Warning: This article contains slight spoilers for the X-Men ’97 season 1 finale.
Wolverine is back where he belongs, at the forefront of the Marvel universe. After nearly seven years out of the limelight following his cinematic demise in Logan, the Adamantium X-Man has returned to dominate both the big and small screens in 2024 thanks to Deadpool & Wolverine and X-Men ’97.
Both of these projects naturally rely heavily on the nostalgia and attachment fans have for two classic iterations of the anti-hero; Hugh Jackman’s legendary Fox variant and Cal Dodds’ animated incarnation, who originated in X-Men: The Animated Series. At the same time, though, they are pushing the character forward in key ways. Jackman’s finally getting to wear the blue and yellow suit in Deadpool 3, for one, and X-Men ’97 is heavily hinting that it might just be about to borrow from more recent explorations of Logan’s sexuality in the comics.
Wolverine and Morph’s relationship in X-Men ’97, explained
Wolverine and Morph were always portrayed as firm friends in X-Men: The Animated Series, going right back to the pilot when Logan is angry and heartbroken over Morph’s death (don’t worry, this is Marvel β he got better). In X-Men ’97, however, on top of Morph being portrayed as non-binary, they are also heavily hinted to have romantic feelings for Wolverine, feelings that Wolverine is either accepting of or reciprocates.
One scene in episode 3 got fans talking, in particular: Morph waltzes in on Wolvie in the shower. Shapeshifting into Logan himself, they flirtatiously ask if Logan needs any help scrubbing “those hard to reach places.” Wolverine is portrayed as being entirely comfortable and unfazed by the intimate encounter, but that’s as far as it goes…
… Until the season finale, however. At the end of episode 9, Logan is viciously incapacitated by Magneto when Erik pulls the adamantium from his skeleton. In one heartbreaking moment, Morph admits, “She can’t say it, but I can,” before morphing into Jean Grey and declaring: “I love you, Logan. Stay with me.”
Is Logan LGBTQ+ in X-Men 97?
The big question now, then, is whether Logan loves Morph back. X-Men ’97 has definitely toned down the angst of the Jean/Scott/Logan love triangle, although it’s still very much there in the background, in favor of pairing him with Morph most of the time. In this way, the signs are pointing to the show gearing us up to have Wolverine come out as bisexual, as per the comics.
Wolverine is naturally most known for his female love interests β Jean and The Wolverine‘s Mariko being the most notable β but he has had male partners too. Logan and Hercules were even a couple for a time. And the Krakoa era of contemporary X-Men comics has repeatedly implied that Jean, Scott, and Logan are a throuple (although this is something that’s never been explicitly confirmed).
Of course, it’s always possible that X-Men ’97 could pave the way for a similar development to play out in live-action. ’00s kids would lose their minds if Hugh Jackman’s Wolvie gets a happy ending in Avengers: Secret Wars by entering into domestic bliss with both Famke Janssen and James Marsden.
Both Deadpool 3 and X-Men ’97 are bringing the screen Wolverine closer to his comics counterpart, so it would only be right to more authentically explore his sexuality too.