Another Wednesday, another X-Men ’97 episode, and another period of contending with the realization that we have to wait a whole other week to see how the story progresses.
That’s not to say we’re not grateful for what we did get, of course. The team’s run-in with Madelyne Pryor was a flashy symphony with a fairly emotional end note, with the clone of Jean Grey bidding a genial goodbye to the X-Mansion before Bishop departed for the future with baby Nathan Summers in hopes of curing the child of his techno-organic virus. (Spoiler alert: That doesn’t go as planned!)
The episode ended, however, with a tease of what’s to come, namely in the form of Storm running into a stranger named Forge at a bar in Texas, claiming that he knows a way to restore her powers after she lost them trying to protect Magneto.
But who is this Forge character exactly, and what’s his history with the X-Men?
Who is Forge?
Forge the name of an unnamed Native American mutant and an ally to the X-Men with an inherent penchant for technological invention and innovation. The character previously appeared in X-Men: The Animated Series as an associate of the time-traveling mutant Bishop, building a time machine in order to send Bishop back in time to prevent an assassination attempt on Charles Xavier (whom Forge refers to as an old friend at the end of this latest ’97 episode), recruiting an alternate Wolverine and Storm for the operation in hopes of preventing a dystopian future rife with mutant annihilation.
An alternate version of Forge also aided Beast, Mister Sinister, and Warlock against the Phalanx alien race, likely making that version of Forge the same one that Storm is now meeting. It’s hard to say what Forge has in mind here as far as restoring Storm’s powers, but it would be no bold move to anticipate the pair’s romantic history in the comics getting at least a nod or two.
(featured image: Marvel Animation)
