Marvel Legends X-Men ’97 Morph review (2025)

Morph was one of the highlights of X-Men’97 Season 1 thanks to his ability to shift into various characters based on what was needed during specific battles. This take on Morph was far more interesting than the original series’ X-Men liability who proved more of a liability than an asset. After Season 1 of X-Men’97 Morph was one of the most useful and formidable members of the team.

The Marvel Legends team has been hard at work cranking out more figures for the show and now we’re already onto Wave 3. Let’s see if Morph proves to be a highlight of a pretty solid overall wave or if he’ll need to adapt another guise to get more love.

Packaging: The X-Men ’97 figures use the retro card style presentation with a large graphic of the show, most of the X-Men and a larger drawing of Morph to the left side. With the wide-open set-up, all of the accessories are visible and there’s no hiding any paint flaws.

Over on the back, there is no bio write-up, but there is the cross sell with the other figures in the wave.

Likeness: The X-Men ’97 figures are more Marvel Legends adjacent with several figures. Morph uses a slender, original buck that makes him very slight next to his fellow X-Men. This is an odd choice for Morph as he doesn’t look small on the show.

There is a weird setup with his pectoral muscle as it’s curved giving Morph an odd chest. It’s almost like the sculptors gave Morph an additional curve. If it weren’t there, the chest’s lack of definition would be fine, but this looks off.

Morph has the X-Men bomber jacket, though it’s not as baggy as it should be based on his slimmer size. He’s got the sculpted-on bands around his thigh with the bands also around his boots.

 

The head sculpt is solid giving Morph a bemused expression as if he’s all set to cause some mischief. His default hands are open as if he’s in a sprint.

MORE:

• Now You See Me Now You Don’t review (2025)
• Weapons review (2025)
• Good Boy review (2025)
• G.I. Joe Classified Series Combat Armor Cobra Commander action figure review No. 168

Scale: Morph was about regular height on the show, but this figure is much shorter and slimmer. This scale seems ideal for teen figures or New Mutant characters.

Paint: Morph is pretty simple with regards to the paintjob as most of the heavy lifting was done with the plastic molded in the appropriate colors. His X-logos are the only areas that get paint work — and they’re very clean.

The only other area that has some degree of a challenging paint job is the head sculpt. The ML team opted to use a darker shade of grey for Morph’s features and a black outline around his eyes. This shading seems a bit too heavy particularly around the eyes, but it’s not too problematic.

This head sculpt paintwork seems like it might make for a better fit for the Age of Apocalypse Morph figure that was released a few years back.

Articulation: Morph is actually a pretty easy figure articulation wise since he gets most actively involved in a fight as another person so any Marvel Legends figure can serve as a perfect Morph stand-in.

As far as this figure goes, it has the basic articulation scheme without much flair. He can hit all the poses you’d naturally want although his torso joint is off-putting visually.

Morph has:

• neck
• ball-jointed shoulders
• bicep
• elbow (double-jointed)
• wrist
• wrist hinge
• torso (hinge)
• hip
• thigh
• knee (double-jointed)
• ankle

Accessories: This is Morph’s time to shine. He gets a swappable set of fists, which is always helpful.

More useful is the additional head sculpts. First is the standard head with the 90s style bang haircut. This is a solid default option if you prefer the more traditional appearance.

Next is one that will be helpful for other figures with the Henry Gyrich head sculpt. This is nicely done with an irritated look on his face. This one will find a new home on one of the various ML suit bodies so I can one of the Avengers’ main irritants in my Marvel Legends collection.

Worth it?  While the price of Marvel Legends figures is shooting up to $27.99, I was able to get him for $24.99 and then for $19.99 with a Target circle deal. I don’t see the value at $27.99, which will be the case with most figures going forward. If you can get him for the old price or you’re a big X-Men ’97 fan, I’d recommend waiting for a deal.

Rating: 7 out of 10

Morph was not an essential pickup for me, but the Gyrich head and my general enjoyment of Morph’s portrayal in X-Men ’97 made it a solid purchase considering the price point.

Where to Get It? You can find him at retailers like Target, GameStop or Walmart. He’s also available at Amazon or Entertainment Earth.

As an Amazon and Entertainment Earth affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases.