Morph (X-Men: The Animated Series)

X-Men: The Animated Series Morph was introduced in the premiere as a member of the X-Men. Using their shapeshifting abilities, Morph acted as comic relief and had a close relationship with Wolverine, 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 a Sentinel's laser blast. In the second season's premiere, it is revealed that immediately after their death, Morph was recovered by Mister Sinister, who revived and brainwashed them by placing a 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 to Professor X's psychic assistance, Morph is able to break free from Sinister's control, turning a laser meant to kill Cyclops on Sinister instead. Following these events, Morph was taken to the X-Mansion, where they had the implant removed from their brain. Due to the traumas they experienced, Morph was taken to Muir Island to get therapy by Moira 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 destroying Master 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 by Henry Peter Gyrich and was dying. During these events, Morph permanently rejoins the X-Men. When Lilandra Neramani comes to take Professor X to the Shi'ar homeworld to heal, Morph and the rest of the team bid him farewell. ''X-Men '97'' Season 1 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 of Genosha is attacked by Sentinels, leading to the death of Gambit and massacre of numerous other mutants. Following these events, Morph and the X-Men find Bolivar 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 a Prime Sentinel and attacks the team. Realizing Bastion 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 to Asteroid 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 the adamantium from his skeleton was removed by Magneto. Unsure of their fate, Morph takes on Jean's form to confess 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 either Ancient Egypt in 3000 BC or 3060 AD, Morph's whereabouts—along with Wolverine and Storm—are unknown by the first-season finale. ==Development==

Creation and progression in X-Men: The Animated Series The X-Men's sacrificial lamb According to executive story editors Eric and Julia Lewald, during development of X-Men: The Animated Series, the crew wanted a member of the X-Men to die in the pilot, to show that "there were stakes to [the X-Men's] struggle". 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. by Roy Thomas and Werner Roth, as an adversary of the X-Men and member of Factor Three. This retcon established that Changeling was killed in battle while disguised as Professor X, According to Houston, the character's name was changed from Changeling to Morph due to the DC Comics character Beast Boy, who also has shapeshifting abilities. At the time of the show's development, Beast Boy had been a core member of The New Teen Titans under the codename Changeling, resulting in Marvel lawyers demanding that their character's codename being altered. Popularity and resurrection 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. Return and evolution in ''X-Men '97'' voices Morph in ''X-Men '97''. Appearance and personality Morph's involvement in the revival series ''X-Men '97'' was first revealed at San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC) in July 2022. At SDCC 2023, it was confirmed that Morph would officially rejoin the X-Men and be part of the show's main cast. DeMayo further stated that the show's depiction of Morph would be a "lighter take on the character" compared to the original series. For ''X-Men '97'', J. P. Karliak replaces Ron Rubin as Morph's voice actor. 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 to ground the character closer to reality. Morph continues to use he/him pronouns within the series. Despite this announcement, Rogue does at one point refer to Morph using the proper pronouns. 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. After the season 1 finale, DeMayo confirmed Morph's feelings for Wolverine are romantic. 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. According to DeMayo, Morph was always intended to have romantic feelings for Wolverine, as indicated in the show bible. Karliak has stated that while he does want Morph to get a significant other as ''X-Men '97'' progresses, he is against the character starting a relationship with Wolverine. 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. ==Reception==

Morph has often been recognized as a fan favorite from X-Men: The Animated Series, being described as such by Nick Nafpliotis of AIPT Comics, as well as Varietys Moreau. Writing for SlashFilm, Ethan Anderton, who grew up watching the series, stated that Morph was a popular character among fellow viewers of the series. 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. while Velocci described this development as logical, acknowledging that shapeshifters across fictional works often change into various genders. Gizmodos Whitbrook, while also commending the inclusion of openly queer character within the cast of ''X-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. ==Notes==