Magneto & the Holocaust

Magneto Testament delves into the background and childhood of Erik Magnus Lehnsherr, a Jewish boy from Germany who survived the Holocaust and would one day become the villain Magneto. He is born Max Eisenhardt, though, which is the first unresolved mystery. Why wouldn't he keep that name or change his name to something less...Jewish? You would think to escape the Nazis, he'd change it to something that would be less identifying...but no; that wasn't the case and we, the readers, were never told why.

Although I found the story enjoyable and moving, I was a little disappointed in the mini-series as a whole. I think my expectations were higher for the book because of its (supposed) powerful storyline, the beautiful covers, and $3.99 per issue price tag. Unfortunately, if the cover didn't say "Magneto" on it, one would never know that the comic was about this X-Men villain rather than some other boy during the Holocaust. Besides the names being different (and, again, we weren't given an explanation about the name change), the story sped along so fast that it read just like a Holocaust timeline with not a lot of depth to the characters. We didn't have a chance to learn about the characters as much as I had hoped to, including Magneto and his family. It seemed that while a lot of time was put into researching the Holocaust to ensure the events were accurate, not a lot of time was spent researching and developing Magneto himself. There was no indication of the development of his powers either. There was perhaps a tiny clue when his entire family was riddled with bullets but he wasn't, but not enough attention was paid to it.

Magneto is a truly unique and tragic character in the Marvel Universe and it's disappointing that he wasn't given his full due in what could/should have been an epic tale of the Holocaust and the specific events that shaped this boy into the powerful and hate-filled villain Magneto. I'd have to give the idea of this series five stars (out of five), but the execution of the story only three stars, as it was merely average for the way-too-important subject matter.

Smegma Flight

As a kid/teen in the 1980s, I used to love to read Alpha Flight by John Byrne. Byrne had the most creative ideas and could take minor characters and turn them into the most interesting people with distinct personalities. He did so with the Uncanny X-Men, Fantastic Four, and then Alpha Flight. Guardian? Puck? Snowbird? Northstar? Aurora? Sasquatch? Marina? "Who are these characters?" you might have asked yourself back then. Suddenly, they're starring in their own comic book, though, and you oddly get to know (and love) each and every one of them. That's the work of a great writer.

What's the work of a bad writer? See the 2007 Alpha Flight revamp called Omega Flight. What I thought would be the bringing together of some great characters was basically the equivalent of Howard the Duck meets the Avengers. Captain America? Check. There's the copycat and pointless U.S. Agent. Spider-Man? Check. There's a Spider-Woman knock-off by the name of Arachne. Hulk? Check. There's Sasquatch...but not the one with any sort of personality that we once knew. Thor? Check. In the form of Beta Ray Bill, a bird-like version of the God of Thunder. Yes, I did say "bird-like." They're what would happen if Marvel lost the licensing rights to the Avengers and had to come up with "similar" characters. Did I mention Omega Flight isn't even frickin' Canadian anymore? Eh?

And what a pointless and dreadful storyline they have to go through after they band together. You almost feel sorry for these characters, but not enough to still want to see their demise (which, unfortunately, (SPOILER!) never occurs). Skip Smegma Flight and re-read Alpha Flight from the 1980s. Maybe someday Marvel will have the decency to treat Alpha Flight with some class again.