X-Men:First Class Early Reviews are Good--Really Good

I don't worry too much about the idea of his magnetic fields affecting all the metal around him, like physics say they would because then I'd have to think about why Cyclops optic blasts defy Newton's first law rather than sending him flying backward every time he fires them.

It's just that Magneto's always been the "Master of Magnetism" as I undertsand it, and he even has "magnet" in his name, so I expect his powers to work on ferrous metals, not all metals (and yes, the dental fillings were the other thing that bothered me). I haven't read my copy of the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe in years, or ever read the newer versions, so if there's been some update to his powers that allow him to control all metal, that's cool, I just hadn't heard about it.

Yeah...Mags has been presented as able to manipulate pretty much anything since the late 80's...writers have been using the fact that there's more than just magnetism in the electro-magnetic spectrum.


"Magneto is a mutant with the power to manipulate the electromagnetic force to achieve a wide range of effects.
The primary application of his power is control over magnetism and the manipulation of metal. He can affect a very large quantity of metal at one time. For example, he has levitated objects as heavy as a 30,000 ton nuclear submarine and has used his power to move large asteroids several times. The maximum amount of mass that he can manipulate at one time is unknown, but his powers extend into the subatomic fields as evidenced during the Secret Wars, when he pulled ambient molecules of metal out of the surrounding atmosphere into a metal comb for Janet Van Dyne.[volume & issue needed] He can manipulate a large number of individual metal objects simultaneously and has assembled complex machinery with his powers. He can also affect non-metallic and non-magnetic objects to a lesser extent and frequently levitates himself and others.
Another way in which Magneto frequently uses his power is the projection of force-fields which selectively block out matter and energy. These fields are strong enough to withstand the detonation of multiple thermonuclear weapons; hence Magneto is invulnerable to most harm when surrounded by his shield and can survive in deep space thanks to it.
Magneto can also channel his powers through his own body to increase his strength and durability far beyond human limits and has a baseline reaction time 15 times shorter than that of regular humans.
On occasion he has altered the behavior of gravitational fields around him, which has been suggested as evidence of the existence of a unified field which he can manipulate.
He can also generate electromagnetic pulses of great strength and generate and manipulate electromagnetic energy down to photons. He can turn invisible by warping visible light around his body.[73]
Although Magneto has been shown capable of manipulating matter on a subatomic level (insofar as the electromagnetic force is responsible for chemical bonding), the use of his powers in this way seems to be difficult for him, and he has not been frequently depicted as doing so.
He has demonstrated the capacity to produce a wormhole and to safely teleport himself and others via the wormhole.[74] His powers have also demonstrated that he can condense planetary objects into subatomic size.[volume & issue needed]
Magneto has been consistently and frequently depicted as able to resist all but the strongest or most unexpected of telepathic attacks. A number of explanations have been proposed for his unusually strong resistance to telepathy, among them: (a) technology wired into his helmet (the explanation given in the X-Men film series and several comic plotlines), (b) some physical aspect of his electromagnetic powers that can interfere with telepathy (he once used the Earth's magnetic field to dampen the powers of all telepaths within his reach), (c) latent telepathic powers of his own or (d) sheer force of will (cf. X-Men Vol. 2 #2). The theme of latent telepathic powers has been explored in a number of stories, among them the Secret Wars limited series. In some of his earliest appearances, Magneto was depicted as capable of engaging in astral projection. He has also, on rare occasions, been shown reading other's dreams, issuing telepathic commands, and probing the minds of others.[75] He has demonstrated the ability to shield his mind, while in intense meditation, so completely that even Emma Frost was not able to read his thoughts, despite being directly in front of him and actively attempting to do so.[65]
In addition to his powers, Magneto has many other skills. He is a genius with competence in various fields of advanced science, especially in genetic manipulation, particle physics, engineering, and other fields of technology. He has engineered advanced weaponry, space stations, superpowered humanoid lifeforms, devices that generate volcanoes and earthquakes, devices that block telepathy, and devices that can nullify all mutant powers except for his own. He has reconstructed computerized devices from memory. He is fluent in many human languages and once single-handedly deciphered the unknown language of a lost civilization.[76] He possesses extraordinary skill in "reading" the microexpressions on others' faces and sensing what they are thinking and feeling, whether they are lying, fearful, etc. a skill which he refers to as "taking your enemy's measure."[77] He also is a master strategist and tactician with extensive combat experience, and has often been successful in single-handed combat against entire groups of superhuman adversaries. He also has some military training in hand-to-hand combat and has been shown to be effective with his fists, but he prefers to use his powers when in combat situations."
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Basically Magneto is an Incarnate Plus.
A polymath with the ability to manipulate fundamental forces on macroscopic and subatomic levels at energy levels that suggest he can tap into a power supply that is greater than the power grids of entire countries.
On a good day i could see him taking on Batman and Superman at the same time and winning. Interesting.

That's exactly it. Thumbs up soldier!

I just got back from watching the movie and yeah that definitely 'got me' too. I was like, "why is the guy walking INTO the room with all the metal objects?!" Now I understand



Pretty darn good movie if I say so myself Enjoyed it....although I didn't see Stan Lee...where was his cameo spot?

Let's put it this way then. When Magneto faced off Shaw at the end, he had more control of his powers and threw everything he had at him and nothing he threw even got near him, pipes and pieces of metal just sorta missed him, and the large girder Magneto was trying to push at him was instead pushed back. Maybe young Eric was trying to send forces at him, but Shaw absorbed all the forces coming his vicinity.

Or perhaps that he was just a boy whose anger was crushing metal in his vicinity and flailing tables and tools. He's just a kid with no control over his abilities. If he did have control, he would have moved the damned coin.

It has nothing to do with control. The problem I have with the scene as a kid lies with the fact that he made no attempt to attack the man that murdered his mother in front of him. He didn't use his powers. He didn't throw a punch. He didn't bite him. He didn't kick him. He lashed out at everything and everyone in the room but Shaw. As far as I'm concerned it's not believable and it ruins the scene for me. You are free to have a different opinion but you aren't going to change my mind.

As I already explained before the problem lies not with what he did do but what he didn't do.

He attacked everything but the man responsible. You can argue otherwise until the sun goes nova I'm still not gonna find the scene believable.

Nope, so you're good.

If he started kicking and biting Shaw, I would have walked out of the theater right at that moment.

Have you seen the movie Shindler's List?

If so, did you find it unrealistic that the prisoners in the camp, including the children, didn't resort to biting and kicking against the nazi guards and administrators of the camp in response to similar moments of brutality and cruelty?

Schindler's List is a film about real person. X-Men is a film about super heros/villains from a comic book. I'm sorry that you are unable to tell the difference between the two.

Yeah, but going from the descriptions here, the scene in question is depicting a similar event, both involving concentration camp victims and their Nazi captors. Seems to me the reaction would likely be the similar. Sure, Erik will one day be Magneto, he's not yet at that point (unless they've butchered X-continuity more than I thought) in the story.

I'm guessing Shagster is pointing Schindler's List specifically *because* its different: its different in that Schindler's List explicitly holds itself out to be a small dramatization of real world events, whereas X-Men First Class obviously doesn't. Therefore any objection that the scene with Erik is unrealistic due to his reactions ought to go double for the actions of the people in Schindler's List. You can't say Schindler's List is too realistic to complain about the realism: at that point you're in reality is unrealistic territory.

I didn't say Schindlers list was too realistic. I said I don't find it believable that Eric would attack and kill everyone in the room except the guy that murdered his mother.

You said, in direct response to Shagster asking the direct question did you find Schindler's List equally unrealistic when the camp prisoners didn't attack their guards, that "Schindler's List is a film about real person. X-Men is a film about super heros/villains from a comic book. I'm sorry that you are unable to tell the difference between the two." That's only remotely relevant if you are saying that because Schindler's List is about real people, Shagster's question is not appropriate. Otherwise its a non-sequitor deflection.

To reiterate Shagster's question, do you find it unrealistic that the camp prisoners in Schindler's List don't attack their tormentors. I'm asking specifically because Schindler's List is in fact about real people, so I'm directly asking whether your compass for judging realistic behavior actually works correctly in judging whether reality is sufficiently realistic. I believe that is as unambiguous as the question can get.

Hey!

It's way to early for that type of talk! Seriously, I may have broken my tongue reading this post.

And yet Eric had enough control over his powers to hurl/crush metal items around the room behind the glass wall while only crushing the metal objects in the room he and Shaw were standing in.

If his power was actually that out of control the guns, filing cabinet, bell, coin, and helmets (still attached to the bodies of the guards unless the chin straps broke or were unfastened) would have been flung around the room.

If it was operating both randomly and powerfully out of control, yes. But that's not necessary or sufficient to explain the scene. Its only necessary to state that he had no conscious control over the exact manifestation of his power, so it acted without conscious control. He may have been angry enough at the guards and Shaw to project raw magnetic force at them, and that force crushed the guards helmets killing them. It did nothing to Shaw because he can absorb electromagnetic energy harmlessly and he had no metal on his person that would have injured him indirectly. The objects in the same room tended to be crushed because that might have been the way Erik's power manifested the thought "kill." But once that thought faded because the guards were dead and Shaw seemed untouchable, the objects in the other room were thrown around because without a specific target for his anger his power acted in a less focused manner; that was the manifestation of unfocused anger. It may also have something to do with those objects being farther away. It took a lot of time for Erik to learn to channel that anger into specific control, but at this early stage the only control he had was basically "do something over there" but without being able to specify exactly what.

The question still isn't relevant because I'm not doubting/questioning the reactions of the hundreds of victims in the camp. Nowhere in any of my posts did I say that I didn't find the reactions of the other people at the concentration camp in X-Men unrealistic.

I'm doubting/questioning the reaction of one individual. And yes I believe that there were thousands of individuals that tried to oppose their tormentors even tho they knew their actions would be futile, or they simply reacted instinctively.

I believe one person can make a difference. That one person can inspire hundreds, thousands, even millions of people with his or her actions. I also believe that that inspiration can be used for good or evil.

Oh and there were only 5 people in the scene I'm doubting. Shaw, Magento, 2 guards, and Magneto's mother. I find it far more believable someone will lash out at their tormentor when the odds aren't so overwhelming in a passionate outburst.

Shaw made no attempt to demonstrate to Eric his own mutant abilities. As far as Eric knew he was as human as the guards holding his mother.