| Morph | |
|---|---|
| X-Men: The Animated Series /X-Men '97 character | |
 | |
| First appearance |
|
| Based on | |
| Voiced by | Ron Rubin (X-Men: The Animated Series) J. P. Karliak (X-Men '97) |
| In-universe information | |
| Species | Humanmutant |
| Gender | Non-binary |
| Affiliation | X-Men |
| Powers and abilities | Shapeshifting |
Morph is a fictionalsuperhero appearing in the Americananimatedsuperhero seriesX-Men: The Animated Series—which aired onFox Kids from 1992 to 1997—and itsrevivalX-Men '97, which has been streaming onDisney+ since 2024. Morph is introduced as anX-Men member who sacrificed themself[a] to protectWolverine from aSentinel in the show's premiere. The second season revealed thatMister Sinister resurrected and experimented on Morph, turning them into his minion. After the X-Men free Morph from Sinister's control, they are taken toMuir Island to recuperate. Morph briefly rejoins the X-Men in season four, but realizing they still suffer from mental trauma, they decide to depart. Morph permanently rejoins the X-Men inX-Men '97, with the first season exploring their trauma following Sinister's experimentations and their romantic feelings for Wolverine.
Morph is loosely based on the minor characterChangeling, who briefly joined the team in the comics. During development ofThe Animated Series, the showrunners wanted an X-Man to die in the premiere to foreground the series' serious tone. They initially chose to assign this fate toThunderbird; however, upon realizing the implications of killing their onlyNative American character, they replaced him with Changeling. While Morph's death was supposed to be permanent, they were brought back due to their popularity with audiences. With limited storylines involving Changeling to draw from the comics, writing for Morph proved difficult for the writers.X-Men '97 sees Morph discovering theirgender identity as a core aspect of theircharacter arc, being depicted asnon-binary; a decision crew members of the original series described as aligning with their vision of the character.
Despite their few appearances inX-Men: The Animated Series, Morph became afan favorite. Discussions regarding have focused on their death as unprecedented for a children's program of the time. Critics responded positively to Morph's storylines following their resurrection and the depiction of their mental trauma from these events. Their portrayal as non-binary inX-Men '97 has been praised by critics.
Morph was introduced in the premiere as a member of theX-Men. Using their shapeshifting abilities, Morph acted ascomic relief and had a close relationship withWolverine, who appreciated their comedic talent. In the premiere's second part, Morph is killed while on mission with the X-Men, sacrificing themself to save Wolverine from aSentinel's laser blast.
In the second season's premiere, it is revealed that immediately after their death, Morph was recovered byMister Sinister, who revived and brainwashed them by placing mind control implant in their brain. Due to Sinister's influence, Morph antagonizes the X-Men, blaming the team for their death and abandoning them, using their shapeshifting abilities to wreak havoc. In the season finale, thanks toProfessor X's psychic assistance, Morph is able to break free from Sinister's control, turning a laser meant to killCyclops on Sinister instead. Following these events, Morph was taken to theX-Mansion, where they had the implant removed from their brain. Due to the traumas they experienced, Morph was taken toMuir Island to get therapy byMoira MacTaggert, which limited their appearances throughout the remainder of the series.
In the season 4 episode "Courage", Morph rejoins the X-Men, having a significant role. Despite Moira believing they need more time to recover, Morph goes back to the X-Mansion. Shortly after arriving, they and Wolverine go to investigate a robbery at a factory that, unbeknownst to them, manufactures Sentinels. After returning to the mansion, the team is attacked by Sentinels, causing Morph to freeze up and inadvertently let Professor X be captured. Hoping to make up for their mistake, Morph flies to the location of Professor X, helping the team, and destroyingMaster Mold. Despite overcoming their fears, Morph realizes they are not ready to permanently rejoin the X-Men and chooses to leave.
Morph makes a final appearance in the series' finale, impersonating Professor X, who had been attacked byHenry Peter Gyrich and was dying. During these events, Morph permanently rejoins the X-Men. WhenLilandra Neramani comes to take Professor X to theShi'ar homeworld to heal, Morph and the rest of the team bid him farewell.
In the premiere, Magneto becomes the X-Men's new leader. Soon afterwards it is revealed that Sinister had switched Jean with a clone,Madelyne Pryor. Under his influence, Madelyne uses her psychic powers to attack the X-Men, giving Morph visions of Sinister taunting them. Despite still being afraid of Sinister, Morph helps lead the X-Men to his lab where they fight Madelyne. During the fight, Madelyne hypnotizes Morph, causing them to fight their teammates, until the team manages to break Sinister's hold over her.
Sometime later, the mutant nation ofGenosha is attacked by Sentinels, leading to the death ofGambit and massacre of numerous other mutants. Following these events, Morph and the X-Men findBolivar Trask about to commit suicide by jumping off a building, who reveals Sinister forced him to participate in the Genosha genocide. After Rogue lets Trask fall to his death, to Morph's shock, he transforms into aPrime Sentinel and attacks the team.
RealizingBastion was the mastermind behind the creation of the Prime Sentinels and attack on Genosha, the X-Men split into two teams. While the Blue Team is handling a rogue Magneto, Storm leads Morph and the rest of the Gold Team to Bastion's compound, successfully severing his hold over the Prime Sentinels. Going toAsteroid M, Bastion overpowers the Blue Team, before Morph and the Gold Team arrive and defeat him. However, when American missiles strike the asteroid, it starts plummeting towards Earth.
While Jean, Storm, Rogue, and Magneto use their powers to halt Asteroid M's descent, Morph stays by Wolverine's side, who is comatose after theadamantium from his skeleton was removed by Magneto. Unsure of their fate, Morph takes on Jean's form to confesses their love for him. The X-Men are able to use their powers and return Asteroid M to space, but it suddenly vanishes along with most of the team. While some of the X-Men are sent to eitherAncient Egypt in 3000 BC or 3060 AD, Morph's whereabouts—along with Wolverine and Storm—are unknown by the first-season finale.[2]
According to executive story editors Eric and Julia Lewald,[3] during development ofX-Men: The Animated Series, the crew wanted a member of the X-Men to die in the pilot, to show that "there werestakes to [the X-Men's] struggle".[4] Series director and producer Larry Houston stated that another reason factoring in the decision to kill off a character was to "do something different [and] unique" from other animated programs of the period.[5] Head writer Mark Edward Edens clarified that killing off a character early on in the cartoon's run was also done to help "ramp up the emotions";[3] He further joked that killing of a character is something that "animation writers always dream of".[3]
Initially, this position was to be filled byJohn Proudstar / Thunderbird, who had joined the X-Men inGiant-Size X-Men #1 (1975) but died shortly thereafter inUncanny X-Men #95 (1975).[6] However, before the pilot's second draft,[3] the crew realized that killing off their onlyNative American character would have negative implications, so it was decided to replace him with someone else.[4] According to the Lewalds, they specifically looked for a minor character that had "died helping the X-Men".[4] Searching through the comics for any X-Men members that fit their criteria, Eric Lewald describes how there were only "three or four" such characters, withChangeling being one of them.[3] Upon discovering Changeling, the crew members opted to use him in Thunderbird's place.[4]
Changeling first appeared inUncanny X-Men #35 (1967),[5][7] byRoy Thomas andWerner Roth, as an adversary of the X-Men and member ofFactor Three.[7] InUncanny X-Men #65 (1970), it was revealed that Changeling, suffering from a terminal illness and wanting to make amends for his past actions,[7] had joined the X-Men under the guise ofProfessor X, in order to allow the latter to prepare for the Z'nox invasion.[6] Thisretcon established that Changeling had died in the form of Professor X in 1968,[6] making him the first X-Men member to die in the line of duty.[7] Unlike many other characters from theX-Men franchise, Changeling has remained dead,[6] only making sporadic appearances as a ghost or zombie.[7]
According to Houston, the character's name was changed from Changeling to Morph due to theDC Comics characterBeast Boy, who also has shapeshifting abilities.[5] At the time of the show's development, Beast Boy had been a core member ofThe New Teen Titans under the codename Changeling, resulting in Marvel lawyers demanding that their character's codename being altered.[5]
Regarding the use of Changeling / Morph as the X-Man that dies in the premiere ofThe Animated Series,Comic Book Resources (CBR) writer Ryan Bradley argued that with the character's death decades before the show's premiere, he could be killed off "without upsetting the hardcore fans".[6] FellowCBR writer Brandon Zachary recognized that Changeling's minor role in the comics made him "more or less a blank slate [for the writers] to play with".[7] James Whitbrook ofGizmodo andVariety's Jordan Moreau have both noted that Morph was loosely based on Changeling, with Moreau even describing Morph as "an original character".[8][9]
Morph's death in the show's premiere was supposed to be permanent, but due to their popularity with audiences,Fox Kids demanded that the character be brought back.[4] Specifically, afocus group consisting of young viewers that had seen the first season described Morph as their favorite character and lamented them being "killed [...] off early in episode two".[6] Eric and Julia Lewald have stated that due to Morph's death initially being permanent, with their resurrection occurring due to the network's demands, they "may not have been thinking of [them] as much for stories" in comparison to other X-Men characters.[10] Moreover, due to the character's minor role in the comics, it was difficult for the writers to find any storylines to adapt inThe Animated Series that featured Changeling, acknowledging that no major story arcs include him.[10]
Morph's involvement in the revival seriesX-Men '97 was first revealed atSan Diego Comic-Con (SDCC) in July 2022.[11] At the panel, series creator Beau DeMayo announced that Morph would be depicted asnon-binary—usingthey/them pronouns—and sport an altered appearance that consists of "a bald head, light gray skin, completely white eyes, and no nose";[11][12] this look was based on Morph's counterpart from theExiles universe.[13] At SDCC 2023, it was confirmed that Morph would officially rejoin the X-Men and be part of the show's main cast.[13] DeMayo, a fan ofThe Animated Series, described Morph's death as "really set[ting] the stakes" and acknowledged that the character has a "very interesting relationship with the team because of [their] trauma".[12] DeMayo further stated that the show's depiction of Morph would be a "lighter take on the character" compared to the original series.[14]
ForX-Men '97,J. P. Karliak replacesRon Rubin as Morph's voice actor.[15] Concerning his performance, Karliak stated that he did not try to sound too familiar to Rubin; knowing during casting that Morph would be non-binary, he opted to use his own voice, in order to ground the character closer to reality.[15] During voice recording, Karliak would go through multiple variations of his lines, such as "pure fury, wisecracking, bawling his eyes out, [or] near-deadpan", with voice director Meredith Layne to figure out which one fit Morph best.[16]
Regarding Morph's position among the X-Men and their role at the beginning of the series, Karliak described the character as trying to figure out their relationship to the rest of their teammates, as well as themself, following all the trauma they had endured.[15] Karliak acknowledged that Morph as a character that has experienced much trauma, bothphysical andpsychological, which they try to mask with humour.[15] Regarding this, recognizing them asX-Men '97's comic relief, Karliak believes Morph is "burying a lot of things" and that having "[them] say less was actually the smarter way to go for somebody who's internalizing a lot".[16]
Although Morph is depicted as non-binary withinX-Men '97, prior to the show's premiere it was announced that they would not be identified as such on-screen, due to the series being set in the 1990s, when the term "non-binary" was not commonly known;[17][18] Morph continues to usehe/him pronouns within the series.[17] Despite this announcement, Rogue does at one point refer to Morph using the proper pronouns.[16] Regarding Morph's development in the series as non-binary, director Jake Castorena viewed this as a natural development for the character, given their shapeshifting abilities.[8] Castorena also described Morph's altered physical appearance in the series as representing their attempt to move past the trauma, and that their "identity is to have multiple identities".[8] Concerning Morph's depiction as non-binary, both Houston and Eric Lewald have stated that this portrayal aligns with their original intentions for the character.[9] Karliak has stated that Morph is on a "gender journey that will unfold as time passes and he goes through the eras of terminology that we've lived through already".[16]
Prior to the premiere ofX-Men '97, stated that Morph would have an "interesting buddy relationship with Wolverine" throughout the series.[14] Following release of the third episode, "Fire Made Flesh", Whitbrook speculated that Morph's feelings for Wolverine were non-platonic. When Madelyne, as the Goblin Queen under Sinister's influence, causes the X-Men to experience various hallucinations, Morph sees Wolverine naked in the showers and playfully asks if he wants company.[19]
After the season 1 finale, DeMayo confirmed Morph's feelings for Wolverine are romantic.[20] By assuming Jean's form, Morph is able to safely express feelings for Wolverine without fear of rejection; DeMayo also clarified that Morph still has not fully admitted their feelings for Wolverine.[21] According to DeMayo, Morph was always intended to have romantic feelings for Wolverine, as indicated in theshow bible.[22]
Karliak has stated that while he does want Morph to get a significant other asX-Men '97 progresses, he is against the character starting a relationship with Wolverine.[16] Regarding this opposition, Karliak finds the trope of a queer individual being in love with a straight person overused, preferring for Morph and Wolverine to remain best friends.[16]
Morph has often been recognized as afan favorite fromX-Men: The Animated Series, being described as such by Nick Nafpliotis ofAIPT Comics,[23] as well asVariety's Moreau.[9] Moreau also viewed Morph's death in the show's premiere as a "shocking twist",[9] whileGizmodo's Whitbrook argued Morph's death is what helped them achieve popularity.[24] Writing forSlashFilm, Ethan Anderton, who grew up watching the cartoon, stated that Morph was a popular character among fellow viewers of the series.[25]
Attention was also afforded to Morph's storyline involving their resurrection as Mister Sinister's thrall during the show's second season, and the exploration of their trauma in the fourth. Nafpliotis praised Morph's resurrection as Sinister's minion, viewing it as a mature story arc.[23]Polygon writer Carli Velocci noted that Morph had a "surprisingly complex arc throughout later seasons", following their resurrection. Velocci gave particular praise to Morph's role in the fourth season, which displayd the mental health issues they experienced after their encounter with the Sentinels; they viewed it as a "pretty sensitive portrayal of trauma, especially for a 1990s kids' cartoon".[12]
Morph's depiction as non-binary withinX-Men '97 received primarily positive reviews. Bill Desowitch ofIndieWire responded positively to the depiction of Morph as non-binary inX-Men '97, praising the series' "greater celebration of queer diversity",[26] while Velocci described this development as logical, acknowledging that shapeshifters across fictional works often change into various genders.[12]Gizmodo's Whitbrook, while also commending the inclusion of openly queer character within the cast ofX-Men '97, was critical of the decision to make Morph, a character with "a visible mutation", non-binary instead of a more human-presenting character.[24]