The Cursed X-Men Member With The Saddest Superpower
Putting aside all of the anti-mutant sentiment in the Marvel universe, we can all agree that it would be pretty cool to be one of the X-Men, right? Imagine soaring through the air like Rogue, commanding the very elements like Storm, or having the ability to change your appearance like Morph. There’s one mutant power, though, that we wouldn’t wish on even our worst enemy: the power to be constantly forgotten by everyone. This is the ability the X-Men member known as ForgetMeNot is cursed with.
ForgetMeNot
X-Men: Legacy # 300 (March 2014) introduced the mutant known as ForgetMeNot to the world—although he may have been there since X-Men #1 in 1963, who knows? The very nature of ForgetMeNot’s power means that everyone he comes into contact with immediately forgets him the moment he’s out of sight.
Even the world’s most powerful telepath, Professor X, had to put an hourly psychic reminder in his own brain just to remind him that ForgetMeNot exists.
Marvel calls ForgetMeNot’s tragic power “Imperceptibility.” When he’s not directly in someone’s line of sight, any memory of his existence is instantly forgotten.
Even that Professor X thing is just a reminder that someone named ForgetMeNot exists. The professor still can’t picture him unless he’s actually looking at him.
A Lonely X-Man
In fact, no telepath can. Another psychic X-Men member, Psylocke, was once unable to pick up any trace of ForgetMeNot’s mind despite being standing only a couple of meters away. Poor ForgetMeNot won’t even show up on recordings, as cameras also can’t perceive his existence.
ForgetMeNot’s life is a lonely one. Several times when the X-Men were saved by what appeared to be Deus Ex Machina it was actually ForgetMeNot keeping them safe. Sadly, the tragic mutant might just be the most important member of the X-men, but the rest of the team will never know it.
No Control
Much like Rogue, ForgetMeNot had no control over his powers meaning they’re always on. This makes any sort of personal relationship impossible. ForgetMeNot is cursed to never have a lover, a spouse, or ever a friend.
Despite his powers, it is possible to figure out ForgetMeNot’s existence through indirect means. Psylocke once realized that several X-Men had unexplainable holes in their memories from events that originally included ForgetMeNot.
Meanwhile, X-Force member Doctor Nemesis once figured out that there was a secret X-Man by monitoring the team’s supplies. The fact that toilet paper and other necessities couldn’t be accounted for led the Doctor to deduce that someone like ForgetMeNot must be a part of the team.
Despite the nature of his powers, ForgetMeNot is still very much a hero. He has never engaged in any of the dastardly deeds one could get up to with the power to be unnoticed, save for one. He did admit once that, at one point, he used to ride trains without purchasing a ticket, but under the circumstances, who could blame him?
Has He Been On The Screen All Along?
While he was originally created as a joke character, X-Men fans have embraced ForgetMeNot and he’s become something of a cult hero at Marvel. Does this mean we should expect ForgetMeNot to join the MCU or make an appearance in the next season of X-Men ’97? He would certainly make for a fun addition to either.
But then again, maybe he’s already a part of the MCU and we all just forgot.
