Art by John Romita Jr. Uncanny X-Men #304 Sep. 1993

Magneto
Real Name: Magnus
First Appearance: Uncanny X-Men #1 (1963)

The man who would become Magneto, the feared self-proclaimed mutant savior, experienced first hand the horrors that mankind can commit. A holocaust survivor, Magnus swore to fight against the persecution that he both lived through and witnessed. Discovering his mastery over magnetism he named himself Magneto. Over the years he has battled not only humans but also fellow mutants such as the X-Men, who oppose his extremist tactics.

Magneto first met Doom when he traveled to Latveria seeking to ally himself with the armored monarch in taking over the globe. It was to Magneto’s surprise that Doom revealed that he had already subjugated the world by releasing a neuro-gas that makes all who inhale it his unconscious servant. Doom further surprised Magneto by expressing a desire for challenge in spite of having the world in his pocket. Doom released Magneto from the effects of the gas and challenged him to wrest control of the world from him. With the aid of the Beast and the super-hero team the Champions, Magneto defeated Doom by forcing him to unwittingly inhale his own neuro-gas and thus leaving him in an endless cycle in which he awaits his own commands.

When next the two met it was on Battleworld, the planet in which the Beyonder gathered together various heroes and villains to battle one another in the Secret Wars. There Magneto and Doom both led their own factions against one another. Ultimately Magneto, and the X-Men under his command, joined the other heroes in defeating Doom who nearly beat them all by absorbing the Beyonder’s power. Shortly thereafter, a reformed Magneto now officially leading the X-Men accepted Doom’s aid in curing a terminally ill Shadowcat. He had asked Reed Richards first but was refused in view of the risk to Shadowcat’s life. Although Doom never admitted it, Reed’s reluctance to aid the X-Men was in fact the result of long-dormant ploy of his to plant seeds of doubt into Reed’s mind and undermine his confidence. Ultimately it took both Reed and Doom’s efforts to save the young Shadowcat. Shortly after these events Doom felt the need to confront Magneto about his turn away from mutant domination. He invited Magneto to his castle where the two relived one another’s defining moments. In Magneto’s case, it was the night his daughter was left to be burnt alive inside his home as bigots burned it to the ground. For Doom it was when the then ruling barony sent him and his father fleeing into a winter storm where his father died keeping him alive. Doom tested the validity of Magnetos’ reform by producing a Latverian mutant girl whom had observed everything. With that knowledge, Doom explained she could one day undo all of his work. Doom challenged Magneto if he could allow such a prospective enemy live. Doom was proven correct as Magneto murdered the girl in cold blood. When Magneto eventually returned to his old ways, he cooperated with Doom during the Acts of Vengeance scheme.

Art by Dennis Fujitake, Amazing Heroes #90 March 1986

Although not a direct confrontation, Doom later participated in the final assault on the being known as Onslaught, a giant synthesis of Professor X’s and Magneto’s sub consciousnesses. The resultant victory over Onslaught led to Doom being thrust into another universe to relive a slightly altered version of his life. Most recently Magneto’s daughter, the Scarlet Witch, suffered a nervous breakdown causing her reality-altering powers to grow out of control. As the X-Men and Avengers debated her fate, Magneto with his son, Quicksilver whisked her away. A short time later all of reality was caught in a massive flash of light. When the light receded, history had been drastically altered. Magneto managed to lead mutants to freedom and dominance and he became the ruler of most of the globe. As the founder and leader of the House of M, Magnus as he now preferred to be called, allowed some portions of the world to retain their independence. Among these portions was the nation of Latveria ruled by Doom. Doom unwilling to live in a mutant-dominated world, founded a super-human team he dubbed the Fearsome Four. Their secret goal was to topple the House of M by exiling Magneto to another dimension where he would be stranded forever. The plot failed because one of Doom’s four, the It, betrayed him and made possible Magnus’ escape from the dimension Doom had left him in. Instead of killing Doom, Magnus allowed Doom to live knowing fully that he had failed in his conspiracy and that it cost him the lives of his family. Since then, reality has been restored to normal and both men have yet to cross paths.

Doom Encounters:

Super-Villain Team-Up #14 / The Champions #16 Doom challenges Magneto wrest control of the world from him.
Secret Wars #1-12
Fantastic Four vs. X-men #1-4 Doom offers to save Shadowcat
X-Factor Annual #4 Doom tests Magneto’s reform, back-up story only.
X-men #56 - Saves Joseph (formally Magneto) from a Sentinel

Marvel Universe: Onslaught

Black Panther #28

Fantastic Four: House of M #1-3 Doom attempts to overthrow Magnus’ House of M.

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