What does "Magneto was Right" even mean?

This week's episode of X-Men '97, "Tolerance is Extinction - Part 1," should've been called "Magneto was Right". I have a complicated relationship with that phrase. Its not one that I disagree with, but I think its use by writers is an indication that they don't trust the audience to see what's in front of them.

Now, to preface: I'm a white guy, which puts me on the backfoot in conversations such as these. When it comes to identity politics, I firmly believe that representation, on screen as well has behind it, matters. X-Men '97, while not being a perfect show in this regard, is quite good representing marginalized people in the current moment, at least from what I've gathered from thoughts online. (I am not a journalist.)

The Charles/Magneto political paradigm has grown thin. Just ask Chris Claremont, who was trying to meaningfully shake up this dichotomy in the mid to late 80's by rehabilitating Magneto into a good guy. This same material is being adapted in X-Men '97.

"Magneto was Right" was a phrase that was popularized in the pages of Grant Morrison's New X-Men as rebel rousers at the Xavier's School would print it on t-shirts. Morrison's opinions on Magneto aren't shared by many, as they've said that their run was meant to move away from the age-old paradigm by making Magneto into the ultimate villain for the X-Men to take down once and for all. In the end, Magneto proved to be too damn compelling, and despite his transgressions, he'll always be seen as a liberator as opposed to a terrorist in the modern day.

And don't get it twisted; we're better off for it.

"Magneto was Right" coming out of the mouths of characters that Morrison sought to petulant teeangers was not an accident. Under Morrison's framework, its not an idea we're supposed to agree with. Magneto is a complicated character, and that's good, but to pretend that he was always mutantdom's greatest defender wouldn't be true. Yes, in the 60's stories, he was more a stock villain who would do things like point nukes at the White House, but to say that he wasn't a supremacist at points in his history would be simply untrue.

So what was Magneto right about exactly?

Yes, Magneto has endorsed supremacist rhetoric, but he's also been a huge proponent for mutant rights, freedoms and independence. While I think there's been some revisionist history on the parts of both readers and writers when it comes him, we can agree that Magneto has been a more heroic presence than a villainous one.

When people say that "Magneto was Right", they really mean "Xavier was Wrong."

Full transparency, I also think Charles Xavier is wrong. Magneto's advocacy for mutant freedoms outside the framework of human laws is the only solution to humanity's continued bigotry and attempted genocides of the mutant people. Charles' dream of coexistence is a nice one, if you ignore everything that humans have done to mutants. That's what Magneto was right about. The right to freedom and sovereignty and to live beyond the struggle.

When I was reading Legion of X #6, which is a beautiful issue of an amazing series, the titular character Legion, son of Charles Xavier, reflects on Magneto's death. Magneto had, hours before, trusted David to hold off their enemies long enough for him to go on the offensive. Magneto dies in battle while Legion holds the line. Its still a moment that gets me emotional. Legion's naked honesty that he wishes he had the hero's death instead, regretting the fact that he's alive while Magneto's gone--it hurts. Then, you turn the page and in front of you is a an entirely back page with just "[Magneto was Right]" down the center.

I hate it.

It doesn't entirely ruin the moment, but what did it add? I know Magneto is a virtuous, noble soul who put his life on the line for his fellow mutants; I read the damn comic! Instead of being a solemn moment of reflection, this page felt like a fist pump and a "Bad to the Bone" guitar riff. When that phrase gets uttered, more often that not, if feels like I'm being talked down to. I know there are idiots out there who genuinely believe that the X-Men is an apolitical story, but that doesn't negate the huge sigh I let out when I saw that page. This instance's redeeming feature is that it has a double meaning. Charles never trusted Legion on account of his unstable mental health and his vast amount of power leading to catastrophic results in the past. Magneto, however, trusts David in this critical moment to do the right thing.

Magneto was right about Legion.

Even though I see the reason for its use in Legion of X, I still groan when I hear "Magneto was Right." When that phrase it uttered, I know its not for the benefit of the characters in the scene; its all too clear that the writer is speaking to me, and no matter what the circumstance is, trying to hop the fourth wall like that will be, at best, distracting, and at worst, insulting.