The MCU's 2028 X-Men Reboot Will Use A Different Name For Magneto

Published Sep 12, 2026, 6:30 PM EDT Robert Wood is a writer and editor based out of Cheshire, England. He is the author of 'The False Elephant: and 99 Other Unreasonably Short Stories' - 100 stories, each told in exactly 100 words. Rob got into comics via Bendis' Ultimate Spider-Man and the UK anthology 'The Mighty World of Marvel,' which was running Frank Miller's Daredevil, Classic Hulk and Contest of Champions II. Prior to journalism, he worked in copywriting and copyedited for Oxford University Press. He is on X as @PinchTwigs and Instagram as roobwoodjourno. Sign in to your ScreenRant account With the confirmation of a dedicated X-Men movie coming in May 2028, fans are excited for the new reimagining of Marvel's mutants. However, there's likely to be a significant change to Magneto, the iconic Master of Magnetism. Introduced in 1963 as a classic maniacal supervillain, Magneto was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, but vitally reshaped by iconic X-Men scribe Chris Claremont. Claremont turned Magneto into a complex antihero, grounding his hatred of humanity in his childhood experiences in Auschwitz. According to current rumors, Magneto's ties to the Holocaust may not make it into the X-Men movie, however the modern name-change associated with his backstory almost definitely will. Here's why... Magneto Stopped Being Erik Lehnsherr In 2008 While Lee and Kirby only ever referred to Magneto by his codename in the original X-Men comics, the character gained a variety of names under future creators. Claremont and John Byrne gave him the name 'Magnus' in their Uncanny X-Men stories, and Fabian Nicieza and Jan Duursema later expanded this to 'Erik Magnus Lehnsherr,' which became the character's canon name. 'Erik Lehnsherr' was used in Fox's X-Men movies, where Magneto was played by Ian McKellen and Michael Fassbender. Credit: MovieStillsDB Meanwhile, Marvel solidified Magneto's background as a Holocaust survivor, depicting him varyingly as Sinti Romani and an Ashkenazi Jew. The latter eventually won out as canon, but created a problem, since an Ashekenazi Jew wouldn't have the birth names 'Erik' (which deviates from traditional Hebrew or Yiddish names) or 'Lehnsherr' (which implies prior familial land ownership, which Jews were barred from in the area and time.) 2008's X-Men: Magneto - Testament from Grek Pak and Carmine Di Giandomenico resolved the inconsistency, revealing that 'Erik Magnus Lehnsherr' was a name Magneto used to avoid the authorities after escaping Auschwitz, and that 'Max Eisenhardt' was his birth name. How Marvel Handled Magneto's Max Eisenhardt Identity Following X-Men: Magneto - Testament, Marvel slowly began to transition to calling Magneto 'Max.' 2022's X-Men: Red by Al Ewing and Stefano Caselli saw Magneto actively reclaim the name, as he began a new life in a mutant society based on Mars (aka Arakko.) X-Men: Red explored the symbolic meaning of Magneto reclaiming his birth name, with Storm supporting the change and Magneto's old friend Xavier struggling to do so, troubled by this previously unknown element of his oldest friend's identity. Following Magneto's death and rebirth in 2024's Resurrection of Magneto (Ewing and Luciano Vecchio), he fully embraced the name Max Eisenhardt, which was symbolically linked with Magneto rejecting his former belief in mutant supremacy, now vowing to fight for all oppressed people. In this sense, 'Erik Lehnsherr' has come to symbolize the traumatized villain Magneto became following his experiences in the Holocaust, and 'Max Eisenhardt' his more heroic (but still lethal) identity having reconnected with and reconciled his early experiences and murderous past. Despite this, subsequent comics haven't placed particular emphasis on his racial or religious identity beyond calling Magneto 'max', though he has been busy dealing with a debilitating disease since his return to life. Even With An Origin Change, The MCU Calling Magneto 'Erik' Is Unlikely While a lot of fans know Magneto as 'Erik Lehnsherr,' it's unlikely that Marvel's upcoming X-Men reboot will use the name. Current rumors suggest the MCU will give Magneto a new backstory, not including his experiences in the Holocaust simply due to the timeline issue, which would render him at least an octogenarian in the modern day. However, even in that context, calling him 'Erik Lehnsherr' is unlikely. Marvel Comics has fully embraced 'Max Eisenhardt' partly in answer to the insensitivity of giving a Jewish character - one tied to a real-world genocide - an incongruous name, and it's highly unlikely the MCU wants the bad publicity of using an identity that hasn't really been current since 2008. Will The MCU Call Magneto 'Max' Or Something Else? 'Max Eisenhardt' is a likely option for the MCU's version of Magneto, given the name has a meaning analogous to 'as hard as iron' - essentially perfect for the Master of Magnetism. However, other options exist. Recent episodes of X-Men '97 branded 'Lehnsherr' a pseudonym and used 'Magnus,' which is significantly less inconsistent with Magneto's heritage (though still unlikely in a historical context.) Ultimately, Marvel changed Magneto's civilian name for a good reason, and as the MCU reinvents the villain for its reborn X-Men franchise, it's unlikely to court controversy by using the name 'Erik Lehnsherr,' despite the fact that many fans still think of this as Magneto's one and only name. Movie(s) X-Men (2000), X2, X-Men: The Last Stand (2006), X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009), X-Men: First Class (2011), The Wolverine (2013), X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014), Deadpool (2016), X-Men: Apocalypse (2016), Logan (2017), Deadpool 2 (2018), Dark Phoenix (2019), The New Mutants, Deadpool & Wolverine (2024) TV Show(s) X-Men: Pryde of the X-Men, X-Men (1992), X-Men: Evolution (2000), Wolverine and the X-Men (2008), Marvel Anime: Wolverine, Marvel Anime: X-Men, Legion (2017), The Gifted (2017), X-Men '97 (2024) Video Game(s) X-Men: Children of the Atom (1994), Marvel Super Heroes (1995), X-Men vs. Street Fighter (1996), Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter (1997), Marvel vs. Capcom (1998), X-Men: Mutant Academy (2000), Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes (2000), X-Men: Mutant Academy 2 (2001), X-Men: Next Dimension (2002), Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds (2011), Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 (2011), X-Men Legends (2005), X-Men Legends 2: Rise of Apocalypse (2005), X2: Wolverine's Revenge (2003), X-Men (1993), X-Men 2: Clone Wars (1995), X-Men: Mutant Apocalypse (1994) First Film X-Men (2000) Character(s) Professor X, Cyclops, Iceman, Beast, Angel, Phoenix, Wolverine, Gambit, Rogue, Storm, Jubilee, Morph, Nightcrawler, Havok, Banshee, Colossus, Magneto, Psylocke, Juggernaut, Cable, X-23 Comic Release Date 213035,212968