Okay, probably safe to double-post. In M&M, the default setting for everything is actually non-lethal. So you don't actually have to kill anyone unless you actively choose to. Thus, magic works much like in Nanoha: it's generally more popular than older-style physical weapons because it isn't inherently lethal.
Since we'll be seeing minions soon, I'll explain them as well. Minions are NPCs who are of little consequence. They're your street thugs, your low-level enemy soldiers. In essence, they're cannon fodder. What this means is that unlike an important character (or boss), they go down on their first failed Toughness save. This doesn't mean minions aren't potentially quite competent and dangerous; they just use rules which allow PCs to plow through large groups easily and without long, drawn-out battles.
I may refer to Minions interchangeably as Mooks. Same difference. Enemy minions in battle will be clearly labeled as such. Additional minion-related (house)rules may appear, such as further streamlined modeling of large "mook hordes" as a single unit which acts on one initiative count.