- Name: Anna Marie
- Code Names: Rogue
- First Appearance: Avengers Annual #10 (Oct ’81)
- Powers: Absorbs people’s powers and memories.
- Teams Affiliation: Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, X-Men, Avengers
About
Teenagers are chameleons. They find a way to blend into their environments, to adapt to their surroundings, to absorb the influences all around them. One of my biggest worries as a parent isn’t that my child will want to make bad decisions, it is that he will fall in with the wrong crowd and begin to mimic their less desirable policies. The beauty of the teenage years is that they end. Kids grow up and go to college or join the workforce. They are given a chance to be free of those influences and reinvent themselves as a person. The old choices don’t ever go away, but they can be left in the past. The X-Men have plenty of members who have undergone this change, but none more dramatic than the southern bruiser Rogue.
Portrayed by Anna Paquin
Rogue was a runaway in Caldecott County, Mississippi. Her mother had left, her father absentee, and her aunt was fascist. She had taken to being a rebellious girl and nicknamed “Rogue”. The young vagrant ran across a woman named Raven Darkholme, better known as Mystique, who took pity on her. Along with her partner, Irene Adler (Destiny), she gave Rogue a home and a family. It wasn’t the best life, but it was home.
Art by Richard Bennett, Steve Moncuse, and Glynis Oliver
Like most teenage girls, Rogue became interested in a certain boy at her school named Cody. They met out in the Mississippi county one night under a full moon. As teenagers do, they learned in, locked lips, and felt a rush of hormones flow through them. At the same time, Rogue’s X-Gene unlocked and the horror of her gifts made themselves know. Cody’s memories flooded into her mind, his strength crashed into her, and he fell into a deep coma. Rogue was terrified by what she had done and rushed home. She covered herself up, hiding any skin under layers of jackets and long gloves as her adopted parents looked for ways to help her.
Art by Mike Wieringo, Terry Austin, and Dana Moreshead
Rogue wasn’t one to stay cooped up for long though and pushed to get involved with her parent’s work. That meant taking up a costume and running around with the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants and Rogue was good at it too. Her biggest victory came at the expense of Carol Danvers, the heroine known as Ms. Marvel, but little did she know it would lead to one of her greatest struggles. Rogue used her abilities on Ms. Marvel but held on just a little too long. The memories didn’t go away, and neither did the strength, flight, or invulnerability. Rogue used these abilities to battle the X-Men, Avengers, Dazzler, and ROM Spaceknight, but the guilt and the memories ate at her. Against her mother’s wishes, she turned to the only man who she thought could help her, Charles Xavier.
Art by Michael Golden and Armando Gil
Xavier was willing to work with Rogue and help her control her powers. His X-Men were not. They had grown close to Carol since Rogue stole her powers, the had battled the Brood together and lived in the same house. Did Xavier really expect them to welcome this villain with open arms? Carol Danvers, recently empowered as Binary, lashed out emotionally, punching Rogue though the roof of the mansion. The Starjammers had already offered for Binary to join them and she gave Xavier an ultimatum, Rogue or her. Charles Xavier chose the one who needed the most help and the X-Men resented Rogue for it.
Art by Walt Simonson, Bob Wiacek, and Glynis Wein
Rogue eventually made progress with her teammates when she risked her life to save Mariko Yashida, Wolverine’s then fiancée. She slowly became a trusted member of the X-Men, assisting them as they battled the Beyonder and helping train the makeshift team in the days after the Mutant Massacre. She became more headstrong and passionate as her true personality was allowed to show. Rogue was a wrecking ball of a personality, a spunky southern belle, and her teammates loved her for it.
Carol Danvers’ personality didn’t remain dormant in the recesses of Rogue’s mind. When Rogue met a former flame of Carol’s and began to talk and act like the once and future Ms. Marvel, she realized that it wasn’t just memories and powers she stole, part of Carol was locked inside of Rogue, and it desperately wanted out. When Rogue and Wolverine were captured by Genoshans soldiers, the Danvers personality took hold. Carol and Logan had worked together in their spy days and they were able to use that bond to escape. After that, Carol became bolder, fighting for control of their shared body, dressing in the old Ms. Marvel costume, and consumed with the desire for control. It came to a head when Rogue entered the Siege Perilous and was forced to battle a simulacrum of Carol for control. Her guilt ate at her and Rogue dropped her guard, she didn’t deserve to live and Carol did. If this was to be the end of Rogue, she would die a noble death.
Art by Jim Lee, Art Thibert, and Steve Buccellato
Magneto, to the surprise of Rogue, was witness to this fight and refused to left a mutant sacrifice themselves for the life of a mere homo sapien. He stepped in and killed the construction of Danvers, freeing Rogue from her mental anguish. They stayed together for some time and Rogue was smitten with the man. They battled an uprising in the Savage Land together but Rogue turned her back on the master of magnetism when he killed Zaladane. She searched for her remaining X-Men and found herself on Muir Island during the Shadow King’s takeover. The mutants were able to defeat the entity and after years away, Rogue finally returned to the X-Mansion.
Rogue thrived at the mansion with her fabulous bomber jacket and blossoming relationship with her new teammate, the ragin’ Cajun known as Gambit. They were both rebels with a dirty past and Southern by the grace of God. While Gambit’s history threatened to tear them apart the two grew close enough to trust each other. When the M’Kraan crystal threatened to destroy the Earth the two decided to face their end together. For the first time, and possibly the last, they kissed, filled with passion and fire as the world collapsed around them.
Art by Ron Garney, Matt Ryan, and Kevin Somers
Mainstream superhero comics rarely have such a poignant ending. Thanks to interference by the X-Men of the Age of Apocalypse, the world didn’t end and the repercussions to Rogue and Gambit were immense. Gambit was forced into a deep coma and the memories that Rogue absorbed rocked her to the core. She left the X-Men and tried to clear her head and live a normal life for once. She attracted the attention of Operation Zero Tolerance who kidnapped her and were preparing for her execution until she was saved by an enigmatic mutant known as Joseph. Rogue was convinced that Joseph was really Magento with some sort of comic book plot device applied to make him younger and amnesic but he proved himself by standing against Onslaught. They rejoined the X-Men but her relationship with Joseph caused tension with Gambit. This came to a head when Erik the Red put Gambit on trial for his role in the Mutant Massacre and his dark past was revealed for all. Rogue, more than anyone else was appalled and forced the X-Men to leave their teammate in Antartica.
Art by Joe Madurera, Tim Townsend, and Steve Buccellato
Time continued on, Joseph died, Gambit and Rogue reconciled, Rogue became more comfortable leading the X-Men, and she was able to control her abilities better and better. She worked with Storm on the X-Treme X-Men team searching for the Destiny Diaries but returned to the now thriving Xavier Institute after the events caused by Xorneto. She enjoyed teaching her students but got a shock when her mother Mystique snuck into the Institute posing as a student and tried to seduce Gambit. Even more shocking was when Mystique asked to join the X-Men which Rogue was dead set against. Shortly thereafter, Gambit was manipulated into becoming the new horseman of death left the Institute and Rogue.
In the days following the Decimation, Cyclops decided that the X-Men needed a proactive team, and he knew Rogue was the right one for the job. She handpicked her team and, in a surprise move, requested Mystique saying that when Mystique betrayed them she wanted to be there to take care of it. During a battle against the Mummudrai, an ill Rogue attempted to sacrifice herself to defeat the hive mind weapon known as the Hecatomb but instead she absorbed the eight billion minds it contained. Struggling with a massive number of memories and personalities, Rogue was at her weakest. That’s when Mystique shot her in the chest.
Art by Chris Bachalo, Tim Townsend, and Antonio Fabela
Mystique was working with Mr. Sinister’s Mauraders, a group that now included Gambit and took Rogue to their base. Sinister wanted to use Rogue’s memories of the Destiny Diaries but the point became moot when the first mutant baby since M-Day was born. Sinister had no use for Rogue any longer and planned to kill her but Mystique had other plans. She killed Sinister (well a clone, because of course it was) and used the baby to heal Rogue of her fractured mind as Destiny had foretold. When Rogue awoke she was mortified that her mother would risk the future of their race on a vision. She turned her back on Gambit and Mystique and set out on her own.
Art by Chris Bachalo, Tim Townsend, and Brian Reber
Rogue exiled herself to the Australian Outback, to the old Reaver base that the X-Men had once called home. She ran into Danger, Gambit, and Professor Xavier and the living danger room made an observation that Rogue’s control issues were not a product of her mutation, but of the trauma of her first kiss. Xavier was able to go into her mind and fix the root cause of the trauma. Rogue was finally cured. Filled with confidence, Rogue returned to the X-Men and began acting as a mentor to the younger mutants. She followed her students to the Jean Grey School after the Schism and seemed to be the X-Man who best exemplified Xavier’s Legacy.
Art by Scot Eaton, Andrew Hennessy, and Brian Reber
After Xavier’s death during the climax of Avengers Vs X-Men, Rogue felt a little lost and very angry. She was confronted by Scarlet Witch at Xavier’s grave and she lashed out. This was the woman who pushed mutant kind to the brink of extinction and she had the nerve to act blameless. The Red Skull had his S-Men capture the two and Rogue escaped to discover the horrible truth, the Skull had exhumed the body of Xavier and removed the brain to meld with his own. Rouge, alongside the Avengers Unity Squad, battled Skull until the villain escaped. She decided the best way to honor Charles memory would be by joining the Unity Squad and setting herself as an example of how mutants should coexist with the outside world. She became a central figure on the team and was often the voice of the mutant community.
Art by John Cassaday and Laura Martin
In an attempt to stop Exitar the Celestial Executioner from destroying Earth, Rogue absorbed the abilities of all the assembled Avengers and X-Men. Unfortunately, the ionic Wonder Man was completely absorbed and Rogue retained his memories along with his abilities. After Secret Wars, Rogue became the effective leader of the Unity Squad, having to contend with the big personalities of Captain America and Cable. Worse, the Terrigen Mists had caused Rogue to become infected with the M-Pox virus. As the battle lines against the Inhumans are beginning to be drawn, it is clear that no matter where she is now, Rogue will stand with her people and be the mutant hero she never imagined she could be.
Art by Daniel Acuña and Dean White
Must Read
Rogue has been in a lot of good stuff but only one writer has truly transformed the character in the way Mike Carey did on his run. Starting with his fabulous Supernovas run on Adjectiveless and continuing through his X-Men Legacy work, Carey brought a new energy to a character that had been underserved for years. He took Rogue from a stagnant cartoon to a complex heroine that ranked among the most interesting X-Man. Check out his long run on X-Men Legacy on Marvel Unlimited or in a bunch of trades. And don’t forget to check out my interview with Carey where we talk about a bunch of this stuff.
Ranking
I just spent two thousand words scratching the surface of Rogue and I could keep going. I love this character. She has a complexity that most would kill for and is always an engaging read. Looking at the top of the list, where she belongs, we have Magik, Colossus, and Psylocke as the top 3. Magik is a similarly well-developed character but she has a much tighter arc. Psylocke is another one with a deep storyline with fantastic resolution but I enjoy Rogue stories more in general than Psylocke tales. Colossus is the dividing line and I am struggling with it, Rogue has better development but I tend to enjoy Colossus more. This is where the subjectivity of this list comes into play and as much as I don’t want to say it, Rogue is a better character than Colossus and that is why she is the new number 2 in the Xavier Files.
Rogue was requested by /u/Gunnerss on reddit and Tony on Patreon. Thanks for the request. If you want to cut to the front of the line like Tony, we have a Patreon if you want to support it and get a line cutting reward for just a $1 pledge. We just hit our first goal and are now working toward the $25 dollar goal where I review X-Books every week in some form, maybe even interpretative dance. And as a redaction, Arcade was requested by Davin on Patreon last week and I totally messed up. Sorry Devin!
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— Xavier Files (@XavierFiles) September 29, 2016
Zachary Jenkins co-hosts the podcast Battle of the Atom and is the former editor-in-chief of ComicsXF. Shocking everyone, he has a full and vibrant life outside all this.
