Appendix: The "Lost" Stories of 1979
by Tilman Stieve

In view of their later link it is ironic that Rogue's printed debut was delayed by two years when Ms. Marvel's title was cancelled in 1979 after its 23rd issue. Chris Claremont's storyline for MS.MARVEL (MsM) #24 through 26 was finally published in MSHS #10 and 11 (1992); but it only explains some of the mysteries and poses a few new questions. The story in MSHS #11 consists of two parts: the first 20 pages (drawn by Mike Vosburg, apparently in 1979) are what should have become MsM #25. They end on a cliffhanger with enough space at the bottom of p.20 (p.69 in MSHS #11) to squeeze in a next-issue blurb. Rogue's first appearance is on pp.16-17 (pp.65-66). The following 10 pages (written by Simon Furman with art by Mike Gustovich) seem to have been done later, probably using Claremont's plot outline for MsM #26 and the knowledge of the events as chronicled from 1981 on. However, pp.75-79 have to be discounted. They are set between AVENGERS #200 (published a year after MsM #26 should have been) and AVENGERS ANNUAL #10 and jibe with events established in the latter. Most importantly, Destiny could not have played the key role Furman assigns her, as she actually was in prison at the time. In my attempted reconstruction of events, I used as much of MSHS #11 as possible. I discarded only what was rendered impossible by revelations in X-Men stories by Chris Claremont, notably in Rogue's confession about her two battles with Ms.Marvel to Mick Rossi (UXM #182) and her flashback and musings on Golden Gate bridge (UXM #203). One has to start from the following framework of established events:

1. Mystique kills Carol's lover Mike Barnett, causing Ms.Marvel to investigate her arms smuggling operation ("MS.MARVEL #24-25", should have been June and August 1979). In Hong Kong, she beats off Avalanche and Pyro, but Shaw kills Mystique's partner Coelho before Carol can find out anything from him. At that time, the Hellfire Club is also working on the "Dark Phoenix" operation (e.g. UXM #125, September 1979).

2. The battle between X-Men and Hellfire Club hurts both sides hard. Shaw is the only Inner Circle member left in fighting condition (Dark Phoenix Saga, UXM #129-137, January to September 1980).

3. Ms.Marvel is impregnated by Marcus and later joins him in Limbo (AVENGERS #197-200, July to October 1980).

4. The Brotherhood liberates the Blob and attempts to assassinate Senator Kelly; only Mystique escapes capture by the X-Men (UXM #140-142, December 1980 to February 1981).

5. Rogue's second attack on Carol Danvers (AVENGERS ANNUAL #10), which fits into continuity just before UXM #150 (October 1981).

Two events have to be placed here: Rogue's first battle with Carol and her near-fatal fight with Sebastian Shaw. The former could only be placed between 1) and 3) or between 4) and 5). The second scenario is unlikely as it would call for Carol Danvers to return from Limbo, beat off Rogue's first attack and then twiddle her thumbs waiting for the second. In view of the tight continuity and "Marvel time" it would also be hard to squeeze "a few months" in between Carol's return from Limbo and the second attack. Also the run of the 1979 story from the outset plainly foreshadows a clash between Ms.Marvel and Rogue.

Mastermind pulled the strings at the first fight between Rogue and Ms.Marvel. Mystique was doing everything she could to prevent such an encounter, in which she failed despite the help of her precognitive leman (increase your word power through reading Claremont!), Destiny. In the actual event, Ms.Marvel, goaded by Mastermind's false visions, almost killed Rogue in putative self-defense. The shock of realization of what she almost did conceivably would have stunned her momentarily and provided a break for the gravely wounded Rogue to escape or be rescued by her teammates. Most likely, Ms.Marvel would not have learned about the nature of her power. Basically, there are three possible scenarios leading up to this:

A) Rogue overhears a conversation between Mystique and Destiny about the threat Carol poses to her future and decides to "deal with her." Destiny does not forsee the eavesdropping and/or is unable to give Mystique the help necessary to prevent the attack. This scenario is closest to the version in MSH #11.

B) After defeating Avalanche and Pyro in Hong Kong, Carol deliberately allows one or both to "escape" and follows him/them to the Brotherhood's hideout. Somehow, she achieves a surprise attack and against everybody's wishes she runs into Rogue. This scenario is less likely: Would Ms.Marvel risk rushing into an ambush in which she would be heavily outnumbered? (She did not *know* the Brotherhood and the Hellfire Club were not allies).

C) An absolute chance encounter somehow engineered by Mastermind.

All three scenarios depend on a temporary clouding of Destiny's powers. If it happened between 2) and 3), this could be accounted for by Marcus' movements to and from Limbo (which presumably would have a similar effect as Kate Pryde's time-travelling did in UXM #141-142). However, the more likely explanation is direct interference by Mastermind (as in UXM #170), which would place the first Rogue/Ms.Marvel battle before his incapacitation by Phoenix in UXM #134.

Either during or after the first Rogue/Ms.Marvel fight, Mystique must have learned about Mastermind's and the Hellfire Club's involvement (otherwise, the later attack on Carol makes no sense, see below). This would have led to a confrontation with Shaw and the Hellfire Club's goons after UXM #135. It is most likely that this happened before AvAnn #10, because afterwards Mystique was preoccupied with new plans to liberate her teammates and the Hellfire Club concentrated on their revenge on the X-Men which came to fruition in UXM #151-152.

We know Mystique ordered Rogue's attack on Carol (the aftermath of which was shown in AVENGERS ANNUAL #10). The aim was to "borrow" Ms. Marvel's powers for the liberation of the four imprisoned Brotherhood members, not to kill her. The flashback in UXM #202 shows that Rogue only threw Carol Danvers off the Golden Gate Bridge when the absorbed persona in her head became unbearable. Rogue believed that would make the voice go away, i.e. to she then seems to have thought or hoped an absorption would be cancelled as soon as the donor/victim's body was killed. Up until then, Mystique had tried to prevent an encounter between Rogue and Carol, but now she deliberately brought it about (and it is not as if there were no other superheroes with powers to steal). The inevitable conclusion is that Raven laboured under the misapprehension that Destiny's prediction was no longer valid and no danger to Rogue's well-being existed. The most plausible explanation for this is that she believed the prediction was a false one fed to Destiny by Mastermind. It would be normal to assume she learned some details of Mastermind's operation by infiltrating the Hellfire Club (this probably led to the fight in which Shaw nearly killed Rogue). Destiny would not have been able to correct Mystique's misapprehension -- just after Mastermind was turned into a vegetable, her precognitive power was greatly impaired by Rachel Summers' projection of the adult Kate Pryde back into the present (UXM #141) and immediately after that she was imprisoned and separated from Raven.

Down-Home Charm / Fan-Fiction / Fan Artwork / History Books / Photo Album / Songbank / Miscellania / Links / Updates

Legalese: Rogue, the X-Men, and the distinctive likenesses thereof are Trademarks of Marvel Characters, Inc. and are used without permission. This is an unofficial fansite, and is not sponsored, licensed or approved by Marvel Comics.
• Privacy Policy and Submission Guidelines