Welcome to With Great Chutzpah Comes Great Responsibility, your every other week dose of Jewish comic awesomeness.

Today, we are going to cherish the wisdom of Max Eisenhardt, a.k.a Erik Magnus Lehnsherr, a.k.a the greatest hero of all time, MAGNETO!  Magneto is the embodiment of Chutzpah.  You may not agree with his methods, but you cannot deny his passion.  If you believe he is a “super-villain,” you are probably an anti-mutant biggot whose opinion is useless to us anyways.  Magneto fights a righteous battle with love- love for his fellow mutants.  He has seen his Jewish brothers and sisters oppressed and murdered, and will not allow it to happen to mutants next.  “Never again” is his motto.

In honor of Magneto getting his own solo series (the first issue dropped today), we are going to look at the top ten best Magneto quotes.  While you read this list, I want you to ask yourself, is Magneto right? (Of course, the only correct answer to that question is “yes.”)

Top 10 Best Magneto Quotes

“So… in effect, you swapped 5,000 human lives for one mutant one. That’s regrettable. But when there’s less than 200 mutants on the planet, I can live with that.”

– Uncanny X-Men Vol 2 #5

“My name is Max Eisenhardt. I’ve been a Sonderkommando at Auschwitz for almost two years. I watched thousands of men, women, and children walk to their deaths. I pulled their bodies from the gas chambers. I dug out their teeth so the Germans could take their gold. And I carried them to the ovens, where I learned how to combine a child’s body with an old man’s to make them burn better. I saw my fellow workers buried alive under an avalanche of rotting corpses. I saw thousands of murdered people burning in giant outdoor pits. I have seen at least a quarter million dead human beings with my own eyes…and I couldn’t save a single one.”

– X-Men: Magneto Testament Vol 1 #4

“Peace was never an option” 

– X-Men: First Class

“The thing none of you will ever understand is that there are no sides. There are no heroes or villains. There’s just what I want and how I’ll get it.”

– Magneto: Not a Hero Vol 1 #4

“I am no hero. Merely a man who has seen and done and endured what can never be forgotten or forgiven.”

– Uncanny X-Men Vol 1 #196

“They wish to cure us. But I say to you we are the cure! The cure for that infirm, imperfect condition called “Homo sapiens!” They have their weapons… we have ours. We will strike with a vengeance and a fury that this world has never witnessed! And if any mutants stand in our way, we will use this poison against them! We shall go to Alcatraz island, take control of the cure, and destroy its source! And then, nothing can stop us!”

– X-Men: The Last Stand

“My dear old friend, I ask you—beg you—save the life of my child. If you can, Charles, help me save her very soul! Mine, I fear, as you can see… is already and forever damned.”

– Excalibur Vol 3 #10

“Farewell, my old friend. Whatever comes, I and mine will not go like lambs to the slaughter — but like tigers!”

– X-Men Vol 2 #3

“You are a god among insects. Never let anyone tell you different.”

– X2

“I’ve been at the mercy of men just following orders. Never again.”

– X-Men: First Class

Which is your favorite quote?  So, what do you think, is Magneto right? (Please leave your comments below, unless you are an enemy of the mutant revolution, in which case you should leave a comment on an article written by Steve L.)

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Jay Deitcher, LMSW(@mrdeitcher) is a sexy Jew who teaches courses on comic history and runs successful Free Comic Book Day events yearly.  He is the information superhighway.  You can see a listing of his incredible articles at JayDeitcher.com.