Erik Lehnsherr Character Analysis

Erik Lehnsherr, also known as Magneto, was a young boy when he was arrested and taken by the Nazis to the Auschwitz concentration camp. However, he was not a normal boy; he was a mutant who had the ability to control metal telekinetically. In Auschwitz, a Nazi leader named Sebastian Shaw murdered Erik’s mother due to Erik’s inability to use his powers. Additionally, Erik like many other mutants had to hide his powers because he was viewed as dangerous to many humans. Therefore, Erik faces many obstacles by humans because of who he is, a mutant and a Jew. Thus, due to the countless tragedies faced throughout his life caused mainly by Shaw and other humans, Erik seeks to protect all mutants from the humans whom he views as his enemy; these traumas …show more content…
For the mutants, life among humans is difficult because many humans treat them with cruelty and disrespect due to their uniqueness. As a result, many mutants hide their true identities to appear normal and avoid being attacked by humans. For example, throughout her life Raven hides her true form due to fear of being criticized by society. However, when Erik meets her, he teaches her to accept her true form and to stop hiding from society. Erik tells Raven when she hides behind her human form while exercising, “You want society to accept you, but you can't even accept yourself” (X-men: First Class). Erik wants Raven to accept who she is as a mutant before society accepts her. Thus, Erik’s leadership and encouragement to Raven, allows Raven to be proud of who she is and accept her true self. Therefore, to the Brotherhood of the Mutants, Erik is their leader because he allows them to be who they are without hiding; unlike the society they live in which views and considers them as different and as the