New Brevoort Formspring

The last writer to portray Magento as a monster was Cullen Bunn, and he’s been doing it regularly since the series began.

You seem to be confused on the notion that the protagonist of a story has to be the hero. That’s not really true, though, is it? Magneto is a gloriously grey character—one whose grey is so dark, so filled-in, that it is indistinguishable from pure black. You can understand the events that have motivated him, sure. You can relate to how he got to the point where this is how he lives his life. But that does not excuse nor erase the actions he has taken and the lives he has taken over the years, whether by turning the earth’s magnetic field upside down or sinking submarines or just by driving paper clips through people’s eye sockets.

Guy is a monster. And monsters can be interesting to read about. Monsters can be interesting, because they do what we would never do—and in the world of fiction, that’s an enticing place to go.

Are the Punisher, Elektra and Deadpool monsters? Without question. Have they done things that are more evil than what Magneto has done? I don’t think so. But your mileage may vary.