Latest / Vigilante Vibes Podcast / Ep. 261. Morph: Comics VS. TV Series

Transcript

Ep. 261. Morph: Comics VS. TV Series · Vigilante Vibes Podcast

0:09
Hello Marvel fans, comic geeks and all nerds in between.
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My name is Megan and I'm here with a character breakdown.
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But it's actually kind of like 2 character breakdowns because
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we're going to talk about Morph. And I feel like not enough
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people talk about Morph just because his his background isn't
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exactly that of the other Marvel characters because he actually
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appeared in the X-Men animated series before the comics.
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So I think why don't we go through talk about his TV
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version and then talk about the comic version and I will tell
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you the difference between the two and maybe you'll learn
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something from this. Now, before I get started, I
0:47
know Morph is non binary and goes by they them in X-Men 97.
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But in the comics, Kevin Sidney AKA Morph uses he him pronouns.
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So don't assume I don't didn't take this into consideration.
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I'm all for the hers hymns, theys and thems.
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So when we discuss the TV version, they them comic version
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he him. So the TV version of Morph First
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Morph was actually created for the show First.
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Before ever appearing in the comics, Morph was one of the X
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men's resident chaos gremlins. Funny, sarcastic, constantly
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cracking jokes, and generally treating life threatening
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situations like an open mic night.
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Wolverine once described them as the only one who could ever make
1:30
me laugh, which is basically the highest compliment Logan is
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capable of giving without spontaneously combusting from
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emotional vulnerability. As a result, Morph and Wolverine
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were incredibly close, arguably closer than Logan was with
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anyone else on the team. Maybe Jean Grey was a close
1:47
second. Unfortunately, Moore's career as
1:50
the team's Comic Relief hit a major speed bump during the X
1:53
Men's first encounter with the Sentinels during the raid on the
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Mutant Control Agency headquarters, Morph was
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seemingly killed when the team was forced into a desperate
2:02
retreat. Needless to say, everyone took
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it very badly. The loss devastated the X-Men
2:09
and drove a massive wedge between Wolverine and Cyclops.
2:13
Scott had been forced to make the brutal call to leave Morphin
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Beast behind during the retreat, and Logan was not exactly in a
2:20
forgiving mood after. If looks could kill, Cyclops
2:24
would have needed a second funeral, but because this is
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comic book adjacent X-Men storytelling, dead turned out to
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be more of a temporary inconvenience.
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Morph eventually resurfaced as an agent of Mr. Sinister,
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carrying a mountain of resentment toward the X-Men for
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leaving them behind. Under Sinister's influence, they
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became a walking revenge tour. First, Morph disguised themself
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as a priest and performed a fake wedding ceremony for Cyclops and
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Jean Grey, because apparently identity theft and emotional
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terrorism were now on the menu. The happy couple was then lured
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to a remote island for their honeymoon, where Sinister and
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the Nasty Boys were waiting to ambush them.
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As you know, normal honeymoon activities.
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At the same time, Morph was busy causing problems everywhere
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else. They sent Jubilee straight into
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the headquarters of the Friends of Humanity, manipulated Gambit
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into kissing Rogue right before an important mission which went
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about as well as you can expect, and perhaps most impressively,
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tricked Professor Xavier and Magneto into traveling to
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Antarctica, which was diabolical and so funny.
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I think this ended very badly for Magneto, though.
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Morph's actions ultimately led to Magneto being stripped of his
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powers and stranded in the Savage Land for most of Season
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2, which is pretty wild achievement for someone whose
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primary skill set is beat literally anyone.
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However, eventually the truth came out.
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The angry, vengeful version of Morph wasn't really the person
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their friends remembered. Mr. Sinister had essentially
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planted a darker personality inside them as a means of
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control. The real Morph was still in
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there somewhere, buried under layers of trauma, manipulation,
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and enough psychological damage to keep several therapists
4:19
employed for life. In the end, More fought back
4:22
against their darker side and came to the aid of the X-Men.
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They helped Cyclops during the final showdown against Sinister
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in the Savage Land and prove that deep down they were still
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the same friend the team had lost.
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Afterward, Morph was sent out to Muir Island for treatment and
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recovery. Myra Mctaggart's professional
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medical opinion was basically please do not go back into
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combat right now. Morph's opinion was basically
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counterpoint, What if I did? Eventually, they insisted on
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returning to the X-Men, despite Myra's strenuous objections.
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Unfortunately, their first mission back involved the
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Sentinels again, because apparently the universe
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occasionally enjoys a practical joke.
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Facing the machines that had nearly killed them left Morph
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completely terrified. For perhaps the first time, the
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team's resident wisecracker couldn't joke their way out of
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what they were feeling. But over time, Morph confronted
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that fear head on. Not only did they manage to
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fight through it, they also helped destroy what remained of
5:24
Master Mold. After the mission, however,
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Morph decided to step away from the X-Men once more.
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They felt they weren't ready to fully embrace being a hero
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again. And honestly, after everything
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they've been through, that was pretty reasonable assessment.
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Later, Morph was called back into action when Professor
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Xavier was shot by Henry Peter Guy Rich.
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Using their shape shifting abilities, Morph impersonated
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Xavier and reached out to mutants across the world.
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They urged everyone not to retaliate against all of
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humanity because of the actions of 1 hateful extremist.
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Basically, they prevented a global mutant fueled rage spiral
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by pretending to be the world's most famous bald man.
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By the end of the series, Morph was shown standing alongside
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Magneto and the rest of the X-Men, strongly implying that
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they had fully rejoined the team following Xavier's departure.
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One year later, that was officially the case.
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Well, one year for the show. For us, it was like 30 years.
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So great. Morph was completely
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reintegrated into the X-Men and was back in action.
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They helped rescue Roberto Dacosta, who is Sunspot, took
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down Bolivar Trask's latest master mold project and were
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present with Magneto arrived to claim Xavier's assets before
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being put on trial and eventually pardoned by the
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United Nations. Around this time, Morph also
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began identifying as non binary, even though it's not actually
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said in the show. It was good Lord, it was such a
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big deal and it's it's not a big out of all characters.
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Wouldn't morph be non binary? And it was it wasn't even like a
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huge thing. It was just in a character
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description online and though everyone lost their minds.
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You guys are bananas for that. Also like I'll never forget
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that. That was insane.
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It's never said in the show. Morph is referred to as they by
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Rogue though, which I thought was really nice.
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They altered their default appearance using their shape
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shifting powers, adopting the now iconic chalk white
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featureless face that many fans recognized from later in the
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comics. It was a fitting evolution for
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someone whose entire life had been defined by transformation.
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After all, most people spend their whole lives figuring out
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who they are. Morph had to figure it out while
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being dead, brainwashed, impersonating priests,
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traumatizing super villains, saving the world, and
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occasionally turning into other people for fun.
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Personally, I think they handled it pretty well.
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I would also like to add that Morph in the show was a last
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minute add to the show. Morph's existence is basically
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the result of a production team looking at a script and saying,
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oh wait, maybe we should not do that.
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Originally, the character who was supposed to fill Morph's
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role in X-Men the Enemy series was Thunderbird from the comics.
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The problem was that the writers realized introducing a Native
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American hero only to immediately take him out in his
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first appearance was probably not the best idea, so they
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pivoted at the last minute and created Morph instead, loosely
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inspired by the comic character Changeling.
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When I say last minute, I mean very last minute.
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Morph was never intended to become a fan favorite.
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He was basically designed to show up, die, traumatize the
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X-Men, and leave. Because of that, they gave him a
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fairly generic look. Why spend months perfecting a
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design for a character who's supposed to be gone by episode
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2? Meanwhile, poor Thunderbird got
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caught in the middle of all this.
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Remember when I said it was a very last minute decision?
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His cartoon design had already been completed before the switch
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happened. Rather than waste the whole
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design, the animators tossed him into the opening credits as one
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of Magneto's random evil mutants getting punched around.
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He's basically standing there like I was supposed to have a
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job. Then comic books got involved
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because comic books always get involved.
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Around the same time, Marvel was publishing the massive Age of
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Apocalypse storyline, an alternate reality where Xavier
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dies and Magneto ends up be leading the X-Men.
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The writers liked the cartoons Morph enough that they decided
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to bring the character into the comics.
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But since comic books can't leave anything simple, they gave
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Morph a much more distinctive appearance.
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Instead of looking like a regular guy, his natural form
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became a pale, featureless face that with almost no defining
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characteristics. It was weird, it was memorable,
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and instantly was more unique than generic guy who dies.
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A few years later, Marvel doubled down on the idea.
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Another version of Morph, using the same white face design,
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became one of the main characters in Exiles, a comic
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about mutants from different realities hopping between
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dimensions and trying to fix timelines.
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Basically, if Marvel's multiverse had a customer
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service department, the Exiles worked there.
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By the time X-Men 97 rolled around decades later, the comic
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book version of Morph had become far more recognizable than the
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generic original cartoon design. The white faced look had
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appeared in multiple comics and had become strongly associated
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with the character. So the revival series adopted
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that version. And let's be real, it's just a
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lot more visually interesting than the one guy everyone
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forgets until they die. So since Morphs natural form is
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already pretty androgynous and intentionally lacks strong
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gendered features, the creators also use that opportunity to
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establish Morph as non binary. In X-Men 97, it fit naturally
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with the character shape shifting abilities and more
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gender neutral design that had been around in the comics for
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years. Adding another layer of
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coincidence, Morph's current voice actor also identifies as
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non binary. Whether the casting happened
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before or after the decision to make Morph make it known that
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Morph is non binary hasn't been made entirely clear, but it
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ended up working pretty well. And JP Carlyac is a natural fit
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for Morph. So in a strange way, Morph's
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entire story comes from a chain of happy accidents.
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Thunderbird was supposed to die. The writers changed their mind.
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They invented Morph. Morph was supposed to disappear
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immediately. Fans love Morph.
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The comics borrowed Morph. The comics made Morph cooler.
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The revival borrowed that version.
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So a lot of happy accidents. And now the character who was
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originally created as a disposable replacement has
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become one of the most recognizable characters of the
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animated X-Men roster. Not bad for someone who is
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basically hired to die. Now that's our version of Morph
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on the TV series, and that is the story behind Morph.
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Let's talk about Morph. In the comics, before he was
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Morph, before he was the lovable goofball, before he became
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Marvel's patron St. of Identity Crisis, very little was known
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about the mutant called Changeling.
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At some point, he joined the villainous organization Factor
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3, where he worked as a second in command to the mysterious
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mutant master. Like many comic book hench men,
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Changeling apparently hadn't yet learned the valuable lesson that
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anyone calling themselves masters probably hiding
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something terrible. Factor 3's fancy mutant
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detecting technology identified Sean Cassidy as an incredibly
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powerful mutant, so Changeling reached out and invited him to
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join the organization. Sean's response was essentially
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absolutely not. He was horrified by Factor 3's
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goals and refused outright. Factor Three, however, wasn't
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big on accepting rejection. Since Sean's powers and law
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enforcement experience were considered too useful to waste,
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they kidnapped him instead. Problem solved.
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The organization slapped an explosive headband on Sean,
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forced him into service, and turned him into their unwilling
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operative, Banshee. While carrying out a mission in
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New York, Banshee ran into the original X-Men.
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They managed to capture both him and a Factor 3 member named
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Ogre. Professor Xavier used a psychic
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trick to disable the explosive headband before it could turn
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Shawn's head into a cautionary tale, and once freed, Banshee
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spilled the tea on everything he knew about Factor 3.
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Then came the plot twist. Changeling discovered that the
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Mutant Master wasn't actually a mutant mastermind at all, but an
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alien planning to wipe out all of life on Earth.
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Realizing that he had accidentally signed up for Team
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Planetary Extinction, Changeling promptly betrayed his boss and
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helped bring Factor 3 down. Not long afterward, Changeling
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approached Professor Xavier with some devastating news.
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He was dying of terminal cancer and only had a few months left
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to live. Meanwhile, Xavier had a secret
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of his own. An alien race called the Xenox
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was preparing to invade Earth, and he needed to disappear
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underground to prepare for it. Since explaining this to the
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X-Men would have apparently been too simple, Xavier instead came
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up with one of the weirdest plans of his career.
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He asked Changeling to pretend to be him, and somehow
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Changeling agreed. Xavier gave him a portion of his
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telepathic powers, and that shapeshifter successfully
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masqueraded as Professor X while the real Xavier worked in
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secret. The only person who knew the
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truth was Jean Grey, who was sworn to secrecy.
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Then things got tragic and weird.
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While posing as Xavier, Changeling was killed battling
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the alien grotesque. The X-Men mourned what they
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believed was the death of their mentor and buried Changeling
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while he was still wearing Xavier's face.
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Imagine having your own funeral because you died and everyone
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thinks you're someone else and is mourning someone else, and no
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one mourned you. The truth didn't come out until
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much later during the fight against the Xenox, when the
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X-Men learned that the person who had died wasn't Xavier at
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all. It had been Changeling making
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the ultimate sacrifice years later, because comic books never
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let anyone stay dead, the voodoo master Black Talon resurrected
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Changeling as a zombie. Talon grouped him with a bunch
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of undead mutants, called the Ex, hummed, and sent them to
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fight She Hulk. Even as a zombie, Changeling
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still had standards. Rather than blindly obey Black
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Talon, he resisted the mind control and refused to let his
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heroic sacrifice be turned into a punchline.
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And one of the strangest moments of his career.
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He transformed into Elvis Presley to distract She Hulk at
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a critical moment. Yes, zombies, Elvis was somehow
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part of the plan. Black Talon was very unimpressed
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by this this display of independent thinking and sent
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changing right back to the grave.
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Eventually, the mutant nation of Krakoa resurrected him properly
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through the Resurrection protocols.
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Unfortunately, death, resurrection, and the decades of
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complicated history left him with a serious identity problem.
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Part of him was still changeling the darker, more cynical former
16:30
terrorist. The other part was morph the
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lighter, funnier, wisecracking personality most people know
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today. Instead of choosing one, his
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brain basically said why not both?
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After Cocoa fell, Morph wandered the world, bouncing between
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personalities. Some days he acted like a hero
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helping people, other days he drifted back towards
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supervillain behavior. It was less finding yourself and
16:56
more arguing with yourself. Things came to a head when Morph
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showed up at the United States disguised as a guard at Fort
17:04
Knox. Under the influence of his
17:06
changeling persona, he infiltrated the facility and
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started broadcasting plans online about funding mutant
17:12
terrorism, exposing prison systems, and proving mutant
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superiority. As public relations strategies
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go, it needed work. Banshee and his X-Men tracked
17:25
him down and confronted him during the fight.
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Morph's lighter personality resurfaced, and Sean cautiously
17:31
decided not to throw him into a cell immediately.
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Instead, he brought Morph back to Cassidy Keep in Ireland.
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There, Morph began bonding with Husk, Skin and Gateway while
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trying to figure out which version of himself was actually
17:45
in charge. The piece didn't last long.
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After seeing a news report about a mysterious break in in the
17:51
British seaside resort of Ferry Side on Sea, Morph immediately
17:55
volunteered to join Banshee's X-Men on the investigation.
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And that's really that. Like, that's all I could.
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I haven't seen him since, so where are you at?
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But if I may say, if there's one thing more reliable than mutant
18:12
drama, it's a shapeshifter with unresolved personality issues
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voluntarily walking into more mutant drama, which is what
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Morph does. And that is the last time I saw
18:21
Morph, and he was doing just that.
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So that is Morph, that is Kevin Sidney, that is Changeling.
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It's all a very confusing thing just because he wasn't a thing
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until the show. And then the comics were like,
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you know what? I like that.
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I want one and they took him, which I'm not mad at.
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It's just like, I feel like you guys should just kind of figure
18:48
it out, you know, and and bring Morph back.
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I want to see Morph in the comics.
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I love Morph in X-Men 97, but I want to see more of Morph in the
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comics. That's all I'm asking.
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I don't ask much of Marvel. That's it.
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So that is Morph. I hope you enjoyed this episode.
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I do not know how long this episode's going to be, so I
19:08
really hope you enjoy it because it feels like a long one and it
19:14
feels like a lot of editing my way so.