Summary

• In X-Force #1, Forge upgrades himself to Omega Level, merging science and a mystical component to unlock the unlimited potential of his technopathic powers.
• Forge's abilities give him instinctual power to build and understand machines, but his "level-up" in X-Force #1 also leans into the mystical aspect of the character's history.
• Unlike most mutants, Forge is able to use his powers to further enhance his powers – leading to the question of how powerful he could actually become.

Contains Spoilers for X-Force (2024) #1!The X-Men have a new Omega Level mutant in their ranks, as Forge has just found a way to upgrade his own powers beyond any quantifiable limits. Forge’s himself is at least partially scientific, but it also might have a magical component, which is perfectly in fitting with his backstory.

In X-Force #1 – written by Geoffrey Thorne, with art by Marcus To – Forge upgrades his own mutant power level to Omega, removing all limits of his mutant technopathy.

Forge’s power gives him the instinctual ability to build and understand machines, which in practical means that he can build a machine to solve any solution as long as he imagines it. Forge wasn’t an Omega Level mutant, but he imagined that he could build a machine to make himself one, so his powers did just that.

Forge Just Hacked His Own Mutant Power Status, Elvating Himself To Omega-Level

X-Force #1 – Written By Geoffrey Thorne, Art By Marcus To; Color By Erick Arciniega; Lettering By Joe Caramagna

What’s interesting is that Forge’s Omega Level upgrade seems to have a mystical component to it as well.

As Forge explains in a log to himself, he was inspired by Hank McCoy’s self-inflicted mutation which led, accidentally, to Beast’s furry blue form when it went wrong. Only someone with an ego like Forge’s would see Beast’s experiment as not a cautionary tale, but as proof that Beast just wasn’t smart enough to crack the code. Forge also has the other key character trait needed for this experiment, which is that he’s self-destructive and self-loathing enough to not really worry about the consequences of his actions, whether he fail or succeed.

What’s interesting is that Forge’s Omega Level upgrade seems to have a mystical component to it as well. Forge was trained as a Cheyenne shaman by his mentor Naze, but has more often than not rejected his magical heritage. When Forge unlocks his powers, he might consider it science, but he’s depicted sitting cross-legged in a meditation pose inside a drawn symbol and is granted visions of the future. The ‘model’ of the world he builds to predict future catastrophes, ‘the Analog’, is also seemingly mystical, tracking things like ley lines.

The question is whether Forge himself views this as magical. He could argue that his visions and the Analog are simply an extension of his powers at Omega level.

X-Men's Forge Has Technological Abilities That Border On Magic

A Thin Line Separates The Two In The Marvel Universe

The question is whether Forge himself views this as magical. He could argue that his visions and the Analog are simply an as powerful as the X-Men’s other Omega-level mutants, even if he technically counts.

X-Force #1 is available now from Marvel Comics.