Tarot Symbolism in The Resurrection of Magneto

Comic book art has always been loaded with symbolism and, in my opinion, goes hand-in-hand with Tarot so well and so often. And you know I love my comics.

From having Tarot-based characters such as DC’s Madame Xanadu and Marvel’s bluntly-named Tarot to the themes of the Fool’s Journey and links to greater powers. tarot connections exist across the comic book spectrum.

But in one recent mini-series, The Resurrection of Magneto (part of the epic Fall of the House of X and one of the last stories of the Krakoan era… Google them!), the use of Tarot-based art hit me right in the face. It was obvious - it couldn’t have been anything else but a deliberate tool/tribute concocted by writer Al Ewing and delivered by an artist who I swear is a future superstar; Luciano Vecchio.

X-Men comics, tarot art and queer creators? Count me in!

So, to begin - all you need to know is Magneto was dead at the start of this series - he died protecting the mutants of Arakko/Mars and had removed his back-ups from the resurrection cradles as a show of strength (no, really - Google it!). So there was no way he could come back to life this time right? Wrong. Due to the post-death “Waiting Room” that Magneto’s is-she-isn’t-she daughter, The Scarlet Witch, created - his essence was still out there somewhere - and with the Krakoan Age crumbling around them and mutants needing all their big guns, Storm decided to venture in to the Waiting Room and bring Magneto back.

Let’s take a look at how this manifested. (No spoilers and no real chronology here - all comparisons are presented in isolation.)

Some of the art is almost like-for-like. Here you see Magneto looking inconsolable, resembling the Five of Cups - with the cups artfully represented by his helmets from through the years. TBH if you’re “dead”; you’re gonna feel pretty gloomy, but as with the Five of Cups, all is not lost… Beautifully here the fallen cups/helmets are the helmets from his “villainous” years and does the blood represent the blood of his three adult children, the green being Polaris?

Magneto, lamenting over his spilled "cups".

Being, y’know; dead, Magneto also felt pretty alone and hopeless, giving us that Five of Pentacles energy. The iconography here shows who Magneto was in the past and some of his personal losses - which can be seen as his fault, even his burden.

Poor Magneto, left out in the cold.

Of course dying is a great way to get a new perspective, Hanged Man-style.

A new perspective and only a minor flaying.

But in life or death, Magneto is not a man without power and influence - and after 60+ years of being in comics he has his fair share of tradition and lore. So the Hierophant really makes sense. Here he offers benediction to his enemies. This also ties with the almost religious significance that Magneto had on Krakoa and Arakko. It’s no coincidence his followers used to be called “acolytes”.

The blessings of Magneto.

Magneto also encounters a High Priestess character who reveals insights to him. The imagery here, including the traditional pillars of knowledge, is pretty straightforward however the traditional B & J are represented in Krakoan letters (Again, sorry - Google it if you want to know more. There’s a whole Krakoan alphabet/language.) .

The High Priestess but make it X-Men.

Interestingly Magneto and his rescuer, Storm are shown both as The Lovers intentionally and, unintentionally according to Vecchio, also in The Devil where The Shadow King plays the part of the evil manipulator. Both cards represent partnership and duality but the traditional “fire” of the lovers is replaced with the lightning that both Magneto and Storm have some measure of control over.

Not necessarily romantic, but a powerful pairing.

The machinations of the Devil/Shadow King revealed.

In her journey to the other side, Storm is offered choices as in the Seven of Cups. The fact that these may not be all they seem comes partially from the fact that they are being offered by Tarn the Uncaring. Interestingly we see a lot of Marvel imagery here such as The Living Tribunal, the personification of Death, Toranos’ wheel of fortune (from Immortal Thor stories also written by Ewing) and the sigil of Doctor Strange.

Choices, choices...

The Eight of Pentacles, representing hard work and repetition to the point of perfection, is shown here as Storm is confronted by a Dominion (a kind of universe-level hybrid intelligence… this bit gets very confusing in the whole Krakoan saga TBH).

It takes hard work to become a universal gestalt mind.

Storm also has a cataclysmic, change-inducing event - so the imagery of The Tower fits here. Though again we see the fire or yods replaced by her lightning.

Change is coming - and it costs.

Lastly we have a rendition of The World. In a wreath forged by his own power over metal, Magneto stands triumphant, resurrected. And the usual astral houses are here represented by Iron Man and Emma Frost (at the time fighting their own battles against Orchis as part of the Fall of the House of X) and Storm and The Blue Marvel (who’s science enabled Storm to travel to The Waiting Room).

Happy ever after? Complete? Not in this universe!

Was the Tarot symbolism central or necessary to the story? Honestly, not really. But did it add a layer of art and intrigue? Yes. And, importantly, it all made sense.

The fact that this was all drawn by Luciano Vecchio, a queer Argentinian comics artist, just makes this sweeter. He seems to have a real feel for Tarot and his clean, smooth, borderline-cute art is always welcome in any book I’m reading.

I fully recommend reading this to any X-Men fans - but we warned; if you’re just dipping in to this casually, it might not make much sense without understanding the whole story of the Krakoan era. But TBH that is all a pleasure to read so I recommend reading it all.