Beau DeMayo, the creator of X-Men ’97, has uncovered new details about Magneto’s devastating attack in episode 8, confirming that it had an even worse impact than Thanos’ MCU snap in Avengers: Infinity War. Magneto assumed control of the X-Men in X-Men ’97’s premiere episode, and used this opportunity to try to do some good, following Professor X’s philosophy that humans and mutants could live side-by-side. However, humanity’s continuous attacks against mutants eventually pushed Magneto to the breaking point, with X-Men ’97 episode 8, “Tolerance is Extinction – Part 1”, marking his transformation back into an enemy of the team.

Bastion, voiced by Theo James, had been teased as X-Men ’97’s primary villain, and the human-Sentinel hybrid put his Operation: Zero Tolerance plans in motion in X-Men ’97’s three-part finale. This involved abducting Magneto, who had been presumed dead following the attack on Genosha, but the Master of Magnetism was released by Valerie Cooper, allowing him to emit an electromagnetic pulse across the globe. While this had the benefit of wiping out Bastion’s cybernetically-enhanced Prime Sentinels, Magneto’s EMP had a more far-reaching impact on the Earth and humanity, which may have proven even more destructive than Thanos’ Infinity War snap.

X-Men ’97 Creator Reveals How Bad Magneto’s Attack Really Was

During an exchange on Twitter in May 2024, X-Men ’97 series creator Beau DeMayo revealed more details about the impact of Magneto’s electromagnetic pulse, suggesting this attack could have caused even more damage than Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War. In X-Men ’97 episode 9, in the aftermath of Magneto’s attack, Professor X states to President Kelly that the civilization they know would soon end, and DeMayo notes that this is referring to “modern civilization.” Effectively, Magneto’s EMP sent the world into a new Dark Age, wiping out anything electrical, including the economic system, bank records, food transportation and even pacemakers.

Scenes in X-Men ’97 episode 8 also showed Magneto’s EMP shutting down nuclear power plants, hinting at potentially catastrophic meltdowns across the planet. The sheer scale of death and destruction is almost incomprehensible, as DeMayo states that “citizens now fear the end of the world.” This would lead to “food shortages, looting, riots, and violence,” though Magneto believes that humanity would tear itself apart while mutantkind assumes control of the world, thanks to their abilities. Magneto’s plan hasn’t exactly unfolded as he expected, but it seems he simply doesn’t care about what state he might have left the world in.

Thanos’ Attack At Least Left The Survivors “Better Off”

While Magneto is the biggest threat to X-Men ’97’s animated storylines, Thanos posed a significant danger to the live-action MCU, particularly in Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame. This saw him collect the Infinity Stones and wipe out half the universe’s population to save resources, hoping to leave the surviving 50% better off, and allowing them to thrive. Obviously, this course of action was questionable, but Magneto’s willingness to eradicate necessary infrastructure made his attack in X-Men ’97 much more brutal, as Thanos wanted to make the universe a better place for everyone, while Magneto only considers the fate of mutantkind.