What was Magneto working on?

[Plawsky]

I don't see how you think he copied that story. I didn't remember any tidal waves in Return of the King. That whole switching the magnetic poles ting is something Mags had said he would do.

That's my whole point - he said he would do it in Return of the King. It's the same extinction plan.

Magneto: "[It's] like the Christian book of Genesis in reverse."
...
Forge: "The last thing I expected was this big plan to reverse the world's magnetic poles."

Later, Magneto causes storms and earthquakes around the globe. He also planned for global flooding, calling part of his plan the "Ark Project."

Magneto: "When God didn't like what he'd created, he washed it all away in forty days and forty nights. I will do it in three."
...
Reed: "You shifted the magnetic poles. The Earth is off its axis."

Magneto's plan is the same in both books - worldwide destruction caused by manipulation of the Earth's poles. In both books he compares himself to God, referencing the book of Genesis. Both stories take place from his floating citadel, which he was not in the last time he was seen before Ultimatum (UXM #79). Sure, that place could arguably have been the same citadel, but there's still no explanation from Loeb as to why it was back (though, that's hardly a glaring issue compared to the rest in Ultimatum). The confrontation in both stories climaxes around a big throne room battle.

Rip off, continuation, homage, whatever you want to call it, Loeb didn't come up with the idea, and it had already been used in an earlier story. Several of Magneto's plot beats come straight from Return of the King, only Millar didn't have him give up like a little girl.

He just wrote a bad story.

I never said he didn't.

[Robbie_Jee]

^ I see what you're saying Plawsky but that still doesn't give any indication that Loeb read Ultimate X-Men.

And I never said he did come up with Ultimatum by himself.

You don't have to believe me but seriously. Ultimatum was originally an idea that was pitched by Mark Millar and after he left the Marvel creators wanted to use it as their eventual 'relaunch' or 'reset' button. So they quickly briefed Loeb on the idea and off he went to write it. Loeb didn't have to read up on ANYTHING to have written his books. Just a quick briefing was all that was needed.

Loeb didn't read UXM and it's obvious to see that when you witness the amount of errors in his books. And Loeb obviously didn't read Millar's Ultimates either, he was just briefed.

EDIT: Typed on phone and unable to quote you for some reason.

[hunter_peterson]

I know Quicksilver had an Oedipus complex, but do you think Magneto...

eeeeeeeeew! ...though that makes sense. EEEEEEEW!