Warning: This article contains SPOILERS for X-Men '97 episode 9.

Summary

• Wolverine's failure to kill Magneto in X-Men '97 episode 9 mirrors Thor's last-second mistake in Avengers: Infinity War, where the God of Thunder aimed for Thanos' chest with Stormbreaker instead of the head.
• Wolverine quotes Magneto's line "the brave always die first", showcasing the hero's respect for the villain.
• However, Wolverine's last words of respect for Magneto backfire, leading to Magneto's brutal retaliation, as the villain forsibly removes the adamantium from Wolverine's skeleton.

Wolverine made the same last-second mistake in X-Men '97 episode 9 that cost Thor the victory in the MCU's Avengers: Infinity War. As X-Men '97 heads to an exciting conclusion, X-Men '97 episode 9's ending sees Professor X and the X-Men confront Bastion. However, Magneto throws a wrench in the mutants' plans, as he refuses to follow Charles Xavier's peaceful philosophy. With clashing ideals and stirred emotions, all the mutants involved resort to fighting each other, giving Bastion the upper hand.

The X-Men's mission to defeat Bastion goes wrong as soon as it begins. Not only do most of the X-Men fail to go past Mister Sinister and the Sentinels, but a mind-controlled Cable also seems to kill Jean Grey, and Wolverine gets his adamantium stripped off his skeleton by Magneto in X-Men '97's homage to the Marvel Comics storyline Fatal Attractions. Besides, Wolverine's painful experience is only made worse by the fact that he gets extremely close to killing Magneto moments earlier.

Wolverine Should Have Aimed For Magneto's Head

Wolverine Missed His Chance To Defeat Magneto Once And For All

Since removing Magneto's helmet and letting Charles Xavier do the rest doesn't work, Wolverine takes it upon himself to incapacitate Magneto by stabbing him in the abdomen. Wolverine also takes his chance to call back to an earlier Magneto quote, telling him "the brave always die first". This proves to be a disastrous mistake, as Magneto retracts Wolverine's claw and extracts all the adamantium from his skeleton in one fell swoop. If only Wolverine had attacked Magneto on the head, the fight would have been over instantly, and the Master of Magnetism would have been defeated once and for all.

Like Thor in Avengers: Endgame, Wolverine may develop deep emotional distress over his failure in the near future.

In Avengers: Infinity War, Thor makes the exact same mistake in his fight against Thanos and dooms the entire universe as a result. Instead of taking advantage of Thanos' distraction to hit him on the head with Stormbreaker, Thor aims for Thanos' chest only so he can give him his last words, "I told you you'd die for that". Thanos takes advantage of this to perform the Snap, and he later heals himself in the Garden. Like Thor in Avengers: Endgame, Wolverine may develop deep emotional distress over his failure in the near future.

In the comics, Wolverine's feral instincts start to take over his body after Magneto forcibly removes his adamantium.

Wolverine Respected Magneto Too Much

Wolverine Forgets How Stubborn Magneto Really Is

Wolverine has always had a personal grudge against Magneto. However, Wolverine also understands Magneto's well-founded ideals and agrees with him to a certain extent, though he opposes the villain's methods just like his fellow X-Men. After years of enmity, Wolverine doesn't want to miss the chance to acknowledge Magneto's efforts, so he chooses to send him off with a final expression of respect. What Wolverine forgets is that Magneto's determination is endless, and that the only way to truly stop him is by killing him. Eventually, X-Men '97's heroes might need to do just that.