The X-Men are Marvel’s Mightiest Mutants, but none of them are mightier than Magneto. Perhaps the most powerful of all mutants, Erik Lehnsherr made his first appearance in the comics in 1963 and he has endured the test of time, remaining of the most widely-recognized X-Men characters to this day.
It’s not surprising when there are adaptations in the mainstream quite regularly, from the original X-Men movie series to the recent Disney Plus series X-Men ’97, he’s been at the forefront of many of the classic characters’ most well-known adventures. And his powers – and the drive behind them – continue to captivate audiences.
Magneto is a complicated individual, which makes him a powerful character in many senses of the word. He has the ability to manipulate and move metal with his mind, controlling magnetic fields all around him with ease. He's a longtime enemy of the X-Men, as well as an occasional friend to them. Like I said, he's a complicated individual.
One of the things that has made Magneto so fascinating to audiences over the years is how his way of thinking directly conflicts the viewpoint of Professor Charles Xavier; his longtime friend who he loudly disagrees with. Magneto believes mutants are the next step in evolution, making them superior to humans. That makes him a threat to the world, and one that Professor X and the X-Men regularly has to stop.
As we mentioned above, the character's popularity has seen him make the jump onto both the big and small screen over the years. From animated TV shows to live-action film franchises, we've seen a number of actors take on the role of the metal-moving mutant. The question is: Who played Magneto the best?
Honorable mentions
Being that Magneto is one of the most popular characters in both the Marvel Comics and X-Men lore, it shouldn't come as a surprise to learn that he has featured in a number of animated shows over the years. The fact that he's the X-Men's most notorious nemesis makes him an easy choice for guest spots on shows featuring the mutants or other Marvel characters.
Of course, there are actors more commonly associated with the role due to the properties they played him in or the amount of time they spent voicing him, but every actor is a major part of the character's legacy. So before we dive into the more well-known versions of Erik Lehnsherr, let's take a moment to acknowledge the other actors who have voiced him over the years.
- Bernard Cowen - Spider-Man (1967)
- John Stephenson - The New Fantastic Four
- Walker Edmiston - Spider-Man (1981)
- Michael Rye - Spider-Man And His Amazing Friends
- Earl Boen - X-Men: Pryde of the X-Men
- Maurice LaMarche - The Super Hero Squad
- Ron Halder - Iron Man: Armored Adventures
- Banjō Ginga / Neil Kaplan - Marvel Disk Wars: The Avengers
Among those performances there were also some actors who would become synonymous with the role. Let's take a look at them and figure out who's Magneto was the best of them all.