4. Matthew Waterson
Appeared in: X-Men '97
Marvel Animation did something that fans have been longing to see for decades when they revived X-Men: The Animated Series in the form of new Disney Plus show X-Men '97. Set over a year after its predecessor, the sequel series' first season ran for 10 episodes, introducing new audiences to the critically-acclaimed world of Marvel's Mightiest Mutants. It also brought back the vast majority of the original voice cast (in either the same or new roles). However, actor David Hemblen, who voiced Magneto in the original series had sadly passed away in 2020, so Matthew Waterson was cast in the role.
Waterson had a tough task in following Hemblen's iconic performance but he pulled it off extremely well, delivering a performance that is both loyal to his predecessor and unique in its own right. You can hear the inspiration of Hemblen's Magneto in there, but Waterson adds a deeper, more restrained tone to it. And that works given the more mature nature of X-Men '97.
The villain-turned-X-Men-leader has his most important storyline in the sequel series, which gave Waterson a lot of meaty material to work with. Although the quietness in his voice comes off as an attempt to be restrained like Charles Xavier wanted him to be in those earlier episodes, it's soon revealed to be due to years of being worn down by humanity's treatment of mutants. And that comes into play throughout the show's "Magneto was right" storyline, in which Waterson is nothing short of phenomenal.
His performance was a worthy tribute to Hemblen and an incredibly powerful iteration of Magneto in its own right; one that we can't wait to see grow and evolve throughout the series.