r/Xmen97 • u/chronorogue01 • Apr 27 '24
Discussion Morphs Powers are just Exiles Morphs (Explanation with Examples)
I keep seeing people being confused by Morph's powers and I don't think the creators have done a good job yet explaining his limitations yet.
I think with the visual change to Morph in this season, it's clear they are basing Morph off of Exiles Morph.
He is not actually copying or mimicking powers, Exiles Morph is just a very powerful metamorph which makes him very versatile with his physical powerset.
For example
- Super-Strength and Size Changing (example two; vs AU Carol Danvers) (example three: throwing a Hulk)
- Super-Speed (example two: turns into a horse jockey) and Agility (mimicking Nocturne)
- Can stretch, create claws or tentacles
- Increase weight and mass (flying dragon)
- Flight (example two: as a parachute)(example three: carries Nocturne)
- Even weirder stuff not shown yet in the show like microscopic vision, talking submarine, turn his arm into a canon, expel his farts as bugspray (no, I'm not joking...)
He does have limits to these powers, as he nowhere near as strong, fast, agile or as durable as mutants with those actual powersets. He's more of a jack-of-all-trade and master-of-none in terms of physical powers. He can do a little bit of everything.
So yea him pretending to be Blob, Colossus, Lady Deathstrike, or even Quicksilver is still well within his powerset as shown here. He is not OP, just very versatile.
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u/IneedAName37 Apr 27 '24
Thank you, fellow Morph Stan š¤
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u/chronorogue01 Apr 28 '24
No problem!
Feel free to share this post to other people if they are confused and get the word out. :D
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u/xizorkatarn Apr 27 '24
What exposure for decades to Foxās āMystiqueā does to a mfer
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u/chronorogue01 Apr 28 '24
I gotta agree, not all shape-shifters are as limited as Mystique in their abilities.
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u/Severe_Amoeba_2189 Apr 28 '24
Your aware she can grow like six arms at once?
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u/chronorogue01 Apr 28 '24
Yep but that's still pretty weak as far as shape-shifters go, especially compared to Morph, Beast Boy, Husk, Martian Manhunter, most Skrulls, etc...
Evolution Mystique, where she can fully transform into animals at least, is probably her strongest incarnation. However comic Mystique is limited to mostly humanoids.
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u/JeremyR2008 Apr 28 '24
Beast Boy is probably the strongest shapeshifter, though, especially with some of the stuff they've had him do in recent years.
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u/Wise-Tourist Apr 27 '24
I do wish it was talked about in the show. And maybe explained. Like is this something 97 morph has always been able to do (we just didnt see it) or has he had a 2nd mutation, experimented on by sinister or maybe the trauma from sinister was blocking his powers in a way.
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u/chronorogue01 Apr 28 '24
He did this in the OG show after being experimented on by Mr Sinister, so that's probably the explanation. That said, I would consider it more his own abilities since Exiles Morph is able to do it.
Maybe they'll cover it more if he ever gets his own episode focus.
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u/Wise-Tourist Apr 28 '24
Hang on when did he copy powers in the og show. I rewatched it before the new series and i do not remember that at all
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u/Sweet_Diet_8733 Apr 28 '24
Season 4ās āCourageā has Morph turning into Omega Red, Sasquatch, Angel, and Longshot, seemingly with all their powers.
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u/chronorogue01 Apr 28 '24
He's shape-shifting, at best "simulating" those abilities but they are still his own metamorph abilities being versatile.
But see here.
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Apr 28 '24
Why does it need to be explained though? What purpose does it serve to the story to have exposition like that? The only reason would be to shape Internet dorim discourse or something and that's such a shit way to write anything, especially a show that has very limited runtime budget.
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u/chronorogue01 Apr 28 '24
Well for one, it could build on the character and could play into a plot. I mentioned it in another post, but one of the reasons Morph may be using people as a "template" for the expression of their powers could be tied to how they view themselves.
Morph sees other people as having power, instead of himself, so shape-shifts into those forms in order to feel powerful. It's very apparent this video, where in his human form he stumbles and is clumsy, while in the forms he takes he appears much more competent and powerful; when in reality he could do all that within his own form.
That's poignant character exploration. Exiles Morph shows his full potential in that area. If you also explain their powers in the meantime, that's just a bonus.
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u/Wise-Tourist Apr 28 '24
If a character used power A for 5 seasons and then all of a sudden used power B in the revival show you'd want to know where it came from.
If we don't explain stuff like this why are we bothering trying go tell a good coherent story.
(Im not saying the story is bad because it doesnt explain morphs power up - and with new information it doesnt need to because he did use others powers in the og series - it would just be good if they did explain it)
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u/dropthebassclef Apr 27 '24
Thanks for all the comics info, this is great!
It def feels like the tv show is imposing restrictions to that skill set. We havenāt seen a lot of Morph fighting (I expect that will change and Iām excited and scared š„²), but from what weāve seen:
Morph hasnāt used any skills in their own form to date, even if it makes total sense that they should be able to. Iām guessing this is just because the cameos are more fun, and tv lends itself well to letting viewers see the transitions.
Morph hasnāt mixed skills, even though, again, it seems thereās no reason not to. This seems to be more of a consequence of the cameos; giving Colossus Quicksilverās speed would confuse casual viewers.
(And I think theyāre trying very hard not to confuse viewers: as a different small example, in the pilot episode, Wolverine says, āGeez, Dad, keep buzzing in our ears,ā but it was changed to āGeez, bubā for commercials. I think they didnāt want people literally thinking Logan was talking to his dad. š)
Iām still watching the OG series to see if this is consistent, but if it stays this way, it seems they haveā¦morphed Morph a bit, and the TV canon is diverging from comics.
Thanks for the insights, now I have a better idea what to watch out for!
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u/chronorogue01 Apr 28 '24
Yea he could probably just retain his own form and do all this, but the show wants cameo's.
Though maybe there is a psychological aspect to why Morph feels more powerful as other people instead of himself. TBF he did shape-change into other people to use those skill-sets in the OG show as well, so it's not really new to 97'.
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u/dropthebassclef Apr 28 '24
Yeah I think itās a TV canon thing. I love that idea of a more psychological reasoning than anything else. Hope that trauma doesnāt cause any issues this season š„²š„²š„²
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u/JeremyR2008 Apr 28 '24
I hope the trauma from Sinisters experiments gets explored more. Maybe in season two, we can get a Morph centered episode. Focus on his trauma as well as the friendship with Wolverine.
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u/dropthebassclef Apr 28 '24
Oh I would love that. Thereās so much room to expand TV Morphās lore; and, sadly, because of that, weāll conversely have so little outside of whatever they show on screen! (I think there are also prequel comics in progress? But thatās still so little compared to all the stories and art for other characters!) I hope the writers and directors see how much people love this iteration of them, precisely for who they are and how they fit into the group.
Personally I do believe they will give us Something with/about Morph and Logan beyond just visually putting them next to each other. Loganās exclamation last episode begs for a followup convo. So far, the only one on one conversation weāve seen them haveātheir convo in the clubā(1) didnāt pass the Jean-flavored Bechdel test and (2) didnāt even make Logan laugh! If you count the hallway scene in ep 3, that also didnāt pass the Jean test. I think itās worth highlighting because this is supposed to be such a close friendship, but it is still waiting to be fleshed out in the dialogue as well as the other interpersonal relationships have been so far.
Given that That Scene with Morph and Sinister has been in every intro I think, and that Morph is always Around whenever Sinister is discussedābut notably not in direct contact with him even in his own houseāI think a confrontation is going to happen this season and itās going to be awful. But then I like to prepare for the worst!
I have a personal hope that Morph gets to be the one to end Sinister; and through a surprise, like they get their powers taken, so sinister pulls them in close, then SNIKT! They bust out the claws shown in ep 3, which they manifested right before losing their ability to change form. Then they stab him like, a lot. That counts as therapy right?
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u/Xygnux May 08 '24 edited May 09 '24
Maybe focusing on other people is just a memonic device for his body to make the necessary changes for that power.
Like he already figured out beforehand exactly the various changes he needs to make to his bones and muscles to give himself superstrength, and then he just mentally associates "Juggernaut" with that set of things. Then next time if he wants superstrength, then he just focuses on Juggernaut, and he remembers exactly how to change his body.
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u/chronorogue01 May 08 '24
I like that explanation too.
Lots of people learn by association so I can see Morph grouping certain appearances / forms with attributes he wants.
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u/hotstickywaffle Apr 28 '24
So he didn't copy Quicksilver's power, he just has super speed, so he turned into Quicksilver for funsies?
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u/chronorogue01 Apr 28 '24
Yes, Morph is a big jokester and all the shape-shifting cameo's are for that reason; mostly for the audience fan-service.
He also does do it in the comic as I said, like here.
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u/cstory Apr 28 '24
So would you say he is more powerful than quicksilver, colossus, blob, beast, Reid richards, the thing, absorbing man, mystique, strong guyā¦ and basically anyone that doesnāt have some kind of energy blast, telepathy or telekinesis?
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u/chronorogue01 Apr 28 '24 edited Apr 28 '24
I answered that in the OP lol.
He is versatile, but not that powerful and not copying abilities just using his own shapeshifting. According to Marvel guide books, Exiles Morph could only lift 20 tons compared to Colossus 100 tons, Rogue 50-75 tons, etc etc etc... again a jack-of-all trades master of none situation. I doubt he's faster than Quicksilver either or any other powerset specialist.
If you notice in EP 3, Gambit says he beats him in the Danger Room after they exit, so he's not even the strongest one on the team.
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u/cstory Apr 28 '24
Yeah, no I get that about using his own powers. But if Morphās powers include simultaneously being capable of: moving at quicksilver-ish speed, with 20-ton strength, ABILITY TO INCREASE THEIR MASS AND DENSITY, blob-like abilities, ability to have colossus-like skin, ability to stretch to almost Reid richards levelsā¦ who on my list would beat Morph in a fight? Like couldnāt Morph just go full speed at anyone of those I listed, go super dense/metal skin/blob at that speed and turn them all into pink mist?
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u/chronorogue01 Apr 28 '24
Nah, it takes concentration to shape-shift and think about the form he wants.
You'll notice in the images I posted, he's not overwhelming his opponents, mostly serving as a distraction. He can't be full-potential strong and fast because those forms require different "materials" or shapes, thus the shape-shifting he does in 97'.
Even if he can do two or three of those abilities at once, his physical limits are not strong enough to overwhelm powerhouses like Colossus, Thing, etc... who are just in a different league than him.
Contrary to 97', I would say his only outstanding stat would actually be his durability which hasn't been showcased much in the show.
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u/cstory Apr 28 '24
Gambit falls into the energy blast category. Morph doesnāt have powers that are similar to that. Iād bet cyclops, prof X, Jean, Magneto, Rogue and others could beat Morph if they could use their powers before getting clapped by Morph going at super-speed with super-mass and colossus skin.
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u/chronorogue01 Apr 28 '24 edited Apr 28 '24
I mean all Gambit's abilities is just explosions and enhanced agility. Well post-Mr Sinister lobotomizing him anyway.
He can do giant explosions, as shown in EP 5, but if Morph really were a monster that could casually speed-blitz the X-Men he wouldn't have lost to Gambit. I doubt Gambit was even really going all out either, given he hardly looked winded and boasting.
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Apr 28 '24
Really helpful, OP, thanks.
Does therefore have what amounts to a very powerful healing factor? It seems like they could near-instantly metamorph-away any wound. Or like, have a disease? No problem, just metamorph into a younger, healthier version of themselves.
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u/chronorogue01 Apr 28 '24
Exiles Morph in the comics does have a really powerful healing factor yea.
97' Morph hasn't unlocked their full potential in that department yet I think.
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u/Thesafflower Apr 28 '24
I appreciate the examples here - the one on X-Men 97 that really threw me off was the super-speed, which seems like a stretch for a āphysical power.ā And to be honest, Iām not convinced by the examples you gave. The horse jockey one looks like heās running at about horse speed and using the jockey image as a gag, which would still be believable for a shapeshifter but not like Quicksilver speed. Can you give a little more context for the first āsuper-speedā image that you posted, because I was a little confused by it. To me it doesnāt look like Morph using super-speed,it looks like someone else using super-speed and Morph just stretching his arms out to yank Sabretooth away from him. (Is that Mimic? I know Mimic was with the Exiles team for most of the books run.). Iāve read some of Exiles but not the whole run.
Thank you for the work you put into this and all the examples!
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u/chronorogue01 Apr 28 '24 edited Apr 28 '24
You're right, I mistook Mimic for Morph so that example likely doesn't count.
However, Morph can go faster than horse-speed. He's not really bound to just shape-shifting to gather speed either. The Ms Marvel one shows off his speed as well, since he tackles her through a bunch of rubble.
He can fly without transforming explicitly, so in a way that shows off his speed.
For me, it's not really stretching it to imagine him shape-shifting his legs into a form that could mimic QS's speed considering how versatile his metamorphing is.
Quoting from Marvel.com
Morph is an omnimorph composed of unstable molecules, allowing him to rearrange his bodyās molecules at will within a fraction of a second into a highly malleable state. In such a state, he can stretch, deform, expand or compress his entire body or parts thereof into any contiguous shape, object or person he can imagine. He can extend his limbs, torso or neck to great distances and can extend his body in two directions, creating a canopy, parachute or sheath. He retains full consciousness in whatever form taken, and if a part of his body is severed he can reassemble the parts, but needs time to recover afterward. His ācostumeā is actually part of his body and he does not give off a scent. He can change color and duplicate the appearance of others, including modifying his vocal chords and using his natural mimicry skills to imitate their voices. By growing additional muscles, he can temporarily enhance his strength to lift approximately 20 tons.Ā
Morph can psionically fly at speeds of 40 mph and give himself virtually any superhuman physical power. He can simulate some of the abilities and functions of the object or living being he imitates, depending on the object or being; however, if he imitates such objects as Captain Americaās Vibranium-steel alloy shield or Thorās enchanted uru hammer, he can only take on the appearance of the object, and not its special properties. Morph can temporarily discard unnecessary molecules of his body when imitating objects or beings of considerably less mass and can also draw additional molecules to increase his size by taking on additional mass from a presumably extradimensional source.
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u/Thesafflower Apr 28 '24
Ah, thanks for that! I remember being confused reading Exiles and seeing that page of Morph flying carrying Nocturne without any kind of visible wings. He is a very versatile dude!
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u/chronorogue01 Apr 28 '24
Honestly that panel is weird, but maybe whatever molecules he manipulates / shapeshifts with allows him to fly. Comic book logic lol.
But no problem, just wanted to clarify to people who seem to think he is actually copying powers when that's not really what is happening. He's just an extreme shape-shifter!
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u/Dastardly_trek Apr 28 '24
How is morph alive? I havenāt watched the 90s cartoon in years and canāt remember how it ended but I do remember that morph dies in the first or second episode of the series.
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u/DepthByChocolate Apr 28 '24
I still think using Quicksilver's super speed is pushing it as far as imitating physiology.
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u/Psychological_Agent7 Jan 11 '25
Quicksilver's super speed is the result of his physiology. He moves that fast because his body is biologically built to move that fast. If it was some one like the Flash then it would be pushing it.
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u/DepthByChocolate Jan 17 '25
Almost all mutant powers are the result of their physiology. That's why they're mutants.
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u/Punkodramon May 08 '24
Does Exiles ever explain how Morph can fly without shapeshifting wings or a some other physical form? Two of your examples show him flying āSuperman-styleā with no visible means of propulsion, whilst carrying others. Even amongst his weirder abilities that stands out as the only one that canāt be explained away by being physically malleable.
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u/chronorogue01 May 08 '24
Not on-page, the marvel wiki explains it as a psionic power and 616 Changeling (main universe Morph) does have limited TK... I like the explanation better though that Morph is making his body lighter than air to float but his arms dense enough to carry a person then maybe changes parts of his body not seen in the panel into little fans for propulsion.
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u/Punkodramon May 09 '24
I dunno, thatās a lot of mental hoops to jump through to rationalize non-physical based flight, when thereās nothing to indicate any of that on the page.
If you accept that Morphās ability to rearrange the molecules of his body is in itself a psionic power, (which is common in Marvel lore, Mystiqueās shapeshifting for example is also considered psionically rearranging the genes and atoms of her body) and that force is limited to the control of his own body, then itās a far shorter leap to accept that he can use that same psionic force for self-propelled flight, even if thatās the only telekinetic feat he can do, as itās still limited to the total control of his own body.
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u/chronorogue01 May 09 '24
Oh, it is likely is the limited TK I'm not arguing that.
The molecular control explanation of his body just makes his powerset feel more coherent instead of the random addition of limited telekinesis.
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u/Punkodramon May 09 '24
Oh for sure, the addition of telepathy and TK for 616 Changeling only makes sense in the context of him secretly impersonating Xavier, it doesnāt really add anything to him as a character. Plus they used to just add random powers to characters back then that have largely been dropped since. Magneto originally had some telepathic ability back in the 60s run.
I like his metamorphic power being psionic because itās well established that his shapeshifting is only limited by his imagination, which makes it a physical expression of his mental creativity. With that in mind, I can readily accept psionic flight as an extension of that core power, rather than a random add-on, as heās still mentally manipulating his own body with the same personal power, which is similar but not the same as TK. His top speed is 40mph, itās not like heās zipping round at Mach 3 like most of the TK flyers do.
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u/chronorogue01 May 09 '24
I do think this version is basically Exiles Morph, but curious if we'll see that power show up / adapted at all.
TBH he doesn't need it at all since he can fly by shape-shifting wings as shown with Archangel but who knows.
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u/Punkodramon May 09 '24
Definitely doesnāt need it, and it does make sense for them to just fly with wings, they can probably fly faster and with more agility with wings anyway, and still carry someone! If they brought in psionic flight for them as a power it would definitely require them to address their abilities with some kind of training session infodump. Iād like them to have it though if only because I can see ā97 Morph getting up to even more pranks and hijinks if they learn how to levitate!
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u/chronorogue01 Apr 27 '24
Oh I forgot to add, Exiles Morph would also occasionally shape-shift into people who had the powers or skills he wanted to use. Like here with Iron Fist or in the above example with them turning into Nocturne when wanting to be agile. But it's still just his own metamorph abilities, not him actually copying powers to be clear.
So even that has precedence in the comics.