Marvel Admits an X-Men 97 Hero's Costume Doesn't Make Sense (& Never Has)

Summary Forge's half-pant cybernetic leg design in X-Force #1 continues to puzzle fans- Skottie Young's variant cover points out this oddity.

Forge stands out in X-Men history with his peculiar design aesthetic- new adventure in X-Force #1 will feature even more unique elements.

Despite the perplexing choice of half-pants, Forge's metallic leg remains his defining feature among the X-Men- recognition guaranteed.

The X-Men have had numerous costumes, but one member of the X-Men '97 team doesn't make very much sense. Forge is recognizable in part due to his red bandana and metallic right leg. However, the designs surrounding his cybernetic leg have always been a little bit bizarre - a fact Skottie Young has pointed out in a variant cover for the upcoming X-Force #1.

X-Force #1 (2024) has the creative team of Geoffrey Thorne, Marcus To, Erick Arciniega, and Joe Caramagna. It brings together Rachel Summers, Betsy Braddock, Forge, Sage, Tank, and Surge on its mutant roster. It will be part of the From the Ashes era of X-Men storytelling.

Forge will be heading up the recruitment of special agents to tackle new challenges as they arise, including Deadpool. The cybernetic inventor made his debut in The Uncanny X-Men #184 in 1984, but his newest adventure still has the strangest element that remains consistent in his costume history.

The New X-Force Maintains a Strange, Yet Classic, Costume Design Element

Forge's Pants Have Never Made Sense

Forge is featured on several of the covers for the debut issue of X-Force (2024), including those by Stephen Segovia, Clayton Crain, Tony Daniel, and Skottie Young. Young's cover features the hero discussing his leg and overall costume design with his teammates. Forge's costumes have consistently featured half-pants, showing his cybernetic leg off. However, he could very readily wear a standard pair of pants even with his metallic limb, the way Colossus is sometimes depicted. Fans of the hero and regular readers of the series he is featured in would readily be able to recognize him, even without his leg showing.

While the metallic leg makes Forge even easier to recognize among the X-Men, he is also following in the footsteps of other heroes with metallic or cybernetic limbs. Cable and the Winter Soldier are both frequently depicted with their prostheses showing. However, in the case of Cable and Bucky Barnes, they often wear sleeveless or half-sleeved shirts. Partial sleeves, half-sleeved shirts, and sleeveless shirts are all relatively normal designs when compared to half pants. The design is especially odd in cases where Forge is seen wearing only a knee-high pant sock over the lower half of his cybernetic leg.

Forge's Thigh Has Always Been His Defining Feature

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While the metallic leg makes Forge even easier to recognize among the X-Men, he is also following in the footsteps of other heroes with metallic or cybernetic limbs.

Overall, Forge readily dons the apparel of the X-Men associated teams he is on, whether it be the blue and yellow look of the '90s or the red and black attire newly donned by the upcoming X-Force team. His footwear also continuously matches, even if his leg coverings do not. His metallic thigh is nonetheless readily depicted as his defining feature, with his metallic calf being covered by a knee-length sock. While the look works for rapid recognition, Forge's half-pant design is one of the character's strangest aspects which has never really made sense, even in his X-Men '97 days.

X-Force #1 will be available July 31 from Marvel Comics.

X-Force #1 (2024) Writer: Geoffrey Thorne

Artist: Marcus To

Colorist: Erick Arcienega

Letterer: Joe Caramagna

Cover Artist: Stephen Segovia