Conservatives were roasted after a reimagining of the X-Men character Morph as nonbinary in the upcoming animated series X-Men '97' set them off.
Disney+'s upcoming animated series, a revival of the beloved '90s X-Men animated show, is set to feature a nonbinary hero in its main cast. Morph, a shapeshifting mutant from the original series, will be portrayed as nonbinary, bringing a fresh perspective to the iconic character.
Showrunner Beau DeMayo shared the news in the latest issue of Empire, describing the new take on Morph as having a nonbinary identity and an intriguing "buddy relationship" with Wolverine. While X-Men '97 maintains most of the original voice cast reprising their roles, J.P. Karliak, an openly gay and gender nonconforming actor and comedian, will voice Morph, with Ron Rubin, the original voice of the character, returning in a different role.
The news marks the first time Morph's nonbinary identity will be explicitly portrayed, a decision that aligns with the character's ability to shapeshift into any form, offering a progressive approach to gender representation.
However, the announcement triggered a backlash from conservative and toxic fan circles on social media, criticizing the franchise for being "woke."
For the political right, "wokeness" or "wokeism" generally refers to a left-leaning perspective that acknowledges the widespread existence of racism, sexism, and other forms of discrimination in American society.
Advocates of this viewpoint assert that addressing these systemic biases requires ongoing vigilance and policies that consider identity and historical disadvantages. However, conservatives often employ the term "wokeism" to criticize a broader spectrum of liberal ideas that they perceive as detrimental to historically privileged groups, meritocracy, and religious freedom.
In response to the backlash, many X-Men enthusiasts highlighted the franchise's longstanding tradition of serving as a metaphor for marginalized groups.
Karliak addressed the controversy in an Instagram post, expressing sympathy for those opposing the inclusion of nonbinary characters, adding:
“I’m honored to voice Morph. Not for them. But for all the gender nonconforming kids like me who would have felt so much more welcome in and a part of this world if they saw themselves repped by a superhero."
"Not to mention one who is part of a team that accepts them.”
You can see their post below.
Conservatives have received significant backlash for their "war on woke" that has yielded often embarrassing and hilarious results.
In November, conservatives once again criticizedTarget for its Christmas ornaments, igniting fresh criticism over the retailer's decorations during holiday season. Among the range of festive offerings were Santas depicting various ethnicities in wheelchairs and a toy soldier carrying the LGBTQ+ Pride flag while donning a rainbow hat.
Many conservatives, spurred by a post by the popular X account @endwokeness, called for another boycott of the retail chain, mirroring a similar action taken in the spring after the store featured Pride month merchandise and transgender-friendly swimwear.
The absurdity of this situation prompted the account @ChudsOfTikTok to highlight posts from two supposed conservative Christians who claimed Target's Santa figurines are "woke," "demonic," and do not meet "the physical requirements" for a Santa typically depicted as White and overweight in Western media—one even referred to the 1994 Christmas film The Santa Clause as an example of a more appropriate Santa depiction.
@jlgolson/X
@thesavermont.bsky.social