of my powers are natural - i.e., I'm an alien, I'm pretty much not going to be natural origin.
2) Pretty much everything except Natural trumps Technology - if I'm a tech using mutant, I'm going to be mutant origin. If I am a Robotics master mind who taps into a mystic dimension to summon dark energies, I'm going to be magic origin.
3) First-come-first-served. If I was born a mutant with the ability to project psychic blasts and someone teaches me how to set trip mines, my origin is going to be mutant; if I was doused with chemicals that gave me super-strength and then a wizard taught me spells to cover my body in flames, I'm going to be science origin. The exception to this rule is Rule 1) because pretty much everything trumps Natural.
(Sometimes, I wish there could be a Dev thumbs up button for quality posts, because you pretty much nailed it.) -- Ghost Falcon
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Good point. Magic origin is probably the most open-ended.
Vampires?
Angels/Demons?
Magicians?
Time-traveling confused fantasy characters?
Cultists?
The possessed?
Those using magical artifacts?
Ghosts?
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Werewolves, elementals, nature spirits, cursed people, priests, gods, fairies... the list goes on. Whereas tech basically gives you the options of robot, cyborg, or guy using high-tech weapons and armor.
Although on the other hand, I like Science because it's similarly open-ended, but it's rare as hell, so what do I know?
Having Vengeance and Fallout slotted for recharge means never having to say you're sorry.
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Good point. Magic origin is probably the most open-ended.
Vampires? Can be a Natural, Mutant, Science!
Angels/Demons? um Naturals? yeah their not human duh...
Magicians? Natural or Magic
Time-traveling confused fantasy characters? Naturals/Science/Tech
Cultists? WTF? ANY Origin....Natural/Science/Mutant...
The possessed? Actually the Rikti (Science) use this tactic.
Those using magical artifacts? Duh....Magic
Ghosts? Um....Natural....their not human!
All these, just to name a few, would suit the magic origin, and many would not fit properly under the other categories.
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There are so many options. I think some people are just more narrow minded and/or just simply are not very creative. Let em be. Im not one of em.
Ive never really been one for magic.... all the BS rules and incantations and ...."Oh, you have to read this passage exactly like this from this old dusty tome that falling apart that I bought from this kid that found it in a dungeon... and then fire will come out your eyes!"
"Oh, [censored]!.... I read it wrong! Fire is coming out of my [censored]!"
PS: All my toons are Science/Natural/Tech. Science and tech can actually cover MORE ground than Magic. Magic is not original and most all of it is similar to something else thats already been done.
Science and Tech.... think alien technology... Science covers Tech and many other things including Metaphysics. A Tech/Science/Natural Creature from some other galaxy! Yeah now THATS open ended.... 
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I think some people are just more narrow minded and/or just simply are not very creative. Let em be. Im not one of em.
Ive never really been one for magic.... all the BS rules and incantations and ...."Oh, you have to read this passage exactly like this from this old dusty tome that falling apart that I bought from this kid that found it in a dungeon... and then fire will come out your eyes!"
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Oh, irony, thy name is BunnySunshine.
(Sometimes, I wish there could be a Dev thumbs up button for quality posts, because you pretty much nailed it.) -- Ghost Falcon
Most of my characters are tech. They could go either way natural/tech, but because they use tech gear, they fall under the tech category. Tekka uses subdermal kinetic implants to transfer and transform energy and electro-pulse gauntlets to non-lethally taze the baddies. the ENG1NEER has a cybernetic arm with gravitational and force shield mods, EnJean is a robot tanker, etc etc.
i have one mutant. she was born with her powers but they didn't manifest til adulthood.
i have one natural. a shield/sword valkyrie. her powers are derived from her race and her training. whupps, two. ninjas are products of intense personal training. can't forget her. actually, do. /ninjavanish
i have one science character. she opted for a supersoldier programme that spliced her DNA with that of a lace monitor (her hero name, now), and she can shove her bones through her flesh to defend herself (like those weird frogs!) and heals at an incredible reptilian regeneration rate.
i have a few magic characters. three who were trained in the occult from a young age (ancient egyptian priestess, peruvian bruja, and a cajun traiteur who wields the hoodoo), and one who inherited a magic brooch that gives her her powers, so without it, she's powerless.
...and dozens of other alts who don't last long, so i just kinda blitz through the origin selection since i'm just testing the water, so to speak.
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There are so many options. I think some people are just more narrow minded and/or just simply are not very creative. Let em be. Im not one of em.
Ive never really been one for magic.... all the BS rules and incantations and ...."Oh, you have to read this passage exactly like this from this old dusty tome that falling apart that I bought from this kid that found it in a dungeon... and then fire will come out your eyes!"
"Oh, [censored]!.... I read it wrong! Fire is coming out of my [censored]!"
PS: All my toons are Science/Natural/Tech. Science and tech can actually cover MORE ground than Magic. Magic is not original and most all of it is similar to something else thats already been done.
Science and Tech.... think alien technology... Science covers Tech and many other things including Metaphysics. A Tech/Science/Natural Creature from some other galaxy! Yeah now THATS open ended....
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Do you realize that you just said that those who use the blanket of Magic as an origin are "just more narrow minded and/or just simply are not very creative. Let em be. Im not one of em."
But then went on to say that you use tech/science/natural because they are even MORE generic?
At least that is how I read it. *shrug*
Personal issues... *shrug*
You know, I always had this burning question since I began playing the game, is there even any relevance to assigning an "origin" to your toon other than for "story" purposes and the tranq dart, mutagen, etc. powers (which I dunno about anyone else but I don't use very often)? Does it actually affect ANYTHING in game or attribute-wise for your toons?
Blueside, it influences your initial mission contact.
Hm. I like to pretend I have a pretty good variety of characters. But frankly, so long as it's done well, a character of ANY origin makes me happy. So what if magic is the most common?
Here are some of my characters- the ones I can remember at the moment-
Magic
Scantily Clad - Demon that hardly existed before being summoned by a demonologist. Okay.
Destined to Die - Extremely cursed. Cursed to die over and over and over (aka fearless scrapper).
Desmira - Zaps things with magic, just like everyone else. Wishes she was awesome and unique.
Mutant
Allergic - Born with the strongest allergies known to man, she fights evil with righteous sneezes!
Sunsoldier - Sunbathed a lot, got mutant powers instead of cancer.
SCIENCE!
Arblis - Created by SCIENTISTS! for great SCIENCE! >_>
Techie
Okay yeah, I have no tech characters I can remember right now.
And Natural kind of bores me.
So maybe I don't spread the love evenly. But I still think everything ever is awesome. But Natural and Tech are just lacking good ideas in my head.
Why does Fox ever choose Magic Origin - A Quick Reply
There are a number of reasons I usually go for 'Magic' over something that's a lot more fun to think about (Tech, Natural) or lazy (Science, Mutation). I've always been faskinated by characters such as Green Lantern (and by that I mean Alan Scott), Doctor Fate, Doctor Strange, Scarlet Witch, and others. There's a certain amount of interest that comes from such a versatile background. A trained practitioner can come up with a Plot Device or MacGuffin with greater ease and less explanation and hand-waving then your average hero of any other origin (and that's lead to Doctor Strange and Doctor Fate in particular being shifted to 'background' status over being headliners of their own comics lately), and still manage to be interesting when they focus on their own preferred areas.
That, and the appeal of strange mystical items being attracted to or stumbled upon by various people (Alan Scott, Cain Marko) and used for good or ill is appealing, too. While hyper-tech and other things can be similarly applied, it's just easier somehow for people to accept it with magic. It also saves a lot of time when you can just say 'A wizard did it!' and skip around the subject of hows and whys.
That said, I tend to choose it just based on what the character in question seems to demand. If I had to go back and look through my character list, I'd probably see a lot of Magic and Mutation characters over anything else, with the rare odd Science or Technology character, and one or two Naturals in the mix (when I'm not forced into it - I have a handful of EATs that are stuck with what the game tells them they are). When I build a character, I let them tell the story. I just write what they call to mind. Name, AT, powerset, origin, basic backstory... whatever seems to fit for the benefit of the character.
Magic just happens to come up on top on occasion. S'all it is. Maybe it's a fascination for the arcane, or maybe it's just pure coincedence.
A more logical explanation is that there's a certain predisposition to farm Magic critters and such, and that tends to benefit characters of a Magic origin far more often (free DOs and SOs). An old-hat decision that's somehow managed to stick long after SOs lost popualrity. But that's just a hare-brained theory.
My first and favorite comics were Doctor Strange, and the Mighty Thor, in that order. Ive always dug the magic angle. In fact, these days, im a much bigger fan of modern fantasy than the traditional swords and sorcery variety, if truth be known.
That all being said, i agree with you. Cross cannon characters annoy me, and few more so than those who are obviously lifted directy from somebody's D&D campaign (the WoD fanboys annoy the hell out of me too, but they, at least, have SOME measure of cover, since like Vampire: the Angst, or whatever its calling itself now Paragon City/The Rogue Isles are also a modern setting; D&D/WoW ripoffs on the other hand, are not JUST using/imposing-on-eveyrone-around-them a different, possibly contradictory cannon, they also tend to be blatently out of place in a modern superhero venue).
Also, do I win for longest parenthetical statement, or what?!
Also: it is ture that a Sufficeintly Advanced Alien can substitute for magic in terms of omnipotatn plot device. As J. Michael Staczynsky once said when asked how Vorlon and Shadow tech worked, "I dont know - if we understood how it was possible it wouldn't be freaky alien superscience, would it?". People generaly expect science explinations to make at least some attempt to be remotely plausible, even if its only with a vague nod to uterly unproven quantum theories taken out of context. With magic people are just much more ready to accept the "I wave my hands and fix it" approach to getting out of a plot-point nobody especially wants to be in.
Of course, as the man said, with great power, ECT. I find one of the hardest parts of playing a sorcerer supereme type is restraining said versatile omnipotance - after-all, most people do not WANT you to wave your hands and fix their charcter's problems for them in 3 seconds cold. Finding that line between helpful mystical walking plot device, and annying godmoder can sometimes be tricky.
I find the usual way to solve that kind of "am I omnipotent, am I not?" problem is to communicate with the person who has the problem or what have you.. find out what she wants to DO with said plot-point. Then, even in magic, there are any number of reasons for your character not being able to solve it right now.
Don't understand the problem to its fullest? Failed.
Some kind of magical barrier? Failed.
Have the sniffles this morning so aren't up to 100%? Failed!
The Elysienne; Magical controller
Silent Sickle; Natural scrapper
And many more.
Aenigma Rebis: "Actually, Ely's more like Jean Grey. Only... smart."
Roll a 1? Critical Fail!
Magically delicious.
Sci, Nat, Nat, Mut, Tek, Mag, Nat (Kheld); Sci, Tek, Mag, Nat, Tek.
Magic is actually my least favorite/common Origin, and I stay out of Croatoa as much as possible.
My characters at Virtueverse
Faces of the City
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My first and favorite comics were Doctor Strange, and the Mighty Thor, in that order.
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Good point. To me, this is the magic origin in a nutshell. The characters who don't make sense until you hit the late 20s or better still, mid-30s. Preferably Corruptors or Defenders. The perfect visual is the magician hovering, cape aflutter behind his baroque arcane costume, as he hurls blast after blast of whatever it is at his assailants, who never get close enough to lay a finger on him.
I've had exactly two characters like this, sadly. Going to go plan out another right now.
I went with natural with my final Seraph creation because it just typically seems more plausible since he wasn't given powers through worship but rather born with it from the start and grew up learning more about himself.
The reason why I like it is because of the near complete freedoms you can do with the occult for characters often coming in contact or in opposition against said plot types.
A duel with Satan was always seemingly beautiful to Seraph in a poetic sense. But I completely agree that the whole "wave of my hand and I do everything" is a bit of a strench. I actually prefer more tangible and constructive scenes. Of course the sources I barrow from are such as: Spawn, Witchblade, Lady Death, etc.
I'll chime in with something that I've been pondering since maybe two weeks after I made my first character in CoH five years ago. I'm not a fan of having a single origin cover my entire character.
In fact, I bet most characters have several origins that will better describe their powers and abilities as a whole. I would have loved to be able to pick an origin for *each* power category. Lets take Wolverine as an example since we all know who he is and what he can pretty much do. The current game limits him to selecting a single origin to describe all of his powers. I would much rather see something like: Regeneration power set = Mutant, Claws power set = Science, Fight Pool Set = Natural, Body Mastery Set = Natural, etc.
It makes more sense because characters like Thor, could then be more accurately reflected in saying he is naturally a Norse God, thus has the natural abilities of longevity, toughness, strength that all Aesir have, but he also wields obviously "magical" artifacts such as Mjolnir, his gloves and belt, etc.
It would be really nice to be able to have different origins as part of your character's makeup.
Anyway, before I ramble on, thanks for reading.
"All that crap is grey to me, no XP." - Positron 5/15/05 8:36am . . . The world stopped and silence ensued except for the sound of a crying infant off in the distance.
"Everyone needs to chill the hell out." - BackAlleyBrawler 11/13/08 3:26pm . . . Geeks around the world stopped and blinked.
Magic can also relate to a magical item that gives someone their power. Peacemoon for example is a magic hero and while he is a naturally powerful psychic, it is his magical amulet which allows him to control the weather and grant /storm powers. :-)
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In fact, I bet most characters have several origins that will better describe their powers and abilities as a whole. I would have loved to be able to pick an origin for *each* power category. Lets take Wolverine as an example since we all know who he is and what he can pretty much do. The current game limits him to selecting a single origin to describe all of his powers. I would much rather see something like: Regeneration power set = Mutant, Claws power set = Science, Fight Pool Set = Natural, Body Mastery Set = Natural, etc.
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OT a bit but his claws are actually apart of his mutation according to more later comics. But otherwise inciteful and it would make sense indeed.
My character Sabre Wolf is purely human but uses a nano-suit thus he's labeled as a tech, but under all that tech he's a normal human being who used to be a Spec Ops on the US's Delta teams.
Aside from all that my only rant is origins barely play an important part for a character. Which was also why I changed my Seraph to natural. I pretty much found that origins only matter to enhancements and just barely depended on the mobs you would encounter as some magi contacts would send you after folks such as Rikti or what not.
I always see Magic, Tech and Mutant as the most popular three, and Science/Natural as the less popular. (Not counting those AT's that can't choose)
Natural: Seems to be a bit limiting at first glance.
Science: Sadly, I'd suspect that a lot of characters that should be Science origin have been rolled as other origins, mostly Tech and Mutant.
I remember a thread in the Virtue forums, a while back, where a poster challenged folks to come up with an Origin and any two powersets to match in a way that would make sence.
And several pages deep, he/she made up quickie bios that made sense for every combination given.