20 Of Our Favorite X-Men Characters

Forge in Uncanny X-Men #264 (Image via Marvel)

20. Forge

Forge is basically the second-ran lame duck of the X-Men. Honestly, that’s why I felt compelled to include him. So often, the “best of” lists include characters that are so powerful or morally upright as to get boring after a while. It’s almost nice to talk about someone who just can’t quite get it together. At least he’s got that sweet ponytail.

Forge’s mutant powers essentially boil down to “mechanical engineering”. He has an innate talent for designing mechanical devices, as well as the ability to recognize the mechanical potential in any old pile of junk. According to most comics’ plots, Forge’s talent is partially subconscious. This means that he doesn’t always understand exactly how he created something, only that he can do so intuitively.

Talent aside, Forge has a bit of a mixed record. He’s not a bad guy, but neither does he ever live up to his full potential. At one point, though, he does manage to kill almost the entire X-Men team in order to banish an ancient god of evil. Ultimately, the X-Men got better, but that still leaves Forge as one of the only people to kill them all in one go. At least he was efficient.

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Oh, also he has a bionic right hand and leg the conceal various weapons. I would do the same thing myself, though more often they would be full of snacks and some light reading.

I know I asked you to be gentle if I skipped your favorite, but feel free to share about your favorite X-Man in the comments below.