REVIEW: Marvel Legends Morph Figure (X-Men 97 Wave 3)

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Morph was one of my childhood favorite X-Men by virtue of the fact that he died in the first episode of X-Men 92 and then had a compelling character arc afterwards. Toybiz made a 5” Morph figure in 1994, but the animated version of the character has been Legends-less for over 3 decades… until now! X-Men 97 Marvel Legends Morph figure orders are now starting to arrive—should he join your X-Men Animated shelf? Here’s my review…

Although Changeling was a briefly seen in the original Silver Age X-Men comics, the character was rather obscure until being rebranded as Morph and hitting his stride in the 90s comics and cartoons.

The Age of Apocalypse Morph iteration was a fan-favorite for years, but now animated Morph is back and wants not just the crown, but his own 6” Marvel Legends figure!

A year and a half has been a much longer wait for X-Men 97 Legends wave 3 than fans would have liked, but I’m thrilled to finally have it in-hand to flesh out the core team roster (except for poor, poor Beast).

Morph comes on the same Toybiz-inspired retro cardback as the previous waves, which continues to look awesome (and almost a shame to rip open and throw away).

“Marvel’s Morph” doesn’t get a bio or anything on the back of the package, but most anyone considering an X-Men 97 toy knows who he is anyway.

The figure itself is the same type of bright, bold cartoony colors we expect from this animated figure line. For a zany character like Morph, this works particularly well.

Unlike Toybiz 30+ years ago, Hasbro actually gave Morph his bomber jacket that makes his costume a mite less plain. It looks very nice, and i especially like the cel-shading-like lining on it.
This Morph Legends figure is fully pin-less (as I hope all ML released will soon be), which helps him look exceptionally good and seam-less. He has standard modern super-articulation including ankle rockers, but no butterfly shoulders because of the sculpted jacket.

Morph gets zero weapons (besides his fists), but does include 3 total heads: the default white mannequin-like head, an X-Men 92 “standard” head and an all-new Henry Gyrich head. All 3 look awesome, and I will certainly find a suited body to shove the Gyrich head on. Great inclusion.

That said, 3 heads is still 1 less head than Toybiz gave us 31 years ago, and I think a few more heads wouldn’t be out of line for a shape-shifter.

Some clawed hands or other means for Morph to defend himself would have also been nice, given today’s price-point for ML action figures. Even so, the accessories are solid—I just would have preferred more.

The quality on this X-Men Legends Morph figure is exemplary; the joints all move smoothly with the right amount of tightness, the paint apps are on-point and the plastic itself feels strong. I’ve got no complaints at all from a QC viewpoint.Overall: This is a very well-executed and on-model figure of Morph as he appears in X-Men 97. The plastic feels good, the paint deco is clean and the pin-less articulation looks and feels great. The Henry Gyrich head is appreciated, as is the “classic” Morph head, but the accessories still feel a tad light for a $25 action figure that could have legit benefitted from more shape changing heads or even hands. An excellent toy that I don’t feel quite hits the high fun bar set by the price.