There have been a lot of Rogue-ish questions lately, so before I bum off for yet another vacation (isn't it fun being unemployed?), I thought I'd post this.

Note: This FAQ has not been updated to include the many serious shocks that passed through the scientific field of Rogue Research following the unique experience that is Uncanny X-Men #304. We're still working on that update ... be patient.

The Rogue FAQ
presenting:
A Quicke and Lively Trek through
the Highlites of the Mutante Rogue

Fifth Edition. Updated April, 1993

Contents:
History
Powers
Appearances
An Absorbing List
Embarrassing Moments in Rogue History
Errors in Rogue's Stats in TSR's Marvel Super-Heroes RPG

You can use a search-forward or -back command on any of the Content Lines, above, for quick paging through this FAQ. Just type the word from the Content you want to see, in all caps.

<note: all listed history and powers are from actual appearances>

Changes in this edition:
--Updates on the Rogue Absorbtion Lists, both pro and con, of course.
--Also, the usual updates on the Appearance table.
--The Dedicated Typo Patrol.

History

Rogue is a mutant who was born somewhere in the South of the United States. Her real family was rich enough to live in a mansion-style house somewhere "south" of Virginia. Somewhere along in her youth, however, Mystique (Raven Darkholme) and her live-in friend and lover Destiny (Irene Adler), acquired guardianship of Rogue. While we have no evidence that they were her legal adoptive guardians, we also have no reason not to believe so. What happened to Rogue's real parents, their supposed money, and her real name are not known.

By the time of her early teens Rogue was living in Caldecott County, Mississippi (a fictional county) with Mystique and Destiny. They most definitely were not living in a mansion at this time, although Mystique and Destiny were most certainly engaged in their mutant terrorist activities. Rogue was already calling herself Rogue by her mid/early teens, and even more oddly, Mystique was also, casting doubt to whether even Mystique knows Rogue's real name. Rogue first learned of her powers when kissing Cody Robbins under her lucky tree by the banks of the Big M (it should be noted that in Ann Nocenti's version of the story, the boy's name is changed to Cory). Terrified, she fled to her "mother," who responded by inviting her to go on a terrorist mission to free a captive mutant -- but *didn't* want her to use her powers. Obviously, since Rogue at that point was not only emotionally wounded but utterly worthless in a fight until she could get close to someone, plans were being laid down early to drive her batty.

Sometime after this, Rogue joined the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants (or BOEM). Around the same time, she was introduced (through Mystique) to the Hellfire Club, and actually took on Sebastian Shaw, then Black King of said Club. She lost. Also around this time (busy time!), she had her first run-in with Carol Danvers, absorbing some of her powers. Contrary to public opinion, Carol escaped the first time, and got her powers back, too.

Now Rogue's history starts becoming chronological with her appearances in Marvel Comics. She reambushes Carol Danvers, this time permanently gaining the Ms. Marvel abilities. Then she helps Mystique take out the Avengers (and would have won, too, if it wasn't for Iron Man).

This is where it gets complicated. Rogue's original appearance wasn't supposed to be in Avengers Annual #10, it was supposed to be in the pages of Ms. Marvel, the book that Chris Claremont was working on at the time. Ms. Marvel, however, was cancelled, leaving an incomplete plot involving the BOEM, the Hellfire Club (with Mastermind as a member, so it was pre-Dark Phoenix in the X-Men), and some arms smugglers. It's highly possible that many of the references Claremont had for Rogue to stories that had never been seen were to be presented in this storyline (like her first battle against Sebastian Shaw). Marvel Super-Heroes, the new quarterly title, published the first two parts of this old storyline recently, but the ending of the second part was rewritten by a current writer, and included incomplete and erronous examples of Rogue's later chronology. So, the true ending to the Ms. Marvel storyline is still, apparently, only in Claremont's head.

Confused yet? Good! Let's move on. After a few more BOEM appearances for Rogue, Mastermind decides to take revenge on Mystique for opposing the Hellfire Club in the kinda-not-published Ms. Marvel episodes. He does this by helping loosen Rogue's sanity with his illusions, and drives her away from Mystique. Rogue flees to the X-Men for help, and after the usual patented X-Angst, is accepted in with the merry mutants (probably following the reasoning that anyone who suffers as much as she can will make a great addition to their sorrow-filled speeches).

Since then, Rogue's history has largely followed the X-Men's. I leave you to the other FAQs about their history and make-up to see what happened next.

Oh, yeah... her eyes are green.

Powers

Rogue's only natural super power (her mutant one) is the ability to (all together now) absorb the abilities, memories, and powers of people that she comes into flesh to flesh contact with. Due to unknown circumstances, she has permanently absorbed the powers of Carol Danvers, Ms. Marvel, which have given her:

• the ability to lift over 50 tons
• nigh-invulnerability
• flight, with speed and maneauverability sufficient to defeat high-performance jet fighters
• a rarely-used precognitive "seventh" sense that basically functions like Spidey's Spider-Sense
• the ability to survive for an undetermined amount of time in outer space with no ill effects
• a high resistance to poisons and toxins of a wide variety

She is perfectly capable of absorbing skills, knowledges, languages, fighting styles, and even mystic knowledge from her victims, and using said abilities or knowledges to full effect until they fade from her mind. Her power has been officially set by Marvel as a 1:60 ratio (one second of contact gives her one minute of powers, for instance), but it's obvious that the real time she keeps powers is entirely dependant upon the plot needs of the writer using her.

The maximum number of people she can absorb at once is unknown. She has a limit -- but at least so far as non-mystic, non-cosmic entities goes, it's pretty high (she once absorbed a good thirty peoples' memories during one half-naked barrell roll through a San Fran crowd). It should be noted that she's perfectly capable of absorbing non-superhuman strength; it's just with her already inhuman strength any additional 200 pound capacity she picks up won't be noticed. She has absorbed magical abilities and psionic abilities. She's even abosorbed machines (more on that in Embarrassing Moments).

She cannot absorb the powers of something that's not alive (despite the fact that she has absorbed machines). Energy beings are also, supposedly, beyond her, as are most forms of non-Terran life (such restrictions, as ever, dependant on the whim of the writer -- and Chris Claremont had more whims than a hurricane).

Having Carol Danvers co-inhabit her brain for so long (remember, she absorbs the memories of her targets as well) drove Rogue even more insane than Mastermind's meddlings. Having the two of them inside also made Rogue immensely immune to telepathy -- even the vaunted Charlie X had to basically ask permission for him to take a telepathic look around. Her recent pass through the Siege Perilous separated her essence from Carol Danver's -- however, it left both of them dependent upon the other's life force to live. Carol Danvers was eventually taken over by the Shadow King and murdered by Magneto, who then helped redeposit the rest of the life force back into Rogue, who slowly regained her Ms. Marvel powers. What her current mental/memory situation is, and her resistance to telepathy, is currently unknown.

Ms. Marvel's powers were based on a Kree metabolism, so Rogue shows up very strongly as a Kree in scanner systems made to detect such a thing.

Her only known natural skills include a talent for hair bleaching, good thrown weapon skills, the ability to speak French, and a newly observed skill in cooking boysenberry pies. She has some contacts in the underworld.

It should be noted that there is textual support for the theory that Rogue lost control of her power in gradual steps (see Embarrasing Moments in Rogue History, below, and her Dazzler appearances). Once she could, apparently, selectively choose whether she was going to absorb or not, or even if she just wanted memories, powers, or skills. Since Carol Danvers, the few times she's been in control of Rogue's noggin with Rogue's powers, showed that she had no trouble controlling Rogue's natural (absorbing) powers, it may be that Rogue's psychology is the main troublemaker for all of her power's shortcomings.

Appearances

Rogue first appeared in Avengers Annual #10, perhaps more infamous for the aggravating appearance of the preadolescent Madalyne Pryor. It features gorgeous art work by Mike Golden.

Her first appearance in the Uncanny X-Man title was #158, where she fought Storm, Wolverine, Carol Danvers, and Nightcrawler to a standstill. Her next appearance was in UX-Men #170, where the nagging Mastermind cameo is given, and then she joins the X-Men in #171.

The complete list of titles that Rogue has appeared in, one way or another, from Marvel Comics, is:

That list was just from memory, but I know she's appeared in all of the above. Anyone with more titles, please fill me in.

Parodies/tributes/take-offs on Rogue outside of Marvel aren't very well spread. I'm only aware of Xodius #2, an issue of Cracked, and the Cherie Jubilee #3, plus the fan.art in Amazing Heroes (not only their swimsuit issues, either). Does anybody know of any more?

As for other media, Rogue is a member of the X-Men Animated Series, on some Saturday morning in a television near you. The plot of the series is roughly based on the actual history of the X-titles, if you let "actual" = "sent through a Cuisinart at full mush." In any case, the comic book adaptation of the animated series is X-Men Adventures. Rogue's voice in the series is possibly provided by Lenore Zann.

An Absorbing List

Rogue has had trouble absorbing the following beings, or was incapable of absorbing them fully, or did manage to absorb them, only to have them take her over:

There may be more, but, once again, this list is from memory. Notice that most of the above are either powerful aliens (yes, even the Impossible Man, who's damn powerful) or or powerful/well-trained mystic beings able to counteract her powers through magic/psionic means (Selene and Loki spring to mind). Once upon a day, Rogue could take out a heavy hitter like Thor in two panels. Now, some robot Madrox can tackle takes her out in one. What happened, of course, was that when she was a villain her absorbing power had to be basically unstoppable so that the heroes could prove their worth by taking her out at super-super powered levels. Now that she's a hero, natch, there have to be a bunch of exceptions to her once-all-pervasive power so that she (or, more often, her teammates) can prove their bravery by not using her power. And so the DNA turns....

On the other hand, here's a comparison list of the people that Rogue has absorbed completely. Note that a few of these beings, notably the Dire Wraith, have caused Rogue pain and mental struggles when she has taken them, but they're listed here, instead of above, because:

1) She was capable of absorbing all their powers/personality/etc.
2) Any battle of wills to control her body she won against the folks listed below.

Notice that beings who have taken her over without overcoming her after being absorbed by her (like Malice) aren't included here, because Rogue didn't use her power against them.

As usual, this list was recited blind from memory...

This is by no means a neat count, but by my memory, Colossus wins overall award for being most absorbed, be it willingly or not.

Embarassing Moments in Rogue History

--ROM: Rogue kisses ROM, the Silver Space Knight, right on the armor. She then proceeds to absorb the goodness of his armor (no, not his amor, you Gumbo-philes!), bringing about a moral change so that she can team up with him and Mystique to defeat Hybrid.

--Dazzler (from #21-30 or so). This whole thing was embarrassing, but then, hey -- it was Dazzler. High points include Rogue taking out Power Man and Iron Fist, low points include Dazzler taking out Rogue (by sucking her through a jet engine). Mmm-hmm. Also interesting in that Rogue touches Dazzler in one issue, yet only absorbs Dazz's powers, leaving Dazz fully conscious and with her memories. Some faint last vestiges of control before she had to go join the X-Men?

--The X-Men in Asgard. While tied up by Loki, Nightcrawler teleports out of his bonds, wraps his tail around Cyke's mouth, and then kisses Rogue, thereby somehow transferring both his and Cyclops' powers to Rogue, an incredible scene with absolutely no precedence and no reference to it later. Guess it was just all that healthy Asgardian air...

--Marvel Fanfare #33. The end of a four issue storyline loosely based on a bad computer game, Rogue gets trapped by an alien computer and then *absorbs the computer's absorbed powers* of Spider-Man, Human Torch, and Hulk, with which she gets to beat up a possessed Magneto. Whee.

--What The--?!. Rogue kisses Forbush-Man and is transformed into a duplicate of Colander Girl! Ick!

--What If-- The X-Men had Stayed in Asgard? A totally ludicrous issue by Jim Valentino, who apparently thought that Loki's one-time immunity to Rogue's powers meant that all Asgardians are likewise immune (just ask Thor about that, bucko), so she sticks around in the Celestial City and actually marries Fandral, of the Warriors Three. I still don't know which is worse: Valentino's non-explanation of how Rogue couldn't absorb any Asgardians, or Fandral actually getting married.

Errors in Rogue's Stats in TSR's Marvel Super-Heroes RPG

Her flying speed should be at least Monstrous or faster, not Good. In UX #182 she was capable of outmaneuvering and outspeeding SHIELD fighter jets; in many UXs, she produces sonic booms. That, friends, is not merely Good speed. I'd place her at Shift X, or Unearthly at minimum.

TSR seems to be under a strange delusion that Rogue can speak Russian. She can't. The only time she has was after absorbing Colossus or Vanguard. She speaks French, instead.

Rogue should not absorb the highest ranking of any FASERIP stat -- she should absorb them all, adding levels cumulatively. Referee call as to if Amazing + Amazing = Unearthly, but this gamemaster says it sure does. Rogue still makes Psyche checks relating to her mental stability at her base (Poor) Psyche, but can make checks on any spellcasting capabilities she may have absorbed at her new (improved) Psyche.

The same comment about absorbing the highest rankings for the stats applies to power rankings, also.

The ratio limit of her absorbing to touching time is far, far too small. Sure, it's balanced for game play, but the idea of balance in a Marvel Super-Hero game for individual characters is a bit silly. Referees should feel free to adjust the absorbtion limit to a far longer period of time as they see fit, remembering that Rogue's additional powers have actually only very rarely left at an inopportune time.

Rogue should have Contacts in the Underworld (undefined, but she was capable of hiring snoops to follow Dazzler from the East Coast to the West and keep her informed as to what Dazz was doing).

Rogue should have the thrown weapon skill (+1 CS Agility with thrown, bladed weapons).

David R. Henry option only: Rogue should have 1000 Karma.

Well, there it is: the 1040EZ of Rogue's history. Comments, corrections, and controversy also gladly accepted -- email away, folks.

I'd like to thank Joe Shidle in particular for his help with this FAQ, and August Paul Yang and Paladin for a few additional points. And, of course, kudos to Carol Dawn Lee for kibbitzing above and beyond the call of boredom.

"If Ah wanted a growth experience, Ah'd touch the She-Hulk." --Rogue, in a long past Richard Darwin issue

David R. Henry -- Rogue Fan Club - THE RED SHOES is coming! Ia, Kate Bush!
Obessa Cantauit. -- Richard Darwin // What was the question? -- Kate Bush
"All you of Earth are IDIOTS!"-P9fOS // Thanks... for the memories.--Rogue
dhenry@plains.nodak.edu * Evolution: Give it some time, it'll grow on ya.

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