Posted in: Disney+, Marvel, Preview, TV, YouTube | Tagged: disney, Marvel Studios, Morph, preview, x-men, X-Men '97

X-Men '97 Actor JP Karliak: Morph Hate "Didn't Surprise Me at All"

Marvel Studios' X-Men '97 voice actor JP Karliak on the backlash that Morph is receiving for being non-binary and not being surprised by it.

If you're reading this, then we're pretty sure you know the story of Morph (previously voiced by Ron Rubin, now voiced by JP Karliak) from the original X-Men: The Animated Series. Killed off during the pilot episode "Night of the Sentinels," Morph was resurrected to serve Mr. Sinister, doing his bidding until eventually breaking through Sinister's brainwashing and rejoining the team. In an interview from earlier this year, ex-showrunner Beau DeMayo addressed how Morph's journey brought an interesting perspective to the team. "He really set the stakes, and he had a very interesting relationship with the team because of trauma," he explained. But in the lead-up to the premiere of Marvel Studios & Disney+'s X-Men '97, Morph became the subject of a whole lot of hate on social media – all because the character is listed as being non-binary, meaning that they don't describe themselves in terms of only rigid gender categories, male or female.

In a recent interview, Karliak addressed the attacks – making it clear that they weren't surprised by the response of some alleged fans. "I'm a queer activist. I run a nonprofit that advocates for queer representation. I also co-founded a voter registration organization. I know what's going on in the world, especially politically, so no, it didn't surprise me at all," they shared during an interview with CBR. That said, Karliak also notes that a large portion of the fanbase has also pushed back on the hate – adding, "I think what I appreciated was how much counter-backlash there was, with people like 'Have you watched the X-Men? Are you familiar with why they were created and what they're about? Did you forget that?' That was reassuring."

Making it clear that they haven't "taken offense with anything anybody's published, as much as they've tried," Karliak addressed the irony of some people taking issue with Morph being non-binary in a show set during a time when "nobody said the word 'non-binary.'" The voice actor explained, "Two things about that – one, as far as I know, we're never going to say the word 'non-binary' because nobody said the word 'non-binary' in the '90s. It's not that it didn't exist; it was just in no way a mainstream term at the time. Morph's understanding of who he is could equate to what a modern person would say is non-binary, but he just doesn't have the terminology for it. At the same time, they/them wasn't a concept in terms of using it as a pronoun."

Earlier this month, we heard from some famous names from the original series run who made it clear that Morph being nonbinary is right in line with what was originally established. "For me, the word 'nonbinary' is the same as the word 'shapeshifter.'  Every character that can change from one gender to another – or from human to animal – that's just another word for 'shapeshifter' for me," Larry Houston explained.

To make the point, Eric Lewald highlighted that moment in the second season when a resurrected Morph shifts into being Rogue, Storm & Jean Grey to get revenge on the team. "He attacks Wolverine, his closest friend, in the most dramatic way by turning into Jean Grey and putting his hand on Wolverine's neck, and leaning in for a kiss. That's as nonbinary as you can get. It's Morph turning into a woman and coming onto Wolverine to freak him out. It was all there in Morph's character. Now it's become such a social thing that I think people will be more sensitive to how it's used. That's the only difference. We didn't see a problem in reading him and didn't feel he was any different," Lewald noted,

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