Magneto is no doubt one of the best villains or anti-heroes Marvel has ever introduced to us. Erik Lehnsherr’s powers are powerful, revered, and terrible when he’s in a particularly ornery mood.
Yet, as much as some nerds try to take on his malevolent mystique in cosplay, channeling the great Magneto has never prepared us for one thing…
You are saying his name wrong, you dumb nerd!
That notwithstanding, shout out to all our followers and supporters in the UK, namely this guy who is one of our star authors. Evidently, you must have a stiff upper lip and be a prolific user of the Queen’s English to pronounce the name of Magneto correctly.
How do we know? Just ask Sir Ian McKellen. He said so.
Say Che-se, Magneto?
Yes, you read that correctly. Sir Ian McKellen, the first Magneto and a fetching wizard to boot, says since the advent of the X-Men franchise at the dawn of the new millennium, we have all been saying Magneto’s name incorrectly.
(Which, ironically, so has he and Michael Fassbender, throughout the damn franchise.)
While we are at it, why is Magnet-o (controller of ferro-magnetic substances), pronounced Magneeto? https://t.co/CG6wMRsb6b pic.twitter.com/8GrUhHNW8Z
— Ian McKellen (@IanMcKellen) October 15, 2020
Welp, there you have it, linguaphiles. It’s MAGNET-o. Not MAG-NEE-to. Shocking? And don’t be smug. You know you like the long e sound too. Most geckaphiles have done it. And the dorks at 20th Century Fox sure did it. That’s why it was sounded that way in the films.
And now, back to Marvel, since no one there — like say Stan Lee or Jack Kirby — decided to correct the mispronunciation of Erik’s sinister mutant alter-ego, will Marvel finally do what’s right? When Marvel Studios gets their hands on what was rightfully theirs and makes a film, will we hear someone, anyone…for the love of Queen Elizabeth, say…
MAGNET-o?!
We should sure as hell hope so. Otherwise, someone will bend it like Beckham and get a swift kick in the bullocks. (How’d I do, my mates across the pond?)
You must log in to post a comment.