X-month continues at MMM! in commemoration of X-men’s return to big x-overs Messiah CompleX. X. This week’s spotlighted character is the x-teams’ non-resident inventor Forge.
Last week’s poll re-cap: With 56%, Modern Polaris is your choice for a Marvel Legends figure. Coming in a distant second with 19% was Polaris in her First Appearance costume.
It should also be noted that there was a huge outcry for Polaris in her Shi’ar costume:
And, by "huge" I mean about nine people and by "outcry" I mean that there was some whining and threats of pants-wetting. I kid ’cause I love.
Everyone pines over completing the X-Men’s blue & gold Jim Lee-era teams. But, what about the home team? Yes, in addition to the twelve mutants Chuck had scampering all over the globe not really accomplishing much of anything during the period, there were four mutants manning the fort at the X-mansion: Professor X, Banshee, Jubilee, and Forge. Banshee and Prof. X we’ve got, though the former was a piss poor effort on Hasbro’s part and the latter, while a great classic rendition of the character, is not in his iconic Jim Lee brown fatiques and hoverchair, which is a crime against God and man. Jubilee will get made in the near future, of that I’ve little doubt. That leaves the X-Men’s own version of Reed Richards/Tony Stark/Etc.
Make My Marvel! – Forge
Forge, real name: Jonathon Silvercloud, was raised to be a shaman, but left his tribe to fight in the Vietnam War. He served with distinguished services, primarily as a marksman. Forge’s unit was ambushed and everyone but he was killed. In a fit of rage, Forge used the lessons he’d been taught to summon demons to slay the Viet Cong. Seeing the horror he’d wrought, Forge called in an airstrike to kill the demons he’d unleashed. His desperate ploy worked, though it also cost him his right hand and lower leg. Forge became a recluse, choosing to devote all of his focus to exploring his mutant power of invention.
During this time he created both the neural inhibitor and mechanical proshetics to replace his missing limbs. Forge first became involved with the X-Men when, learning that the government was using his inhibitor for unethical purposes, stepped in to save a de-powered Storm. The two shared a brief romance, but Storm left Forge upon learning that he’d been the creator of the inhibitor.
Forge’s invention continued to plague him, when a race known as the Dire Wraiths attempted to invade Earth. Forge teamed up with Rom, the Space Knight, and, using a massive version of the inhibitor, the two were able to banish the Wraiths. Forge then turned his attention to stopping the Adversary, a legendary evil that his people had long faught. In a botched attempt to seal the portal between Earth and Adversary’s dimension, Forge and Storm became trapped on a parallel Earth. The two fell in love before returning to the real Earth. Shortly after his return, Forge learned that it had been his summoning spell during Vietnam that had allowed the Adversary access to Earth. Forge found a way to reverse it, though it cost the X-Men their lives. Though the X-Men actually survived, Forge believe Storm and the others dead.
During a later confrontation with the Shadow King, Forge learned that Storm was alive. He teamed up with Banshee to help search for the missing X-Men. Forge was eventually reunited with Storm and the other X-Men. Together they helped defeat the Shadow King, leading to the reunification of the X-Men. When the larger force of X-Men split into their famed blue and gold teams, Forge manned the fort at the X-Mansion with Banshee and Professor X. He became primarily tech support for the teams. During this time he proposed to Storm, but her hesitation led Forge to believe that she didn’t love him. He left the team, choosing instead to devote his time to helping Mystique regain her sanity.
Soon after, Forge became the government liaison for, and later leador of, X-Factor. When the team fell apart, Forge became Mystique’s handler for Xavier’s black ops missions. It was a love/hate kind of deal. When that gig also went south with Mystique’s defection, Forge went solo again, though he still keeps ties with the X-teams.
How to make it: If Hasbro were to go with the classic X-uniform version, the torso, upper arms, and upper left leg from either the Bullseye or Hasbro Silver Surfer bodies could be used and re-painted. Gloved hands, trimmed boots, a robotic right thigh and new head would complete the look. Though, an upper body with sculpted pattern lines would be ideal and could later be re-used for another Banshee from the same era. Maybe the two could even come as a future Wal-Mart 2-pack. :hint hint:
Which version of Forge do you want Hasbro to make?
First Appearance/early 80’s pimp daddy:
X-team:
Mystique:
Age of Apocalypse:
Ultimate:
*Some images courtesy of Uncannyxmen.net*
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