9. Forge
As a young man of the Cheyenne people, Forges talent for sorcery caused him to be raised as a shamans apprentice, groomed for the particular purpose of defeating his tribes arch supernatural foe, Adversary. As his facility for magic was honed, Forge discovered another talentthe ability to create whatever mechanisms and machines his mind could envisage from the materials he had to hand. Rebelling against his destined confrontation with the enigmatic Adversary, Forge left his people to fight for the U.S. in Vietnam. Acquitting himself admirably as a marksman, Forge was promoted to the rank of Sergeant and vowed to bring his men home safely. During a pitched battle against the Viet Cong, however, his men were slaughtered, inspiring Forge to avenge them by way of the supernatural powers he had forsaken. Calling forth demons to destroy his enemies, however, also gave Adversary a foothold in this dimension. Realising his grave error, Forge summoned an aerial strike to destroy the demons which not only succeeded, but due to his proximity, caused grievous injury to his right side, including severing his right arm and leg. Upon being invalided home, Forge sank into depression, vowing never to use magic again, to the deep dismay of his people. In spite of his condition, he was able to use his heightened talent for invention to create cybernetic prostheses for himself. A proud warrior gifted with the power to harness ancient magic, the genius to create technology far ahead of its time, who looks like a combination of Sitting Bull and The Terminator, the fact is, Forge makes most of the X-Men look like halfwits at a Halloween party. Not only could he bring some true grit to the leadership of the X-Men, but he could go some way to explaining how The X-Mansion came to be kitted out like a Korean playboys house in the country.