X-Men ’97 just paid off a major Magneto moment from the original X-Men animated series, 31 years ago during the show’s first season finale.

X-Men ’97 just paid off a major Magneto moment 31 years later. As seen in the three-part finale of X-Men ’97, the Master of Magnetism has had enough of humanity’s intolerant violence toward mutants, reverting to his original costume and helmet as he declares war on mankind. This naturally prompts a response from the X-Men and specifically Wolverine, leading to a major callback to the original X-Men animated series from the early 90s.

As seen in X-Men ’97 episode 9, Magneto revives Asteroid M and convinces both Rogue and Sunspot to join him, having already unleashed a massive EMP across the globe to knock out Bastion’s Prime Sentinels and the vast majority of electronics and first-world infrastructures. While the X-Men’s Gold Team attempts to take down Bastion and Mister Sinister, Blue Team faces Magneto directly. To that end, this second chapter of X-Men ’97’s exciting finale features an epic moment at the very end, paying off a classic Magneto line from the OG series.

Wolverine Repeated Magneto’s Own Warning To Him

“The Brave Always Die First”

Cyclops’ Blue Team is comprised of Professor Xavier, Nightcrawler, Jubilee, and Wolverine. To that end, Wolverine is the one who manages to remove Magnus’ helmet, allowing Xavier to grab hold of his old friend’s mind. However, Cyclops ends up breaking Xavier’s concentration with an optic blast, wanting to buy Gold Team more time with Bastion. Magneto then places his helmet on Xavier before calling him a traitor to his own kind, but Wolverine takes advantage of Magneto’s distraction and stabs him through the back, offering the Master of Magnetism an incredibly poignant line:

Not only does this new Wolverine line perfectly match the brutality of his actions, but it’s also significant in that it’s a reference to a quote from Magneto himself. As seen in the finale of the original X-Men series’ first season, Magneto warned the X-Men that “the brave always die first” when they chose to get in the Blackbird to face Bolivar Trask and Master Mold and save President Robert Kelly. As such, it’s a very dynamic callback and reference to the OG animated Marvel series.

What Wolverine’s Line To Magneto Really Meant

Logan Ultimately Respects Magnus

In truth, it’s doubtful that the X-Men actually heard Magneto’s line in the OG series as they were already taking off in the Blackbird. That said, the quote is no less powerful in X-Men ’97 coming from Wolverine after he grievously wounds the Master of Magnetism. It confirms Wolverine’s own darkness and willingness to do what needs to be done which isn’t too far off from Magneto’s own methods.

Wolverine’s reference to the brave dying first also speaks to his inherent respect for Magneto. Despite being pitted as rivals more often than not, Wolverine is in a better position than most to see where Magneto is coming from. Logan can certainly relate to Magnus’ decision to simply war with humanity in X-Men ’97, rather than continuing to fight for coexistence (even if Wolverine still chooses to side with Xavier at the end of the day).

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