The Technarchy aliens are a sentient form of "techno-organic" life, which resembles machinery in various ways. Magus is the ruler of the planet Technarch, and, as is customary, each of his children must face him in combat to the death before the child has achieved adulthood. However one of the Magus' sons, Warlock, was fearful of being slain in combat and refused to participate, fleeing his native world. He landed on Earth near the Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters, home of the New Mutants. The young mutants welcomed him as their new friend and teammate.
However, Warlock, was pursued through space by the Magus himself. He landed in New York state, battling the X-Men who, like the New Mutants, were based at Xavier's school. Despite the Magus's vast power, the three X-Men managed to cause him pain. The Magus called off the battle and departed, warning the X-Men to turn Warlock over to him or else he would wreak destruction upon the Earth.
The Magus decided to avoid conflict on Earth, considering that many high-powered entities were interested in it (such as the planet devouring Galactus). Instead, Magus chose the extradimensional Limbo as his battleground, and infected S'ym, the demonic henchman of New Mutant Magik, with the techno-organic virus. Magik defeated S'ym's revolt, and the New Mutants battled Magus alongside the space pirates Starjammers. In this battle, Cypher managed to decode Magus's genetic structure, and devolved him into a Technarchy youth. The Magus was then sent back to the Technarchy homeworld to be reared once again.
Over time, the Magus recovered. By this time, a new alien race had developed from the Technarchy’s techno-organic virus: the Phalanx. The Magus began to seek out and destroy the Phalanx, including an infestation that had begun in the Shi’ar Empire, by creating a massive “Babel Spire” on the infected planets. His search had brought him again to Earth, where the Phalanx had originated. He once again battled Warlock, but the rites of succession no longer applied, as Warlock had since been killed and reborn in a new body. Nevertheless, Warlock was resurrected as a member of the Phalanx, so the Magus still sought his destruction. He began construction of a Babel Spire, and was confronted by Warlock and his allies. The Magus was ultimately defeated when Warlock and his allies infected him with an altered version of the techno-organic virus, one that conflicted with his natural state, forcing the Magus to flee Earth.
