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As has been pointed out. Magneto did have the ability to stop the bullet fired at the officer in X Men II. Here's the rub... bullets aren't rockets with motors. Once their forward motion caused by the expansion of burning gunpowder is stopped, they stop. The bullet is obviously still being pushing forward into the officer's forehead after forward motion has been stopped, propelled by some force. The gunpowder has been spent and is no longer a factor as a propellant. That force then must be Magneto, unless I'm missing something.

Note: this question is not about who fired the gun or who initially STOPPED the bullet from hitting the cop. It's about the bullet staying at the officer's head and apparently boring forward AFTER its been stopped. Is Magneto trying to push it forward and Jean trying to stop it?

Physics dictates that once the forward momentum of the bullet is stopped, it should just fall to the ground unless it's being HELD in place.

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    Some people can't keep time stops and telekinesis straight....
    – Adamant
    Commented Apr 8, 2016 at 20:46
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    Sounds like you've answered your own question.
    – Ellesedil
    Commented Apr 8, 2016 at 20:50
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    Possible duplicate of Who stopped the bullet in the first X-Men movie?
    – Valorum
    Commented Apr 8, 2016 at 21:14
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    @Richard Just looked at that question and answers. Not the same question and the answers don't pertain to this question. This question goes a step or two further.
    – Morgan
    Commented Apr 8, 2016 at 21:30
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    @Richard I think the suggested dupe actually claims that Magneto (claims he) wouldn't be able to stop all the other bullets if he fired the rest of the guns. It doesn't actually answer whether there is some momentum magically stored in the currently frozen bullet, though. The movie makes it look as if he was "restraining" the bullet from hitting the cop, which would be absurd even for a fantasy movie. Or maybe I misunderstood the issue? :P
    – Andres F.
    Commented Apr 8, 2016 at 21:51

1 Answer 1

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Yes, Magneto was controlling the bullet.

Magneto laughed throatily. He had fired at point-blank range into the face of one cop, then had stopped the bullet just as it touched the man’s skin. The bullet was still hanging there, the heat from it burning the man’s forehead. The cop’s eyes were huge, and Magneto had no doubt the poor fool had wet his pants from the fear.

X-Men: A Novel

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    So that also means that Prof X was just as ignorant of basic physics and got played?
    – Morgan
    Commented Apr 8, 2016 at 21:17
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    @Morgan - The threat is still there. Magneto could (if he so chose) push that bullet through the policeman's head with no effort whatsoever.
    – Valorum
    Commented Apr 8, 2016 at 21:37
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    To me, the question here is what would require Magneto to exert an additional force. Suppose Magneto is distracted and he stops exerting his superpowered influence on the bullet: does the movie expect us to believe that: a- the bullet falls to the ground, since it's currently stationary, or b- the bullet regains momentum and flies through the cop's head, just as if Magneto had hit play after pausing the movie? If the option is (a), then there is no risk if the X-Men distract Magneto, but I think the movie is going for (b).
    – Andres F.
    Commented Apr 8, 2016 at 21:57
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    @AndresF. - If Magneto loses interest, the bullet will simply drop to the ground.
    – Valorum
    Commented Apr 8, 2016 at 22:01
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    @AndresF. If you watch X-Men: First Class, you can see the effects of Magneto repeatedly being distracted and re-attaining focus on what he's trying to do.
    – thegreatjedi
    Commented May 30, 2016 at 17:26

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