As the villain in X-Men: First Class, there was no questioning Shaw's strength.
He could absorb nuclear energy and all forms of energy, including kinetic energy, and then release them at any time to cause destruction.
That made him very difficult to defeat.
In the movie, Professor X used his telepathy to immobilize Shaw, and Magneto killed him by sending a coin through his brain at a constant speed.
Alex remembered that after watching the movie, he had discussed it online with a group of movie fans.
At the time, the biggest point of debate was whether Shaw's ability was active or passive.
Judging from what the movie showed, Shaw's ability was most likely activated voluntarily. So after Professor X restrained him, Shaw could no longer actively use his ability, giving Magneto the chance to take his revenge.
But some people believed Shaw's ability could function passively, with active use only increasing its absorption efficiency.
Even if Professor X restrained Shaw, his ability would still remain.
On the other hand, Shaw could not absorb kinetic energy from something too small, so Magneto made the coin move at a constant speed to pierce Shaw's brain.
Magneto hated Shaw to the bone, so it could be said that he was the person in the world who understood Shaw best.
However, that argument was also challenged by many people.
Quite a few argued that Magneto had the coin pass through Shaw's brain at a constant speed out of hatred, simply to torture his enemy.
As for which was actually true, only the screenwriter knew.
All in all, Shaw was very strong, but he still had weaknesses.
Just now, when Alex used "Power Concentration," Shaw was unable to completely absorb the kinetic energy from Alex's punch.
It was very simple.
If strength was treated as flowing water, then Shaw's ability was a water pump.
A water pump could naturally draw away flowing water with ease, but after using "Power Concentration," the flowing water became ice.
Its nature had already changed. No matter what, a water pump could not turn ice back into water. At most, it could only draw away the moisture on the surface of the ice.
So killing Shaw was very simple for Alex.
Whether he used "Mind Invasion" to control him before killing him instantly, or used "Power Concentration" to destroy him by force, neither was difficult.
In this universe, at this stage, for the current Alex, there was still no opponent who could fight him.
But just as Alex was about to end this boring game, he let out a soft "Hm?" and saw the cargo ship that had landed on the deserted island silently come apart. One nuclear warhead after another floated into the air.
And beside those warheads, a figure was hovering in midair.
Magneto!
Shaw also noticed Alex's unusual expression and turned to look. He saw Erik floating in the air with a cold expression.
Beside him were the nuclear warheads that the Soviets had originally planned to deploy in Cuba.
But now, they were lined up beside Erik like soldiers, all pointed at him.
Shaw was somewhat surprised, "You can actually do something like this?"
"When did you learn to fly?"
Shaw could fly by continuously releasing the energy inside his body to create thrust, allowing himself to overcome gravity.
But in his memory, Erik was just a guy who controlled metal. How could he fly?
Clearly, Shaw's understanding was wrong.
What Erik could truly control was magnetic fields, not metal. Otherwise, he wouldn't be the "Master of Magnetism," but the "Master of Iron."
Now, Erik could fly naturally because he was making use of the Earth's magnetic field.
However, at this stage, Erik should not yet have been able to control magnetic fields.
Alex chuckled to himself, thinking that Magneto's ability had truly awakened, whether out of rage or for some other reason.
Although he was only using his magnetic field control in a crude way now, nowhere near the state he would reach later after Apocalypse strengthened him and he evolved again, it was still far better than before, when he could only use his ability to tear apart buildings.
"Shaw, aren't you able to absorb energy?"
"Then let me see just how much energy you can absorb from exploding nuclear bombs."
"One? Two? Or all of them here?"
Erik said with no emotion in his eyes.
Alex nodded lightly. This was also a way to kill Shaw.
Shaw might be able to absorb nuclear energy, but he could only do so inside a nuclear submarine, in an environment where no one disturbed him and he would not be distracted.
Moreover, what he absorbed was not the energy released by a nuclear explosion. He used a nuclear reactor to release nuclear energy in a relatively gentle way so that he could absorb it.
If it were an actual nuclear detonation, then at the center of the blast, the violent energy released in that instant was something Shaw simply could not absorb.
It was like trying to use a water pump to drain away a flood. The moment the nuclear bomb exploded, Shaw would probably be blown to pieces.
Naturally, Shaw understood his own situation better than anyone. Seeing that things had gone wrong, he immediately prepared to make a run for it.
But then he discovered that he could no longer control his body.
He caught a glimpse of Alex waving at him, and then the other's voice sounded in his mind.
["Consider it a favor for Erik."]
["Just stay where you are and don't move. Let him reduce you to ashes."]
'Damn it!'
'Another telepath!'
Shaw screamed beneath.
At that moment, Magneto had already used his power to activate one of the nuclear warheads, and flames burst from its tail.
"Mr. John."
Erik called out, "Can you take Raven and the others away?"
Alex nodded and said with a smile, "No problem."
"By the way, I've already used my telepathy to hold him in place. He won't get away."
Then he flashed toward the sea.
He pulled Raven and the others out of the water, then extended his "Bio-Field" over them to protect them from the nuclear explosion, the shockwave, and radiation.
"Thank you very much," Erik said sincerely, "Thank you for giving me the chance to take my revenge."
The young Magneto beckoned with his other hand, pulling up several pieces of metal from the sea.
Then he waved them toward Shaw.
The pieces of metal flew over and attached themselves to Shaw's body. This allowed Erik to control him.
Erik sent Shaw up into the sky. Only after Shaw had become a tiny black dot did he wave his hand, and the activated nuclear warhead shot out.
Trailing a brilliant plume of flame, it streaked rapidly into the sky and caught up with Shaw high above.
Shaw's eyes widened.
Then a blinding flash filled his vision.
Violent energy erupted around him. Shaw first felt an astonishing heat, and then he lost consciousness.
In that instant, the nuclear explosion tore him into pieces.
Energy this violent was simply beyond his ability to absorb.
BOOM!
A gigantic fireball appeared in the sky.
Then the roar of the explosion spread outward, audible from a thousand miles away.
It was as if the entire sky had been set ablaze. The raging flames howled, tore apart the sea of clouds high above, and drove the air currents into wave after wave of fierce winds sweeping across the ocean.
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