Forge has had a huge effect on the X-Men for someone who initially enters their lives as a weapons designer working with the government. By the point I've reached, he's become i…

Forge has had a huge effect on the X-Men for someone who initially enters their lives as a weapons designer working with the government. By the point I've reached, he's become involved in their relationships, their survival, their search for missing teammates and some of the biggest disasters they've been through. His first appearance is in Uncanny X-Men #184, and there's already a lot happening around him. He has this incredible home and laboratory in Dallas, full of technology he's designed himself, and government people coming to him because of what he can create. But Naze is there too, arguing with him about a responsibility Forge has spent years trying to avoid. Before he's even properly involved with the team, there are two very different parts of his life pushing against each other. Forge is Cheyenne, and Naze trained him in magic when he was young. He eventually rejected that path and entered the military. The older stories I've been reading place his service in Vietnam, where the deaths of his comrades and his use of a dangerous spell become a major part of what he's carrying around. He also lost his right hand and part of his right leg, replacing them with artificial limbs he built himself. Then there's the neutralizer. Henry Peter Gyrich uses Forge's invention while pursuing Rogue, and Storm takes the blast intended for her. Forge didn't choose to shoot Storm, and he tried to prevent the weapon from being used, but it was still something he created. The consequences of that follow both of them for a very long time. Lifedeath brings them together after that. He takes care of Ororo, and they begin developing feelings for each other while she's trying to deal with losing something that was such a basic part of her existence. Then she finds out he designed the weapon. That makes their relationship much more complicated than her simply meeting someone who helps her recover. He's connected to the reason she's suffering in the first place, and she hadn't known that while she was getting close to him. Their story eventually brings them back together against the Adversary. There's the deception involving Naze's appearance, Storm being turned against Forge, and the two of them ending up trapped away from their own world. Forge is able to restore her powers, but getting home doesn't mean the crisis is over. In Dallas, his magic becomes central to stopping the Adversary, and the X-Men and Madelyne give their lives so he can complete the spell. Roma restores them afterward, although the world continues believing they're dead. That aftermath matters for Forge too. Later, he and Banshee go looking for the missing X-Men. Their partnership puts him out there doing the work, following leads and getting caught in danger himself. He's also involved in defending Muir Island against the Reavers, and he helps rescue Jean from the Morlock tunnels during that search. By X-Tinction Agenda, he's caught up in the wider fight involving the different X-teams in Genosha. I'm a huge Forge fan, and going through his history makes it pretty clear how much he's already affected this whole group. The technology is what immediately appeals to me, but his place in their lives has grown a lot beyond being the person who supplies equipment. I'm approaching the Muir Island Saga now, so that's where I'm stopping. I've still got a lot of his story ahead of me.