Magneto vs Xavier Gets Settled for Good, And Fans Were Wrong

WARNING: Spoilers for Inferno #3!

As the leader of Marvel Comics’ X-Men, Professor Xavier’s rivalry with his old friend/rival Magneto is the stuff of legend. With Charles’ staunch integrationist views of humans and mutants, and Magneto’s more radical leanings, their battle of wills is one of comics’ most notorious. And although recent developments have seemingly ended their feud for good, things are nowhere near as cut and dry as fans may initially think.

Now that they have joined forces in leading Krakoa, Inferno #3 by Jonathan Hickman, R.B. Silva, Stefano Caselli, and Valerio Schiti finally puts this duo’s beef to bed by clarifying who finally won out. With the X-Men’s more isolationist status quo, fans may initially believe that it was Erik who ultimately convinced Charles of his point of view. But the truth is quite the opposite – and as with all things X-Men – quite a bit more complicated.

With the newly resurrected Destiny throwing a wrench into the plans of Xavier, Magneto, and Moira MacTaggert, Charles and Erik find themselves on the precipice of disaster with everything they’ve worked for at risk of tumbling down. As Magneto contemplates the future within his House of M, he’s visited by Charles, to whom he confesses that he’s still occasionally haunted by the unavoidable human/mutant war. But when Xavier claims that he’ll never believe in that inevitability, Erik remarks that he’s no longer sure he believes Charles means that. Unfortunately, Charles’ idealism has still greatly impacted Erik despite his indecision, as Magneto laments his temporary weakness and tells his old friend, “You convinced me you were right.”

Professor Xavier and Magneto have been at odds since their debut, but Erik’s admission in this issue thrusts their relationship into a whole new light. Since the beginning of the X-Men’s Krakoan Age, fans have attributed Charles’ cold isolationist attitude to mean that Magneto finally won their decades-long debate over peace with humanity. Instead, it’s Charles himself who finally won out – even if he himself isn’t as certain of his ideals as he used to be.

This great debate has been the primary source of conflict between Xavier and Erik for years. While they’ve worked together on numerous occasions, it wasn’t until the advent of Krakoa that they became a truly united front. Even now, it’s Professor X and Magneto against the world, and while Charles may still be telling himself that he believes in peace, both his own behavior and the man who knows him best say otherwise. Despite his own uncertainties, clearly, Erik saw something in Charles’ dream, or else the notoriously stubborn Magneto would never relent in his ideals even for a moment.

Xavier may have won his famous debate with Magneto, but winning the argument and changing the world are two different things. While the leader of the X-Men claims to still believe in a peaceful coexistence, his behavior and best friend say otherwise. Either way, Marvel Comics will soon need a new feud to fill the void left by the X-Men‘s Professor X and Magneto.

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