What role do magnetism and electricity play in the life and death of the Metal Monster?

Magnetism and electricity are vital to the Metal Monster's existence. The Metal People are 'animate, moving, sentient combinations of metal and electric energy,' consciously using magnetic-electric forces for their life[1]. They 'suck their strength from the sun and whose blood is the lightning,' feeding on its magnetic life and storing this power in the city's cones[1][1].

The Monster's destruction is also tied to these forces. Described as a 'prodigious dynamo,' it was 'short-circuited and burned out'[1]. A cataclysm generated an 'electric charge of inconceivable magnitude' and a 'magnetic field of incredible intensity,' which, upon discharging, 'blasted the Monster' and 'burned it out'[1].

Space: The Metal Monster By A. Merritt