X-Men '97: Ross Marquand Breaks Down Professor X and Magneto's Relationship

X-Men '97 star Ross Marquand went deep on Professor X and Magneto's friendship in our latest interview. ComicBook.com's Phase Zero spoke to the voice actor about the season so far and a ton of other topics. But, we had to ask him about Charles Xavier and Erik Lehnsherr's dynamic in the animated series. X-Men '97 has had a lot of Magneto so far. But, it seems like Professor X is going to be front and center for the finale. Their friendship will be interesting to see. Both of their personal philosophies have been showcased extensively this season. But, Erik seems to have been completely vindicated by the recent events in Genosha. Still, these two men just want a future for mutants, and that idea is really appealing for the voice actor. 

"They're like brothers, they really are, and I have likening it to Thor and Loki," Marquand began. "It's not dissimilar at all. I think someone had made the allusion many years ago, I think it might have been Stan Lee, but basically it said that Charles Xavier is Martin Luther King, right? And Magneto was Malcolm X. Because a lot of the X-Men originally was written around the time of the Civil Rights Movement and that was not accidental, that was very intentional."

"So, I feel like these men are two sides of the same coin. They both want the same thing. But, they go about it in very different ways," the star added, "Charles genuinely believes in the goodness of all mutants and humans, and their ability to change. Magneto is just like, 'No humans are terrible and they're gonna try to kill us. So, we better strike first.' As this episode reveals, Magneto was right." 

Asking Marquand about the fantastic scene with Magneto at the United Nations, the actor laments that his on-screen adversary was really coming around to Professor X's beliefs about human kind. However, those hopes were dashed after the massacre of Genosha. There's really no coming back from that. The actor exclaimed about Magneto's short-lived change of heart, "He really did! And, I don't think he was doing it for performative effect. I think he really did believe that. So, it's a damn shame that now he's been proven right, when he was trying so hard to change and really encapsulate Charles' vision for the future."

Marquand Steps Into Professor X's Mind

Before X-Men '97 was even a thing, Cedric Smith voiced the man who guided the X-Men. Obviously, Marvel Studios brought about a change by getting Ross Marquand into the mix. ComicBook.com's Phase Zero spoke to producer Brad Winderbaum about that decision. The head of streaming was absolutely complimentary to the voice actor and joked about him doing double duty in the Marvel Universe. (He played Red Skull, as most MCU fans will recall!) Still, we can expect Marquand to really get in there and mix it up during the last two parts of the finale.

"I think it has more to do with the fact that Ross [Marquand] is one of the most talented voice artists working," the executive chuckled. "And, we're lucky to have him. I mean, we were able to get so many of the OG cast back and unfortunately, we had to recast Xavier. Ross does a great Xavier."

Have you loved Professor X and Magneto during X-Men '97? Catch all of our pop culture discussion at @ComicBook on social media!