History Main / SelectiveMagnetism

* Played with in ''VideoGame/MissionImpossibleKonami''. One room is just filled with these, and they affect ''only'' weapons. Those lead-core bullets and wooden boomerangs get pulled off-track and into them, which is obviously a pain (or a perverse joy, if you like watching enemy bullets never get farther than two pixels from their guns). Weirdly, while it affects outgoing boomerangs, returning boomerangs fly straight and true.

* Some objects are attracted by the magnet, but other objects that are clearly the same substance are never attracted.

* ''Film/Terminator3RiseOfTheMachines'' had John Conner use a magnetic coil against the Terminatrix, which dragged the gun out of his hand, but they seemed unaffected by anything else on their bodies, like belt buckles or zippers. It might work, however, if they're made of non-ferromagnetic metals, such as brass or aluminium.

[[folder: Web Comics]]
* In ''WebComic/HeroOhHero'', an elf uses a spell which [[http://www.neorice.com/hoh_285 creates a point in space that attracts a sword]] another character's using, without pulling in any other nearby metal objects [[spoiler: including his backup sword]].
* Both The Beast and Count Wolkerstorfer in ''WebComic/GirlGenius'' possess this ability; The latter eventually helps Agatha defeat the former.

* Dr. Polaris in ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueUnlimited''. Technically he describes his abilities as "ferro-kinetic", so it may just be really specialized telekinesis, except he's defeated by the logic that a magnet loses its charge when heated up enough so he can't control metal that's been heated.

* An old WesternAnimation/BugsBunny cartoon, ''Compressed Hare'', plays this to hilarious effect. Wile E. Coyote, having given Bugs an iron carrot, thinking the rabbit will actually eat it, activates a ten trillion volt electromagnet to attract the carrot (and thus, Bugs) to him. It works: the magnet draws the carrot, and Bugs' mailbox, and all the metal appliances in his home, then a stop sign, a great deal of barbed wire, horseshoes, trash cans, various large vehicles, The Eiffel Tower, satellites out of orbit and finally, a rocket attempting to take off...

* Played with in the NES version of ''VideoGame/MissionImpossible1990''. One room is just filled with these, and they affect ONLY weapons. Those lead-core bullets and wooden boomerangs get pulled off-track and into them, which is obviously a pain (or a perverse joy, if you like watching enemy bullets never get farther than two pixels from their guns). Weirdly, while it affects outgoing boomerangs, returning boomerangs fly straight and true.

* ComicBook/{{Magneto}}. Scientists also promptly said his powers wouldn't work that well due to the Third Law of Motion - to every action there is an equal and opposite reaction, thus while lifting a battleship weighting tens of thousands of tons the mutant would also be attracted to it like a fridge magnet...

*** [[JustifiedTrope Justified]] ([[AppliedPhlebotinum somewhat]]) in some stories written by the less scientifically illiterate among the writers, in that he uses his [[GravityMaster control over gravity]] to "anchor" himself into position relative to Earth. The reaction force is transferred to the planet's own mass. Of course, the transfer of momentum as such should still [[FamilyUnfriendlyDeath crush him to a pulp]], so he [[RequiredSecondaryPowers must be]] [[NighInvulnerability tougher]] than he looks ...
*** At various times it has been stated that Magneto is not personally magnetic so much as he manipulates the Earth's planetary magnetic field. Thus this sort of thing would not be a problem, since any motion effects would be against the mass of the Earth, not Magneto himself (and no matter what it is he's lifting or moving, it's a ''lot'' smaller and less massive than the Earth). However, Magneto has also been shown as being able to use his powers in places such as other dimensions like Belasco's Limbo, where one is left wondering as to the source of the magnetic field he is manipulating.
*** Belasco's Limbo's magnetic field. It's not Earth's field specifically, it's him altering the ambient magnetism. Although this is a HandWave. Even many celestial bodies in our solar system (especially moons) have negligible magnetic fields of their own. Why another dimension (an intrinsically magical one no less) would even have a magnetic field is unclear. Although a similar principle has also been applied to characters like the ''Comicbook/SilverSurfer'', whose "Power Cosmic" works even in places like the Dark Dimension despite supposedly being derived from [[PowerOfTheSun stellar radiation]].
** This was {{RetCon}}ned to include all metals. Magneto could fiddle around with virtually all electromagnetic effects, too. Up to and including functional telepathy, in the hands of some writers.

** The mental powers were EarlyInstallmentWeirdness - astral projection and mind control were the results of his 'powerful mutant brain' back in 1963. When it comes to canon, Marvel isn't DC - if it happened, it ''happened,'' even after you've rethought. HandWave time! Past instances of mind control became 'manipulation of the iron in the blood of your brain.' Astral projection is a bit harder.

* Goldstar has this in addition to all of her [[ComicBook/BoosterGold brother's]] [[FlyingBrick powers.]]
* ComicBook/CaptainAmerica briefly used to use magnets in his gloves back in the 60s to control the trajectory of his shield throwing without effecting anything else in the way.
* ''Franchise/WonderWoman'' [[ComicBook/WonderWoman1942 Vol 1]]: Dr. Polaris's magnetic suit is not indicated to be able to manipulate magnetic very finely, rather it is meant to just repel or attract things very strongly. Somehow he's able to prevent ComicBook/SteveTrevor from even attempting to punch out of his fighter jet after he forces the thing off course and damages the electronics indicating that he can use it to move the jet in one direction while also pulling individual elements of the jet in other directions.
* PlayedWith in ''ComicBook/WhateverHappenedToTheManOfTomorrow''. Franchise/{{Superman}}, in order to halt an invasion of "Metallos", grabs the gigantic globe statue on top of the Daily Planet building, rubbing it from top to bottom at super-speed to align its magnetic poles, turning into a "super magnet". He then uses it to attract and incapacitate all the Metallos, and in the course of this pulls in not only the attackers, but a great deal of the metal objects in the Daily Planet offices (typewriters, chairs, etc.). Lois initially fears that Superman might have made the magnet so powerful that it might lift cars from the street below, but swiftly discounts that possibility, because, well.. he's [[TheAce SUPERMAN.]]

* Some people have noticed that Jazz in the ''Film/{{Transformers}}'' [[TheMovie movie]] was able to rip guns out of the hands of Sector Seven agents with magnetism, but their cell phones still worked. But then, advanced living machine alien technology ''may'' justify that.

* In ''Film/ThisIslandEarth'' Exeter tells Cal and Ruth their hands become stuck to metal supports because the supports are magnetized. When the film was shown in ''Recap/MysteryScienceTheater3000TheMovie'', Mike noted "if your hands were metal that would mean something."

* In the ''Film/JamesBond'' film ''Film/DieAnotherDay'', Bond activates an MRI machine to disarm a North Korean soldier. Ignoring the fact that it takes hours for an MRI to fully power up, the only things that the magnet attracts are the pistol and a few medical implements, leaving the steel table, hospital bed, etc completely untouched.

* The magnet-shroom from ''VideoGame/PlantsVsZombies'' can attract quite a wide range of metal objects, but it can only attract one object at once regardless of how many are on-screen, with a cool-down before it attracts the next one.

* PlayedWith in ''ComicBook/WhateverHappenedToTheManOfTomorrow''. Franchise/{{Superman}}, in order to halt an invasion of "Metallos", grabs the gigantic globe statue on top of the Daily Planet building, rubbing it from top to bottom at super-speed to align its magnetic poles, turning into a "super magnet". He then uses it to attract and incapacitate all the Metallos, and in the course of this pulls in not only the attackers, but a great deal of the metal objects in the Daily Planet offices (typewriters, chairs, etc.). Lois initially fears that Superman might have made the magnet so powerful that it might lift cars from the street below, but swiftly discounts that possibility, because, well.. he's [[TheAce ''SUPERMAN''.]]

* PlayedWith in ''ComicBook/WhateverHappenedToTheManOfTomorrow''. Franchise/{{Superman}}, in order to halt an invasion of "Metallos", grabs the gigantic globe statue on top of the Daily Planet building, rubbing it from top to bottom at super-speed to align its magnetic poles, turning into a "super magnet". He then uses it to attract and capture all the Metallos, and in the course of this attracts not only the attackers, but a great deal of the metal objects in the Daily Planet offices. Lois initially fears that Superman might have made the magnet so powerful that it might lift cars from the street below, but swiftly discounts that possibility, because, well.. he's [[TheAce ''SUPERMAN''.]]

* PlayedWith in ''ComicBook/WhateverHappenedToTheManOfTomorrow''. Franchise/{{Superman}}, in order to halt an invasion of "Metallos", grabs the gigantic globe statue on top of the Daily Planet building, rubbing it from top to bottom at super-speed to align its magnetic poles, turning into a "super magnet". He then uses it to attract and capture all the Metallos, and in the course of this attracts not only the attackers, but a great deal of the metal objects in the Daily Planet offices. Lois was initially concerned that Superman might have made the magnet so powerful that it might lift cars from the street below, but swiftly discounted that possibility, because, well.. he's [[TheAce '''SUPERMAN'''.]]