Marvel Brings Back, Kills Classic X-Men Villain

A surprising X-Men villain return in Uncanny X-Men #16, but they didn't fare very well. The issue sees the new team of X-Men — Cyclops, Wolverine, Havok, Multiple Man, Moonstar, Karma, Magik, Hope Summers, and Banshee — going up against their oldest foes, or so it seems.

Those foes looked to be Magneto's new Brotherhood of Evil Mutants — Magneto, Toad, Avalanche, Pyro, and Juggernaut. But then, during the fight, Magneto's helmets gets knocked off. Karma tries to control his mind and discovers he's not Magneto but his clone, Joseph.

Joseph was created in the 1990s by Scott Lobdell and Roger Cruz. He was not intended to be an original character, but an amnesiac Magneto who had been rescued during the destruction of his orbital base Avalon by the then-Acolyte Colossus. But it turned out that stripping Magneto of his memories, history, personality, and everything else besides his magnetic powers made him a boring blank slate and so this original idea was retconned. Colossus did save Magneto from Avalon, but he was left in the care of a mutant named Astra. Astra was one of Magneto's earliest recruits for the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, but she bore a grudge against Magneto. She nursed Magneto back to health but also created a clone that she hoped would ruin and kill the original. That clone escaped and joined the X-Men as Joseph.

Joseph was killed off during the "Magneto War," sacrificing himself to reverse the damage that the real Magneto did to Earth's electromagnetic sphere. Later, Astra revived him and implanted Magneto's memories in him, sending him off to become a supervillain and ruin Magneto's name during a period where Magneto was acting more as a hero.

Now he's back imitating Magneto again, but it doesn't last long. The X-Men discover his ruse and interrogate him, but they don' get far before Kwannon makes an unexpected return and cuts Joseph's head off.

Joseph is dead. Again. We'll see how long it sticks this time.

What did you think of Joseph's return and death in Uncanny X-Men? Let us know in the comments. Uncanny X-Men #16 is on sale now.

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