Charles Xavier/Erik Lehnsherr
| Pairing | |
|---|---|
| Pairing: | Charles Xavier/Erik Lehnsherr |
| Alternative name(s): | Cherik, Professor X/Magneto, Xavier/Magneto, XavierMagneto |
| Gender category: | Slash |
| Fandom: | X-Men, X-Men Movieverse, X-Men: First Class |
| Canonical?: | No (citation needed) |
| Prevalence: | was a small niche fandom that became huge after the release of First Class; enjoyed ample popularity throughout it's sequels' duration (2011 - 2019), and is currently a much quieter but still consistently active fandom |
| Archives: | several late 1990s - early 2000s fics archived at Chuck Amuck! (wayback) |
| Other: | |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Charles/Erik is a slash pairing in X-Men fandom. Sometimes name smushed into 'Cherik'.
Canon
Professor Charles Francis Xavier, also known as Professor X, is a powerful telepath and the founder of the superhero group the X-Men. He first appeared in the X-Men comics and has subsequently appeared in the various adaptations and spin-offs: X-Men: The Animated Series, the first three X-Men movies, the Ultimate X-Men comics, the cartoons X-Men: Evolution and Wolverine and the X-Men, and more recently the alternate timeline/prequel films, most prominently X-Men: First Class.
Erik Magnus Lehnsherr, also known as Magneto, has powers related to metal and magnetism. He was once Xavier's close friend but has generally been his archenemy in canon. Generally. Off and on. Mostly on.
Fandom Overview
A fairly minor pairing in the comics and movieverse fandom (include Logan films), though with some passionate advocates, it exploded after the release of X-Men First Class.
Comics
The characters have been around for decades and alternately matched wits and shacked up together through numerous iterations and reincarnations. Though responsible for a smaller portion of fannish output, there is a wealth of slashy material in the backlog of comics.
Movieverse
Due to the strong friendship for years between actors Patrick Stewart and Sir Ian McKellen there has been a slight amount of fanworks based on the movieverse, but nothing as extensive as after the launch of the alternative line with Michael Fassbender (Magneto) and James McAvoy (Charles).
Wolverine and the X-Men
They barely interact in this canon, what with Xavier being in a coma in the future for the whole thing. There's little to no fannish activity for them in this fandom (afaik).
X-Men: First Class
General consensus (even outside the fandom) is that the film is really nothing more or less than a romantic tragedy. Meta and primers have been written regarding the two characters' textual and subtextual relationship, as well as more fanfiction than you could read in a lifetime. Tumblr has also been busy.
Common Tropes & Themes
- XMFC: Lots (and lots and lots) of Alternate Universes.
Notable Fanworks
Fics
X-Men Movieverse/X-Men: First Class:
- The Winter of Banked Fires by Yahtzee. A fix-it fic for X3.
- An Earlier Heaven by Regann. Canon-compliant mpreg.
- The Courtship by d: A reincarnation and arranged marriage story, written as a prompt fill on the Xmen_firstkink kink meme under the title of The Courtship of Francine and Mr Lehmanbot
- A Curious Carriage of Crystal and Cold by Etharei (XMFC & XM Movie-verse, 2011). AU science-fiction novel.
- X Marks the Spot by thehoyden (XMFC, 2011). AU fusion with Indiana Jones set in 1962.
- Anarchy in the UK by Yahtzee, Modern Non-Powered AU, a chance meeting in Kenya brings these two opposites together and sets in motion a love affair that will challenge the British monarchy -- and force them both to change forever.
- The Better Man by TurtleTotem, crossover with Harry Potter.
- Paper Monsters by Clocks. "Charles meets Erik Lehnsherr, his favorite novelist of all time at a coffee shop, but doesn't know it's him, and Erik just criticizes his own writing in front of his biggest fan."
- The stars incline us, they do not bind us by ikeracity and Pangea - Space AU
- Do You Love Me by Kat (post-apocalyptic AU) 2011-2012
- Replay by Unforgotten. "After Magneto of an X2-ish future succeeds in the unthinkable, Charles sends his consciousness back to 1962 to guide Erik away from the path that will lead to the genocide of the human race forty years hence."
- Taken By His Majesty by Pookaseraph, an Historical AU (2011)
- Allergic to Nuts?, Archived version by the_charm_caster
- Guilty by Association by Regann (Modern AU) 2011-2012
Fan Art
We Want the Same Thing, by brilcrist
Chess AU, by luminary1412
Charles & Erik, by loobeeinthesky
Meta
- Enemies: A Love Story by Alara Rogers for Ship Manifesto. (2004, covers all canons up to then).
Rec Lists
Archives and Communities
- Old Friends on LJ. All canons.
- Erik-Charles on LJ. X-Men: First Class
- CXE First Class on LJ. X-Men: First Class.
- Alara.net/Crossroads X/Chuck Amuck!. (Note: page is a general Charles fanfiction archive with Charles/Erik dispersed throughout.) X-Men, X-Men Movieverse, X-Men: The Animated Series.
Resources
- Erik Lensherr/Charles Xavier tag at AO3
- XMMF Magneto/Xavier tag at X-Men Movie Fic.
- Charles/Erik search at DeviantArt, mostly XMFC.