Forge Was One Of X-Men '97's Most Underrated Characters. Why I'm Hoping The Native American Superhero Has A Bigger Role In Season 2

More of this X-Man, please!

X-Men ’97 debuted to critical acclaim earlier this year, and the hype only got bigger as those who have a Disney+ subscription tuned in week after week on the 2024 TV schedule. The long-awaited revival of X-Men: The Animated Series spotlighted a lot of characters from the mutant corner of Marvel’s mythology, including Forge, voiced in this series by Gil Birmingham. While Forge certainly wasn’t lacking in things to do thanks to being a crucial part of Storm’s storyline, I’d argue he was one of the more underrated characters in Season 1. So when X-Men ’97 Season 2 eventually arrives, I’m hoping the Native American superhero have a much bigger role for several reasons. Actually, let’s start off talking about his ethnic background.

Superhero Media Deserves More Native American Representation

November is Native American Heritage Month, and this time last year, my colleague Mick Joest wrote about nine Native American superheroes who need to be spotlighted in movies and TV. That included Forge, who is of the Cheyenne Nation, but let’s be real, Native Americans deserve a lot more representation in this genre space. The best way to go about doing this is to create new characters, and then the next best thing is to provide more platforms for existing characters to shine.

Forge was created by Chris Claremont and John Romita Jr., and he debuted in 1984’s The Uncanny X-Men #184. So as of this writing, he’s been around for 40 years, and yet Forge is definitely not on the same level of popularity as folks of various characters who’ve come after him, like Gambit and Cable. That’s not to say that Forge will ever necessarily become as recognizable as them, but giving him a bigger role in X-Men ’97 Season 2 will at least help with getting more viewers interested in him. If anything, maybe that can help pave the way for Forge to be featured in the Marvel Cinematic Universe someday.

Forge And Storm Make A Great Pairing

Both present-day and alternate timeline versions of Forge appeared in X-Men: The Animated Series, and the former came into the X-Men ’97 picture in an adaptation of the “Lifedeath” storyline. He introduced himself to Storm and told her he could restore her powers after they were drained by X-Cutioner. It didn’t take long for romance to blossom between the two, although their relationship hit a hitch when Storm learned that Forge designed the technology used in the mutant inhibitor collars and the weapon that X-Cutioner used on Storm. It’s no wonder she was so angry at him.

Nevertheless, they ultimately came back together, with Storm’s powers reawakening while she was battling with The Adversary and trying to cure Forge of the poison that was coursing through his body. Forge accompanied Storm back to the X-Men and helped them in their fight against Bastion. Unfortunately, Forge is now separated from Storm (more on that in a little bit), but I enjoyed their chemistry so much in Season 1 that I’m eager for them to share more scenes together.

We Need To See Forge Make More Cool Gadgets

Forge is a mutant who has intuitive talent for creating and understanding mechanical devices. So if you need someone to design a gadget that’s necessary to save the day or study a strange machine encountered during a mission, Forge is your guy! In addition to the devices mentioned in the previous section, he also designed his own mechanical arm and leg, and can frequently be seen wielding some kind of elaborate firearm of his own making. Combined with his own natural scientific and mechanical knowledge, it’s safe to say he’s one of the smartest people on Earth.

Forge is also capable of spell casting thanks to his knowledge of Native American magic, which he broke out when The Adversary emerged, but it’s through his mechanical know-how that he shines best. So when X-Men ’97 Season 2 rolls around, let’s see him design more cool gadgets for him, or one of the other X-Men to use, whether it’s a weapon, some mode of transportation or anything in between. Sometimes it’s cool to see an adversary vanquished by something besides pure brute force.

Forge May Hold The Key To Retrieving The Time-Displaced X-Men

In the X-Men ’97 Season 1 finale, most of the starring protagonists were sent back to either ancient Egypt in 3000 B.C. or the far-flung future of 3960 A.D., although Storm, Wolverine and Morph’s whereabout remain officially unknown. Bishop, who was last seen taking baby Nathan Summers to the future to find a cure for his techno-organic virus, approached Forge six months after the battle with Bastion and told him that the X-Men were not in fact dead, but trapped in time. Oh yeah, I like the sound of these two teaming up.

Bishop, who was friends with a future version of Forge, may know his way around time travel, but if he went out of his way to meet up with present day Forge, then it’s a good bet that he needs the Native American superhero’s help to track down their comrades. That leads me to think Forge holds the key to retrieve them from the past and future, namely be finding a way to combine Bishop’s time travel technology with whatever he thinks up in his head to either create a more sophisticated method of time travel or perhaps make some kind of tracking device (assuming that the other X-Men don’t find a way to accomplish this themselves in their respective time periods). Either way, I hope this equals Forge getting more screen time in Season 2, as we’d need to follow along with his progress.

We’re a long ways off from X-Men ’97 Season 2 premiering on Disney+, but fans can take comfort knowing that along with that batch of episodes on the way, Season 3 is also in development. Feel free to look over the other best Disney+ shows available to stream now or keep looking to the future with our guide of upcoming Marvel TV shows.