Rogue (comics)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Rogue</tr></td><tr style="text-align: center; font-size: 90%;"><td>
Image:RogueXMen192.jpg | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||
| ||||||
Rogue (Anna Marie) is a Marvel Comics superhero, a member of the X-Men. Created by writer Chris Claremont and artist Michael Golden, she first appeared in Avengers Annual #10 (August 1981).
More than most mutants, Rogue considers her powers a curse. She involuntarily absorbs the memories, physical strength, and, in the case of super-powered persons, abilities of anyone she touches. This prevents her from making physical contact with others, including her longtime love interest Gambit.
Hailing from Mississippi, she is the X-Men's self-described southern belle. A runaway, she was adopted by Mystique of the Brotherhood of Mutants but turned to the X-Men when the aftereffects of her repeated use of her mutant power - particularly the permanent absorption of Ms. Marvel's psyche and Kree powers - threatened her sanity.
Rogue has been a popular and consistent member of the X-Men since the 1980s. She has been featured in most X-Men animated series and video games. In the X-Men film series she is portrayed by Anna Paquin.
Contents |
[edit] Publication history
Rogue first appeared in Avengers Annual 10 (1981). She made her first X-Book appearance in Uncanny X-Men 158 and joined the X-Men in Uncanny X-Men 171. Rogue has also had her own series:
- "Rogue" #1-4 (1994-1995)
- "Marvel Icons: Rogue" #1-4 (2001)
- "Rogue" #1-12 (2004-2005)
[edit] Character biography
[edit] Early life
Rogue is unusual among the X-Men in that her real name and her early history were not revealed until more than twenty years after her introduction. Until the backstory provided by Robert Rodi in the Rogue ongoing series begun in September of 2004, Rogue's background was only hinted at in various issues, this resulted in what little information was established before this being contradictory. In X-Men Unlimited #4, Scott Lobdell indicates that Rogue ran away from her father after her mutant powers manifested, but in Uncanny X-Men #182 Rogue reflects that she never knew her father because he'd left before she was born, and several issues, including Uncanny X-Men #178 and X-Men #93, indicate that Rogue was taken in by Mystique and Destiny before her mutation became active.
Regardless, every version of Rogue's history begins in Caldecott County, a fictitious county of Mississippi. As depicted in Rogue #2 (October 2004), her parents, Owen and Priscilla, married early in their relationship and lived in a back-to-nature hippie commune. Although the marriage seems to have been an unsteady one, both Priscilla and her younger sister Carrie doted on Priscilla's infant daughter Anna Marie.
The members of the commune became interested in Native American mysticism, and convinced a shaman to try to help them gain access to a mystical place called the "Far Banks" where they believed dreams would come true. However, the ritual they attempted resulted in Priscilla's disappearance, and Owen brought Anna Marie to Carrie to raise.
Carrie, in her grief at the loss of her sister, was a strict and authoritarian guardian, and Anna Marie a rebellious child. Rogue #2 indicates that this, and Anna Marie's equally poor relationship with her father, is what prompted her to run away from home as a young teenager and begin using the name "Rogue." Not long after she was approached by Mystique, who sought her out on the advice of her precognitive partner Destiny and took her in as a daughter.
At some point, Rogue grew close to a boy named Cody Robbins. During their flirtation, she impulsively kissed Cody, at which point her latent mutant power to absorb the life energy and psyche of others with skin-to-skin contact emerged. Rogue was traumatized by the experience, and Cody was left in a coma from which he would not awaken.
[edit] Brotherhood of Evil Mutants
After Rogue's mutation emerged, Mystique began coaxing Rogue to take part in her terrorist activities as a member of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. Rogue was initially not interested, wanting only a normal life and to be able to have fun, but after an incident (depicted in Ann Nocenti's "Her First And Last" in Classic X-Men #44) in which she absorbed and knocked out a boy named Freddie when he dared her to kiss him, she seemed to give up on normality and began taking part in Mystique's plans.
During this period, Rogue and Mystique associated briefly with a mutant named Blindspot, whose power to erase the memories of others by touch somehow counteracted Rogue's mutation enough to allow them to make physical contact safely. Blindspot and Rogue became good friends, but when Mystique decided to sever professional ties with Blindspot, Blindspot erased all memory of her from both Mystique and Rogue in order to protect herself.
When Mystique debuted her Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, Destiny advised her to keep Rogue out of the action, advice which proved important when several members of the new Brotherhood - including Destiny herself - were arrested and imprisoned. Here, again, the comics are contradictory: Avengers Annual #10, which included Rogue's first appearance, indicated that part of Mystique's plan to free Destiny and the other members of the Brotherhood involved having Rogue attack and absorb Carol Danvers (then retired and living in San Francisco) in order to make use of her formidable powers. However, in Marvel Super Heroes #11, probably in an effort to make Rogue's actions less villainous, Destiny is shown having a premonition that Ms. Marvel will be a threat to Rogue, and Rogue, overhearing this, sets out to defeat Ms. Marvel on her own.
Regardless, Rogue ultimately confronted Ms. Marvel on the Golden Gate Bridge and deliberately absorbed her powers. Something went wrong with the transfer, possibly caused by the fact that Ms. Marvel's powers were of Kree origin instead of being a mutation; the transfer was permanent, and Carol's mind was wiped blank, all of her memories absorbed by Rogue along with her powers. Although Professor X was able to restore Carol's personality and partly restore her memories, he could not re-establish the emotional ties those memories had carried, leaving Carol a stranger in her own life. Rogue later felt tremendous guilt over the incident and it still haunts her to this day.
Meanwhile, Rogue used her new powers of flight, super-strength, and near-invulnerability to attack and absorb Captain America, at Mystique's instruction. The absorbed powers enabled her to battle the Avengers, and she absorbed Thor as well before escaping to join Mystique in her attempt to free Destiny and the other members of the Brotherhood. The attempt failed, but Mystique and Rogue escaped.
Shortly thereafter (in Uncanny X-Men #158), Rogue happened to encounter the X-Men, along with Carol Danvers, at the Pentagon, where Mystique maintained a secret identity as a government agent. During the resulting fight, Rogue absorbed both Wolverine and Storm, but could not control Storm's weather powers.
A second attempt at breaking the Brotherhood out of prison was foiled by Rom, the Spaceknight, in ROM #31-32. During combat, Rogue touched the Spaceknight's armor and absorbed a bit of his nobility; perhaps as a result of this, Rogue showed for the first time a potential for goodness when she refused to abandon Rom to fight alone against Hybrid, who planned to enslave the Earth.
Later, Rogue tangled several times with Dazzler (in Dazzler #22-23 and #28), developing a grudge against her for her controllable mutation and her relationship with Angel of the X-Men. Mystique intended for Rogue to absorb Angel - the only X-Man whose identity was publicly known at the time - in order to learn the team's whereabouts, but Rogue balked, afraid of the effect of absorbing a physical mutation like Angel's wings, and was defeated by Dazzler a few times before Dazzler was publicly outed as a mutant and went into hiding.
[edit] X-Men
The more Rogue used her mutant power, the more her mind became filled with fragmentary psychic echoes of the people she absorbed, and Carol Danvers' psyche was nearly a completely distinct personality within her mind. It became harder and harder for Rogue to hold on to her own personality, and she feared that her powers would drive her insane. Desperate, she turned to Professor Charles Xavier and the X-Men (X-Men #171). Xavier's charity towards all mutants led him to welcome her into his home, regardless of his team having previously fought Rogue and in spite of the X-Men's own strong disagreements. He psychically examined her and invited her to join the X-Men and live at the mansion.
Her initial months with the team were rough and some of the team even threatened to leave if she was allowed to stay, but Professor Xavier reminded them of their ideals as X-Men and they gave her a chance. She first earned Wolverine's trust by saving the life of his fiancée, and over time earned the respect of all the X-Men and eventually became a valued, trusted member of the team.
Among the X-Men, Rogue's life improved, but she continued to struggle with Carol Danvers' residual personality until Rogue was pulled through the mystical gateway known as the Siege Perilous, where she was judged by otherdimensional forces with the promise of a "new life." Returned to Earth, Rogue was purged of the remaining portions of Carol's personality, truly becoming her own woman again, but was also temporarily stripped of her powers for a time. However, after Rogue emerged from the Siege, she found herself back in the abandoned ghost town in Australia the X-Men had taken up residence in after the Fall of the Mutants storyline. She was confronted by not only the Reavers, but by Carol Danvers herself, whose disembodied psyche had been re-integrated by passing through the Siege and being separated from Rogue. Rogue fled from Carol as she battled the Reavers, and absorbed the powers of the mutant Gateway in order to teleport herself to safety. But Carol arrived before she could escape and plunged through the portal Rogue had summoned, and both of them disappeared.
Rogue, as it turned out, ended up powerless in the Savage Land, but Carol had been teleported to Muir Isle, where she came into conflict with some of the X-Men's allies who had fallen under the mental enslavement of the Shadow King. Carol fought him, but his vast psionic powers overwhelmed and corrupted her. He then sent her to the Savage Land to find Rogue and the two battled fiercely. It was also shown during the fight that there was not enough lifeforce between the two to sustain both of them physically as a result of the separation. Just as Rogue was on the verge of being drained completely, Magneto suddenly intervened and destroyed the Ms. Marvel Persona, saving Rogue's life. The two briefly toyed with a romance. Rogue ultimately saw through Magneto's noble facade when he killed the high priestess Zaladane, who had amassed an army of Savage Land natives. Rogue's perception of her potential lover shaken, when her powers had fully returned, she flew to Muir Island to rejoin the rest of the X-Men. Like the others on the island, however, she fell under the influence of the Shadow King, until freed by the efforts of Forge to help in the battle against the Shadow King, Legion, and Malice. After the battle was over and the X-Men divided into two teams to better make use of their large number of active members, Rogue was assigned to the Blue Team, under the leadership of Cyclops and alongside new X-Man Gambit.
Rogue and Gambit were immediately attracted to each other, but the development of their relationship was slow and rocky, partly as a result of her inability to control her powers and partly as a result of long-term issues with secrecy, dishonesty, and fear of intimacy on both sides. Incidentally, Cody Robbins, the first person to fall victim to Rogue's powers, was later killed by Gambit's ex-wife Belladonna.
It was eventually revealed that Mystique had two sons: the now-deceased anti-mutant politician Graydon Creed and Rogue's long-time teammate, Nightcrawler. Rogue and Nightcrawler consider themselves to be siblings, although the revelation has not particularly altered their friendship.
When the Galactic Council transformed Earth into a maximum-security penal colony for hundreds of extraterrestrial criminals, Rogue absorbed the attributes of Z'Cann -- a telepathic alien shapeshifter who had joined Cadre K, Xavier's Skrull equivalent to the X-Men. Z'Cann purposely touched Rogue to activate the mutant's abilities as the two evaded bounty hunters. Z'Cann used her telepathy to amplify Rogue's capacity to assimilate memories, causing her powers to mutate.
[edit] X-Treme X-Men Team
Rogue was part of the X-Treme X-Men team lead by Storm. The team's first mission was in search of Destiny's Diaries (which prophesied future events). During an invasion of Khan (an alien conqueror from another dimension) of an isle nation Madripoor, Rogue requested that Sage use her power jump-starting abilities to evolve Rogue to a point where she could control all of the various powers that she has ever imprinted. Sage agreed, and Rogue became a one-woman army, able to use the powers of anyone she had absorbed in the past all at once.
During Khan's invasion, Rogue was also confronted by Vargas who was said to be "a new species altogether". Vargas foresaw himself being killed by Rogue in the Destiny's diaries and, despite his belief in the prophecies, attempted to stop this eventuality from happening. Thus, in the midst of the invasion battle, Vargas ambushed Rogue as she was trying to rescue Gambit (see X-Treme X-Men), spearing both Rogue and Gambit with his blade before escaping (see X-Treme X-Men). Rogue survived due to possessing Wolverine's and Hulk's powers. Returning to the city shortly after the battle to recover his sword, Vargas was surprised in turn by Rogue dressed in Psylocke's costume (Vargas having killed Psylocke earlier for sport). After a lengthy battle, Rogue 'fulfilled her destiny' by seemingly finishing Vargas off with his own weapon. It is later revealed that Rogue may have in fact let Vargas live (the camera that was filming the battle lost power at the moment of what seemed to be an impending death blow), since we see him as part of the XSE in X-Men: The End, although that paticular series is not canon. Returning to Gambit, Rogue, with the help of Jean Grey, forced him from near death.
Following the repulsion of the invasion, Rogue realized that Destiny's Prophecies were only possibilities and that trying to follow them was more dangerous than ignoring them. She also learned that she had inherited a mansion in New Orleans from Destiny, as well as a sizable fortune, and the X-Treme X-Men team retired there to recuperate. Rogue soon left the team with Gambit, since they both emerged powerless from their ordeals and wanted to further explore their relationship.
While on the road, Rogue and Gambit encountered mutants who hated non-mutants. Not wanting to provoke them, Rogue tried to negotiate but they started a fight and Gambit and Rogue (both powerless) fought them. They lost, and their opponents destroyed Rogue's bike. Shortly thereafter, Rogue and Gambit met a young mutant going by the name of Paint, who possessed the power to "paint" tattoos by touch alone. Rogue complimented Paint on her tattoos and in return, Paint gave Rogue some tattoos of her own.
Rogue ended up staying at a beach house in Valle Soleada, a town wherein mutants and humans coexisted peacefully. She subsequently received a visit from Bishop and Sage and, after a series of events involving an investigation into the murder of a human girl's family, Rogue and Gambit sign up with Bishop and Sage to help Storm's X-Treme X-Men stop Sage's enemy and former boss Elias Bogan. After the battle, Rogue asked Sage to restore Gambit's abilities, which she did.
[edit] Return to the Main Team
Rogue and Gambit returned to the X-Men as part of Marvel's ReLoad. Over time, Rogue's own abilities returned naturally. However, she no longer possessed the abilities she had absorbed from Ms. Marvel. Rogue and Gambit were both put on Havok's team. On their first mission back, the X-Men battled against a Chinese mutant team to rescue Xorn. They succeeded and brought Xorn back to the X-Mansion with them.
The X-Men then faced a new Brotherhood in Philadelphia. The Brotherhood followed them back to the Mansion and attacked them at home. Rogue notably fought Black Tom Cassidy, while the other X-Men fought off the rest of the Brotherhood. Black Tom almost killed Rogue, but she was saved by Northstar.
As described in her own mini-series, Rogue then traveled down south to save a young mutant girl from her powers. While there, she met Campbell St. Ange, a young man who was immune to Rogue's lethal touch. Also while there, Rogue forcibly absorbed knowledge from her Aunt Carrie that explained that Rogue's mother had traveled to the Far Banks, a dream-realm, to stop her father from getting there himself. Rogue encountered the incorporeal spirit of her mother therein, and absorbed her memories. After the reunion, her mother's trapped spirit could finally move on. Rogue subsequently went back to her Aunt Carrie and made amends with her, considering her Aunt Carrie her mother now.
Rogue then returns to the X-Men and fights with the team against the monstrous Golgotha--large space creatures with limited telepathic abilities that induce insanity in some by bringing forth deep fears, insecurities, and hidden thoughts. During this ordeal, as the result of Golgotha influence, Rogue and Gambit get into a fight about the reality of their relationship when limited by Rogue's powers. Wolverine, also under the influence of Golgotha, then reveals he has always had feelings for Rogue, and kisses her. While recovering from Logan's mind, Rogue receives a call from Emma Frost, who, in perceiving that she has gotten really old and ugly as the result of Golgotha, is trying to kill Havok, mistakenly thinking Havok to be Cyclops who would now stop loving her. Rogue defuses the situation and prevents Havok from having to defend himself. Rogue later absorbs both Havok and Polaris' powers when the X-Men fight and apparently defeat a herd of Golgotha in space.
While on a trip to Japan to investigate an incriminating photo of her and Sunfire engaged in criminal activities, both Rogue and Sunfire, learn that Rogue's former friend and teammate of the Brotherhood, Blindspot, has erased both their memories of the event. In this story line, Rogue accidentally and permanently absorbs Sunfire's fire abilities (who has lost his legs to Deathstrike and thus doesn't want to live) and fights Lady Deathstrike and later the X-Men, after Blindspot removes her memories of the X-Men from Rogue's mind (which return to her eventually in the arc).
Rogue returns to the X-Mansion only to find that Gambit was being seduced by the latest X-Kid, Foxx. It is later revealed, however, that Mystique, displeased with Rogue's choice of lovers, actually infiltrated Xavier's Institute by shapeshifting into Foxx. She joined Gambit's squad in an attempt to ruin his relationship with Rogue. After Gambit resists her charms, Mystique reverts to her true form and offers Gambit something significantly more difficult to refuse: she transforms into Rogue and offered Gambit a Rogue with whom he could have a physical relationship. Whether or not they actually engage in a sexual relationship, however, is uncertain (although Gambit insists that nothing happened). Rogue eventually discovers her mother's presence in the school and her attempts to seduce Gambit. Because Gambit fails to tell Rogue of Mystique's presence before she finds out for herself, this leads to the exact rift for which Mystique was hoping and allows her to set up her daughter with her accomplice, Pulse. After being discovered, Mystique asks the X-Men for permission to stay at the Mansion. The X-Men vote and Mystique is allowed to be a probationary member of the X-Men, a decision neither Rogue nor Gambit like.
In the events that followed M-Day, when the mutant Apocalypse was re-awoken, Gambit, seeking to protect Rogue and his fellow X-Men from Apocalypse, is transformed by Apocalypse into the newest Death. However, failing to resist his mind-altering transformation, Gambit tries to kill Rogue twice (first under orders from Apocalypse and the second time at the urging of Sunfire in order to cut all ties to the X-Men). After the X-men defeated Apocalypse, Sunfire (who was also transformed into one of Apocalypse's horsemen) left with Gambit to help Gambit clear Apocalypse's brain washing and live as entirely new beings.
Afterwards, as Professor Xavier goes into space after Vulcan, taking Havok with him, Cyclops gives Rogue the leadership of her own squad with freedom to choose anyone she wants for her team. At this point, the roster consists of Iceman, Cannonball, Cable, Sabretooth, Lady Mastermind, Karima Shapandar, and Mystique. She choses this team against Cyclops's warnings in order to take down the Children of the Vault. To control Sabretooth, she has him injected with Nano-Sentinels. Rogue also rejects her foster mother's advances towards repairing their relationship before the team's first mission, still wary of Mystique's motives and believing Mystique may prove traitorous. As a leader, Rogue seems to have reverted to her earlier "tough as nails" self.
[edit] Powers and abilities
Due to the nature of her unique mutant powers Rogue has had several different abilities over the years:
[edit] Mutant powers
Rogue's mutant ability allows her to absorb the essence of anyone she touches through skin to skin contact. This includes their personality, memories and often their physical characteristics. In the case of super-powered individuals she also absorbs any extra abilities they might possess.
This transfer is temporary, unless Rogue holds on to her victim too long, in which case the transfer becomes permanent. Most often this process happens instantly when Rogue touches someone, rendering them unconscious, but in certain instances where a being has possessed an extraordinary level of power they are able to resist her, and she may only share some of their memories and power.
As Rogue is absorbing the total psyche of a person, there is a risk of a personality overwhelming her and taking control of her body. It has also been shown that even though Rogue forgets the memories she has absorbed when a psyche returns to its body, 'echos' of their personalities remain buried in her mind.
Rogue is able to absorb psyches and abilities of several beings at once, though the experience can be confusing for her.
[edit] Ms. Marvel powers
As a young woman Rogue (accidentally) permanently absorbed the powers and psyche of Ms. Marvel (Carol Danvers):
- Superhuman strength.
- Invulnerability (to most forms of physical harm, though she could still be injured in extreme cases).
- Flight.
- Pre-cognitive seventh sense.
- Resistance to telepathy (said to have been a byproduct of two minds existing in the one body AND Carol Danvers' Kree physiology).
When Rogue later lost all of her super human abilities for a time, her Ms. Marvel abilities vanished and did not return.
[edit] 'X-Treme' powers
During the Maximum Security Rogue absorbed a dying Skrull girl named Z'Cann. The girl held on longer than necessary, using her telepathy to boost the process and because of this (perhaps because she had absorbed a fluid Skrull physiology) Rogue mutated further, gaining the ability to 'recall' the powers of anyone she had ever absorbed before, though she could not control when or which of these powers surfaced. For a short time Rogue also had a Skrull appearance, scanned as though she had Skrull DNA and had their shape-shifting powers, but these soon faded and she returned to her normal appearance.
Through meditation Rogue learned how to suppress the random manifestations of most these abilities, but found herself with Wolverine's claws and healing factor, and Cyclops' optic blasts for a time (she had to wear Ruby Quartz glasses), while also still retaining her mutant and Ms. Marvel powers.
Later Sage used her own mutant abilities to 'jump start' Rogue's power, giving her the control to manifest any ability she had ever absorbed, whenever she wished to. It is not known whether or not she can still do this.
Though Z'Cann was a telepath Rogue did not ever display this power (she did manifest telepathy, but it was with the Phoenix energy form, so it was most likely an echo of Jean Grey's powers).
[edit] Powerless
For a time Rogue lost all of her powers, including her original mutant ones. During this period she displayed exceptional fighting skills and agility, though it was said these were not superhuman in nature.
She also still possessed a 'fluid genome' that enabled Sage to use her as a conduit through which to channel the mutant powers of the X-Treme X-Men team in a fight against Bogan.
[edit] Mutant powers return
Rogue's mutant abilities eventually returned, but without any of the added powers she had absorbed or manifested in the meantime.
[edit] Sunfire powers
Recently Rogue absorbed a large portion of the mutant Sunfire's solar-absorption based powers. In addition to her own natural mutant abilities Rogue can now:
- Project intense heat and flame.
- Envelope her body in a fiery aura.
- Focus her power inward to increase her strength (though not at her Ms. Marvel levels).
- Exercise immunity to heat and radiation.
- See the infra-red spectrum.
[edit] Rogue's name
Rogue was one of the few comic book characters whose real name had never been revealed, until very recently. This was a controversial topic for years. In the films X-Men, X2: X-Men United and X-Men: The Last Stand, Rogue's real name is Anna-Marie D'Ancanto. However, she takes the name "Rogue" in the first movie and goes by the name in the movies.
The readers got close to knowing her name in X-Men #24 (when she was about to reveal it to Gambit on a date), but the Cajun stopped her before she could finish her sentence.
After the movies, X-Men writer Chris Claremont introduced a non-super-powered human character named Marie D'Ancanto in the series X-Treme X-Men, in which Rogue also appears. In this series, Rogue and Gambit had both lost their powers after a battle in which Rogue saved Gambit's life. They had left the X-Men and Rogue was found by some fellow team members living a normal life, having taken up the alias "Anna Raven". A movie poster of Anna Paquin's Oscar-winning film, The Piano, filled an entire wall of Rogue's home and she tells her friends she is going by the name "Anna". Part of another poster seen is of "Castle in the Sky", an anime Paquin lent her voice to in the english dub.
A recent solo series established Rogue's name as Anna-Marie, having the astral form of her mother refer to her as so, and Rogue acknowledging it. Rogue's profile in the most recent edition of the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe lists this as her real name.
[edit] Alternate versions
[edit] Age of Apocalypse
In the Age of Apocalypse, Rogue was one of Magneto's X-Men, his wife, and the mother of his son: Charles Lensherr. Rogue was taken to Wundagore by Mystique, following a fight with Lorna Dane, in which Rogue permanently absorbed half of her magnetism powers. Honoring the dying wish of the Scarlet Witch, Rogue became a close friend for Magneto, but eventually the two became lovers when Magneto learned a way to touch Rogue (Covering himself in a skintight magnetic aura that prevented Rogue's powers from affecting him), which caused Gambit, also in love with Rogue in this timeline, to leave the X-Men. Sometime later Rogue and Magneto had a son which they named Charles in honor of Magneto's old friend Charles Xavier.
By the time the X-Men met Bishop and hatched a plan to undo Xavier's death, Rogue, alongside Morph, Sabretooth, Sunfire and Blink fought against Holocaust and his Infinites and stop the Chicago Cullings.
In the Age of Apocalypse reality, her powers are based on magnetism due to the fact she absorbed half the powers of the AoA Polaris. AoA Rogue can control magnetic fields to move, lift, and manipulate ferrous metals. She can surround herself with a magnetic field that is the same polarity as the Earth's own magnetic field, causing the Earth to push her into the air (by magnetic levitation) thereby letting her fly at high speeds. She can use her magnetic powers to increase the energy of her movements, thus giving her super strength.
[edit] Ultimate Rogue
- Main article: Ultimate Rogue
In the Ultimate Marvel continuity, Rogue was introduced as a 14 year-old prisoner of Weapon X. After she was liberated, she at first joined the Brotherhood of Mutants of Magneto, but defected to the X-Men when he caused a horrific nuclear explosion. She was the long-time girlfriend of Iceman, but then saw him kissing Shadowcat and left the X-Man for Gambit. Prior to her abduction, Rogue was shown to be a troubled girl who had a bad homelife and was a fan of Marilyn Manson.
In this timeline, she has stated that her first name is "Marian," just like Robin Hood's girl, and her last name is unknown. This is actually a major plot hole: in the last part of the Return of the King arc, the X-Men met her parents, and it is highly doubtful that they refused to give her their last name.
Rogue helped Gambit with his criminal activities, and stole the Gem of Cytorrak. She ran into Juggernaut, who had fallen in love with her during their Weapon X stint. Gambit and Juggernaut fought and when Gambit seemingly died, she kissed him one last time. Since then, she seems to have permanently absorbed his personality, mutant power, and even his red-on-black eyes.
Rogue recently rejoined the X-Men. She now has the ability to touch, though whether Gambit's powers have completely overwritten her own is unknown. Rogue rekindled her romance with Iceman (who had never gotten over her) and the two quickly began a physical relationship.
As of Ultimate X-Men Annual 2, Rogue's original powers have returned to her and she has lost all of Gambit's old powers.
[edit] Appearances in other media
[edit] Television
Rogue appeared in X-Men television series (1992-1997), where she was one of the most important members of the X-Men. In this animated series, she had all her comic powers, and was voiced by Lenore Zann.
In the animated series X-Men Evolution, Rogue is heavily re-imagined as a rebellious, yet deeply insecure teenage Goth. Her powers make her cynical and reclusive, but deep inside she is consumed by the desire to touch the people she loves. She was raised by Mystique and Destiny, but left them when she found out that they only nurtured her as a potential tool for power. In this continuity, she has a heavy crush on Cyclops, although later episodes showed an interest in Gambit. Rogue's power-draining abilities are very strong in this series, nearly killing her at one point, but prove vital in the final episode; unlike in other versions, the powers she duplicates never fade completely, and at times she had the ability (not always intentional) to use powers long after when she had absorbed them. She was voiced by Meghan Black.
[edit] Films
Rogue was portrayed by Anna Paquin in the 2000 film X-Men, the sequel X2: X-Men United (2003) and the third installment X-Men: The Last Stand (2006). Because of the unique nature of her powers, Rogue was key to the plans and the downfall of Magneto in the first X-Men movie.
In the first film, Rogue, whose real name is Marie, is an innocent young girl who runs away from home after her power manifests, and bonds with Wolverine in a manner similar to his relationship with Jubilee in the comic books. Magneto, however, kidnaps her, and uses her powers to absorb his own and power his machine to mutate the world leaders. The transfer severely weakens Magneto and nearly kills Rogue. Wolverine destroys the spinning machine and then touches her so that she can heal faster. Her near-death experience leaves her with a permanent white streak through her hair.
In X2, she begins dating Iceman, despite her continued inability to touch. Towards the end of the film, she and Iceman become members of the X-Men and are seen in uniform with the others at the White House.
In X-Men: The Last Stand, a pharmaceutical company announces that they have a cure for the mutant gene. Rogue expresses interest in getting it, evidentally still wanting to lose the fear of touching someone. When Iceman begins to develop an interest in Shadowcat, Rogue disappears to take the cure. Iceman follows her to the pharmaceutical company, but cannot find her. At the very end of the film, she comes back to the school, simply saying, "I'm sorry, I had to." When Iceman expresses disappointment, she says, "I know. It's what I wanted." However, in the novelization and an alternate scene that appears on the DVD release of the film, Rogue did not take the cure, saying she could not bring herself to do it.
[edit] Video games
- Rogue appears in many X-Men video games. She has appeared in some of the Marvel Vs. Capcom games, as well as X-Men: Mutant Academy 2, X-Men: Next Dimension and X-Men vs. Street Fighter; in this video game, her ability to steal life force was translated to a special move that allows her to steal a move from her opponents, much like Kirby in the Super Smash Bros. series. This makes her the only Marvel character to ever use the Shun Goku Satsu taken by draining Akuma. In Marvel vs. Capcom 2, she instead stole powerups from the characters she drained, and the colors in her outfit were changed.
- Most recently, Rogue appears in X-Men Legends and its sequel, X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse, where she was voiced by Erin Matthews in X-Men Legends and by Cat Taber in its sequel.
[edit] Trivia
- Rogue is known as Malicia in French, Titania in American Spanish, Pícara in European Spanish, Vampira in Portuguese (which means Female Vampire) and previous as Parasit in Danish.
- The issue in which Rogue joins the X-Men (Uncanny X-Men #171) was voted 49th greatest Marvel Comic of all time. ("100 Greatest Marvels Of All Time", Marvel Comics, 2001)
- Rogue was #5 on IGN's Top Twenty-Five X-Men list[1], and #4 on their Top Ten X-Babes list[2].
- In her early appearances as a member of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants,Rogue was drawn looking somewhat like a sophisticated mature woman than the teenager she really was.
- The voice actor of Rogue in the Marvle Vs. Capcom series is Lenore Zann.
[edit] External links
- MDP: Rogue - Marvel Database Project
- UncannyXmen.net, Spotlight feature on Roguefr:Malicia
it:Rogue (X-Men) nl:Rogue pt:Vampira (Marvel Comics) sq:Rogue sv:Rogue
Categories: Comics needing cleanup | Cleanup from October 2006 | Articles to be merged since October 2006 | X-Men | Brotherhood of Mutants members | Fictional femmes fatales | Fictional heroines | Fictional characters with precognition | Fictional people from Mississippi | Marvel Comics characters with superhuman strength | Marvel Comics titles | Marvel Comics mutants | The 198 Files | 1981 introductions | Marvel Comics characters who can fly | Marvel Comics superheroes | Fictional characters with the power to manipulate fire | Fictional women in war
