MAGNUS GANG
(of Earth-18136)

Membership: Erik Magnus, Pete Maximoff, Mister Toad, Wanda, Maestro Wyngarde

Purpose: To thieve and pillage

Aliases: None

Affiliations: Morph (Kevin Sydney of Earth-1081) (while under Pastor Xavier's control), Nocturne (Talia Wagner of Earth-2182) (while under Pastor Xavier's control), Pastor Xavier (while under his control)

Enemies: Billy, Earl, Elendil of Reality-22681, Exiles (Blink/Clarice Ferguson of Earth-295, Iron Lad/Nathaniel Richards of Earth-18651, Valkyrie of Reality-22681, Wolvie), King (T'Challa), Dr. Moira MacTaggert

Base of Operations: An unidentified town in the American west, Earth-18136

First Appearance: Exiles III#6 (October, 2018)

History: (Exiles III#7 (fb) - BTS) - The criminal Magnus Gang were no ordinary thieves and they found themselves hunted by the man called King, who sought the Gang's leader, Erik Magnus, due to Magnus' murder of his father, T'Chaka.

(Exiles III#6 (fb) - BTS) - The Magnus Gang rode into a local town and began causing trouble and generally preying on the town.

(Exiles III#7 (fb) - BTS) - At some point, most of the Magnus Gang fell under the sway of the telepathic Pastor Xavier.

(Exiles III#6 (fb) - BTS) - As months passed, the Magnus Gang went from simple banditos to kidnappers, snatching up strangers and taking them out into the desert. During one such kidnapping, the Magnus Gang captured the visiting Nocturne from Earth-2182 and Morph from Earth-1081. At some point, King arrived in town and spent days preparing and trying to recruit a posse to confront and take down the Magnus Gang.

(Exiles III#7 (fb) - BTS) - The people in town were too frightened to join King's crusade against the Magnus Gang and King began preparing to go after the Magnus Gang alone.

(Exiles III#6) - Pete Maximoff and Mister Toad of the Magnus Gang were in the local saloon, where Pete attempted to force himself on one of the saloon women. When the woman angrily refused, Pete grabbed her and commented on how the woman had such a scandalously sharp tongue, sarcastically asking Mr. Toad's opinion on the matter. Toad agreed that the town's women were scandalous and encircled the woman with his tongue before Earth-295's Blink of the reality-hopping Exiles, who were seeking missing former Exiles, intervened, calling Pete a "creepo" and ordered him to leave the woman alone. Shocked, Pete angrily rushed up to Blink's face and asked her to repeat herself and both Toad and Blink's Exiles teammates backed up the combatants as Pete suggested Blink mind her own business. When Blink threateningly asked what if she was making it her business, Pete tried to punch her but Blink teleported behind Pete. Pete again tried and failed to punch the teleporting Blink, prompting Toad to get involved, only to have the Exiles' Valkyrie grab his tongue and flip Toad onto the ground. Blink then kicked Pete aside, warning that the two Gang members were outnumbered. An injured but smiling Pete then warned that the Exiles had no idea who he worked for before departing with Mr. Toad, further warning that the Exiles would soon find out his employer. After Pete left, the bartender Billy suggested the Exiles leave quickly since Pete was part of the vengeful Magnus Gang and when Blink commented that the Exiles could take care of themselves, Billy argued that the rest of the townspeople couldn't and the Exiles were bringing trouble to the town. Dr. Moira MacTaggert then intervened, claiming that the town had been in trouble ever since the Magnus Gang had first rode in and suggesting Billy not blame the Exiles. She then led the Exiles to Dr. MacTaggert Apothecary, her home/store, where she commended the Exiles on their foolish bravery against Pete Maximoff and Mr. Toad. She then mentioned how the Magnus Gang had been kidnapping strangers before she was interrupted by the entire Magnus Gang's arrival. The group's leader, Erik Magnus, calmly explained how he could not rapscallions harm his charges. He then reminded the Exiles and Dr. MacTaggert that they were outgunned and outnumbered, offering them a chance to surrender as a sign he was a "gentleman." Magnus then magnetically readied some bullets and when Blink readied some of her teleportational javelins, Magnus took it as a sign and ordered the Magnus Gang to attack. Unfortunately for the Magnus Gang, the Exiles quickly gained the upper hand and when Pete's sister Wanda tired out, Magnus commended her and suggested they acquire their tithe and depart. Magnus then magnetically captured the Exiles' Iron Lad, claiming him for the Magnus Gang, and departed, covering their escape using Gang member Maestro Wyngarde's illusions. When Blink exclaimed that they had to go after the Gang, Dr. MacTaggert questioned how since Pete Maximoff was faster than lightning and Maestro Wyngarde could make them see whatever he wanted. The Exiles' Wolvie insisted he could track the Magnus Gang by smell and, while she declined to accompany the Exiles since she was the only doctor in town, Dr. MacTaggert suggested the Exile find a man called King to help them. After learning that King was also preparing to take down the Magnus Gang, Blink asked Dr. MacTaggert where they could find King, only to find themselves facing King, who introduced himself as T'Challa.

(Exiles III#7) - Admitting he had heard the Magnus Gang had been giving the Exiles trouble, King explained how he had been preparing to go after the Magnus Gang alone for his own reasons. When the Exiles agreed to accompany King against the Magnus Gang to retrieve their missing teammates, King briefed the group on the Gang's desert location, admitting he had no idea how many Magnus had on his side. King then suggested they ride to the crossroads and track the Magnus Gang from there and when Blink offered to teleport the whole group, King declined the offer, remarking that Blink's teleportation seemed to attract the Gang's attention as if they could sense the use of her powers. King then suggested the Exiles rest before they leave at dawn and when Blink admitted they had no horses, Dr. MacTaggert revealed that the townspeople had donated supplies in hopes that the posse would take down the Magnus Gang. The next morning, King and the Exiles rode to the crossroads and were soon after attacked by Pete Maximoff, whom Blink easily took down. Wolvie sensed the rest of the Gang's presence, forcing the Magnus Gang to reveal themselves disguised by Maestro Wyngarde's illusions. A battle quickly ensued with Mister Toad ensnaring Wolvie with his tongue and Wanda forcing the Exiles' Valkyrie to sleep. Maestro Wyngarde attempted to disorient King with illusory copies of himself but King easily saw through the illusions and shot the Maestro, the only one talking. Wanda then suggested the posse surrender, claiming they all belonged to the Pastor now. Unsure who the Pastor was, Blink continued making threats until her former teammates Morph and Nocturne appeared. Figuring her teammates would help, Blink was shocked when Nocturne and Morph joined in defeating King and the Exiles. Soon after, Morph and Nocturne brought the captured King and Blink before Pastor Xavier, who announced plans to bring King and the Exiles into his flock before telepathically forcing them to sleep. Magnus later woke Blink up and expressed interest in using Blink to free the Magnus Gang from Pastor Xavier's influence, explaining how he had been ordered to bring Blink to the Pastor and telling Blink to watch for an opening. Magnus then brought Blink to the Pastor, where King and the rest of the Exiles were being kept under guard by the brainwashed Magnus Gang. When the Pastor killed Valkyrie's flying horse Elendil, Valkyrie attacked the Pastor and the Magnus Gang's Wanda proved unable to stop Valkyrie. With the Pastor distracted defending himself from Valkyrie, his hold on the Magnus Gang broke and Magnus ordered Pete and Wanda to collect the rest of the Gang and flee. Before they could depart, however, King confronted Magnus over the long ago murder of King's father. King allowed the rest of the Magnus Gang to flee, remarking that Magnus himself would die alone, and the two then participated in a duel that King easily won, killing Magnus with two shots. With the Magnus Gang gone, the Exiles managed to take down Pastor Xavier when Blink impaled him on her javelins.

Comments: Created by Saladin Ahmed and Rod Reis.

This story set in the Old West in Exiles III#6-7 was by far my favorite story in the third Exiles volume (2018-2019). The Old West theme was really interesting with the crazed religious nut Xavier and the art by Rod Reis really gave the story a "Man with No Name" Clint Eastwood vibe while also giving it a Bill Sienkiewicz-like art style that also reminded me of Sienkiewicz's old New Mutants art from the 1980s.

Profile by Proto-Man.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Earth-18136's Magnus Gang has no known connections to:

Billy

Billy was a local bartender who noticed odd strangers arriving in town following the Magnus Gang setting themselves up in town. When the reality-hopping Exiles arrived in town and defeated the Magnus Gang's Pete Maximoff and Mr. Toad in his bar, Billy berated the Exiles leader Blink for angering the Magnus Gang, who would surely return seeking to spill blood. The angry Billy was stopped by Dr. Moira MacTaggert, who accused Billy of blaming the Exiles for the Magnus Gang's actions.





--Exiles III#6

Dr. MacTaggert Apothecary

Dr. MacTaggert Apothecary was the doctor's office/home of Dr. Moira MacTaggert, the only doctor in town. After the reality-hopping Exiles defeated the Magnus Gang's Pete Maximoff and Mr. Toad, Dr. MacTaggert suggested the Exiles retreat to the Apothecary, where she revealed a bit of the Magnus Gang's past activities before the Gang arrived seeking revenge for the defeat of two of their members.





--Exiles III#6 (#7,

Earl

Earl was a man seated at the saloon tended by Billy and he played cards with two other men. When the reality-hopping Exiles arrived in the bar, Earl became distracted and one of the other men asked if he was still playing cards or not.








--Exiles III#6

Dr. Moira MacTaggert

Dr. Moira MacTaggert was a doctor, the only one in town, and she lived in her office, Dr. MacTaggert Apothecary. After the reality-hopping Exiles defeated the Magnus Gang's Pete Maximoff and Mr. Toad, Dr. MacTaggert met with the Exiles and they retreated to her Apothecary, where Dr. MacTaggert gave the Exiles a bit of backstory on the Magnus Gang. When Dr. MacTaggert mentioned that the Magnus Gang had been kidnapping people in town, the Exiles learned that their leader Blink's missing former teammates Morph and Nocturne had seemingly been taken by the Magnus Gang. Dr. MacTaggert then suggested the Exiles meet a man named King who had been preparing to take down the Magnus Gang. Once King appeared at her Apothecary, having heard of the Exiles' encounter with the Magnus Gang himself, Dr. MacTaggert gathered up some supplies for the Exiles as well as some horses so they could travel with King to defeat the Magnus Gang.




--Exiles III#6 (#7,

Erik Magnus

Erik Magnus was a gunslinger who rarely lost a duel. At some point, he traveled to Wakanda and killed T'Chaka, leaving behind T'Chaka's child when he left. Soon forming the Magnus Gang, Erik Magnus led the Gang into a small town, where they set up a base of operations as bandits. Not long after, the Magnus Gang fell under the sway of the telepathic Pastor Xavier but Erik managed to resist the Pastor's influence, remaining among his servants and pretending to serve the Pastor in an effort to free his Gang from the Pastor's control. When the Magnus Gang's Pete Maximoff and Mr. Toad were defeated in a bar by the reality-hopping Exiles, Erik led the Magnus Gang into town to confront the Exiles. When the Exiles gained a quick upper hand, Erik magnetically captured the Exile Iron Lad and the Magnus Gang departed with their captive. The Exiles subsequently teamed with the man named King and formed a posse to take down the Magnus Gang and rescue their teammate. After the Exiles and King were captured by the Magnus Gang, Erik secretly snuck into Blink's quarters and revealed that he retained his own mind and needed Blink's help to rescue the Magnus Gang. The next morning, Blink and the Exiles were brought before Pastor Xavier and when Xavier killed the Exile Valkyrie's flying horse Elendil, Valkyrie attacked the Pastor and Erik used the distraction to order the Magnus Gang, who were freed from Xavier's influence as Xavier focused on his own defense, to flee. While the Gang fled as ordered, King refused to allow Erik to flee, revealing himself as the child of T'Chaka. Erik agreed to duel King and King easily killed Erik where he stood, as Erik's powers did not work on King's Vibranium bullets and outfit.

Erik Magnus had the ability to control magnetism, much like his Earth-616 counterpart, Magneto.




--Exiles III#6 (#7d,

Pete Maximoff

Pete Maximoff was a quick-tempered and quick-footed member of the Magnus Gang and he fell under the telepathic sway of Pastor Xavier. When he ventured into a local saloon and attempted to force himself on one of the girls there, Pete was attacked by the reality-hopping Exiles and easily defeated alongside his teammate Mr. Toad. Promising to return, Pete made good on his word when he later returned to town with the full Magnus Gang. As the Exiles gained the upper hand in the subsequent battle, Pete joined the Magnus Gang in departing with the Exile Iron Lad their prisoner. Later, when the Exiles tracked down the Magnus Gang with the help of their new ally King, Pete was the first to attack the group, running at them and firing guns at them at superhuman speed. Pete was again easily taken down but the Exiles were ultimately captured and brought before the telepathic Pastor Xavier. When Xavier's hold over the Magnus Gang faltered as he defended himself from the Exile Valkyrie, Erik Magnus ordered his Gang to flee while their minds were again their own and Pete grabbed his teammate Wanda and ran off into the desert.

Pete Maximoff could move at superhuman speed much like his Earth-616 counterpart, Quicksilver.

--Exiles III#6 (#7,

Mister Toad

Mister Toad was a member of the Magnus Gang who was often in the company of Pete Maximoff. Like the other Magnus Gang members, Mister Toad fell under the telepathic sway of Pastor Xavier. When Pete visited a local saloon and harassed a woman there, Mister Toad was right by his side as the reality-hopping Exiles came to the woman's defense. During the ensuing scuffle, Mister Toad was grabbed by his tongue and flipped over by the Exiles' Valkyrie, and he quickly fled alongside Pete. Returning with the rest of the Magnus Gang to exact revenge for their earlier defeat, Mister Toad and Pete again fought the Exiles, with Mister Toad this time fighting hand-to-hand against the Exiles' Wolvie until the Magnus Gang retreated after capturing the Exile Iron Lad. When the Exiles teamed up with the man called King and sought to rescue Iron Lad, Mister Toad participated in an ambush on the Exiles, ensnaring Wolvie with his tongue. After the Exiles were taken to Pastor Xavier and Xavier was forced to defend himself from an assault by Valkyrie, Mister Toad was freed from Xavier's influence and presumably fled alongside Pete Maximoff and Wanda.

Mister Toad had a long, prehensile tongue that he could use to ensnare others and he had superhuman leaping ability, much like his Earth-616 counterpart, Toad.

--Exiles III#6 (#7,

Wanda

Wanda was a member of the Magnus Gang who fell under the sway of the telepathic Pastor Xavier. After Pete Maximoff and Mister Toad were defeated in a local saloon by the reality-hopping Exiles, Wanda accompanied the Magnus Gang as they sought revenge for that defeat. During the ensuing scuffle, Wanda first levitated debris to hurl against the Exiles' Iron Lad and she then affected the nearby probability fields to transform the ground beneath the Exiles into quicksand, allowing the Gang's leader Erik Magnus to magnetically capture the Exile Iron Lad. When the Exiles teamed with the man called King to track down the Magnus Gang and rescue Iron Lad, Wanda quickly used her powers to make the Exile Valkyrie fall asleep and the similarly mind-controlled former Exiles Morph and Nocturne helped capture the Exiles. Wanda later tended to the wheelchair-bound Pastor Xavier as the Exiles were brought before him and later proved unable to prevent Valkyrie from attacking Pastor Xavier, who was forced to focus his powers on his own defense. With Xavier distracted, Wanda and the rest of the Magnus Gang regained their mental faculties and Erik Magnus ordered them all to flee. Pete Maximoff snatched up Wanda and ran off at superhuman speed.

Wanda, much her like Earth-616 counterpart Scarlet Witch, had the ability to affect probability fields in her favor, causing improbable events to occur.



--Exiles III#6 (#7,

Maestro Wyngarde

Maestro Wyngarde was a member of the Magnus Gang and like the rest of the gang, he fell under the telepathic sway of Pastor Xavier. After Pete Maximoff and Mister Toad were defeated in a local saloon by the reality-hopping Exiles, Maestro Wyngarde accompanied the Magnus Gang as they sought revenge for that defeat. Despite the Exiles having the upper hand, the Magnus Gang managed to capture the Exile Iron Lad and Maestro Wyngarde used his illusion powers to cover the Magnus Gang's escape. When the Exiles teamed with the man called King to track down the Magnus Gang and rescue Iron Lad, the Maestro at first used his illusions to make the Magnus Gang seem invisible as they ambushed the Exiles but Wolvie's superhuman senses still sensed the Gang, forcing Wyngarde to drop the illusion and join the other Gang members in attacking. Generating several illusory copies of himself while facing King, Wyngarde gloated that King couldn't shoot something that wasn't there but King easily saw through Wyngarde's illusions, as the real Wyngarde was the only one talking, and King shot Wyngarde, seemingly killing him.

Maestro Wyngarde could generate convincing illusions, much like his Earth-616 counterpart, Mastermind.

We didn't exactly see Maestro Wyngarde die from the gunshot wound but King did seem to hit Wyngarde right in the heart and we didn't see Wyngarde fleeing with Pete Maximoff & Wanda after the Magnus Gang regained their mental faculties. We also didn't see Wyngarde's body among the corpses at the end of Exiles III#7 but it's possible he was just off-panel in that image.

--Exiles III#6 (#7,

Pastor Xavier

Pastor Xavier was an insane telepath who believed his actions were God's will. Shortly after the Magnus Gang came into town, Pastor Xavier placed them under his telepathic thrall and he began forcing them to capture others from town that he would then also placed under his control in a ceremony that he called "anointing." When the reality-devouring Time-Eater weakened the walls between realities, Pastor Xavier proved able to telepathically call the former reality-hopping Exiles Morph (of Earth-1081) and Nocturne (of Earth-2182) to Earth-18136, where they too fell under his sway. Seeking to find her missing former teammates, the Exiles leader Blink and her current Exiles team traveled to Earth-18136 and were ultimately captured by the Magnus Gang while trying to rescue their teammate Iron Lad. Taken before the wheelchair-bound Pastor Xavier, the Exiles were psychically forced to sleep and were scheduled to be "anointed" the next morning. The next day, Blink and the Exiles were again brought before Pastor Xavier, who insisted they had to sever their beastly ties before he killed the Exile Valkyrie's flying horse Elendil. Angered, Valkyrie rushed to attack Pastor Xavier and when the Magnus Gang's Wanda proved unable to stop Valkyrie's approach, Pastor Xavier was forced to focus all of his power towards stopping the telepathy-resistant Valkyrie. With Xavier so distracted, the Magnus Gang and former Exiles all regained their mental faculties and the Magnus Gang were ordered to flee by their leader Erik Magnus, who was subsequently killed by the Exiles' ally King. The former Exiles Morph and Nocturne then turned on Pastor Xavier as well, distracting him long enough for Blink to impale Xavier on some of her teleportational javelins. As he died, Pastor Xavier unleashed one final psychic blast that killed Morph.

Pastor Xavier was an extremely powerful telepath, much like his Earth-616 counterpart, Professor X.




--Exiles III#6 (#7d,

images: (without ads)
Exiles III#6, p14, pan2 (Magnus Gang, main image)
Exiles III#6, p16-17, pan1 (Magnus Gang in action)
Exiles III#6, p9, pan2 (Billy)
Exiles III#6, p13, pan1 (Dr. MacTaggert Apothecary)
Exiles III#6, p9, pan3 (Earl)
Exiles III#6, p12, pan5 (Dr. Moira MacTaggert)
Exiles III#7, p10, pan1 (Erik Magnus)
Exiles III#7, p12, pan1 (Pete Maximoff)
Exiles III#6, p11, pan3 (Mr. Toad)
Exiles III#7, p5, pan3 (Wanda)
Exiles III#7, p5, pan4 (Maestro Wyngarde)
Exiles III#7, p8, pan1 (Pastor Xavier)

Appearances:
Exiles III#6 (October, 2018) - Saladin Ahmed (writer), Rod Reis (art), Sarah Brunstad (editor)
Exiles III#7 (October, 2018) - Saladin Ahmed (writer), Rod Reis, Lee Ferguson (art), Sarah Brunstad (editor)

First Posted: 06/11/2022
Last updated: 06/11/2022

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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