Amidst the chaotic and action-packed finale of X-Men ‘97 – think Asteroid M hurtling towards Earth, the potential extinction of humanity, and the X-Men saving everyone by a hair’s breadth (again) – the show still found time for a bit of melodrama.
At the centre of it is an unexpected pairing- Wolverine/Logan and Morph. (Although we know that Wolverine has always been a bit of a drama queen when it comes to Scott and Jean.)
There are spoilers ahead, so if you’re prepared, read on. Otherwise, we recommend watching the finale of the show first.
While Magneto’s ‘castle’ was crumbling around everyone, the duo shared a tender scene where Morph was keeping vigil by Wolverine’s side. The latter was knocking on death’s door after he was brutalised by Magneto in the previous episode as the Master of Magnetism ripped the adamantium from his bones.
Through his laboured breathing, Wolverine softly calls out for Jean while in a coma, and Morph says, “She can’t say, but I can”, while he assumes her form. Morph, as Jean, then says he loves Wolverine and asks him to live. The confession is easy to miss in X-Men ‘97, considering everything that’s going on, but series creator and head writer Beau DeMayo, who has been dropping some big reveals on X/Twitter, confirmed that Morph was confessing his love for the gruff, buff ‘daddy’ mutant.
Netizens chimed in to say that they had been picking up on hints about Morph’s (possibly unrequited) love throughout the series and that the confession just affirmed their suspicions. DeMayo also confirmed that there was a beer scene from early in the season that revealed Morph’s affections for Logan.
There’s even a YouTube video uploaded a week ago that compiles all of the scenes except for the confession, which implies Morph’s feelings. As for why Morph confessed this way, DeMayo reminded people that it was still 1997 in the series, a time when people were far less welcoming to members of the LGBTQ community. In response to a netizen who described Morph’s “lore-preferred” confession as “tragic”, DeMayo replied, “Bingo. Morph is still living in 1997.”
Morph’s voice actor doesn’t want the character to find love with Wolverine
Though this storyline potentially sets up a timeless ‘will they, won’t they’ trope, Morph’s voice actor in X-Men ‘97, JP Karliak, admitted in an interview with Polygon that he hopes it won’t happen. Not that he doesn’t want Morph to find love, but that he doesn’t want it to be with Logan.
“As somebody who’s consumed a ton of queer media over the years – what coded things we had in the ’90s – I think there have been so many stories told about the queer person that’s pining over the straight best friend,” he shared, adding that it’s “kind of meh to me”. Karliak found it more interesting that Morph and Wolverine love each other like Frodo and Samwise (from The Lord of The Rings).
He said, “It doesn’t need to be more than that. And they can support each other.”
X-Men ‘97 is now streaming on Disney+.
