Is Magneto a Telepath?

[JasonEsta]

Rogue easily could enter the minds of both, so that only telepaths, it is not true, and was Rogue with its power undeveloped, and with its developed power makes better mental scans than the mime telepaths.

And on the subject, no, Magneto is not a telepath.

What? Only when he let her in Legacy and Magneto Rex. Her power stealing had no effect at Illyana's funeral, much to her shock.

[Phoenixx9]

But, those feats did happen, and were never retconned. So they do, in fact, have those abilities. Just because a character doesn't do something for several years doesn't mean it disappears from continuity.

Yes, but I think in the Marvel Handbooks they were retconned as a onetime/rare occurrence feat. That was what I am basing it on.

[leokearon]

Yes, but I think in the Marvel Handbooks they were retconned as a onetime/rare occurrence feat. That was what I am basing it on.

Actually the Handbooks mention that Magneto has latent/limited telepathic powers as does the official Marvel site

Magneto has also exhibited powers of astral projection and telepathy, and has claimed to be able to control the minds of others, though his abilities along these lines appear to be minimal.

[JKtheMac]

Early on there was a real confusion in Marvel, where Telepaphy and Telekineses were often used interchangeably and seen as aspects of a general 'mind over matter' power. Thankfully writers started to differentiate these powers later on.

[jmc247]

I don't think any but the most powerful of telepaths could mess with either Max or Lorna's minds. This isn't canon and hasn't been shown in the comics, but logically, based on science, what are telepathic powers anyway, but the manipulation of the neurons and neurotransmitters of the brain, and our brains run on the constant firing and jumping of electrochemical signals. Magneto and Polaris should be able to control neurotransmitters and basic signals--causing sleep (attributed to Magneto "changing the flow of blood" in the brain in the comics, which would really only cause a stroke and death)--so it's more accurate to say IMO that Magneto and Polaris can actually do what any psychotropic drug can do; cause sleep, agitation, force truthfulness like sodium pentathol, also delusions and hallucinations. They can make people highly suggestible, like hypnotized. All this with their powers, not mental telepathy. But that's how I rationalize some of the more archaic portrayals of Magneto's powers.

Brainwaves are electromagnetic to quote Jean in TAS finale and yes so are brain signals. Its clear Magneto nor Lorna's current skill at manipulating electromagnetism doesn't go into intentional brain wave manipulation. As for the whole changing the blood flow to the brain that is as good an explanation as any for the making people talk concept we have seen practiced.

There also is something very particular in their depictions going back a long time now in that yes the helmet is a heavy layer of protects against psychic intrusion, but even without it when powered up massively or close to it took both Jean and Xavier powers combined to screw in Magneto's mind sans helmet and still they couldn't just take over and had to play games with personal insecurities and other things to slowly worm their way in allowing Wolverine to get close enough to cause major damage with his claws.

Xavier on his own was able to send a telepathic burst that fried his mind for awhile, but short of a massive burst of energy that could cause brain death or something close to it his hands were tied.



Emma however when he was just standing around not powered up or prepared was able to puppet him in IvX so its not a natural barrier that is always there. In terms of Lorna its not much different when powered up and proving a point to Xavier short of a psychic burst to destroy her mind which she put on the table he couldn't just shut her down her mind, take her over or put her to sleep.



Either way there are times their minds are very 'hard targets' to penetrate. Like when they are powered up to the hilt and times where its like a flick of the mental switch for a telepath not at Xavier and Jean's combined level when nothing in particular is going on. Its happened enough times that its a commonality with a question mark on it.

[Triniking1234]

It's possible that Stan Lee was trying to express that Magneto's power was a mental ability (rather than physical-energy) and this could give him access to other mental-based powers.

[Sam Robards, Comic Fan]

While Onslaught's design was insanely '90s, damn is it cool looking.

On topic, I think it's safe to say that Magneto doesn't have mental powers anymore. They may not have been formally removed per a retcon, but, functionally, they're gone.

It is weird that Morrison didn't try to bring them back, especially considering how often he likes to bring back some of the stranger elements from series he writes.

[Tazpocalapse]

This is just a thought. Magneto has abilities that are psoinic but manifest in the physical world ( psoinic manipulation of the earth magnetosphere etc) Now magneto is also highly intelligent and has had alot of interaction with Prof X and may have some of his psoinic training. So i don't think that it is out of the realm of possibility that Magneto in the past could have used a combination of his skills to be able to accomplish such feats. However that was a different Magneto. I believe this all could have been reversed when Moira Mactaggert de aged him. It maybe something that comes up later.

[Rivka]

This is just a thought. Magneto has abilities that are psoinic but manifest in the physical world ( psoinic manipulation of the earth magnetosphere etc) Now magneto is also highly intelligent and has had alot of interaction with Prof X and may have some of his psoinic training. So i don't think that it is out of the realm of possibility that Magneto in the past could have used a combination of his skills to be able to accomplish such feats. However that was a different Magneto. I believe this all could have been reversed when Moira Mactaggert de aged him. It maybe something that comes up later.

You bring up a good point. We used to have long discussions about this (regarding the X-Men) years ago. Aren't most mutant powers psionic to some degree? Like Storm, how does she create heat, cold, change the state of matter, affect electrical conductivity, create lightning? She wills things to happen on the atomic level. Heat and cold is loss or build up of energy. Thermal radiation is caused by atomic reactions. It's said that if Storm is sad or in a bad mood, she can cause a severe thunderstorm around her. How is that possible unless she's manipulating matter and energy with her mind? Iceman is the same. Maybe all the elemental mutants and Inhumans are psionic to some degree. Energy channellers are different perhaps? Like Cyclops and Havok--they manipulate energy that flows through their bodies. Are Magneto and Polaris elementals or energy channellers? The thing about electromagnetism is that its one of the four fundamental forces of the universe, one of the building blocks of reality itself. The spectrum includes x-rays, gamma rays, cosmic rays, radiation of most kinds including infrared, some say even light itself. Magnetic fields are tied to electrical currents.

I will say though, it would take ENORMOUS concentration for Magnus or Lorna to affect the circuits of someone's brain, or affect something on the atomic level to create change not just destruction. Remember when Magneto created a comb out of iron in the original "Secret Wars" for his one-night-stand Janet van Dyne--he's shown concentrating hard to make it happen. He's not just making things move. He's rearranging the iron on the molecular level, making it flow as if it were heated in a forge.

And as to the blood in the brain thing--what I learned in nursing school and working on a neurology floor, and it's scary--changes in blood flow, even slight increases of intracranial blood pressure can pop vessels and cause brain damage, or a stroke. It can't cause any change in behavior to move blood around in someone's body, just tortures them, leaves them a mental vegetable, or kills them. I don't think Magneto really knew *how* he was affecting someone's behavior when he was in his crazy days, but I think it is way more logical that he was messing with the electrochemistry of their brains rather than moving their blood around (which is very hard to do as we saw in that science of superheroes video).

[Michael Watkins]

I think that he lost his telepathy after narrowly surviving a confrontation with the Shadow King.

[Geek Mangacomic]

That was retcon, obviously they were still defining the character, and it can be explained that it was artificially improved in some way, that it was temporary, not the first time that Magneto uses something to increase or modify his abilities.

What if in canon, because in the last 4 decades like this has been demonstrated, he is not a telepath, nor have the potential to become one.

My headcanon is that his original helmet had telepathic capabilities.

[jmc247]

telepathy is just signals sent out by the brain. Which means its a form of external energy. Most forms wave energy such as this can be manipulated or effected by magnetism... controlled to the point of telepathic ability? Well in X-Men: The End he and Polaris were able to create a freakin' wormhole with their powers and thats an extreme application stretch of their abilities. I guess it's possible for him to figure out a way to boost his brain power output (assuming it was there to begin with) to enable telepathic communication.

Such things would certainly become possible as one is moving closer to complete control and understanding of electromagnetism and its interaction with all energy and matter. 60s Magneto was so far from that though as to be the skill difference between a high school JV wrestler and NCAA D1 champion.

[cheswick]

Yes, but I think in the Marvel Handbooks they were retconned as a onetime/rare occurrence feat. That was what I am basing it on.

But, despite being labeled "Official", handbooks aren't canon. They don't supercede anything that actually happens in the comics and are unreliable due to being filled with mistakes, misinterpretations, and contradictions.