“The victor will always be the judge, and the vanquished the accused”. – Hermann Goring
“To the victor belong the spoils of the enemy” – William L. Marcy
Two quotes from two completely different people, separated by an ocean, about one hundred years, and a radical viewpoint one cannot begin to fathom on its own. That’s where I start this review, one that I’m not particularly happy to write about. It’s not because of the quality of the comic books, because both of them were fantastic. It’s not even because both series left me drained and needing a palette cleanser to return to my normal optimistic self.
The reason I am not happy writing this is I never expected myself to say the following words: I understand Magneto. I “get” The Red Skull. Both of these characters had childhoods that could not be any more tragic, and I truly believe the difference between a villain and a hero is the time when they receive their powers, and the utter destruction of their lives that occur beforehand. Where Peter Parker had to put up with being the dweeb in high school, Magneto had to watch his family and lover be systematically tortured to death by the holocaust. Where Steve Rogers dealt with not being strong enough to join the military, the Red Skull framed and shot to death his best friend because after years of abuse and near death experiences, he finally cracked and became an opportunist out of sheer necessity.
Out of the two of them, I have the most sympathy for Magneto, a.k.a. Max Eisenhardt, because throughout the comic he tried his best to follow the rules and save those he loved. He never betrayed someone close to him, or purposely committed an act of violence out of frustration or anger. And where did that get him? Laying in a ditch with his dead loved ones. I’ll be honest, I would have lost my temper long before he ever did. I found myself rooting for Magneto to get his fabled powers on almost every page, waiting for the moment where he could turn the bullets and metal back on the Nazi’s. I wanted him to take one look at his starved love, Magda ,and just start enacting his revenge. That moment never came. It would have for a superheroes origin.
I found Johann a.k.a. The Red Skull to be more of a villain than Max, but at the same time I still related to his hardship. There were several moments in the comic book where his humanity could have been saved, but each and every time, the boy had to choose violence over peace. It was interesting to see an accurate portrayal of Germany post World War 1 because many forget that the conditions in that country were absolutely dreadful up until Hitler rose to power. I do have a feeling that the more I read about both of these villains, the more The Red Skull will turn out to be an absolute evil, but that’s mostly just conjecture.
So what now? Am I to read comics with Max Eisenhardt and Johann Schmidt as the villain and suddenly dismiss the fact they both are creatures of justifiable hate and sorrow? If I were Magneto, I would HATE humanity, because he was exposed to the worst parts of us. I suppose I should give credit to Greg Pak (writer of both titles), artists Mirko Colak & Carmine Di Giandomenico and colorists Matt Wilson & Matt Hollingsworth for being the architects of these comics and changing the way I view them. Both of these mini series were illustrated beautifully, and some panels were simply breathtaking. I found the color schemes in both to go from very light to purposely bleak as the issues in both series wore on. If you haven’t noticed by now, I really enjoy the way color is manipulated in this medium.
Things are no longer black and white for me in the Marvel universe. I’m okay with that, but I can’t in good faith give these two mini series the same kinds of sweeping recommendations I did of the last several comics I have read and reviewed. Shit just got serious for me, and you may not want to add that dynamic to your hobby. Maybe months down the road, when I’m reading about some diabolical plot that Magneto is plotting, I will forget about this review and cheer on the X-Men as they hunt him down. I will hope that Storms cyclone or Cyclops optic blast penetrates his force fields and takes him down. I will pray that Wolverine is finally able to will himself past Magneto’s control of metal and stick a claw down his throat.
I really don’t know where I’ll stand when that moment comes.
I guess it all depends on who is the victor, and who is the accused.
Categories: Comic Books, Review
The 616 Project 
Leave a comment