The Magnetic Power of Persuasion (Literary essay)

The idea of a conflict between humans and mutants has always raised questions like “Who are the good ones?” or “Which side would I choose?” As a matter of fact, since 1963 the X-Men have been related to social and political issues, where minorities like African-Americans in the USA and LGBT people around the world have suffered the consequences of racism and/or discrimination. “Since you have proclaimed Armageddon for homo sapiens and homo superior, it seems only fitting that you meet your chief adversary face to face” (Claremont, 1982: 54) says Magneto to Reverend William Stryker in X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills, a graphic novel written and published on 1982 by Chris Claremont. In this novel, Magneto joins the X-Men to fight against Reverend William Stryker and to avoid the extermination of “mutantkind.” Regardless of this, Magneto’s actions and thoughts have always been questioned by the very same X-Men for going too far from their beliefs. In God Loves, Man Kills Magneto uses rhetorical devices to justify himself.

Rhetorical devices are tools for persuasion, they allow the speaker to convince -or try to convince- an audience, that what it is been said is true. The most important rhetorical devices are: ethos (appeals to trust or credibility), logos (appeals to logic), and pathos (appeals to emotions). When the X-Men start to struggle on a fight with the purifiers -Reverend William Stryker’s henchmen- Magneto intervenes and says “Sheathe your claws, Wolverine. Magneto is here a friend… …and, if you’ll have me, an ally” (Claremont, 1982: 25-26). In this example, the Master of Magnetism is trying to gain trust from the X-Men presenting himself as a “friend,” despite the fact that they are frightened by his presence, this is an example of ethos. Later in the novel Magneto comes to help the X-Men again, rescuing a man that was threatened by the purifiers. After being saved, the guy asks “Who… were those guys? Hell, who are you?! Why were they after the kid?” (Claremont, 1982: 44), Magneto answers “I am Magneto. My companions, X-Men. We are mutants. As for reasons, you’d best ask the man those assassins are sworn to serve… ….Reverend William Stryker” (Claremont, 1982: 44). This time the Master of Magnetism presents himself and the X-Men emphasizing that they are mutants; he is showing reliability and trustiness to the human. On the other side, he identifies the purifiers as “assassins” and links them to a recognizable face, Reverend William Stryker, giving him total responsibility of the prior situation they just lived. Magneto clearly used ethos to avoid being seen as a foe and to identify the purifiers as the enemy.

Then, in another scene, a discussion is set between Magneto and Cyclops, “Considering our past association, your reaction is understandable. I am not your enemy, X-Men, nor do I consider you mine. True, my goal has ever been the conquest of earth – but solely to create a world where our race homo superior, can live in peace” (Claremont, 1982: 50) says Magneto, again he is showing trustiness to the X-Men by emphasizing that he is not an enemy, this is another example of him using ethos to gain credibility. “Is your way any better? A mutant dictatorship?” (Claremont, 1982: 50) asks Cyclops, to which Magneto answers “Do not take that tone with me, boy. I have lived under a dictatorship… …and seen my family butchered by its servants. When I rule, it will be for the betterment of all” (Claremont, 1982: 50). Here, he switched from ethos to pathos, possibly because of the nature of the discussion; he needed to appeal to something more powerful than just trust or credibility, therefore he took his tragic past and used it to reinforce his statements.

The effect of Magneto’s rhetoric can only be found after the fight ended. “A phyrric victory, X-Men, whose hollowness… …Is even now becoming apparent. The man was beaten. His cause lives on. Already, it’s being said that Stryker’s goal was right, only his methods flawed. No matter how hard you try, you cannot truly win” (Claremont, 1982: 63) states Magneto. As for this Charles Xavier answers “I fear, old friend… …you are correct” (Claremont, 1982: 63). Coming from a character well known for being reasonable and thoughtful, it is noticeable that Magneto’s use of rhetoric was effective, even though Professor X changed his mind later.

Magneto and the X-Men have dissimilar thoughts regarding the conflict among mutants and humans. In this novel, he approached the X-Men as an ally using ethos to convince them that he is not a threat, he does this again after saving a human from being killed by the purifiers. In another scene a discussion is set between him and Cyclops, he used ethos and pathos to validate his arguments. Finally, we see the effects of his rhetoric when Charles expresses sympathy with his points of view. What we can understand is that Magneto needs to persuade the X-Men since alone he would not succeed on his campaign to try to conquer the world, and because they represent a menace to him. The best tool he has is speech as it is the most effective way by which he can convince others to join his cause, and by which he can avoid being seen as an adversary.

References

Claremont, C. (1982). X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills. New York: The Marvel Comics Group.

Sproat, E., Driscoll, D., & Brizee, A. (2012). Aristotle's Rhetorical Situation. Retrieved from Purdue OWL: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/625/03/

Miguel Riveros | CI: 20.123.187

Facultad de Humanidades y Educación

Universidad de los Andes

Mérida, VE - Marzo, 2017