>>149292885
At this point, I like to think that even if we take Magneto's backstory as gospel and that he really does want to protect mutants from the horrors he endured, his 60s self is effectively his true id on full display. Which if anything makes him worse than just a hypocrite, since he's a man who enjoys using his power as a cudgel but still needs a reason to keep himself from feeling bad about abusing his authority. Hence, his mission.

That one X-men issue where he effectively scared a normal construction worker to death to justify his crusade against humanity imo is what the character's really evolved into. A bully who is all too eager to terrify a man into giving him the answers he wants and using it to justify his evil, only to have nothing to say when the same person asks in horror and confusion why he couldn't just explain himself instead of putting on this elaborate torture show.

The fact the X-men books never revisited this moment is almost a shame, just cause I always felt this is the only way they could reconcile the two different Magnetos they keep portraying; One being who he wishes others to see him as, and the power-mad bully and cad he really is.