Tony-Man versus the State of Life

You know... we as humans tend to be blind to most everything that extends past our little lives.  We fail to see the white, when we think our world is black.  Even the most optimistic of us tend to see life as gray.  Even though life isn't just black or just white, I've always wondered what life has in store for me.  And maybe, just maybe wondering isn't enough.  There comes a time in life when the child has to decide, and the adult has to act.  Where does that moment come, and when does it have to be?  Well... I'm sitting here at thirty years of age.  The time is nigh, I suppose.  Or maybe it's already come, and I just need to hop on that particular trolley.

Life's starting to become pretty cool.  And maybe for the first time, in many years, I'm beginning to look ahead, instead of looking down at my feet, in the now.  I got friends, I got family, and yeah... sometimes those things cause drama.  Sometimes that drama harkens back to high school, and you know... who cares, right?  Sometimes that drama is at levels that no sane person should understand.  And sometimes, the drama is so unnecessary, that it should become some sort of meme.  (Really?  the word "meme" is considered correctly spelled?!)  But, whatever it is, it's mostly healthy.  For how would we know the mountains, if we don't walk the valleys?

It's been a strange journey, thus far... and maybe I'm still a little young to really go back and be nostalgic about it, but at the same time... Why not?  I'm still trying to figure out this funny little muddle known as Tony.  Life and love come at the epicenter of my life, and I have always believed in the great good of the human soul.  And in this ever increasingly sedentary lifestyle that we as Americans, and indeed we as humans enjoy... that's saying a lot.

It's been a strange journey.  One that has led me to six continents.  One that has shown me combat, and the depravity of man.  One that has yo-yo'd my emotions with empty promises, broken dreams, financial debt, short relationships, subtle and overt racism, and prejudice.  But one that's blessed me with experiences unlike most would ever come to know, simple pleasures, and kind joys.  It's a journey that has kicked my nads, both metaphorically and physically.  (and of course, "nads" is not a word)  But a life I wouldn't trade for anyone else's.*

For now, I'll keep wondering, and I'll keep looking.  And if I find myself in another decision that could dramatically alter my life, I'll jump on that shit.

I bet it'll smell like sunshine and faerie farts.

......next time on the Infraggable Tony-Reviews, I'm going to review one of my favorite TV shows.  That 70's Show.  (No clue why.)

*Unless that life is Bruce Campbell's.  He's a boss.

Tony-Man versus Good Dating

She's enjoying the movie... He's thinking about how to get even closer.

Okay, I'll confess something.  I haven't been on many dates in my life.  While I mostly attribute this to bad situations, social awkwardness, and that women can be bitches at times, I have to admit that I really don't know what makes up a date... and what is just hanging out with someone that I like enough to be a potentially significant other.  Anyone who has read this blog knows that I pretty much laid down what I think is a bad date.  It got me thinking, what makes a good date?  But it really wasn't until about a week and a half ago (From this blog post date) that I ever had a good date, and with that day reasonably fresh in mind, I think I know enough now to really put it down into words.

Simplicity.  I think good first dates should remain simple.  Anything too elaborate, at least for a first date just complicates things.  Some people may like going all out, emptying out their wallets, trying to really impress each other, on overly priced food, or snooty self-depreciating service, or whatever other bullshit thing that costs an assload of money or takes up too much fucking time, that ultimately probably won't pay-off later during the after-date.  I mean, if that works for you... more power, but for me who really doesn't have the finances to really do that, leave me out of it.  My first date (and it was literally my first date) was kept simple.  My date and I (my date's name withheld for protection reasons, though some of you may already know her) went to go see "Wreck-It Ralph" at the cheap theater.  It was something we both agreed on.  I've already seen the movie a few times, but it was her first time, so I was happy to see how she reacted to the movie, and she thought it was a cute little movie, and that she was happy to see it with me.  After the movie we decided to go to the Hibachi Grill near the Burlington's coat factory, and we just ate together.  It was pretty low pressure, but it was an amazing day, in my book.  Okay, so movie and dinner is a touch clichè, but I think it works out.

Presentation.  This one is a little bit different.  Because my first date was simple, one has to act and dress the part.  My date wasn't overdressed, but she still was looking good.  There is nothing worse to me when one of the two is either overdressed, or underdressed... or is just looking raggedy.  I don't know if presentation is an issue with other people who date, I mean, since my first date was a movie at the cheap theater and eating at the Hibachi Grill... we got away with wearing jeans and shirts... but for those people whose dress code is a bit more formal, and a little more strict, I could see how the dress code of a dating party could be an issue.  My date and I just agreed, without many words that we wouldn't dress up.  It works, I think.  But Presentation is more than just clothes.  It's a demeanor, its an attitude, it's a certain sort of... Je ne sais quoi.  Be respectable, be invested in what the other person has to say, and provide feedback.  And be honest.  Clothes do not make the man, the man makes the man.  (And I assume the same goes for the women, as well.)

Punctuality.  This one is sort of a big one for me.  You may recall when I was talking about what makes a bad date that I had a date with some chick who had me waiting there for about two hours with no phone call until I was already finished with my meal before she told me that she was on her way?  And then she lied to me about how her mother was in the hospital, when that wasn't true, since her mom and I were pretty close.  So, I especially hate it when I'm late for anything, much less when anyone else is late for something.  I mean, I get it.  Sometimes life happens, and it pushes the timeline back five, ten... hell even fifteen minutes.  I can accept that, and chalk it up to traffic, or family, or a minor issue that just popped up that needs to be dealt with then before it becomes a major issue.  But anything after fifteen minutes, and you should make the effort to call.  I know I will.  Don't be like this bitch who calls almost two hours later, telling me she's on her way, when I've already eaten and left the restaurant.

Interest.  There's got to be interest there.  I guess without this aspect, there's no date at all, but while you're dating... try to keep an interest in your dating.... other.  And not just in certain aspects of the other person.  For a first date, sex should not be end game.  (Unless the first date is just a pretext to sex, in which case, just rent a hooker for an hour or whatever.  That way you can just blow past all the bullshit and get right to it.)  I have to admit, anything that my date said, I hung on her every word, and I suspect that she did the same with me.  I've never been sure what that was like.  But now that I've had my first date, I gotta say, it feels pretty damn good.

Anyway, I probably could pull a few more things out to describe what I think makes a good date, based on my first date, but I'm hardly a subject matter expert.  This is just what I think about when I think about anything really.  This blog's just my own musings and meanderings as I try to make sense of this funny little muddle known as life.  I still don't know what to make of this insignificant little speck known as the Infraggable Tony-Man.  And really... I still wonder what makes this Earth work the way it does... but these questions and others could be answer in the next Infraggable Tony-Review!

You won't want to fucking miss it.  Unless you're a blog-Nazi.  ...you don't want to be a blog-Nazi, do you?  Didn't think so.  So read the next fucking blog.

Tony-Man vs Wrestlemania 29

If you smelllll-ell-ell-ell-ell-ell-eeeeell... what the Tony-Man... is cookin' *Eyebrow raise.*  So another Wrestlemania is in the books, another Showcase of the Immortals behind us, another Grandest Stage of them All is in the past, and what does the Infraggable Tony-Man think about this Wrestlemania?  Well... this year seemed to lack in comparison to the last couple of Wrestlemanias.  Wrestlemania is pretty much the the Superbowl of Wrestling, the Stanley Cup, the World Series, the ...whatever basketball's big thing.  It's the biggest deal, and it is supposed to be the biggest thing.  Every Wrestler is looking for that amazing moment that defines them and set the pace for them for the next year.  And in some rare cases, it defines their entire career.  They call instances like these "Wrestlemania moments."  Wrestlemania 29 really didn't have too many moments like this.

The pre-show focused on the Miz vs. Wade Barrett (c), For the Intercontinental Championship, and I gotta say, even though the match only lasted six minutes and thirty three seconds, I think it was probably my third favorite match.  Then again, I've been a fan of the Miz for a long time.  He's one of the few people that I feel is comfortable being a heel or a face.  (Heel being an unpopular wrestler, or more commonly a "bad guy" and Face being a popular wrestler, or more commonly a "good guy.")  I liked this match because of its simplicity.  The Miz won with a figure four leg lock.  Probably the reason why I liked this match was because I like both the Miz and Wade Barrett.  They're similar in their arrogance, but worlds apart in their wrestling styles.  But... save for how the figure four was applied, the match was nothing Wrestlemania worthy.  It just seemed almost like a match that could have been on WWE Superstars.

The first actual carded match was The Shield (Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins, and Roman Reigns) vs. Big Show, Randy Orton, and Sheamus.  I'm... I'm not really sure what to say about this one, other than how predictable it was going to be.  This match was boring, and this was probably the show that was supposed to be on the pre-show.  The match was pretty much a paint by the numbers type match, and there wasn't anything that really may it spark.  I'm not even a big fan of Randy Orton.  He's a good wrestler, perhaps even a great one, but to me he's just sort of meh.  Randy Orton does not make a good face.  He should one day, and hopefully soon, turn heel.  The match was just a bore.

The second match featured Mark Henry and Ryback.  All I can say is... what the fuck?  This match was utter crap.  Which is too bad, because there was so much potential here.  At eight minutes and three seconds, there could have been so many unstoppable force vs. immovable object kind of moments, but no.  There was nothing that could have been considered a Wrestlemania moment there.  Mark Henry is 400+ pounds, and Ryback tried to pick him up, but then they both fell, and Ryback lost the match?  Come on now.  Then after the match, Ryback picks Mark Henry again and gives him the Shell Schocked.  What the fuck?  What the fuck?  Come on.

The third match was Team Hell No, vs. Dolph Ziggler and Big E Langston (with AJ Lee).  I have to admit I did kind of like this match, but it was a little too predictable.  I knew that Team Hell No would win, though to be honest, I do kind of hope that they go their separate ways soon.  The match started much like Daniel Bryan's last Wrestlemania match did.  With AJ Lee kissing someone.  While last Wrestlemania, she kissed Daniel Bryan, just before losing to Sheamus in eighteen seconds.  This year AJ kissed Dolph Ziggler, and Daniel Bryan tried to take advantage of that, with a near fall pin attempt.  The chemistry between Daniel Bryan and Kane was seamless, and while the two of them had a near flawless plan, there wasn't anything Wrestlemania worthy.  Don't get me wrong, it was a solid match, one that could have been Main Event calibur of Raw or Smackdown, but nothing that had a true Wrestlemania feel to it.

The fourth match was Fandango versus Chris Jericho.  I'm going to be honest with this one.  I didn't see this match on account that I was outside smoking.  Having been mostly disappointed with Wrestlemania up to this point, I figured that this match would be disappointing again.  It's Wrestlemania for Wrestlemania's sake!  The only thing that I really caught from it was one of Fandango's Top rope leg drops.  Which was amazing and beautiful to look at.  Otherwise, I didn't get to see it.

The fifth match was Alberto Del Rio (c) (with Richardo Rodriguez) vs. Jack Swagger (with Zeb Colture) for the World Heavyweight Championship.  And this match wasn't memorable at all.  I honestly can't even remember this match.  I know that Alberto Del Rio won, and he did it using the Cross Armbreaker, but other than that.  I don't remember this match at all.  That's all Wrestlemania 29 for you.

The sixth match was one that kept my interest.  It was the major reason why I watched Wrestlemania.  It's in many ways, one the major reason why Wrestlemania works and has been so successful for as long as it has is because it was the Undertaker.  The Undertaker has had a Wrestlemania streak of 20 wins and 0 losses.  That's unheard of in the Wrestlemania scene.  This year The Undertaker was fighting against CM Punk, on account of the death of Paul Bearer, who was the Undertaker's manager and "father."  This was a personal battle one that few could boast of.  And really, this was the first match that I thought, "This is Wrestlemania."  The emotion, the maneuvers, the show of disrespect from CM Punk, especially when he went "Old School" on the Undertaker!  What?!  ....WHAT?!  WHAAAT?!  That was awesome!  They went back and forth, and honestly, I didn't know what was going to happen.  This match was the Reign versus the Streak, and by the end of the match, I didn't know who I wanted to win.  And I would have been happy either way.  But at the end, it was the Undertaker going to 21-0.  Whew!

The seventh match was a grudge match between Brock Lesnar and Triple H.  And I have to say, after seeing the CM Punk/Undertaker match, even with this match being a no holds barred match, I felt that it lacked the usual sort of carnage that Triple H and Brock Lesnar are usually capable of.  It wasn't a bad match, and I would even venture to say that it was near Wrestlemania class, but for some reason It just didn't grab my attention like the previous match did.  There were some good moments, such as when Triple H put the Kimura lock on Brock Lesnar not once, not twice, but three times.  Which is ironic, since it was Brock Lesnar who broke Triple H's arm, twice with the very same move.  But, other than this turn of moves, and the involvement of Shawn Michaels and Paul Heyman... there wasn't anything really interesting about this match.

The eighth and final match involved John Cena (c) versus Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson for the WWE Championship.  And... well, what can I say about this match?  It had a few interesting moments, but other than that, I felt that it was a real rehash of the year before.  Most of the moves, and story within the match were similar to Wrestlemania 28.  Which was billed as "Once in a Lifetime."  And seeing this particular match, it becomes clear why it was supposed to remain once in a lifetime.  It was a good match, don't get me wrong on this one, but sometimes less is more, and I felt that there was just too much going on in this match that took away from it being the sparking match that last year's match had been.  Also, The Rock got injured during this match.  I'm not really sure what it is, but I just didn't get into this match like I did last year's.  But that might be due to a less satisfying set-up for an even more dismal payoff.  Unlike last year, where I was truly invested to see what would happen.

Overall, this Wrestlemania just didn't feel like a Wrestlemania.  It felt more like a glorified Raw or Smackdown.  There were some great moments, but overall, I just didn't feel this Wrestlemania had the same punch as it should have had.  The best part of course was the CM Punk / Undertaker match, while the worst was that bullshit Mark Henry / Ryback ending.  I mean what the fuck?  So Mark Henry's 400+ fat ass crushes Ryback, and you call that a fucking match?  WRESTLEMANIA RAGE!!!!! 

Anyway... next time on the Infraggable Tony-Reviews, I'll talk about what a great fucking week I've been having.

Fun fact:  The word Wrestlemania appears in this Wrestlemania review 29 times.

The Infraggable Tony-Man vs dead expectations

So, I'm sure this post will end up being controversial for the parties involved, and maybe I deserve my lot in life, but I am completely unhappy with a lot of things.  I don't know what's going on with my own life.  I find myself just sort of coasting through life, and more often than not... I find that I'm self-defeating.

I'm confused about life.  I'm confused about people.  I wonder about things these days.  Not long ago, I wrote a blog about how I was in a relationship with someone that I actually liked.  And now, I'm not even sure if she considers me a friend, or if I'm some annoying nuisance.  The thing is that we haven't really spoken in two or three weeks.  And we haven't seen each other in about that long.  I don't understand it.  Okay, I get maybe not speaking or seeing each other for a day, or maybe even two.  Life's busy, and shit happens.  I understand that.  What I don't understand is why we haven't done anything.  Maybe I assumed too much between the two of us.  I tend to do that.

I don't know how to relate to anyone except passionately, with my heart on my sleeve.  I don't believe in one-sided relating.  I don't believe in putting myself out there and then feeling like I'm being tugged around.  And it always happens.  I would think that after so many years of disappointment, I would learn that I am not meant to find happiness, or hell even a distraction from my life.  No... no... I just barrel into life with little understanding of it.  And because of it, I'm always scorched.  And the fuck of it is that I really should know better.

I don't know.  These days, I feel like I'm losing my already tenuous grip on reality.  And maybe I'm just finding substance in things and people that just simply doesn't exist.  And maybe I just have to face the reality that I will never be anything but cheating myself out of anything that I want in life.  Perhaps that's the lesson my life is meant to teach to a blind and deaf audience.  And I'm sure that's something I won't pass down to a generation that doesn't exist not in this world of men.

The Infraggable Tony-Man reviews "Warm Bodies"

Fellow readers of the Infraggable Tony-Reviews,

If there is anything that I love as much as gaming, it's zombies.  I'm not exactly sure what it is about zombies and the undead in general that really appeals to me.  My love of zombies and evil dead things comes from the movie "Evil Dead."  (And if you don't know what "Evil Dead" is... you have no business reading this blog, ever.)  Zombies are just so interesting.  They claw up from their graves, and roam the world in search of human brains to eat.  Some of them have full mobility, some of them can barely move.  They shamble around, driven by instinct, and are the things of nightmares.  Some zombies are dumb, some are supernaturally intelligent, some are meant for shock value, or even comedic relief.  And then there are some that makes us sympathetic toward their plight, such as the zombies in "Warm Bodies."  And the thing about zombie-ism is that anyone could be turned into a Zombie.  From the privileged, to the unfortunate,  To... this guy.

Because Zombama doesn't quite make sense.

So, when I watched "Warm Bodies" in the movie theater, I came into it with high hopes.  I had only seen the trailer, and it was enough to pique my curiosity about the movie, but not enough to break it.  Too often these days, the trailers that you see on TV gives too much away.  They can't seem to find the right balance.  So, when the "Warm Bodies" trailer came on, I was interested.  The story is largely concerned with a Zombie who is named "R", R because the zombie says via voice-over that all he can remember is that the first letter in his name is R, but he can't remember anything more than that.  R is played by Nicholas Hoult ("Beast" X-Men: First Class, "Jack" Jack the Giant Slayer) who is disillusioned by his zombie "lifestyle."  The zombies are classified into two types: Corpses and "boneys."  The Corpses are you're mostly human-like appearanced zombies.  The boneys are those who have had most of their flesh ripped off.  This comes into play later.

At the core of the movie, it is a romantic comedy, but it is done in such a great and moving way.  The female counter is a woman named Julie played by Teresa Palmer ("Steph McKinney" Wish You Were Here  "Number 6" I Am Number Four), who is part of the human survivors/resistance who is just trying to live her dismal life, and was put on a task team to gather supplies.  Julie has a boyfriend named Perry who gets killed and eaten during a raid in the outer city to gather up medical supplies.  And when R and Julie meet, a subtle change occurs in R, and instead of eating her, he takes her back to the airport, to an airplane that he considers his home, thus saving her life.

 

 

Love at first grunt...

Over the first half of the movie, there is great comedic timing, and fantastic pacing.  Nothing in the first half of the movie seems contrived, or forced.  The two of them try to get to know each other, while slowly but surely R becomes gradually more and more human like.  The change is slow, and barely noticeable at first, but there are some genuinely heart pulling moments in the movie.  But there are also a lot of subtle things about the movie that are honestly, and actually funny.  The movie actually has a good balance of romance, and comedy which makes this movie work.  It knows when to be serious, but it doesn't take itself too serious, and in my opinion, I think it's a fucking great thing.  And even though this movie keeps the tried and true story of boy meets girl, boy likes girl, girl sort of likes boy back, there is trouble, and make up at the end... "Warm Bodies" definitely brings a lot of new stuff that makes the story so fucking awesome.

While I could go into detail about how the movie was awesome (and believe me, it is,) Part of what made the movie so good was that I went to go see it in the theaters, and some of the funniest moments didn't actually come from the movie itself but from my friends, and the audience behind me.  There was a laugh-out-loud moment in the second half of the movie, and this one woman laughed like a cross between Woody Woodpecker, and that sound that Goofy makes when he's falling from a great distance (Aiiiiiir-hoo-hoo-hoo-weee!)  I had to admit, there were a few things that I simply didn't like about the movie.  Mind you they are nitpicky little things.

First of all, while I was completely invested in the two main characters, I don't think they could have been any more dumb, and contrived.  The entire movie has a very Romeo and Juliet vibe to it, and out character's names are R and Julie.  It's too fucking dumb to be considered coincidence.  In fact, a word to future movie makers.  Unless you're making Romeo and Juliet, please don't try to be clever by using any sort of off-shoot of the names.  Not only is it uninspired, but its been done to death.  Literally.

Second, I fail to believe that the settlement that the humans live could be so unprotected.  Okay, granted that there are checkpoints, and armed guard, and precautions.  But it all was for naught.  All it took was a secret passage, and well... that was pretty much it.

Last thing that really got to me was the appearance of the boneys.  They looked a lot like the mummies from The Mummy.  CGI has gotten better since those movies came out, but they looked pretty bad. 

But these are just nitpicking details, and really... if you don't think of stuff like that, and can sacrifice practical sense for the sake of story telling, "Warm Bodies" delivers what it promises, and it does it in spades.  The fact that I saw it with some of my friends was pretty awesome.  "Warm Bodies" is definitely a movie that you should check out.  This movie-going reviewer intends to see it at least one more time in the theater.

No eat.  *Chomp chomp.*

The Infraggable Tony-Man Team-up!

So, something strange happened to me a few days ago.  Something that happens to me once every five or six years.  I made a connection with a member of the opposite sex that is deeper than friendship.

Caveat: I've had girlfriends before.  But, it is rare that I have a girlfriend for any reason beyond doing the nasty.  Which is always fun, but hardly an investment.

Counting this current relationship, I would say that the number of women that I've invested in as a girlfriend as something that is emotionally satisfying as well as physically, is probably... four.  It's tough to really know what a girlfriend is supposed to do, really.  I mean, I know the basics.  They're supposed to be supportive, give love, and be the better half.  But when I think about it; I'm not so sure what it means to be the better half.  But I'm not sweating it.  I'm not sure what to expect from this, or even if it will last, but I know that I'm going to enjoy this new facet of my life, and maybe this is the spark that motivates me to fix other parts of my life.  Or maybe this is the final straw.  Who knows?  All I know is that I feel good, I feel like a 2013-appropriate amount of money  (I would say a million bucks, but with inflation, and the state of the economy, a million dollars isn't nearly as much money as it once was.)  I feel pretty awesome.

But with the feeling of awesomeness and all that, there also comes a certain amount of doubt.  With no job, no money, and all of that, I wonder if I can hold it together long enough.  Then I worry why I should worry and that I should just ride the wave.  Still, this girlfriend thing, hm?  It fucking rocks the proverbial socks.  That's all I really have to say on the matter... for now.  I wonder what's next in this funny little muddle called life.  I'm not really sure, but you know, I'm not going to sweat it too much, and I'll just see what happens between now and then.

The Infraggable Tony-Man vs Marvel™'s Magneto

Master of Magnetism, and of Wizards

I don't know what it is.  My favorite Comic superhero is none other than the web-slinger, Spider-Man himself.  (After all, if nothing else, Spider-Man is the reason why Tony-Man has a hypen in it.)  Spider-Man has a flip way of speaking.  He always doubts himself, he has many human vulnerabilities that we as a reader can sympathize with.  He wears a mask, to protect those that he loves, but also so he can deflect the fear that he has every time that the web head's life is threatened.  He knows that with great power comes yadda yadda yadda.  There is a great sadness that harbors in his heart, but it drives him to do good.  In a sense, Spider-Man could very well be more American than Captain America himself, who by Marvel's definition IS America.

But then, I get to thinking, that if Spider-Man embodies all the qualities of my favorite superhero... then why isn't Venom my favorite super villain, since Venom is by all account what Spider-Man could be if he ever gave into and became evil?  When I was younger, I really hadn't thought of Venom in that way, but now that I am thinking about it, I find myself looking to other super villains, and truly.  I think now my favorite comic book villain has to be Magneto.  Yes, he has something of a god complex.  Yes, he has done many things that can be considered crimes of humanity.  Yes, he's an extremist who wants to usher Homo Superior (mutants) into an age free from humanity, and to take what he perceives as their rightful place as the next evolutionary step... but there's something to be said about Magneto that makes him stand out.

The first thing is his origin.  We don't really know much of Erik "Magnus" Lensherr's upbringing.  What we do know is that the man now known as Magnus spent his early teens imprisoned with his family at the Nazi death camp in Auschwitz, Poland. The only member of his family to survive the camp, Magnus here learned how brutally human beings could treat minorities whom they considered different. After World War II Magnus married a woman named Magda and they had a daughter, Anya. When a mob prevented Magnus from rescuing Anya from dying in a fire, he used his powers to destroy them all in revenge.  With this in mind, it wasn't like Magneto had a good upbringing.  Sure Peter Parker's parents were killed when Peter was barely 4.  But, it can be agreed that Magneto's life had been pretty shitty for a majority of his years.  Not that this justifies his crimes against humanity, but there is an understanding of how a young man can be so shaped by the world.

The next important part about Magneto's character, is his relationship with Charles Xavier.  They were long time friends before they turned into enemies.  Eventually Magnus went to Israel, where he worked as a volunteer orderly at a psychiatric hospital and where he first met and became friends with Charles Xavier. Magnus and Xavier frequently debated the subject of mutants' coexistence with the rest of humanity. After the two men joined forces to rescue their friend Gabrielle Haller from Baron Strucker and his HYDRA agents, Magnus left for parts unknown. After being betrayed by the intelligence agents with whom he worked, Magnus began planning his campaign against the human race.  This dynamic shows that even with all that had happened between him and humanity, he did not automatically become evil and black-hearted.  Even though eventually he and Xavier became enemies, one such as Magneto can still have respect for his longtime friend.  This is very important and that in my opinion, it grounds Magneto and keeps him from being too cartoony, and too far from salvation.  That even as rivals, there is mutual respect from both Xavier and Magnus.

Powerful friends.... Powerful Enemies.

Lastly, Magneto's powers of magnetism is beyond measure.  Magneto is a mutant with the superhuman power to control magnetism. He can shape and manipulate magnetic fields that exist naturally or artificially. It is unclear, however, whether he must draw magnetic force from outside himself (if so, then he can do so over vast distances), or whether he can also generate magnetic force from within himself. Nor is it clear whether Magneto's power is psionic or purely physiological in nature.

Although Magneto's power is not on the level of the Silver Surfer in his prime, it is for all practical purposes limitless. Even before his rejuvenation, Magneto once lifted a cargo freighter weighing 30,000 tons 50 feet into the air from a distance of 300 feet away. Moreover, Magneto can use his magnetic powers in more than one way simultaneously. He can completely assemble a complicated machine within seconds through his powers. He can erect magnetic force fields with a high degree of impenetrability around himself for protection. Although Magneto often gestures when using his magnetic powers, he can utilize them fully even when standing totally still merely by concentrating.

Although Magneto's primary power is magnetism, he seems to have some ability to project or manipulate any form of energy that is related to magnetism. In the past he has fired a bolt of electricity, he has also created enough intense heat to destroy a metal door. Heat, or infrared radiation, is part of the electromagnetic spectrum, which also includes visible light, radio waves, ultraviolet light, gamma-rays, and x-rays. Magneto may be able to project any of these. He has also been shown creating an anti-gravity field, and presumably does so whenever he levitates a non-magnetic object. Hence, Magneto may be living proof of the long sought Unified Field Theory that all forms of energy are related. However, Magneto almost always uses only magnetism, so perhaps it is more difficult for him to manipulate other forms of energy.

In previous years Magneto has apparently exhibited powers of astral projection and telepathy, and has claimed to be able to control the minds of others. His abilities along these lines are minimal, however-enough, perhaps, to protect himself against mightier telepaths, but not of great use otherwise.

Magneto's ability to wield his superhuman powers effectively is dependent upon his physical condition. When severely injured, his body is unable to withstand the strain of manipulating groat amounts of magnetic forces.

Clearly, Magneto is amongst the most powerful mutants in the Marvel Universe, and with all of this, he has had plenty of experience in leadership, and he is charismatic, but he has also been vulnerable.  While he is powerful, he still exhibits traits that he is not invulnerable.  He is still guided by human-like emotions.  Anger, vengeance, envy, these things are apparent.  But underneath it all, he feels as a father, and wants to protect his fellow mutants, so that they do not have to go through their own personal Auschwitz.  He's not unlike any other father who wants to protect their children.  Perhaps he takes a few steps too extreme to achieve his intentions.  But seeing where his intents lie, perhaps one can't blame him.  Personally, I see him as a Black Crusader for Mutant Rights and Justice.  Then again, many villains in the Marvel Universe are products of their perception of the universe that is presented to them.

The moral of the story: Nazis ruin everything.