Magneto had already allied himself with the X-Men during the SECRET WARS (1984-1985) and joined forces with them once again when the Beyonder arrived on Earth at the start of SECRET WARS II (1985-1986). The self-styled ‘Master of Magnetism’ had been the X-Men’s fiercest foe for years, believing mutants should rule humanity rather than live together with them in peace. Now, Magneto has a shot at redemption, referring back to his his battle with the Defenders that ended with him being reduced to infancy by Alpha the Ultimate Mutant.
Having been restored to adulthood soon after, Magneto has (arguably) been more measured and less maniacal. Could he really be a changed man? Does he deserve a shot at redemption?
Also, Cyclops has left the X-Men to start a new life with his new wife – Jean Grey lookalike Madelyne Pryor. But the call to fight with the X-Men in the ASGARDIAN WARS (1985) – taking place in the middle of this story – reminds him of what he’s missed which threatens his marriage. Maddie’s about to give birth, which generates anxiety for the newest X-Man, Rachel Grey-Summers, who comes from an alternate future as the daughter of that timeline’s Cyclops and Phoenix. With Jean dead in this reality, will Rachel ever be born? And can she tell Cyclops she’s kind of his daughter?
Related Events: ‘The Trial of Magneto’ isn’t an officially recognised Marvel event, despite the story impacting two titles; the Omniverse Comics Guide has named the event ‘The Trial of Magneto’ after the story featured in Uncanny X-Men #200.
Must-Reads: In the Quick List, essential issues are listed in bold; in the Fallout section, issues/story arcs marked with a ✔ are essential reading.
Contradictions: ‘Sir Jim Jaspers’ appears in this story, but can’t possibly the same Jim Jaspers who battled Captain Britain in the ‘Jaspers Warp’ story; it’s possible he’s a duplicate created by Roma.
Spoilers: The issue descriptions and fallout section contain spoilers, so be warned!
Previous events that directly impact this story:
- SECRET WARS (1984-1985) – The X-Men & Magneto become allies on Battleworld
- WRAITH WAR (1984-1985) – Storm loses her powers
- SECRET WARS II (1985-1986) – Magneto & the X-Men take on the Beyonder
Want to keep it simple? Here’s the chronological reading order without story descriptions, or spoilers:
- Uncanny X-Men #199-200
- New Mutants #35
- Uncanny X-Men #201
| Title, Issue & Synopsis |
| Uncanny X-Men #199 Professor X (Charles Xavier) is dying from the injuries he suffered when he was mugged (during HONOR, 1984-1985) and he’s preparing Magneto – the X-Men‘s former nemesis who’s begun to reform – to take over as Headmaster of the Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters. Mystique offers to rebrand her Brotherhood of Evil Mutants as Freedom Force to work for the US Government. But they need to prove their worth by apprehending Magneto. Rachel Summers sneaks into John & Elaine Grey‘s home and taps into the Shi’ar holo-matrix that holds Jean Grey‘s essence, gaining access to the Phoenix Force and taking the name Phoenix. Shadowcat and Magneto attend a Remembrance Day event at the National Holocaust Memorial where some attendees remember how ‘Magnus’ helped them in World War II. Freedom Force arrive and risk the safety of innocent bystanders to bring Magneto in. The X-Men soon follow and defeat Freedom Force, but Magneto surrenders and agrees to stand trial after seeing how people’s respect for him had turned to fear. New identity: The Brotherhood of Evil Mutants as Freedom Force, Rachel Summers as Phoenix |
| Uncanny X-Men #200 Magneto is due to stand trial at the International Court of Justice in Paris, with Gabrielle Haller as his defence counsel. The X-Men and New Mutants are teleported to Paris by Loki, following their adventure in Asgard (as seen in in ASGARDIAN WARS, 1985). Days later, armoured mercenaries carry out attacks on European military installations, demanding the release of Magneto and claiming to be the X-Men. Despite negative sentiment building, Haller convinces the court to judge Magneto’s actions on the period since his ‘rebirth’ when he was de-aged by Alpha the Ultimate Mutant. The mutant duo Fenris attack the court, revealing themselves to be the twin children of Baron Wolfgang von Strucker who was once defeated by Xavier and Magneto (see THE BROOD SAGA, 1982-1983). Magneto gets the dying Xavier to safety. He asks Magneto to become Headmaster of the Xavier School before he’s teleported away by Lilandra Neramani and Corsair of the Starjammers who plan to use Shi’ar technology to save his life, leaving Magneto to wonder if he can live up to the task Xavier has set him. At the Xavier School, Cyclops’ wife Madelyne Pryor goes into labor. 1st appearance: Jim Jaspers (duplicate) New identity: Andrea & Andreas Strucker as Fenris |
| Title, Issue & Synopsis |
| New Mutants #35 Having opted to prove himself by his actions rather than completing his trial, Magneto returns to America and introduces himself to the New Mutants as their new Headmaster, which they don’t take kindly to. He gives them a chance to subdue him in the Danger Room, sidelining Cypher because of his power set. Magneto defeats them easily, resolving very little. Later, Mirage is attacked by frat guys on her way home from Harry’s Hideaway. She’s saved by her Asgardian winged horse Brightwind, though Magneto confronts the men, tearing their frat house down around them. This act is witnessed by the New Mutants who now have a sense of respect for their new Headmaster. |
| Uncanny X-Men #201 Maddie has given birth to a baby boy, though Cyclops has become distant and seems more interested in the X-Men. Rachel Summers meets her baby ‘brother’. Aboard the Starjammer, Xavier has been healed, but the risk of attackers from the Shi’ar Empire force them to head deeper into space. The X-Men only have Magneto’s word that Xavier was taken by the Starjammers and aren’t convinced he should be Headmaster. Cyclops fights the powerless Storm for the right to leadership of the X-Men. When she defeats Cyclops, he agrees to go home with Maddie, though she’s painfully aware that he didn’t choose his family first. Later, Rachel returns to John & Elaine Grey’s home and adds a piece of her life essence to the Shi’ar holo-matrix, observed by Uatu the Watcher. 1st appearance: Nathan Christopher Summers |
See how this story fits into the wider Marvel Universe with these reading orders:
- X-MEN FAMILY, 1985-1986 – The Mutant Massacre
| Must Reads | Issue & Fallout | Event / Crossover |
| Longshot #5-6 (1986) Spiral resumes her mission to recapture Longshot for Mojo. | ||
| Marvel Fanfare #33 (1987) Magneto is briefly reunited with Lee Forrester. | ||
| ✔ | Uncanny X-Men #202 (1986) Now imbued with the power of the Phoenix Force, Rachel Summers tries to kill the Beyonder, but he forces her to focus on saving the X-Men. | SECRET WARS II |
| ✔ | Fantastic Four #286 (1986) The Fantastic Four discover Jean Grey is alive and that the Phoenix who joined the X-Men was actually the Phoenix Force in Jean Grey’s form. X-Factor #1 (1986) Cyclops learns Jean Grey is alive and immediately leaves his wife in child in Alaska, in favour of founding the mutant search & rescue group X-Factor (posing as the mutant-hunting X-Terminators). | THIRD GENESIS |
| New Mutants #37 (1986) The New Mutants are killed by the Beyonder. | SECRET WARS II | |
| ✔ | Uncanny X-Men #203 (1986) Phoenix tries to kill the Beyonder again but finds she’s not able to end another life; Phoenix’s actions make Magneto reconsider killing his enemies for the ‘greater good. Secret Wars II #9 (1986) Phoenix and the rest of the X-Men are present for the final battle with the Beyonder; the Beyonder resurrects the New Mutants; the Molecule Man is the one who ends his threat. | SECRET WARS II |
| ✔ | New Mutants #38-40 (1986) Magneto turns to Emma Frost for help the New Mutants with their trauma; Empath coerces Magneto into enrolling the New Mutants at Frost’s Massachusetts Academy; the Avengers attack Magneto, believing he’s trying to kidnap the New Mutants; the restored New Mutants return home to the Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters. | |
| ✔ | X-Factor #8-9 (1986) Spider-Woman (Julia Carpenter) joins Freedom Force; Freedom Force’s next mission pits them against the X-Men again. Uncanny X-Men #210 (1986) Magneto is offered a place among the Inner Circle of the Hellfire Club in the hope of building a truce between them and the X-Men; Magneto learns X-Factor are actually the original X-Men, including a resurrected Jean Grey. | MUTANT MASSACRE |
| ✔ | X-Factor #13 (1987) Cyclops returns to Alaska in search his wife and son, but they’re no longer there. | |
| ✔ | Fallen Angels #1 (1987) Sunspot‘s issues with Magneto finally come to a head; he leaves the Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters, taking Warlock along with him. | FALLEN ANGELS |
| ✔ | Uncanny X-Men #215 (1987) Madelyne Pryor wakes up in hospital recovering from a gunshot wound following an attempt on her life by the Marauders. | |
| New Mutants #54 (1987) Karma leaves the New Mutants in favour of finding her missing siblings. | ||
| Uncanny X-Men #219 (1987) Encouraged by Storm, Magneto accepts the offer of membership in the Hellfire Club. | ||
| ✔ | X-Men vs the Avengers #1-4 (1987) Magneto begins wearing his original helmet again, raising concerns that he may be going back to his old ways; Magneto’s intention is to use the circuitry in his helmet to remove all prejudice from humanity; the Avengers take Magneto in when he agrees to stand trial again; Gabrielle Haller stands in his defense, while ‘Sir Jim Jaspers’ stands for the prosecution; Magneto uses the helmet on one of the judges to acquit himself. | |
| ✔ | Uncanny X-Men #220-224 (1987) The Marauders are sent to kill Madelyne Pryor again, but she’s rescued by the X-Men and is unaware of her son’s whereabouts; Maddie accompanies the X-Men to Dallas; Crimson Commando, Stonewall & Super Sabre all join Freedom Force. | |
| New Mutants #60 (1988) Cypher is shot dead when he takes a bullet from the Ani-Mator that was meant for Wolfsbane. | THE FALL OF THE MUTANTS | |
| ✔ | Uncanny X-Men #226-227 (1988) Forge restores Storm’s powers; Madelyne Pryor is believed to have died alongside the X-Men while battling the Adversary; Maddie and the X-Men are transported to Australia where they continue to allow the world to believe they’re dead | THE FALL OF THE MUTANTS |
| ✔ | New Mutants #64 (1988) Magneto blames himself for Cypher’s death and his anger begins to grow; Magneto tries to ground the New Mutants to prevent them from facing similar danger, but this only damages their relationship further. | |
| New Mutants Annual #4 (1988) The New Mutants’ trust in Magneto is shaken further when they learn he had specific plans for Magma. | THE EVOLUTIONARY WAR | |
| ✔ | Uncanny X-Men #240-242 (1989) Madelyne Pryor is revealed to be a clone of Jean Grey created by Mister Sinister; it’s revealed that a spark of the Phoenix Force jumped to Maddie when the Dark Phoenix died; Maddie becomes the Goblin Queen; Maddie almost sacrifices her own son to open a portal to Limbo. X-Factor #38 (1989) Marvel Girl (Jean Grey) and the Goblin Queen fight to the death; Marvel Girl wins and absorbs Maddie’s part of the Phoenix Force along with her memories and personality traits. | INFERNO |
| ✔ | New Mutants #74-75 (1989) Magneto battles Sebastian Shaw for control of the Hellfire Club and wins, becoming the sole male member of the Inner Circle as the Grey King; Magneto learns Magik has been reduced to a child following her clash with the demon N’Astirh; stood among the ruins of the Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters, Magneto allows the New Mutants to go and find their own path, but warns them they will one day have to choose a side, officially ending his role as their Headmaster. X-Factor #40 (1989) Cyclops gets his son back. | DUST TO DUST |
| New Mutants #85 (1990) Mirage leaves the New Mutants, opting to stay in Asgard to learn how to use her Valkyrie abilities. | ACTS OF VENGEANCE |
| Must Reads | Issue & Fallout | Event / Crossover |
| ✔ | New Mutants #87 (1990) First appearance of Cable. | HOME! |
| ✔ | Uncanny X-Men #253 (1989) Magneto decides to play the part of the villain once again to so that world would focus on him as the biggest mutant target and less on the remaining mutants. | DISSOLUTION & REBIRTH |
| ✔ | X-Factor Annual #5 (1990) Rachel Summers finally tells both Cyclops and Marvel Girl that she’s the daughter of Cyclops and Phoenix of Earth-811; they’re initially shocked and disappointed that she kept this a secret for so long, but soon come to terms this revelation. | DAYS OF FUTURE PRESENT |
| Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD #20-23 (1991) When Werner von Strucker, the son of Baron Wolfgang von Strucker, proves to be an unworthy successor to his father and fails as leader of Hydra – the Red Skull – sends agents to resurrect Baron Strucker using the Death Spore Virus. | OPERATION: REBIRTH | |
| ✔ | Uncanny X-Men #274-277 (1991) Lilandra Neramani is revealed to have reclaimed the Shi’ar throne, but is in the thrall of War Skrulls; the X-Men defeat the War Skrulls and restore Lilandra to her rightful place as Empress; the X-Men are reunited with Charles Xavier. | |
| ✔ | X-Factor Annual #6 (1991) Freedom Force’s deadly mission in Kuwait leaves Crimson Commando incapacitated, Super Sabre dead and Blob & Pyro captured by the enemy; the existence of Freedom Force is effectively ended. | THE KILLING STROKE |
| ✔ | X-Factor #65-68 (1991) Apocalypse infects the infant Nathan Christopher Summers with a Techno-Organic Virus and is taken into the future by Sister Askani of Earth-4935 to be healed; Askani is unable to return the infant, so Cyclops has to give up his son in order to save his life. | |
| ✔ | Uncanny X-Men #278 (1991) Professor X returns to Earth with the X-Men. X-Factor #70 (1991) Val Cooper announces that Freedom Force are officially disbanded and is working on a replacement team; the original X-Factor unofficially disband. | THE MUIR ISLAND SAGA |
| ✔ | X-Factor #71-73 (1991) Val Cooper forms a new government-sanctioned mutant team called X-Factor. X-Men #1-3 (1991) Magneto discovers Moira MacTaggert tried to tamper with his genetic structure while he was reduced to the state of an infant in the hope he’d grow into a more stable adult; Magneto resumes his role as a foe of the X-Men. | MUTANT GENESIS |
| Daredevil #308-309 (1992) Fenris meet Werner von Strucker, the sibling they never knew existed; Werner is murdered by Baron Wolfgang von Strucker as he once again works his way up Hydra’s ranks. | DEAD MAN’S HAND | |
| X-Force #18 (1993) It’s heavily implied that the mutant terrorist Stryfe is the son of Cyclops having returned to the present after growing up in the future (Earth-4935). | X-CUTIONER’S SONG | |
| Excalibur #66-67 (1993) Phoenix (Rachel Summers) returns to her own future with her Excalibur teammates to finally end the threat of Ahab and the Sentinels in that timeline. | ||
| ✔ | Cable #6-10 (1993-1994) Cable is revealed to be Nathan Christopher Summers, the true son of Cyclops and Maddie Pryor; Stryfe is revealed to be Cable’s clone. | |
| Uncanny X-Men #310 (1994) Cable and Cyclops make their peace. X-Men #30 (1994) Rachel Summers attends Jean Grey and Scott Summers’ wedding, feeling it validates her existence. | THE WEDDING OF CYCLOPS AND PHOENIX | |
| X-51 (1999) Mystique rejoins the Brotherhood of Mutants alongside her old Freedom Force teammates. | ||
| Citizen V and the V-Battalion #1-3 (2001) Fenris finally get to work with their father, Baron Wolfgang von Strucker; Andrea von Strucker is murdered by Citizen V/Baron Zemo. | LIFE SENTENCES | |
| Uncanny X-Men #462 (2005) The real Jim Jaspers returns and is revealed to have merged with the murderous cybiote known as the Fury. | HOUSE OF M | |
| X-Men: The Trial of Magneto #1-5 (2021-2022) Magneto is put on trial on Krakoa when he’s accused of killing the Scarlet Witch. | REIGN OF X |
| Collected Edition Title | Collects… |
| Uncanny X-Men Epic Collection: Wounded Wolf (vol.13) | Marvel Fanfare #33 New Mutants Special Edition #1 Uncanny X-Men #199-210 Uncanny X-Men Annual #9-10 |
| X-Men: Mutant Massacre Prelude Omnibus | Amazing Spider-Man #282 Avengers #263 Classic X-Men #8, 43 [part] Fantastic Four #286 Iron Man Annual #8 Longshot #1-6 Marvel Fanfare #33 New Mutants Annual #2 New Mutants Special Edition #1 Nightcrawler #1-4 Uncanny X-Men #194-209 Uncanny X-Men Annual #9-10 X-Factor #1-8 X-Factor Annual #1 |
| X-Men: Ghosts | Uncanny X-Men #199-209 Uncanny X-Men Annual #10 |
| Collected Edition Title | Includes… |
| New Mutants Classic vol.5 New Mutants Epic Collection: Asgardian Wars (vol.3) New Mutants Omnibus vol.2 | New Mutants #35 |
| Marvel Masterworks: The Uncanny X-Men vol.12 | Uncanny X-Men #199-200 |
| Marvel Masterworks: The Uncanny X-Men vol.13 Women of Marvel vol.1 (2006) | Uncanny X-Men #201 |
| Phoenix Omnibus vol.2 | Uncanny X-Men #199 |
| Uncanny X-Men Omnibus vol.5 | Uncanny X-Men #199-201 |
| We are the X-Men | Uncanny X-Men #200 |
Reading Order © Omniverse Comics Guide 2026
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