Fox’s The Gifted: Is Erg connected to another character from the X-Men comics?

Fox’s The Gifted season two, episode thirteen, gave viewers a closer look at Morlock leader Erg’s powers. Could he have some connection to another established character from the X-Men comics? We analyze the similarities.

Since the second season of Fox’s The Gifted, now streaming on Hulu, resumed in 2019, the show has focused largely on the Morlocks who are now the only allies left for the heavily-depleted Mutant Underground.

Viewers have also got to see more of Morlock leader Erg (Michael Luwoye) and his exceptional abilities, which fans of the X-Men comics will likely associate with a different character. Note that while Erg’s powers are comic book-accurate, they are also startlingly similar to another famous X-Man—Bishop.

For fans who don’t recognize the name, Bishop is a time-displaced mutant from an apocalyptic future. He’s been one of the strongest and most loyal members of the X-Men since his debut in 1991 and Bishop’s actions have helped save the X-Men—not to mention correcting the timeline —on more than one occasion.

In the comics, Bishop has the power to absorb kinetic energy and redirect it in the form of energy blasts. Interestingly, when Bishop re-channels a mutant’s ability against them, it affects even those mutants who are immune to their own powers.

As we have seen in The Gifted, Erg has the same energy-absorption ability, but he can also redirect that energy against mutants, as we saw when John Proudstar (Blair Redford), fought Erg a few episodes ago. Who can forget when Blink (Jamie Chung), humorously observed that John was basically hitting himself by punching Erg.

So, is The Gifted’s Erg in any way related to Bishop? Though in the comic books the two characters have no apparent relation, it could be possible. The show has taken liberties with other aspects—including Erg becoming the leader of the Morlocks.

Additionally, because the show’s cast of characters consists of tertiary X-Men characters, The Gifted has had to create connections between characters from the show and those in the film and comics universe. For example, the Strucker family, for instance, do not exist in the comics, though the Von Strucker twins and their Fenris superpowers do.

Audiences have met Bishop in the comics and the film, X-Men: Days of Future Past, where he was portrayed by Omar Sy in the apocalyptic future timeline. Both the comics and the film version of Bishop has one remarkable similarity in appearance to Erg—the ‘M’ brand on their face. Could this have been passed down from generation to generation starting with Erg? This would make Bishop a descendent of Erg in The Gifted timeline. It certainly is a possibility.

Whether or not the relationship between Bishop and Erg is confirmed, the characters of The Gifted have helped to create a wonderful and elaborate X-Men universe on screens, and we cannot wait to see who else will join the ever-growing world of mutants.

The Gifted: Dawn Of The Mutant Age airs Tuesdays on Fox. For more on The Gifted and everything Hulu related, follow us on the Hulu Watcher Twitter Page @HuluWatcherFS or on the Hulu Watcher Facebook Page.