# Comic Magneto:  How does he fly and get that force field?



## krunchyfrogg

What do those abilities have to do with magnetism?


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## Wolf72

he can affect the way the earth's magnetic field affects him ... kinda like anti-gravity stuff (repulsor lift ala starwars)


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## The Serge

Magneto controls and manipulates electro-magnetic energy, allowing him to disrupt forms of energy along that spectrum.

Also, in the same way he can "pull" himself and lift by drawing on the metal around him, he can do the same thing to human beings and objects, effectively repelling them away from him.

He's pretty nasty.


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## nHammer

Magneto is WAY more powerful than some people realize. He's one of my facorite comic villians.


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## Aeolius

If I remember right, it was mentioned in X-men 20 years ago, or so, that Magneto's cape was laced with metal, thus allowing him to manipulate it (fly).


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## Psychotic Dreamer

If I remember Magneto has a lot of other energy manipulation powers other than Magnetism.  Not that that explains how he flies, but I seem to remember it.  I also think at one point he had some minor telepathy or mental powers of some sort.  That was many moons ago and I think he lost that when he died and was reborn as a baby.


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## Tarrasque Wrangler

Hmm.  Power of suspended disbelief?


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## Wolv0rine

If I had to venture a guess, based on logic grafted to knowledge og how Magneto's powers work, I would say that it's primarilly his magnetic powers affecting the traces of base magnetic minerals in the body, thus he pretty much just lifts himself.

And yes, Magneto does have very minor telepathic abilities, not on a level with a true Psi or anything, mostly an offshoot of learning how to focus his mind (learned from Xavier, I think) combined with his indomibable willpower (which allows him to mess with true Psi's who attempt to play with his mind, unless they are really powerful like Xavier or Jean, I don't think - for example - that Rogue has ever successfully drained his powers.  Which is silly, because I doubt Magneto's indomidable willpower is greater than Logan's, who she has leeched multiple times over the years.)

But yes, he controls more than just magnetism, but all forms of electro-magnetic energy waves to one degree or another.


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## blackshirt5

I think the best application of his powers has been:
SPOILER WARNING:














His "Iron Bullet" trick in X2.


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## UnDfind

That was a good trick, though he could have stopped the flow of iron to anyone's brain that went in there, making them comatose (did that all the time in the comics).

Magneto can affect the Earth's magnetic field (as Wolf72 suggested), as well as anything that can be affected by magnetism.  He can fly by affecting the polarity and intensity of the magnetic fields around him, and he can create a forcefield effect the same way.

He's pretty much the most powerful mutant alive when it comes to physical effects (mental goes to Xavier).  He once destroyed an entire city on the other side of the planet by using his powers to cause a mountain to errupt, filling the whole place with lava.  If he really wanted to, he could actually move the Earth a few degrees off its axis spelling death for all mankind.  He doesn't because it would also destroy mutantkind.

He's one of those generally underrated villains.  He keeps his powers in check because he wants mutantkind to live.  It's always been figured that there would be no real way to stop him if he stopped caring and went ballistic.

Now you can see why a laughed when they stuck him in that little plastic cage.  He could have moved the whole building he was in.


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## Kesh

All of Magneto's abilitys are derived from his control & perception of magnetic fields.

During the "Age of Apocalypse" storyline, an alternate Magneto learned how to break the electro-magnetic bonds between molecules, using that to rip a person in half.

He has minor telepathic abilities by sensing the changes in the brain's electrical activity, and he can potentially alter those patterns to suit him.

Flying is done by creating his own electromagnetic field and interacting with the Earth's natural field + other fields around him. Same with telekinesis.


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## Staffan

UnDfind said:
			
		

> *Now you can see why a laughed when they stuck him in that little plastic cage.  He could have moved the whole building he was in. *



Well, it's not established that Movie-Magneto is quite as powerful as Comic-Magneto. The other characters aren't quite the same - I don't think we saw Cyclops bounce his beams off things, for example.


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## Ferret

blackshirt5 said:
			
		

> *I think the best application of his powers has been:
> SPOILER WARNING:
> 
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> His "Iron Bullet" trick in X2. *



May I correct you?
SPOILER WARNING:














Pull the pin!


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## UnDfind

> _Originally posted by Staffan:_
> 
> Well, it's not established that Movie-Magneto is quite as powerful as Comic-Magneto. The other characters aren't quite the same - I don't think we saw Cyclops bounce his beams off things, for example.




I know, and Nightcrawlers teleports no longer smell bad or knock people out.

But its still funny to me


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## Tom Cashel

UnDfind said:
			
		

> *
> He's pretty much the most powerful mutant alive when it comes to physical effects (mental goes to Xavier).*




Once she reaches her full potential (which seems to be where this franchise is headed, and I can't wait) Jean Grey blows the doors off both of them.

Far as I can recall, the Shi'ar Empire never puts Charles or Erik on trial...


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## UnDfind

> _Originally posted by Tom Cashel:_
> 
> Once she reaches her full potential (which seems to be where this franchise is headed, and I can't wait) Jean Grey blows the doors off both of them.




Awww...you can't count Pheonix.  Her power comes from the universal-level entity called the pheonix force.  It has nothing to do with her mutant power.  She's more powerful than Magneto and Xavier, but it's not because of her mutant abilities.


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## Staffan

Tom Cashel said:
			
		

> *Once she reaches her full potential (which seems to be where this franchise is headed, and I can't wait) Jean Grey blows the doors off both of them.*



Technically, that's not Jean Grey. It's just an alien that looks like her.


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## UnDfind

> _Originally posted by Staffan:_
> 
> Technically, that's not Jean Grey. It's just an alien that looks like her.




OOF!  The X-Factor switcharoo!  The whole bringing back Jean Grey thing managed to sour the whole Dark Pheonix saga for me.  They defeated the purpose of a damn good story just so they could have the 'original' team back together and get more readers.

But X-Factor also spawned Apocalypse and Cameron Hodge, so it's all good


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## Wayside

Staffan said:
			
		

> *
> Technically, that's not Jean Grey. It's just an alien that looks like her. *




Maybe.  But the movies have a habit of changing things, so I wouldn't be surprised if in X3 it was Jean after all.  I sincerely hope they leave aliens out of it, at the least.  Leaving the phoenix as a cosmic force would be fine, but please, no galactic empires.  These movies can only hold so much before they start imploding .


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## Tonguez

Can anyone confirm or deny the assertion that I heard once that Magneto is actually a powerful Telepath  but that his X-Gene shortcircuited during his years in the Nazi deathcamps (he's parents were Polish Jews iirc) and instead of being a telepath he somehow became the Master of Magnetism


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## Psychotic Dreamer

I've never heard anything about that.  If I recall correctly in the comics he wasn't Jewish, but was a Gypsy.  As always I could be wrong.


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## Enforcer

Psychotic Dreamer said:
			
		

> *I've never heard anything about that.  If I recall correctly in the comics he wasn't Jewish, but was a Gypsy.  As always I could be wrong. *




In the comics, his family was gypsies, in the movies they were Jewish. They made the switch because most people don't know that gypsies were among the people put into the concentration camps by the Nazis (along with homosexuals, the physically and mentally disabled, political dissidents, and anyone else that Hitler or his lackeys decided they didn't like). Jews are the group that most people associate with the Holocaust, which makes sense of course, most of those killed by the Nazis were Jews. Still, give credit to Stan Lee for knowing a little more history than the average guy.


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## Alzrius

Pretty much all of Magneto's powers are somehow based off his magnetic abilities. This thread is a good example of how he can use them to do almost anything by "thinking outside the box" with them. Electromagnetism is, after all, one of the four fundamental forces of the universe (the other three being gravity, the strong nuclear forces, and the weak nuclear forces).

I think that _The Science of the X-Men_ has an entry for Magneto that explains all of this much better.


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## JacktheRabbit

Mageneto is also one of the most limited of super villians in a manner of speaking.

His powers are linked to the Earths Magnetic Field. His body chemistry perfectly matches the Earths Magnetic field which allows him to manipulate it. So if he is not on Earth he doesnt have all his nifty powers. (At least this is according to a comic I have which talks about a government agency designing the perfect assasin to kill Magneto.)

So the Shiar really wouldnt have much reason to go after him since he cannot do nearly as much off of Earth.


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## Viking Bastard

Which is something Earth X dealt with a bit. The whole population 
of Earth has mutated, but the magnetic thing-or-another of Earth 
has shifted making Magneto powerless.

He got his dream, mutants rule the planet, but is now nothing 
more than Toad's plaything.


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## Henry

Interesting note: The movie version of Magneto doesn't manipulate magnetism, he manipulates metal - metal of all kinds, not just iron. 

Correct me if I am wrong, but not all metals (for example, mercury, tin, sodium, adamantium) are affected by magnetism, are they? (In other words, no more so than plastics would be.) In this case, magneto is weaker, but stronger in some ways.

Also, movie magneto obviously either has a range to his powers, or he must need to be able to SEE the metal he's moving - I'm guessing it's a range of effect.


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## Ristamar

I pulled this information straight from the Marvel Directory:

*MAGNETO*
Height: 6 ft. 2 in.
Weight: 190 lbs.
Eyes: Blue-gray
Hair: White
Other Distinguishing Features: Magneto has been literally rejuvenated by Alpha the Ultimate Mutant, so that despite his much greater chronological age, he appears still to be a relatively young man.

Strength Level: Magneto can use his magnetic powers to increase his physical strength up through Class 100 (the ability to lift over 100 tons).

Known Superhuman Powers: Magneto is a mutant with the superhuman power to control magnetism. He can shape and manipulate magnetic fields that exist naturally or artificially. It is unclear, however, whether he must draw magnetic force from outside himself (if so, then he can do so over vast distances), or whether he can also generate magnetic force from within himself. Nor is it clear whether Magneto's power is psionic or purely physiological in nature.

Although Magneto's power is not on the level of the Silver Surfer in his prime, it is for all practical purposes limitless. Even before his rejuvenation, Magneto once lifted a cargo freighter weighing 30,000 tons 50 feet into the air from a distance of 300 feet away. Moreover, Magneto can use his magnetic powers in more than one way simultaneously. He can completely assemble a complicated machine within seconds through his powers. He can erect magnetic force fields with a high degree of impenetrability around himself for protection. Although Magneto often gestures when using his magnetic powers, he can utilize them fully even when standing totally still merely by concentrating.

Although Magneto's primary power is magnetism, he seems to have some ability to project or manipulate any form of energy that is related to magnetism. In the past he has fired a bolt of electricity, he has also created enough intense heat to destroy a metal door. Heat, or infrared radiation, is part of the electromagnetic spectrum, which also includes visible light, radio waves, ultraviolet light, gamma-rays, and x-rays. Magneto may be able to project any of these. He has also been shown creating an anti-gravity field, and presumably does so whenever he levitates a non-magnetic object. Hence, Magneto may be living proof of the longsought Unified Field Theory that all forms of energy are related. However, Magneto almost always uses only magnetism, so perhaps it is more difficult for him to manipulate other forms of energy.

In previous years Magneto has apparently exhibited powers of astral projection and telepathy, and has claimed to be able to control the minds of others. His abilities along these lines are minimal, however-enough, perhaps, to protect himself against mightier telepaths, but not of great use otherwise.

Magneto's ability to wield his superhuman powers effectively is dependent upon his physical condition. When severely injured, his body is unable to withstand the strain of manipulating groat amounts of magnetic forces.

Abilities: Magneto is an expert on genetic manipulation and engineering, with knowledge far beyond that of contemporary science. He may be a genius in these fields. He can mutate humans in order to give them superhuman powers, or create adult clones of human beings and then manipulate the genetic structure of these clones during their development (see Savage Land Mutates). From Maelstrom's records and equipment he has learned how to create artificial living beings.

Magneto has mastered many technological fields as well: for example, he has designed magnetically-powered skycraft and spacecraft, complex robots and computers, and magnetically-powered generators.

Magneto has only a rudimentary knowledge of hand-to-hand combat. 



On a more personal note, my favorite 'Magento moment' would be a toss-up from the Fatal Attractions series.  The first is when the world's governments initiate the Magneto Protocols (a satellite based device which nullifies Magneto's powers while he is on earth).  In response, Magneto goes to the edge of the barrier and sends a mammoth pulse of electromagnetic energy across the entire planet, effectively knocking out every electrical device in the world, as well as causing countless 'natural' disasters (earthquakes, tidal waves, etc.).

The other would be from the same comic, when he ripped out Wolverine's adamantium skeleton through his own pores.  Ouch.  I had always wondered why he never tried that before...


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## Hand of Evil

*OT but*

Not really off topic but can give some info...

http://math.ucr.edu/home/baez/physics/General/Levitation/levitation.html


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## WayneLigon

Henry said:
			
		

> *Interesting note: The movie version of Magneto doesn't manipulate magnetism, he manipulates metal - metal of all kinds, not just iron.  *




Where do you get that? Their official movie site says he manipulates magnetism.


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## Wolf72

I know this is old, but how did the sentinels beat magneto?


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## Wolv0rine

Ristamar said:
			
		

> *The other would be from the same comic, when he ripped out Wolverine's adamantium skeleton through his own pores.  Ouch.  I had always wondered why he never tried that before... *




He had never tried that before because (and I don't recall where, but it had been stated here and there over the years) Magneto's power was not supposed to be sufficient to affect Adamantium (you need a "Molecular Rearranger" or somsuch).  Thus, I still think that was pure BS.

Although, in a Champions group I used to play in, the GM did have a killer attack for Magneto in hand...  he had Magneto rip all the base magnetic minerals out of a person's body through their skin.  There just wasn't much left after that, usually.


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## Ristamar

Wolv0rine said:
			
		

> *
> 
> He had never tried that before because (and I don't recall where, but it had been stated here and there over the years) Magneto's power was not supposed to be sufficient to affect Adamantium (you need a "Molecular Rearranger" or somsuch).  Thus, I still think that was pure BS.*




I think it may have had something to do with his empowerment after his near-death experience when the X-men defeated him years ago on Asteroid M.  In Uncanny X-men #304, he explains that his "near discorporation within the Earth’s EM field" left him more powerful than he ever imagined.  He even shrugged off Rogue's touch as if it were nothing.  His  ultra-heightened powers must've opened up a new realm of possibilities, allowing him to do tasks previously out of reach, such as altering the molecular structure of adamantium.


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## Henry

WayneLigon said:
			
		

> *Where do you get that? Their official movie site says he manipulates magnetism. *




Mainly because the entire prison was made of plastic, and there wasn't a single thing made of any sort of metal apparent in the prison. It might not have been apparent, but they made a big show of referring to "metal" when talking about limiting his powers, though "metal" could have meant only ferromagnetic ones.




>>>>>>>>>SPOILER<<<<<<<
>>>>>>>>>>>><<<<<<<<<<

One question: what was it that Mystique injected into the guard in the movie? Was that molten iron? mercury? It acted like mercury in the syringe, but it acted iron when Magneto started using it for his escape.

>>>>>>>>>>><<<<<<<<<<<
>>>>>>>>>>><<<<<<<<<<<


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## WayneLigon

Highlight for spoilers


I assume it was some kind of very iron-rich solution. It did, briefly, set off the scanner but it was probably assumed to be some anomoly. I'd assume they wouldn't let anyone near the place who had pins in their hips, etc, but just finding that in his bloodstream it probably couldn't process that information. Pretty darn clever.


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## Wolv0rine

Ristamar said:
			
		

> *
> 
> I think it may have had something to do with his empowerment after his near-death experience when the X-men defeated him years ago on Asteroid M.  In Uncanny X-men #304, he explains that his "near discorporation within the Earth’s EM field" left him more powerful than he ever imagined.  He even shrugged off Rogue's touch as if it were nothing.  His  ultra-heightened powers must've opened up a new realm of possibilities, allowing him to do tasks previously out of reach, such as altering the molecular structure of adamantium. *




That could be.  Magneto seems to be much akin to Ultron, really, or a Sentenel - every time he gets completely beaten (as oppsed to just stoped or foiled), he seems to come back stronger, with a big ole' power boost. 

Then again that crap about mutants minds being unwashable because every time they use their mutant powers their brainwaves revert back to baseline (during the whole Asteroid M thing as well) was the biggest piece of drivel.


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## Phoenix8008

Wolf72 said:
			
		

> *I know this is old, but how did the sentinels beat magneto? *




Easy. They started making themselves out of super-dense plastics and non-magnetic metals. They do learn and adapt to better defeat their enemies ya know. 

SENTINALS! THAT is what I want to see in the next X-men movie!


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## Welverin

WayneLigon said:
			
		

> *Highlight for spoilers*




What he said. If you see it again listen to what Magneto says after the gaurd enters and just before he gets messed up.


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## jonesy

> SENTINALS! THAT is what I want to see in the next X-men movie!




Sentinels in X-3. That would be too cool.


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## UnDfind

Wolv0rine said:
			
		

> *
> 
> That could be.  Magneto seems to be much akin to Ultron, really, or a Sentenel - every time he gets completely beaten (as oppsed to just stoped or foiled), he seems to come back stronger, with a big ole' power boost.
> 
> Then again that crap about mutants minds being unwashable because every time they use their mutant powers their brainwaves revert back to baseline (during the whole Asteroid M thing as well) was the biggest piece of drivel. *




All the mutants come back stronger when they get the pooh beat out of them.  It's one of the Marvel mutant things.  The explanation is that the trauma and pain forces their mutation to actually increase in its evolution.  They explained it a couple of times...have to look for the issues.


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## NewbyDM

UnDfind said:
			
		

> He's pretty much the most powerful mutant alive when it comes to physical effects (mental goes to Xavier).  [/B]




What about protheus...

p.s. the magneto thing is explained already i guess.


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## Tsyr

WayneLigon said:
			
		

> *
> 
> Where do you get that? Their official movie site says he manipulates magnetism. *




Movie one, about 1/2 of the way through it. The police scene. Magneto levitates their guns (Fine, most guns are steel), then causes one to fire. Still fine. Then he catches the bullet. Not fine. Bullets are cast from lead, which while a metal, is not affected by magnetic fields.


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## Viking Bastard

He has stopped bullets in the comics too.


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## Zub

Sorry Guys, but Molecule Man is the most powerful Mutant alive.  In fact, he is the most powerful being in the universe.  For some time, he believed he could affect only inorganic matter, but found out that it was simply a mental block.  Once the block was removed, I think all the higher beings in the multi-verse were afraid of him.  I think this was explored in a What-If comic at some point.  I also seem to recall him being pretty powerful in the first beyonder series.  Details are really hazy about this though.

Zub

Edit:  Ok - I stand corrected on that issue.  But it would be a simple matter for him to rearannge his body to turn himself into a mutant.


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## Umbran

Sorry Zub, but while the Molecule Man may be in the running as the most powerful mortal the Marvel Universe has ever seen, he isn't a "mutant" in the sense that Marvel Comics use the word.  He got his powers in an accident with a particle accelerator. 

About magnetism - Contrary to popular belief, magnetic fields can affect more than ferromagnetic metals (iron, nickel, and cobalt).  Those metals are the only ones to have a naturally occuring permanent magntic moment (meaning that the atoms act as small, permanent magnets).  However, just about any material can have an induced magnetic moment if it's exposed to a strong enough field.  Once the moment is induced, the object may be manipulated.

I wil see if I can dig up a link to the videos of magnetically levitated spiders.


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## Staffan

Don't they make quite a lot of bullets out of non-lead metal these days, on account of lead being bad for the environment?


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## JacktheRabbit

Anything can be affected by a magnetic field if you make the field strong enough.

Otherwise all that research to create a fusion reaction contained within a magnetic "bottle" would be pretty pointless.


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## Umbran

DocMoriartty said:
			
		

> *Otherwise all that research to create a fusion reaction contained within a magnetic "bottle" would be pretty pointless. *




The stuff "magnetic bottles" are intended to hold are plasmas - charged particles.  Moving charged particles create/interact with magnetic fields, and changing magnetic fields cause charged particles to move.  This is nothing new - it's the principle behind alternating current - and doesn't require particularly strong fields.


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## Henry

DocMoriartty said:
			
		

> *Anything can be affected by a magnetic field if you make the field strong enough.
> 
> Otherwise all that research to create a fusion reaction contained within a magnetic "bottle" would be pretty pointless. *




However, you have underscored my concern with "movie magneto's" powers - by that thought, anything, even plastics, could be affected, making his prison useless. However, they made great pains to be sure no metal got near him. So this begs the question: the blurb on the movie website notwithstanding, can the movie magneto affect all metals, or only ferromagnetic ones? 

Or should we not push the comparison too closely?


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## Umbran

Henry said:
			
		

> *Or should we not push the comparison too closely? *




Don't push the comparison too closely.  Accuracy (either in terms fo real science, or in terms of following canon) gets thrown out the window when faced with making an interesting story.  Doubly so when the canon is not in and of itself consistent.


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## mooby

Henry said:
			
		

> *
> Correct me if I am wrong, but not all metals (for example, mercury, tin, sodium, adamantium) are affected by magnetism, are they? (In other words, no more so than plastics would be.) In this case, magneto is weaker, but stronger in some ways.
> *




Some metals are non-magentic.  Most are.


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## Destil

Henry said:
			
		

> *
> 
> However, you have underscored my concern with "movie magneto's" powers - by that thought, anything, even plastics, could be affected, making his prison useless. However, they made great pains to be sure no metal got near him. So this begs the question: the blurb on the movie website notwithstanding, can the movie magneto affect all metals, or only ferromagnetic ones?
> 
> Or should we not push the comparison too closely? *



I'm guessint that there are a few metals movie magneto simply can't affect. Note all the buttons on the various guards, for instance. Most of the prison might be build plastics, including computers using fiber-optic circuts (this is also how you'd want to get light into the room). Also note that during the escape the platform is labled "100 foot drop". Clearly, however, his powers extend beyond this range, how else could he fix the blackbird at several thousand feet altutude... also their metal scanner was right next to him, as far as the range of his powers goes. I'd think that would be a little late...


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## drnuncheon

Tsyr said:
			
		

> *Then he catches the bullet. Not fine. Bullets are cast from lead, which while a metal, is not affected by magnetic fields. *




Might have been a steel-jacketed round. 

J


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## Agamon

I hope we're not trying to explain four-color super-hero powers using real world physics.  That is pointless.  Someone bitten by a radioactive/genetically-mutated spider is will not gain inhuman dexterity and be able to stick to walls.  Someone infected with radiation is not going to turn into a green giant.

Using any means to fly, other than a jet pack that some how doesn't burn the lower half of your body, can't work.  The body of anyone growing to 40' tall would colapse in on itself due to the enormous weight.

As you can see in the above listing for Magneto from Marvel, it explains what he can do, but not why other than "it's his mutant power."  That's why you find X-Men on the comic book rack and not in the non-fiction section.  Suspension of disbelief I beleive someone has already mentioned.


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## Squire James

Since Magneto has been worked over by as many writers as did the X-men themselves, his power level (while always high) varies a bit from time to time.  In some issues, he's capable of a Beyonder-esque standoff against basically everyone.  In other issues, Colossus in metal form (normally one of Magneto's favorite bludgeoning weapons) actually gets close enough to him to land a punch!

It appears that surprise is becoming the biggest single factor in deciding super battles these days (sort of like high-level D&D).


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## buzzard

mooby said:
			
		

> *
> 
> Some metals are non-magentic.  Most are. *




Depending on how you look at it this can be seen to be both true and false. 

Most metals, in the sense of metallic elements from the periodic table, are not ferromagnetic. Thus, as a proportion of total metals, magnetism is not common. 

However, iron is the most commonly encountered metal that people experience. It is, of course, ferro magnetic (hence the term). There are only three ferro-magnetic metals- iron, cobalt and nickel. 

Other metals can get affected by a magnetic field, but only by inducing currents within them which cause a field that can be worked with. For example, in the continuous casting of aluminum, the liquid metal is contained using magnetic fields even though aluminum isn't magnetic. 

As for bullets being made of something other than lead, well not commonly. The military is looking at steel alloys since it's ranges are starting to become a cleanup issue. Also shotgun shells for hunting have been switching to steel, bismuth, and steel/ tungsten alloys. Also some cheap imported ammo used to be made of mild steel, but a law that prohibits armor piercing ammo stop importation (in spite of the metal not having an effect on penetration in this case- it was rifle ammo, and at those velocities plastic will go through a vest). 

buzzard


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