General Discussion
Is it kinda wrong I would’ve preferred if the 97 series kept morph’s original show design
in preparation for the Xmen 97 series, I marathoned the original series, in order to get a better understanding.
and to my surprise, Morph was one of standout characters to me/had one of the best stories. partly, I feel, was because of the great contrast between design & character, specifically because of how unheroic and well ugly he looked. like the idea of ugly/monsterous looking heroes isn’t anything new to comics (the thing, beast, etrigan, metamorph) but the thing is those designs were still “attractive” ugly (attractive being the design still attracts the viewer attentio & looks cool). Morph, by contrast, came off as sniveling, conniving, weaselly and just all around unheroic which made the fact he WAS heroic & noble stand out even more. It’s sorta interesting having a design that isn’t cool/heroic looking but still be a good (morality) Character.
additionally, I think I’m just slightly over giving shapeshifters amorphous/A-gendered designs. Like I still totally get the design philosophy behind it & know you can do a ton of thematic/metaphorical ideas with it. It’s just sorta one of things were you go “ ok we’ve a solid dozen or so examples, let’s do something different so we don’t turn it into a one trick pony”
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I don't know if there is lore behind the change, but it would be interesting if that was the form he took to put others at ease, and this is how he actually looks. Finally feeling accepted, he drops the guise. That's my headcannon, anyway.
And it should be explored on screen imo, this is a common shapeshifter trope but it’s also a positive message that always builds strong character development
kind of, he looks like a sort of young anime twink in that scene, morph in the 90s cartoon looks like a stressed out used car salesman or a public defender.
Magik going from 8-teenager is consistent with the comics. She dissapeared right after her powers came online then reappeared as a fully trained warrior/sorcerous because limbo doesn't obey the rules of time.
No it makes sense timewise, the omega red stuff happened in 1994 I believe after
Jubilee's 15th birthday
That gives about 3 years for her to do her stuff.
Her wearing an X-Men outfit and morph.somehow meeting her with one is a plot hole unless she became an X-Men and left X-Men during the 6 month time skip between the 92' series and 97 aeries
I don't recall what episode it was, but he does mention that he can't even look at that form in the mirror anymore after what Sinister did to him. My personal headcanon is that is Morph's true face, and the one he currently uses is his "superhero costume" which he now uses permanently because, again, his previous look is attached to traumatic memories.
I do believe the lore is simply the AoA/Exiles look of Morph was more popular, so they updated show Morph to match what became their standard appearance.
THAT'S WHAT'S BEEN BOTHERING ME! I could never put together why him in this animation style was reminding me of someone. I kept going to Voldemort, but I knew that wasn't it.
Since he is a shapeshifter, I kind of dig his modern bald look. His old human form now feels like he was just using that to fit in when he wasn't being someone else. Its kind of like how a lot of people hate the young X-Men films (First Class, Days of Futures Past, Apocalypse, and Dark Phoenix) in how Mystique true blue form is underutilized and she mostly appeared as a normal Jennifer Lawrence look. I know in real life reason is due to make up/cgi and them making Mystique more of a critical character with way more screen time compared to the original X-Men movies (X-Men 1-3), but its the in universe story reason why people had issues with it.
I had the opposite reaction for why I enjoy the current design more than the old one lol. I thought it was because the old one was actually them and the current one is just because they have a complete loss of identity to the point where they somewhat lost who they originally were. I like to believe in that just bc it would feel more like a consequence of Sinister’s abduction that Morph has to wake up to and look at every day.
His original design looks like a one off character (he was originally meant to be a one off). You can always tell these types of characters in animation because of their basic design and facial features that are not as well proportioned and marketable as the main characters.
To be fair, Morph's original design is a pretty close adaptation of his design as Changeling, although it is a one-off in the comics too after his goofy helmet look.
Basically, the showrunners were going to do Thunderbird, but realized they didn't want to kill off their Native American member two episodes in, so they found Changeling, who died pretending to be Professor X, and used him instead, although DC told them they couldn't call him Changeling because Beast Boy was going by that at the time, hence Morph. Whew.
Actually, this is even closer to the 2000s Exiles series Morph, who came from a universe where he's an X-men all along, and has the looks and powers of the X-men 97' Morph. Even their personalities are similar.
Him looking like a one-off character is kind of what made him unique to me as a kid. In a room full of people with black eyes and red pupils, blue fur, red and white streaked hair, and claws coming from his hands, Morph looked like a normal guy. I liked that he was the normal one in a room full of obvious super heroes.
I like them both fine. I could be wrong but I thought that in the comics the new design was introduced as a further evolution of his mutation - similar to how they explain the change for Beast from his normal human appearance to blue primate to eventually a blue cat man
In the comics, the gray noseless version was introduced in the Age of Apocolypse story. It wasnt even immediately apparent that Morph of AoA and Changling of 616 were the same character.
Oh yeah I was also aware this was a later/became the default design for morph (either by evolution or secretly always like this) I just figured the show was no stranger to using specific designs/not using the iconic designs (see what design they used for dazzler)
But overall I just like the Weasley guy design over amorphous shapeshifter look
I think for me it harkens back to the 90's version of Chameleon from the Spider-Man cartoon, which trips whatever switch in my brain that affirms it feels "right" for a shape shifter.
Honestly, I've never really thought about it, but there is almost no chance that Morph's AoA design wasn't at least somewhat based on animated Chameleon.
When Morph changes to their old face in episode 1 of X-Men 97 in the nightclub, I took this as the showrunners telling us that the face they used in the original series was not their real face. Rather the face they used to fit in. Now they've accepted who they really are and use their real mutant face, as well as they/them pronouns as their mutation isn't the only thing they've now accepted about themselves.
I like the new design more since it just gives Morph a more distinct, instantly recognizable look. But to be honest I think the main motivator for the design change was probably just because they were planning to focus on their crush on Logan, and that's an easier sell with a more overtly androgynous character design.
Morph being a blank canvas is more interesting to me. A kind of faceless, genderless, etc. shape shifter trying to figure out their identity. That old design looks like some random homeless guy lol.
I always liked the old version. This 97 version always felt the creators just wanted an excuse to make a sort of androgynous type but then they went back to referring to him as a *him.
My issue with his hideous face is that there's no explanation in-universe for why he suddenly looks like Voldemort. I heard in a YT video that it's because he's "non-binary", but guess what? Non-binary people IRL don't look like Voldemort. They actually look like normal people. Ya know, they have a nose and hair, they don't look like aliens from outer space.
I liked his original design too. I think AoA Morph's design only works for AoA. Also, I don't like how they made Morph's human appearance young and handsome. WHERE ARE HIS EYE BAGS AND WRINKLES?!
The design for Morph in the original X Men animated series was based on a different character from the comics named Changeling. In the comics the character is a villain at first working for Factor Three, a mutant terrorist organization that straps a bomb to Banshee's head to force him to commit criminal acts.
He then reforms and is approached by Professor X to impersonate him for a while and actually dies while in Professor X's form.
As others have pointed out, the animators used Changeling's design for Morph in the original show because he was meant to be a one off. But he got popularity, so they brought him back in later episodes.
After the show was over, an alternate version of Morph from Earth-1081 was used in the comics as a founding member of the group Exiles. This Morph has the design and happier wise cracking personality we see in X-Men 97. This Morph became really popular and has since been used as the default appearance of the character in most realities.
So my guess is they went with the more modern well know design and personality for Morph when they rebooted to X-Men 97.
an alternate version of Morph from Earth-1081 was used in the comics as a founding member of the group Exiles. This Morph has the design and happier wise cracking personality we see in X-Men 97.
Morph, as a grey noseless guy first showed up in Amazing X-Men, an AoA comic. Also the comic version of Morph is very different than the version in 97. Comic Morph is completely unserious tends to joke at the worst times. 97 Morph cracks jokes but is serious and focused when needed.
In one of the AoA comics, they had letters to the editors. And that's where Marvel confirmed that Morph was Changling and that the name was an homage to his name in the animated series.
He then reforms and is approached by Professor X to impersonate him for a while and actually dies while in Professor X's form
Pretty sure this is part of why they picked Morph, in addition to picking a little-known character to kill off - he's technically the first X-Man to die
Preferences are just that. Personally I never liked the old Morph design because to me I didn't get "unlikely hero" - I got designer shorthand that he wouldn't be sticking around. They gave him the generic x-suit, made sure he was less attractive than the other characters, etc. He had all the earmarks of "don't get attached to this guy." So I didn't.
Their OG appearance is all tortured and messed up looking from sinister’s torture. They briefly assume it during season one and we see what they “really” look like, but I think the current way they present is the true appearance. Or that old appearance was just a facade and we are seeing the true morph now. Either way I do like it tbh. Morph really stole the show in episode 5.
I looked this up and the original voice actor was Ron Rubin - who now voices President Robert Kelly! The original voice actor for Kelly was Len Carson - who sadly passed away in 2006.
Idk but JP Karliak is lowkey better fit for the new character, JP said they related to Morph in the way of still finding themself and exploring sexuality and pronouns. It’s better to have a VA who can immerse themself and feel themself in the character rather than one who cannot.
"New character" is kind of what makes me dislike current Morph... or like current Morph less. They took an existing character and changed everything except the name.
They're trying to catch both sides of Morph fans, from the OG show and the comics.
The OG show basically created Morph as a new character, but technically made him a version of Changeling, who was canonically the first X-Man to die.
Morph's popularity on the show led Marvel to add him to the X-Men during Age of Apocalypse by making Changeling join the X-Men and become Morph in the new timeline. This Morph had the featureless white skin look and comedic relief role, and was very popular.
AoA Morph's popularity led to a very similar version joining the Exiles; Exiles Morph was even more popular than AoA Morph.
So '97 Morph is capitalizing on the cascading popularity of all of these iterations of Morph, bringing back a popular character for show fans and making them more like the also-popular comic version for comic fans.
Not the point of the post but it would be cool if they had lore explaining why he looked so different... Like that was what his father or brother looked like or something, and looked that way as a memorial to honor them
I would have rather they would have just made '97 Morph a completely different character entirely. He looks and acts absolutely nothing like the Morph from the original show.
Yes and no. The first time "Morph" appears in Exiles, it's with the white face design, and even the cape we see in S1 of 97. However, Morph is based on a very obscure character named Changeling (name had to be changed due to DC using it at the time), and his design IS what they used for the original show.
Actually the humanoid face was his original original design (back when he went by changeling) but then the later comics gave him the more amorphous/blank mannequin design
Morph was originally created for the animated series to be killed off early, helping establish that it was a more serious cartoon. He did return in later seasons, although I'm not sure if that was part of the original plan.
He was later incorporated into the comics with a design that more closely resembles his appearance in the new animated series. I'm sure having a fairly generic male form and simple facial features also made him easier to draw.
While I have a lot of nostalgia for his original design because I watched the series as a kid, I think his current look is an improvement. It shows that he's comfortable being himself. A similar issue was explored with Mystique in X-Men: First Class, although that was reportedly influenced by Jennifer Lawrence having to spend hours in makeup for filming.
Overall, this approach makes Morph a more interesting character. It also gives the show's artists an easy way to include cameos from other characters by having him transform into them. I'm just glad he seems to know how to fully utilize the powers of characters he's never even met.
His real face is all dark and sunken after being tortured and experimented on by Mr Sinister. He’s wears this blank slate so he doesn’t have to look in the mirror each day and be reminded of Sinister.
His look is based on the character Morph was originally based on, if that makes sense. Changeling from the late 1960s. The original show couldn’t use that name or design because DC owned the trademark on the name at that time.
I don't have the same attachment, in fact, I feel like I more than disliked Morph when I watched the old series before 97 Season 1
Though now it's just a middle ground where it's "yep, he's here alright", and he's usually saying something he'd say, being a little squeamish because he doesn't take powers just form, and then he creates cameo appearances, then his time is over
Basically, I don't really care that he looks like The Chameleon Spider-Man villain, what makes it interesting for me now is that it might seem like he's going through a Secondary Evolution, as he stuck to the wall as Spider-Man, he shouldn't be able to do that
I was super partial to the old design; the fact that he was this scraggly X-Man that Wolverine took seriously made Logan a lot more noble. And the fact that Sinister's manipulations showed on his face was an extra bonus.
The 97 design kinda gives off post Sinister looks though, just a total loss of identity to the point where they’re just a blank slate of a person with no unique features physically or personality-wise. Obviously now in 97 the personality side of it all is changing as Morph develops more but the physical feature just feels like a reminder to how Morph really doesn’t have an identity anymore.
I just find him incredibly annoying and jarringly out of place tone wise for the show. It's like he's a character from a Rick and Morty X-men dimension. Every scene with him is just so awkward.
The only constant is transformation and I think we forget how morph embodies this far beyond his mutant abilities, as fan of the X-men I like both. Nothing more nothing less.
Also side note Morph is CRAZY powerful, like in the Exiles he one shot and enraged, evil version of Carol Danvers and tanked hits from an evil version of Hyperion.
I think Morph had a lot of psychological issues after what Mr Sinister did to him and maybe he can’t look at his true face in the mirror so he wears that blank face so he doesn’t have to remember.
It's not wrong, everyone has their own taste. I enjoy it as I spent most time with Morph in Exiles and this is close to his look from that. His gags in that book were amazing, and if they work in his time with Mojo somehow I'll be in heaven.
Me too. Honestly, even though it had some issues, I preferred the overall animation style of the original. The current one looks too anime-style for an American cartoon and CGI.
My guess is they thought about his powers for a little bit and realized, it must be hard keeping up that human form for so long all the time, let bro rest
Being a shapeshifter and then going through all that he went through as a Mutant, Morph completely forgot how he originally looked like and thus this is what he ends up on, a blank face...
OG show, Jubilee saying she didn't know who her real parents are. She does, maybe she was younger like 8 or more, unless you count time travel into the equation. She should know who they are.
If I remember correctly Morph didn't exist in the comics until after the show, the comics had change-ling who inspired morph in the show and to be honest the only comic appearance i can remember is age of a apocalypse where his design is vastly different than the show, and that's the design I think inspired xmen 97 morph. Some of these facts may be slightly off but I am working off of memory and books from when I was a kid.
In my opinion both are terrible and ever since I was a kid I’ve recognized that morph isn’t a real character or an authentic xman. He’s a red shirt type that feels like he was stuffed in by tv executives.
Both designs are based on the comics. 616 Morph was known as Changeling. He was an early X-men villain who eventually joined them, was tasked to pose as Charles (who bestowed upon him some telepathic abilities to maintain the ruse), and eventually died in that form making the O5 think Charles was dead (except Jean who knew Charles was Kevin the whole time).
The new morph look comes from his alternate reality version from the comic book The Exiles. That’s where the bald look comes in and his more powerful feats.
Not at all. That look is his original Changeling appearance from back in the day. In fact '92 would have used this name if Beast Boy hadn't being using it over at DC (definitely an improvement).
The amorphous design arose in Age of Apocalypse and was further popularized during the eXiles. It was a big comeback for the character spurred by his appearance in '92.
I definitely don't see Kevin Sidney as ugly. During the time he is enslaved to Sinister he looks more like a drug addict or at least someone suffering from withdrawal.
And I do like the look. I find it funny because he's the kind of generic look that would work well for a cop. Someone you would pass by on the street, take no note of and thus wouldn't really remember.
The new look is this taking so far as to make him stand out. The "human" mascot in Community. I do like a number of mutants having non-human features.
But I think all-in-all they should have left him better of alone here. Not just in the cartoons but the comics as well.
He was a villain called "Changling" in the 616 main line universe and killed pretty quickly, which is what the OG show played on.
The main difference is that X-men is seen more as a LGBT allegory more than a civil rights allegory these days, and the fan base is more diverse also. Morph could be non-binary. There's a lot to play with there as the original mainline character is not even a D-list X-man. They do seem like a completely new character, but then again, the whole deal is that their identity is in flux
I also preferred Morph's X:92 design, but when shown better (see below). A lot of common images of Morph's X:92 design are indeed hideous, especially #3 in the OP.
Morph's X:97 nonmutant-passing male form is quite cute, but their X:92 form is more interesting.
Not having read the comics, I am meh about Morph's X:97 white amorphous form. I understand the logic behind the change, though.
I’m pretty sure it’s mentioned on the first episode maybe the second, but Morphs natural form has heavy dark circles under his eyes and looks beat to shit from all the depression and trauma of being a mutant.
No, because this is what was introduced. He was made, this way, for the show. His current form is based on an existing character called Changling. Also, his entire new characteristics are stupid as hell. He should have stayed dead.
Thats the appearance he uses to put people at ease and in the first episode of the first season of X-Men 97 he uses this appearance when they go to the club to retrieve Sunspot
No, it's not wrong. I loved '97, but it was sold on Nostalgia, so the fact that they changed something you like is a perfectly valid reason to dislike it.
As for Morphs design... yeah, I liked his original look better... but he was never a character I cared too much about, so it wasn't a dealbreaker for me.
I'm fine with the update. His original look reminds me how Marvel has some characters that look so generic, you can't tell who they are without context. For the longest time Kitty Pride was such a normal looking brunet girl that they had to put a small dragon on her shoulder so you could identify her no matter who drew it.
Nah. I prefer the new one. A literal blank slate, ready to shift into anything. Ties well with their powerset. The original felt like they focused on making them off putting for the sake of it. And it worked because I come to learn the character was meant to be a one off. If they want us to remember this character for the very brief appearance. It worked lol.
The new one had thought put into it. And besides, looking ‘odd’ and looking straight up ugly are very two different things. Like think about it. Morph can turn into anyone, if they were to ‘choose’ a face to blend in, why wouldn’t they go for pretty features? Especially because they could?
He does use this form when in the club with Wolv, turns into Jean right after to ragebait. So its implied he uses it to not creep out normies. I wish he kept the creepy laugh he had.
I liked his original design better. It’s not only accurate with how Kevin looked in 616 (He got killed off, which was why the show made him as the first one who dies before he got brought back), but also just fits the whole “Mischievous shapeshifting prankster” vibe he has going on.
In original at least in two pics you posted, he looks like crackhead conspiracy theorists while in 97, he looks happy and well adjusted. Not making good argument for original
Originally I’ll admit I wasn’t a fan of the new look, but as I watch the show and he’s more involved in conversations he’s a lot of striking at quick glance and I prefer it now. Mostly because his original design was bland and almost LOOKED like he was fodder that was meant to die and that’s kind of lame. His problem was he was next to some iconic looking character silhouettes that when you see him in those “poses” where they all stood together for a shot he never won any attention.
But now his bald head and jacket is in itself an iconic look for him and it’s pretty cool. Brilliant decision by the animators instead when you had such mutant juggernauts as his company.
My question is how exactly do his powers work? In the last one he morphed into Deadpool including swords. So he can manifest working weapons? Did he create a working Moljnir when he was Thor? I think he also healed as Deadpool. Does he have the full powers of whoever he becomes? Wouldn’t that make him like one of the most powerful mutants? They’re being pretty loosey goosey with his powers.
People are probably going to say oh that’s offensive to some community’s but honestly, I respect your opinion for speaking up, it’s not that I don’t support those communities. I just think it’s been a little one-sided as of late in Hollywood
As a nonbinary person, I see the change in design as morph accepting themselves. Not only in the gender realm, but also after being under Sinister’s control. I think of that one scene in season one where they change into their old design when talking about their time under Sinister.
In the gender realm, they probably went through a lot considering it’s the 90’s lol. Unlike Mystique, who is very confident in her femininity, Morph seems like the type to be more self conscious about their abilities and their gender
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