WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for X-Force #4, by Benjamin Percy, Joshua Cassara. Dean White, Guru-eFX, VC’s Joe Caramagna and Tom Muller, on sale now.
There are a whole host of mutant powers out there, ranging from godlike to pretty minor. While there are many mutants who have powers that can be used offensively to bring down enemies, there are others whose abilities are more suited to peacetime occupations. From time to time, more mundane powers can be helpful, but it also leaves some mutants without any real strength going into battle - and considering the kind of threats that have been coming to Krakoa already, that's a risk.
But the newest invention from Forge in X-Force might be one of that solves this problem. It's been revealed that the X-Man figured out how to combine standard weaponry with Krakoan organic life - to make a very versatile weapon that mutants can use.
THE NEW ARM-ORY
Forge's mutant ability to conceive of any machine and figure out how to construct it has always been a boon for the X-Men. But his newest experiment might be extremely useful going forward, especially for members of X-Force. It turns out that Forge has been messing around with the Krakoan organic material that makes up their new island home. He's even figured out how to hybridize them with a more typical arsenal, creating a very useful and easy to use the weapon. Appearing like a gauntlet, it fits onto the arm like a large glove or mitten. Once affixed, it connects to a person's neural centers, granting them complete contact with the user's thoughts and intentions.
The gauntlet can shift in shape and density, affording the user a host of interchangeable weapons. Forge even refers to it as a suped-up (and dangerous) swiss army knife. It can create a blade sharp enough to cut through almost anything, giving the user a major advantage in close-quarters-combat. It can shift into a ranged mode, which can fire off explosive shots. It can spread wooden tendrils off of the glove, circling and entrapping targets with ease. Although there seems to be a large number of shots available through the ranged mode, it reloads them all so long as the device is rooted and watered every night. This means that as long as the user remembers to take care of it, they'll be able to utilize the hybrid device regardless of their own inherent powers. It could even potentially be given to human allies of Krakoa in the future.
While it's immediately given to Dominio (who's luck powers will probably be a very good combination for the device), it could end up being an incredibly useful tool to give to all the mutants who don't have outwardly offensive capabilities. Considering the attacks that Xeon has been carrying out against Krakoa and the mutants who call it home, it might not be a bad idea to allow mutants to hold onto these weapons if they feel like they need to. But the complicated thing is that the weapon goes against the way Krakoa has been built up as a safe haven for mutants. However, in these trying times, there's no reason Forge shouldn't many gauntlets if the time comes.
Arming everyone sends the wrong message, and could be taken as a threat by humanity. But even if Forge just keeps the weapons to a limited supply for specific soldiers, it should give the mutants an advantage that they were lacking before. With Xeon stepping up their attacks on Krakoa, any advantage the X-Men can get is going to be hugely important. With his Krakoa swiss-army knife, Forge may have given the mutants a big one at that.