Morph in X-Men '97 (possible spoilers)

[Refrax5]

That might be the first time I have seen it suggested that NOT having a black kid on a skateboard is racist.

Is a black kid skateboarding some kind of racist stereotype? I've never heard of that. When I was a teenager, skating was like a punk rocker thing more than anything having to do with race.

[GoingGreen]

Talking about Evolution.

One has to wonder how many viewers back then actualy did like Spyke, but just didn't signal it and were disapointed to see him go?

Like if Evolution would get the same "27 years later sequel season" treatment, would there suddently be a lot of people proclaiming how he was their favorit and hope to see him return to the team?

Admittedly, doubtfull though.

There are wildly different contexts here. Morph was not a radical change / interpretation of a canon character. And while TAS was a somewhat faithful adaptation of comics, Evolution was a complete reimagining. The idea that Cyclops and Phoenix go to the same high school as Shadowcat, while Storm and Wolverine are recognized as "old", should speak volumes.

Finally: Spyke WAS a really popular character, because he was treated as the audience character for much of the early series. It wasn't until "older" fans got angry online that Spike's popularity dropped, because it was evident that the character's powers were based on Marrow, yet the "creators" of Evan were getting specific IP royalties for Spyke, while the appeal of the powerset (and later the appeal of the character themself) was entirely derivative of someone else's work. Given their choices for Evan, there's no reason they didn't just create an entirely new powerset for the character. I was a pre-teen seeing Evolution, and I never knew Marrow the character until the controversy arose on internet forums.

All that said, a "30 years later" Evolution would never be treated the same because TAS is largely based on canon, and Evolution is an extremely liberal interpretation, a work derived out of the popularity of the X-Men films, which was derived out of the popularity of X-Men TAS, which was derived out of the popularity of the 1991 X-Men comic relaunch.

It's kind of weird to see some people posting in this thread easily dismiss characters other people like, though. Kind of a...pot and kettle situation I'd say.

Instead of Vague-Posting, can you provide some information as to which dismissed characters you are referring? I'm sure there are many.

I would be jazzed. For context sake, I discovered Evolution and Spyke before Synch in the comics and found Everett to be more appealing than Evan once I finally got around to Gen X. But more to your point, claiming "2000s kids hated Spyke" would be as inaccurate as saying "90s kids hated Morph".

I gotta say... Spyke does not equal Synch, in any way. I'm really not sure where you got that analogy, but happy to hear you out. Spyke was a wild adaptation of Marrow, and was an audience-character. Nothing else.

If your idea is that Synch should've been in place of the "new" creation of Spyke, I might agree with you there.

[DragonsChi]

I have been meaning to bring up Morph and his powers for awhile now but with Ep. 7 I have too!

But before I get into that I did want to mention that we got some more of Morph's characterization in this episode and he seem's like another character right now. Morph was in the OG show was way more... I don't know...positive/optimistic in his comedic delivery. Even when he was being critical or condescending. This version is more ....?sassy?...?snarky?.. then he is upbeat . And the way the scenes play its like the rest of the team are always looking at him as if they are rolling their eyes in their head. Hope that changes in the future. Be cool to see the team actually laugh at his jokes(because they are actually funny) and give off that vibe again that he was the guy every member on the team liked because of his personality.


Anyway on to the powers...


So in this episode we saw Morph Transform in to spoilers:

Quicksilver and actually used Super Speed

end of spoilers. Before everything he was doing could be written off as "natural" physical abilities of whoever he shape shifted into.

Personally, I was thinking with the launch of the new series we would be seeing more of Morph's from Exiles abilities, if that wasn't what he was using already.

Morph in the Exiles comic had these powers:
1. Shapeshifting (obviously)
2. Very low level telepathic powers
3. Flight
4. Super Strength (Thought to be on par with like Spider-Man or early day Warpath. 20-30ton max)

I always theorized that all of Exiles Morphs powers stemmed from psychic abilities. If you notice, all of his physical powers easily could be written as a form of tactical telekinesis. Even his shapeshifting with him being born as literal playdough, would have made perfect sense that he uses his form of tk to mold his body.

However, in this episode...that idea may be out the window....

spoilers:

With the introduction of Quicksilver's super speed it sorta seems like the writers are just giving him a potentially OP upgrade. I mean if he can only do physical mutant powers now it only logically makes sense that he has the potential to unlock any mutant ability he wants. With him only mentally restrict himself and/or he hasn't grown enough in his powers to begin to do that. I guess there is still potential for the Super Speed to be some kind of TK star wars Force Speed or something but that idea seems less likely right now. Either way it was a very cool scene to see and I would like to see Morph get more use in battle. Hopefully, we just wont get to the point where Morph falls into the now over used Omega Level category.

end of spoilers

[whitecrown]

I have been meaning to bring up Morph and his powers for awhile now but with Ep. 7 I have too!

But before I get into that I did want to mention that we got some more of Morph's characterization in this episode and he seem's like another character right now. Morph was in the OG show was way more... I don't know...positive/optimistic in his comedic delivery. Even when he was being critical or condescending. This version is more ....?sassy?...?snarky?.. then he is upbeat . And the way the scenes play its like the rest of the team are always looking at him as if they are rolling their eyes in their head. Hope that changes in the future. Be cool to see the team actually laugh at his jokes(because they are actually funny) and give off that vibe again that he was the guy every member on the team liked because of his personality.

I've noticed that too, he seems more snarky and sassy than he used to be.

And I don't think it's been brought up before but Morph was Michael Jackson's favorite character. It's a testament to his popularity that he was only in one episode, created for the sole purpose of being killed off, but was beloved enough to bring back. Originally the plan was to use Thunderbird and kill him off but it was felt that killing off the only Native American character wouldn't fly in the 90s which is why Morph was more or less invented as an OC character. Michael Jackson being part of the audience also shows how widely watched TAS was and why it's still considered the definitive portrayal of the X-Men alongside the movies.

There's really no comparison between Morph and Spyke. Morph was popular enough to be turned from a one-hit wonder into a regular character. Spyke was downgraded from regular cast member to being written out of the show. And Evolution never had the same pop culture influence that TAS had. X-23 is the better comparison to make to Morph because she was another OC character created for just for the show who took off in popularity and was introduced to the comics. And now she's the most prominent new character created for the franchise in the 21st century.

[DragonsChi]

I've noticed that too, he seems more snarky and sassy than he used to be.

And I don't think it's been brought up before but Morph was Michael Jackson's favorite character. It's a testament to his popularity that he was only in one episode, created for the sole purpose of being killed off, but was beloved enough to bring back. Originally the plan was to use Thunderbird and kill him off but it was felt that killing off the only Native American character wouldn't fly in the 90s which is why Morph was more or less invented as an OC character. Michael Jackson being part of the audience also shows how widely watched TAS was and why it's still considered the definitive portrayal of the X-Men alongside the movies.

There's really no comparison between Morph and Spyke. Morph was popular enough to be turned from a one-hit wonder into a regular character. Spyke was downgraded from regular cast member to being written out of the show. And Evolution never had the same pop culture influence that TAS had. X-23 is the better comparison to make to Morph because she was another OC character created for just for the show who took off in popularity and was introduced to the comics. And now she's the most prominent new character created for the franchise in the 21st century.

Wow, I didn't know that about Michael Jackson. That is actually interesting and cool. Also, it needs to be stated that some of people in the thread who originally implying that Morph was not popular or a lesser character had to of known this. I mean the show was most likely target towards them when it aired...why the deception? I don't get it.

As for Spkye...he was for sure a character I wanted to get into when I was younger. When the show aired I was in elementary school so having a another young black kid like Static that I could identify with would have been cool. But not for nothing he wasn't that great of a character. I would have preferred a young Bishop, at least that way the writers would have something to pull from and Bishop could have his own arch dealing with the future while being forced to go to high school, probably for the first time, that would have given the "token" black kid an actual purpose on the team.

Bishop good been the audience view on the X-Teens, have an actual story arch, given the representation they where looking for, and would have given more a chance to be fans of that character for the future. But I digress...this is a Morph page after all.

[Nicoclaws]

I do hope Morph is used more in the later episode. They are in the opening facing Sinister himself so they shoul get more focus.

I don't remember their humour being different in the old episodes, but I guess it's normal as humour itself as evolved quite a bit.

[GoingGreen]

This Morph is nearly unrecognizable to the Morph of TAS92. And I don't mean because the show is his AoA/Exiles appearance or a different voice actor. The characterization is wildly different. While I like the voice actor in other roles... this seemed miscast. I almost wish they'd just adapted a different character for JP Karliak.

[marhawkman]

I've noticed that too, he seems more snarky and sassy than he used to be.

And I don't think it's been brought up before but Morph was Michael Jackson's favorite character. It's a testament to his popularity that he was only in one episode, created for the sole purpose of being killed off, but was beloved enough to bring back. Originally the plan was to use Thunderbird and kill him off but it was felt that killing off the only Native American character wouldn't fly in the 90s which is why Morph was more or less invented as an OC character. Michael Jackson being part of the audience also shows how widely watched TAS was and why it's still considered the definitive portrayal of the X-Men alongside the movies.

There's really no comparison between Morph and Spyke. Morph was popular enough to be turned from a one-hit wonder into a regular character. Spyke was downgraded from regular cast member to being written out of the show. And Evolution never had the same pop culture influence that TAS had. X-23 is the better comparison to make to Morph because she was another OC character created for just for the show who took off in popularity and was introduced to the comics. And now she's the most prominent new character created for the franchise in the 21st century.

It's a story-thing. Teh easiest way to make people remember a minor character.... heroic sacrifice. People will remember it because of what eh character DID... even if they don't remember any other aspect of the character.

[DragonsChi]

So I have to call BS...

Morph transformed into the Juggernaut this episode and one jujutsu toss knocked him out. Morph is for sure not mimicking full power levels of any of the characters he is turning into. At this point he just feels like he has some base undetermined strength, speed, and agility and he is just changing into different characters for dramatic effect, as a in universe explanation of his powers.

Out of universe, ie the real world, it starting to seem like the creator's aren't putting much thought into the use of Morph and are just going "Oh wouldn't it be cool to do this character here", which is just lazy at this point. In the original show and even in the first episode Morph gave off an air that each transformation had sequential purpose. Now I have to admit what others are saying on this forum and in other places that he is just a cameo machine :/

[ChildOfTheAtom]

morph gotta get in the danger room smh

[whitecrown]

Wow, I didn't know that about Michael Jackson. That is actually interesting and cool. Also, it needs to be stated that some of people in the thread who originally implying that Morph was not popular or a lesser character had to of known this. I mean the show was most likely target towards them when it aired...why the deception? I don't get it.

As for Spkye...he was for sure a character I wanted to get into when I was younger. When the show aired I was in elementary school so having a another young black kid like Static that I could identify with would have been cool. But not for nothing he wasn't that great of a character. I would have preferred a young Bishop, at least that way the writers would have something to pull from and Bishop could have his own arch dealing with the future while being forced to go to high school, probably for the first time, that would have given the "token" black kid an actual purpose on the team.

Bishop good been the audience view on the X-Teens, have an actual story arch, given the representation they where looking for, and would have given more a chance to be fans of that character for the future. But I digress...this is a Morph page after all.

Not just favorite X-Men character but favorite superhero in general for Michael Jackson. I know he wanted to play Xavier in the movies as well, saying he would wear makeup to look older and whiter. I don't get the Morph erasure either.

I wonder if Bishop was excluded because they wanted to keep him open for future episodes involving time-travel. Establish him as an older man and future X-Man counterpart whereas his younger version would become a fellow student and we'd have two versions of Bishop hanging around. Or maybe the future version of him would be a teen who gets trapped in the present and ends up having to adjust to being a student in a new time. I can see why Bishop carries a lot of time travel baggage which makes him a hard character to start off with. That really only leaves Sunspot in terms of prominent black male X-Men. It would have been fitting to swap out one Bobby, ice-themed for another Bobby, solar-themed.

[whitecrown]

So I have to call BS...

Morph transformed into the Juggernaut this episode and one jujutsu toss knocked him out. Morph is for sure not mimicking full power levels of any of the characters he is turning into. At this point he just feels like he has some base undetermined strength, speed, and agility and he is just changing into different characters for dramatic effect, as a in universe explanation of his powers.

Out of universe, ie the real world, it starting to seem like the creator's aren't putting much thought into the use of Morph and are just going "Oh wouldn't it be cool to do this character here", which is just lazy at this point. In the original show and even in the first episode Morph gave off an air that each transformation had sequential purpose. Now I have to admit what others are saying on this forum and in other places that he is just a cameo machine :/

Maybe Morph's power can only go as far as replicating abilities and traits if they turn into other mutants. Turning into a non-mutant like Juggernaut wouldn't allow them to replicate their abilities because Juggernaut's powers are not genetic but mystically endowed.

Tbh, I feel like Morph was only kept on the show for two reasons: to act as a cameo king and to essentially be the "sassy gay friend" trope without actually being gay. Because their only other role so far has been to snarkily comment on everyone else's drama without having any drama of their own.

[DragonsChi]

Maybe Morph's power can only go as far as replicating abilities and traits if they turn into other mutants. Turning into a non-mutant like Juggernaut wouldn't allow them to replicate their abilities because Juggernaut's powers are not genetic but mystically endowed.

Tbh, I feel like Morph was only kept on the show for two reasons: to act as a cameo king and to essentially be the "sassy gay friend" trope without actually being gay. Because their only other role so far has been to snarkily comment on everyone else's drama without having any drama of their own.

Or now that he is a part of the LBGTQIA+ community he can't have actual character development because that would actually cause him to struggle and grow and the vocal part of the community who operates online will try to shut it down. If so that sucks. :/

As to the whole Juggernaut thing...maybe your right, that could have something to do with it.

[Nicoclaws]

Maybe Morph's power can only go as far as replicating abilities and traits if they turn into other mutants. Turning into a non-mutant like Juggernaut wouldn't allow them to replicate their abilities because Juggernaut's powers are not genetic but mystically endowed.

Tbh, I feel like Morph was only kept on the show for two reasons: to act as a cameo king and to essentially be the "sassy gay friend" trope without actually being gay. Because their only other role so far has been to snarkily comment on everyone else's drama without having any drama of their own.

Still two episodes I have hope they do something with them !
I do wonder though, if they're trying to stick to the comics, even freely, what role could they give Morph ? You'd have to write a whole new storyline just for them.
Roberto here is a bit the same though, but they managed to give him a storyline.

[whitecrown]

Or that now that he is a part of the LBGTQIA+ community he can't have actual character development because that would actually cause him to struggle and grow and the vocal part of that community who operates online will try to shut it down. If so that sucks. :/

As to the whole Juggernaut thing...maybe your right, that could have something to do with it.

I wonder if social media or gay/queer twitter is fine with Morph just being used for one-liners. I haven't read their reactions. I think they're more interested in Storm tbh.