Magneto Was Right

About

"Magneto Was Right" is a slogan used to describe the views of Marvel Comics character and X-Men villain, Magneto, namely his extremist position that war is the only way to achieve equality for the fictional mutant race, as opposed to the X-men's pacifist approach. The phrase has become popular as a response in an X-Men-themed discussion, similar to Peace Was Never An Option.

Origin

The precursor to the phrase first appeared in 2001 X-Men storyline "Eve of Destruction." Magneto is believed to be killed protecting Genosha, a mutant utopia destroyed by sentinels. He left behind recordings of his supposed last moments, in which he talks about his ideals, including mutant superiority. Because of this, mutants worldwide considered Magneto a martyr.^[1] In the 2003 X-Men series, written by Grant Morrison, a rebellious student at Xavier's School For Gifted Mutants named Quentin Quire, wore a T-shirt with the phrase "Magneto Was Right", similar in design to that of the famous Che Guevara T-shirts.

Spread

Many within the comic book community enjoyed the design, and the phrase spawned fan art and legitimate discussion, much of which centered around the phrase's relationship to civil rights struggles in America.^[2] In 2008, the website MagnetoWasRight.com, devoted to "essays, biographies and images on the arguable realism of Magneto's essential argument."^[3]

It also sparked discussion on whether Magneto truly is correct on comic book forums and message boards; there are several popular and well commented threads on Reddit where this debate is pursued.^[4] The image is popular as a real t-shirt, of which many are available for sale, both sanctioned by Marvel and not; and often other characters are drawn by fans wearing a "Magneto Was Right" t-shirt. On DeviantArt, there are over 1,300 results for the phrase, many with the phrase subbed into popular street art or protest art styles; often even the phrase is changed into a different slogan, but is understood to fall under the umbrella of Magneto Was Right.^[5]

Cyclops Was Right/Rightclops

"Cyclops Was Right" is an offshoot of Magneto Was Right. In the 2012 crossover event Avengers vs X-Men (AvX) the X-Man Cyclops argues with Captain America, causing a divide between the 2 superhero groups, Cyclops character changed and became much darker and similar to Magneto. In another tie-in comic, Cyclops is talking to Wolverine about how he considers himself a martyr and says that one day kids will wear a "Cyclops Was Right" T-Shirt. This new phrase caused people to nickname this mode of Cyclops "Rightclops," and he proceeded to inspire similar fan art to "Magneto Was Right."

X-Men '97 Magneto Was Right / Cyclops Was Right Debate

As the X-Men '97 aired episode 8 of the new revival season on May 1st, 2024, the "Magneto was right" slogan became a viral topic on social media, as the episode delved into the mutants vs. humans politics. YouTube^[6] user @SkystarAG posted a clip showing the moment a character says the "Magneto was right" line (shown below), amassing more than 43,000 views and 1,200 likes in a few hours.

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References