X-Men ’97’s Breakout Star: The Mutant Primed for Live-Action Marvel Domination

X-Men ’97 brings back the X-Men team from the animated series and there is one character who still hasn’t appeared in a movie but deserves a shot.

X-Men ’97 is an excellent revival of the animated series, and it’s breathed new life into several characters ahead of the team’s MCU debut. While the X-Men comics made the heroes famous, the 1990s animated series made the heroes popular with an entire generation of kids that continues to love them today. In 2000, the X-Men went from the comics to television to the silver screen, with many mutants from the animated series making their live-action debuts. Wolverine, Jean Grey, Cyclops, and many other mutants got their chance to shine in Fox’s X-Men universe.

However, a few members of the team were left out, like Gambit, Jubilee, and Morph. While Gambit and Jubilee have appeared in X-Men films since 2000’s X-Men, Morph remains absent from any live-action X-Men films. The first few episodes of X-Men ’97 have reminded audiences how awesome Morph is, and there are several reasons why the character should make his debut in the MCU.

Morph Would Bring Plenty Of Comedy Into The MCU’s X-Men

Morph is more than just the comedic relief in X-Men ’97, but his inclusion in the MCU’s X-Men would give Marvel the perfect way to inject comedy into the X-Men. His shapeshifting ability lends itself perfectly to comedy, such as the scene in X-Men ’97 where he turns into Jean Grey and mocks Wolverine. The MCU has shown that shapeshifting can create great comedy. One of Thor: The Dark World‘s best moments came when Loki turned into Captain America.

Additionally, it allows Marvel to avoid a major criticism of recent MCU projects. Audiences are getting frustrated that seemingly every MCU character has quippy jokes and emotional moments are interrupted by jokes. With Morph’s inclusion in the X-Men, Marvel can give him most of the comedy and allow characters like Cyclops and Wolverine to remain more grounded and resolved. Characters like Gambit and Rogue do crack jokes from time to time, but it’s important to have characters who remain the more mature and sedated leaders.

Morph Would Have Access To A Large Number of Marvel Characters He Could Turn Into

In X-Men: The Animated Series and X-Men, Morph only has access to characters that exist within the worlds of these shows. However, the MCU has a massive catalog of heroes and villains that Morph could transform into. His ability could lead to many exciting moments where he could turn into Spider-Man mid-battle or confuse villains by turning into Hulk. He doesn’t possess the full powers of these heroes, but it could lead to great comedy and crowd-cheering moments.

It also gives Marvel an excuse to throw in tons of cameos in ways that feel organic. Instead of shoving in a random Hawkeye or Captain Marvel cameo, Marvel could utilize Morph’s shapeshifting to bring back characters in hilarious ways. Similar to Thor: The Dark World, these moments could bring back actors for quick cameos that give the audience a surprise jolt. The studio could have trouble getting every actor to commit to it, but it would be worth it to get many awesome cameos.

The MCU Could Create An Interesting Rivalry Between Morph And Mystique

Mystique goes back and forth from being an antihero or a total villain. In the original X-Men trilogy, Mystique was mainly a villain, fighting alongside Magneto before she lost her powers in The Last Stand. Jennifer Lawrence’s Mystique was more heroic, as she joined the X-Men following her introduction in First Class. If Morph is part of the MCU’s X-Men, Mystique can go back to being a villain, giving each side a shapeshifter that can disrupt each team through confusion and deception.

Since both characters have similar powers, Mystique and Morph can have an interesting rivalry, where both try to one-up each other as the superior shapeshifter. Mystique is a more talented fighter, but Morph has been given limited telekinetic abilities in the comics, so that could be an intriguing direction that the MCU could take with him. A shapeshifter battle could be difficult to execute considering all the actor changes and visual effects involved, but it would be something amazing that the MCU could experiment with.