Beau DeMayo Accuses Part of the Fandom of “Straight-Washing” Morph’s Feelings For Wolverine

‘X-Men ’97’ was an unexpected success for Marvel Studios. Since its debut, the show has maintained high ratings, and fans have applauded its storyline, authenticity, and loyalty to the original series, along with the various improvements made to the characters.

However, the show wasn’t without controversies. Especially when the creators revealed that Morph was non-binary, and in episode 3, hinted at a romance between Morph and Wolverine for the first time.

The revelation of something deeper occurred in the final episode of the first season. As Wolverine suffered from severe wounds after Magneto’s attack, Morph transformed into Jean, offering comfort to Wolverine and expressing love for him.

While this gesture might seem like something a close friend would do to encourage recovery in dire times, Beau DeMayo confirmed on social media that Morph was indeed expressing his own romantic feelings for Wolverine.

Some fans promptly rejected the idea of a one-sided romance between Morph and Wolverine. However, Beau DeMayo put an end to these theories by asserting that the romance was planned from the start and the confession was genuinely romantic.

From story bible to the script, Morph’s confession to Logan was always romantic. I discussed this openly and often during production. Suggesting otherwise, never mind contradicting the intention of a queer writer-showrunner, is both offensive and straight-washing.

DeMayo also expressed disappointment that the lack of respect is occurring during pride month.

To talk about representation and it mattering, and then contradict a gay black creator once they are able to become one of the few showrunners who are gay and black, is just disingenuous.

Throughout most of Wolverine’s history, he has been romantically involved with Jean Grey and other women. The relationship between Wolverine and Jean is considered one of the most problematic in X-Men history (and that’s saying something, considering X-Men relationships can be messy). In recent stories, there have even been implications that Wolverine is part of a “throuple” with Scott Summers and Jean Grey.

Fans quickly came to Wolverine’s defense regarding his sexuality. However, the show did not confirm that Wolverine reciprocates romantic feelings for Morph. Instead, it only confirmed that Morph has romantic feelings for Wolverine, which are likely to go unreturned, contributing to his character development.

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