At the very heart of the X-Men books and films is the philosophical battle between Professor X and Magneto . Without this fundamental difference of opinion, the X-Men may never have thrived over the past 40 years. With the final X-Men film debuting at the end of May, we thought it high time IGN gave a closer look at the motives and methodologies of Marvel's greatest rivals.

The Core Belief

Professor X and Magneto, created in the '60s, were modeled after Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X, respectively. Both want the same thing -- a world where mutants are accepted members of society who can live without fear. Granted, from time to time (and writer to writer), Magneto's aspirations are a bit more selfish and grandiose. But fundamentally they want the same thing. The two just have very different ideas of how to achieve this end.

Xavier strongly believes that the only way to live peacefully with Homo Sapien is to show that while mutants may sometimes look different, they are still human beings. Aggression only serves to escalate confrontations with humans and further alienate mutants from the vast populace. Though the X-Men often use their powers in combat, they do so almost solely against other powered beings or as a last resort against humans.

Magneto has no desire to go quietly to camps and be exterminated by humans. To him, the only way to fight human aggressors is with a show of power. If someone throws a bottle at a mutant, that mutant should throw a car at the human. It isn't that (most of the time) Magneto wants to subjugate the human race, but he sees no reason to suffer a single abuse when his power and those of his brethren can put an immediate (if temporary) stop to an act of hatred against mutants.

Origins

The split in philosophies can be traced back to early adulthood for both men. Xavier was raised in a nurturing household. His stepfather directed his anger at Xavier's half-brother, Cain Marko. Thanks in part to his hidden power, Xavier excelled scholastically. He received an excellent education and while he had difficult times as any person does, he enjoyed a privileged life. There are no dark incidents in Xavier's life that informed him about the duplicitous nature of man. He could afford to believe in pacifism.

Magneto grew up in a concentration camp. A Jew (or Gypsy, depending on who's writing the book), Erik Magnus Lehnsherr was meant to die the moment he stepped into Auschwitz. He stood with his parents as they were shot and killed. He should have died, but the Nazi's did not want to waste a bullet on such a weak boy. They threw him into the pit of the dead. Erik climbed out of the pit, crawling up the bodies of the dead. It bought him life in the camp, but little solace for the loss of his family.

Magneto's experience in World War II, and the persecution he experienced after first using his powers (his wife, his love, left him in disgust), shaped him into the man he is today. He swore never again to stand by idly as those who were "different" were murdered. While it is easy to condemn Magneto for his extreme actions, it is impossible to deny the emotional underpinnings of his harsh stance.

Nurture vs. Neutralize

In, the '60s, in Haifa, Israel, Xavier and Magneto were friends. Both would soon set out on their destined paths, but it was at this moment that each could have been swayed. The two debated daily, though neither knew the other had powers. Though they disagreed often, they also found common ground in their philosophies. But a union to one side or the other was not to be. The Holocaust was still too close to Erik's heart and the tumultuous civil rights movement in the states did not put his mind at ease.

Xavier chose to become a nurturer, building a "school for gifted youngsters," which was in truth a training ground for mutants. The institute held secret its true role for years, as Xavier feared humans were not yet ready to accept mutants with open arms. As a respected geneticist, Xavier spoke in favor of mutants in public, but his own mutation was not revealed to the public for a number of years. Rather than fight bigotry head on, Xavier used the school to teach young mutants how to integrate themselves into society, to accept themselves for what they are and to prepare themselves for a war he feared may be inevitable.

It would be wrong to suggest Xavier was adverse to violence. If the events seen in the "Days of Future Past" storyline were to come true and mutants were lead into camps, Xavier would embrace a war against the government, with Magneto at his side. But so long as there was hope that mutants could be shown as worthwhile members of human society, Professor X would do his best to avoid public conflicts.

If you examine the history of the X-Men, you'll find an excessive amount of combat. However, the vast majority is done in an effort to stop mutants from hurting humans. Many of the conflicts are internal, with groups seeking to destroy the X-Men. Though Xavier wanted to teach his children to live side-by-side with humans in peace, he kept them sheltered. Perhaps Xavier was afraid that should his impressionable students be exposed to the true nature of humanity, to the abuse and scorn, that they might turn from his philosophy. While Xavier preached communion, he practiced exclusion.

Magneto took the extreme opposite. He assembled what he referred to as the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, a group of young adults who were in no way seeking reform. While Xavier took a passive role, Magneto was aggressive in his pursuit of mutant equality. He taught his Brotherhood to use their powers whenever necessary and to never hide their gifts. Over the years, Magneto's actions became more extreme and unacceptable even to the most ardent supporter of his philosophy.

Abused children often become abusive parents. So to can be said of Magneto, a man so consumed by the evils of persecution, that he became genocidal. Whatever his intentions, Magneto became so focused on the threat of humanity, that he could no longer see a world in which mutants and humans co-existed. He made sure to take first, before anyone took from him. He would strike hard, with hundreds of thousands of casualties to get the world's attention. Rather than fighting for mutant rights and prosperity, he became a man lashing out in anger at a past he could never escape. And in doing so, he began to replicate the atrocities forced upon him in youth.