Magneto is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. He has most often been the primary villain of the X-Men comics, as well as the TV shows and the films; although in the comics, he has been an ally and even member of the X-Men at times. The character first appears in X-Men #1 (September 1963), and was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby. A powerful mutant with the ability to generate and control magnetic fields, Magneto (born Max Eisenhardt) desired mutants to eventually dominate the human race as he viewed humans as an outdated species that no longer deserves its continual domination over the world. However, writers have since fleshed out his character and origin, revealing him to be a Jewish Holocaust survivor whose actions are driven by the purpose of protecting the mutant race from suffering a similar fate. His role in comics has varied from super-villain to antihero to superhero. His character's early history has been compared with the civil rights leader Malcolm X and Jewish Defense League founder Meir Kahane.