The conclusion of X-Men ’97 Episode 5 depicts Magneto and his fellow X-Men facing off against an insurmountable enemy before he says a line in German.

Warning! This article contains spoilers for X-Men ’97 season 1, episode 5, “Remember It.”

The heartbreaking climax of X-Men ’97 Episode 5 saw Marvel’s Magneto speak his final words in German for one poignant reason. X-Men ’97 Episode 5 marks the halfway point for Season 1, but did not deliver half measures with the drama. The episode saw a slew of legendary X-Men ’97 characters seemingly perish on the newly recognized mutant nation of Genosha as a multi-headed “Godzilla Sentinel” unleashed a near-unstoppable onslaught. Fatalities were undoubtedly in their millions, but two of the most prominent included Gambit and Magneto, the nation’s appointed leader.

Magneto’s heartbreaking death came as he attempted in vain to fell the suped-up Sentinel himself, unleashing his Omega-level powers with extreme prejudice. While this would give the Wild Sentinel a run for its money, he would soon find himself protecting a group of Morlocks from the devastating green beam that obliterated countless other mutants. With the Wild Sentinel failing to let up, Magneto ultimately accepts his fate as Leech looks desperately up at him, before speaking his final words in German to Leech and succumbing to the Sentinel’s attack alongside Leech and the other Morlocks.

What Magneto Says In German As He Dies

Magneto’s final moments were spent conjuring a barrier between the Sentinel’s lethal rays and the Morlocks. Upon realizing he could not maintain the shelter, Magneto and Leech shared a look, with the latter seeming terrified. It was then that Magneto spoke his final words in German:

“Habe keine Angst.”

In English, this means “Don’t be afraid.” It was a moment that was rendered all the more heartbreaking by a line spoken by Leech just minutes earlier:

“He promised Leech would never be scared again.”

The Morlocks represent a particularly tragic subset of mutantkind as their physical mutations preclude them from attempting to integrate with humanity. Their lives on Genosha, therefore, were a boon facilitated by Magneto, whose final moments were spent protecting the archetypal group of mutants he spent his life fighting for. The fact that he spoke to Leech in German, however, was not because of a shared heritage, but was indicative of an even deeper facet of Magneto’s history.

As is usually the case with Marvel, the deaths of Magneto and Gambit aren’t certain to be permanent, though it remains to be seen how X-Men ’97 might bring them back.

Magneto’s Final Words Being In German Mean So Much

Magneto Is A Holocaust Survivor

Magneto’s story is inexorably tied to the fact that he lived through the Holocaust as a Jewish boy. This history is briefly depicted in a momentary flashback in X-Men ’97 Episode 5, moments before he meets his apparent end. After being thrown into a huge statue of Charles Xavier that then crushes multiple fleeing mutants, Magneto pictures the wreckage, the aftermath, and an image of a person – presumably himself – holding a barbed wire fence while wearing the “yellow badge” that Jews were forced to wear as identifiers during the Holocaust.

The parallels between this moment and the deadly persecution being experienced by Leech and his fellow mutants in X-Men ’97, Episode 5 are stark. Magneto’s acceptance of his fate sees him speaking to Leech as though he were his younger self, substituting the vengeful response to his lifelong persecution for paternal reassurance. In doing so, the episode delivers a heart-wrenching conclusion to the pain that Magneto has experienced his whole life, something that Rogue alluded to earlier in the episode.

New episodes of X-Men ’97 air Wednesdays on Disney+.