Uncanny X-Men #327 pg 12 (Cruz pencils, Townsend inks, Lobdell story) - Magneto’s clone Joseph 1st Appearance

From the standalone story issue of WHISPERS ON THE WIND (IF SINS BE FORGIVEN), which featured the “return” of Magneto comes this page from Uncanny X-Men #327 (1995). It is now better known as the 1st appearance issue of Joseph, Magneto’s clone.

In this one-off story by Lobdell, we have an amnesiac character thought to be a young Magneto returning from Asteroid M where he was in a coma after stripping off Wolverine’s adamantium from his bones and Professor X frying his brain (X-Men #25, 1993). But this amnesiac “Magneto” is really a clone created by a character named Astra, who put the real Magneto vs Joseph to fight, Joseph lost the battle, was hit in the head and left in the jungle in South America to die or be forgotten (as learned in Joseph’s origin story, which came years later in 1999, X-Men #86). Joseph is taken in by a local Nun, Sister Maria, who manages an orphanage in South America.

This page features the amnesiac “Magneto” one month after he was found, living a new calm life on the farm helping the orphanage. One of the orphans, Umberto, draws him a picture riding a horse with the slight detail of Joseph using his magnetic powers, therefore labeling him a “moo-tant” (mutant). This triggers some interest in Joseph to learn more of what it is to be a mutant, eventually linking mutantdom back to the X-Men and bringing him “home”.

Very X-cited to get a proper Roger Cruz page, as he was such a substantial figure in the X-Men of this era and especially for his work that he did on AGE OF APOCALYPSE. In addition, this page is a fun 1st appearance of a very convoluted character, Jospeh, that is seeing a bit of return in the current X books (MacKay’s X-Men #17 2025, not sure how much play he or his clones will have in the series, but it was nice to see him being referenced in the evil 3K boardroom and standing next to Astra). Joseph ultimately had a unique relationship with Rogue and created a new brand of Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. Ultimately he was killed off by Kwannon (as she returned to the X books, after being split from Betsy/Captain Britain/Psylocke) as she felt Joseph was going to perpetuate the demise of mutants and was becoming evil (Uncanny X-Men #16, 2019), she beheads him.

The art from Cruz and Townsend works beautifully for Lobdell’s telling of this story. My favorite addition on this page is the crayon drawing done by the young orphan. As seen in the published colored page, it’s raw, colorful and illustrates the innocent childlike artistry that opens up a story point of what it means to be a mutant. He’s heroic, powerful, and different from others.