X-Men: The Animated Series introduced characters Morph and Thunderbird from the Uncanny X-Men comics. While the television storyline deviated from that of the source material, it did so with good reason. Back when the comics were being written, Len Wein and Dave Cockrum brought the X-Men off the shelf after a five year hiatus with Giant Sized X-Men #1 in 1975. The special issue introduced a new team of X-Men, combining new characters Storm, Nightcrawler, Colossus and Thunderbird with already existing minor characters Banshee, Sunfire and Wolverine. This configuration of mutants -- minus Sunfire and plus Cyclops -- kicked off Chris Claremont’s twenty six year run as the writer of Uncanny X-Men that included collaborations with Cockrum, John Byrne and Jim Lee, among others.

The team has frequently been lauded for its diversity, with every member but Cyclops and Thunderbird being immigrants, but the comic is not as roundly praised for its treatment of Thunderbird. The Native American mutant dies in Uncanny X-Men #95 by Claremont, Wein and Cockrum just two issues after he’s introduced. When the X-Men raid Count Nefaria’s mountain base, Thunderbird grabs onto the Count’s escaping jet. Banshee takes off after them, yelling for Thunderbird to jump off so he can take down the vehicle. Thunderbird refuses and the jet explodes in the air, killing Thunderbird.

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It’s a somber moment for the team and the series, and it's also a tone deaf moment. Having Native-Americans represented as heroes in comics is great, but having the only Native American character on the team die in his third issue was a bad choice. The creative team behind X-Men: The Animated Series recognized that. While Thunderbird died early on, they decided to replace him with Morph, and this decision effectively sidestepped the racial issues that came with it. Morph (who was originally called Changeling) started as a villain before secretly joining the team. In Uncanny X-Men #65, Dennis O’Neil and Neal Adams reveal that Morph had joined the team in the guise of Professor Xavier while suffering from a terminal illness so the real Professor could prepare for the Z’nox Invasion. Morph died in battle in the form of Professor X in 1968. Unlike many other X-Men, he hadn’t been resurrected by the show’s start in 1992. Those 34 years meant that he could die again without upsetting the hardcore fans.

Morph’s death on X-Men: The Animated Series is different from both his death in the comic and Thunderbird’s death. While he and the X-Men are on a mission, he says, “Clear sailing all the way,” before they are promptly ambushed by Sentinels. A laser is heading his way when the show cuts to Jean Grey and Professor X who are monitoring the mission with Cerebro. Neither can find a sign of Morph, implying that he died.

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In the new book, X-Men: The Art and Making of the Animated Series by showrunner Eric Lewald and writer Julia Lewald, it’s revealed that the original plan was for Morph to stay dead. The Lewalds say, “TV networks, it turns out, shouldn't be allowed to talk to young children. They herd them together in 'focus groups' to elicit their opinions on various shows. On our show, one such group proclaimed that Morph was the younger viewers' favorite character during the first season — and we'd killed him off early in episode two!”

The network requested Morph come back and “Eric and Mark [Edens, head writer] decided to take the opportunity to do something different with Morph. Now he would be ‘damaged Morph,’ bitter about being left behind to die, so he has been led to believe, by the X-Men. Since he knew them so well and was a shape-shifter, he became, for a time, the team's most dangerous adversary.”

Whatever drove the decision, Morph was a force in Season 2, luring Scott and Jean to Mr. Sinister’s Island for a fake wedding. He eventually did rejoin the team, but it wasn't part of some grand plan. Morph's death and resurrection was seemingly the result of the creator's wanting to avoid racism (rightfully so) and the opinions of child-filled focus groups.

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