#but i'm only on like uncanny x-men 219

[jewishcissiekj]

Rogue sketch

[spaceorphan18]

The Rogue and Gambit Project: Previously On X-Men... Rogue (Part 2)

Yeah... I can just tell this is going to be everyone's favorite entry of this project. ;)

As we move into the late-80s, everything gets just a little more complicated. There are now multiple X-Books going (thankfully, Rogue is just in Uncanny at this point), a ton of characters to service, and story lines that sprawl into big events. Rogue kind of... gets lost, a little, in the shuffle. But there are some notable things to point out -- and one big thing *coughmagnetocough* we're gonna have to address...

For the most part, during a majority of the run up until this point, Uncanny X-Men stood alone as the sole book to find the X-Men. Suddenly, there were a bunch more. New X-Men followed the younger kids. X-Factor brought back the original team. And now the books did big event crossovers! Which - has only made comics completely muddy sense! So, instead of picking out individual issues like episodes of televisions, I need to break this down a little more in chunks...

The Mutant Massacre (Uncanny X-Men 210-219)

Uncanny X-Men #213

This particular 'event' is something that is, unfortunately, going to come back later in a big way -- though for Gambit -- though that will have consequences for Rogue, too. But... we're a long way off from there. The quick summary is basically - a group of jerks called The Marauders decide to take out the Morlocks, a group of mutants who live in the sewers because they can't pass as 'normal' looking. And, of course, the X-Men need to stop them.

Rogue gets some decent panel time. But the biggest thing is that the X-Men are finally her home. Especially as the team begins to change in big ways, especially as she's a hero now, especially as she is more open about having a big heart, she takes being an X-Men seriously.

Uncanny X-Men #217

The other big thing going on is the changing team dynamics. A lot of the older faces have left the book. Storm is dealing with a loss of powers. Wolvie has his solo going on. Kitty and Nightcrawler have gone to the book Excalibur. The team feels like it's in constant flux (and will be until the somewhat reboot in the early 90s). Rogue is, thankfully, one of the constants. And because of this, we do get to see her more!

She doesn't necessarily get a ton of new character development. But she does get to have some interesting new dynamics. Psylocke is introduced! Dazzler and Longshot join the team! Havok crawls out of the woodwork to appear! And even Jubilee (though much later) makes an appearance - though Rogue has little to do with her.

The Fall of the Mutants (Uncanny X-Men 220-227)

Uncanny X-Men #222

The next 'event' is Fall of the Mutants. Through an uncanny (see what I did there) string of events, the X-Men end up in Dallas. The Adversary (a Strom villain, really) shows up and creates chaos in Dallas. In order to stop it, all of the X-Men 'die'. Except they don't - and are saved by someone called Roma (sigh, let's not get into /her/) and they can come back, but no one will know they are alive and no one will be able to see them in any kind of media. So.... basically, it's a way to keep the X-Men out of New York and away from X-Factor, because we can't have that happening too fast....

Again, not really a whole lot of single Rogue development, but she gets to do a lot of badass things, and she is on panel quite a bit.

The other thing to note is that their given a portal to go through - something called the Siege Perilous. I'm not going to pretend I fully understand what it is - but when you go through the portal, you get to be 'reset' (or you essentially die). I'm noting it now, because I'll become important later on.

Australia (Uncanny X-Men 228-238)

Uncanny X-Men #230

The X-Men end up down in Australia, hanging out there while having adventures for a while. Despite her basher attitude, Rogue becomes one of the softer members of the team. See - she's bringing a picnic to Gateway, the unspeaking Aboriginal mutant who is basically their transportation system. Ooff, comics.

This era is kind of setting up two things - Inferno (which we'll get to in a second) and The X-Tinction agenda. Rogue ends up getting a mini-arc here with Wolverine, where the two of them end up in Genosha -- an island where mutants are basically chained up and caged. Unfortunately, it's implied that Rogue got a little ruffed up during her stay, thought at least Claremont (I think it was him) came out and said that she was not sexually assaulted here. Ooff, comics again. But Uncanny X-Men 235-238 has some great Rogue (and Wolverine) in it. Because of this, though, the Carol Danvers Psyche kinda takes over for a while, and Rogue becomes buried.

Inferno (Uncanny X-Men 239-243)

Uncanny X-Men #240

I need to take a second and talk about how during a lot of this run Dazzler and Rogue remain at odds with each other. Part of it has to do with their past, but part of it is over... Longshot. Ooff, girl needs to have a real romantic interest and fast... ;) Also, can we take a second to appreciate how 80s that outfit is?

Uncanny X-Men #242

Out of all the late 80s events, Inferno is my favorite. It's the batshit crazy tale of an ex-wife who wants to get revenge on her ex-husband, who left her for his dead girlfriend, and decides to take down an entire city by making a deal with a demon, while using her own child as a hostage. It's bonkers. But we're not here to discuss the many loves of Scott Summers ;)

Honestly, Rogue doesn't do a whole lot in this one. She gets to knock some people out. She gets knocked out. And... that's about it. Still a great read though.

Through the Siege Perilous (Uncanny X-Men 244-247)

Uncanny X-Men #246

Rogue doesn't really get to last long in a post-Inferno world. She gets to waffle a little between Carol and her own psyche. This practically gets me because the entire time she's been around so far she only has kissed to steal people's powers. Never a kiss for love. And it's a shame they were going to kill her off without letting her get one.

Uncanny X-Men #247

During a fight with Master Mold, Rogue gets tied up and sucked into the Siege Perilous, where she essential dies. And that's it! That's her story. The end...

Kinda sucky, right? Not exactly a satisfying way to end her.

Well... an entire year is going to go by in the real world before she gets to come back...

Before get to her return, though, I would like to say this. There are a ton of great panels and moments that I didn't document for this project. I really do recommend, if you have the time and means, going through and reading all of Claremont's original run. There are some really fantastic stories - that hold up relatively well all things considered. And while the Rogue development is slightly stagnant, our girl gets some truly wonderful things to do. It's definitely a full on recommendation from me.

The Savage Land (Uncanny X-Men #269, 274-275)

Rogue Pre- and Post-Siege Perilous

Alright, so let's talk about what happened in that year. The X-Office was beginning to change. Chris Claremont was beginning to near the end of his iconic run. The 80s faded into the 90s. Artist (and infamous) Jim Lee was taking over the book. The style changed - and everyone got to be a bit more sexified. The line up became really messy as there was a new X-Men team nearly every issue. And a rather handsome thief from New Orleans made his debut. (But we aren't going to talk about that yet ;))

Uncanny X-Men #269

Rogue returned through the Siege Perilous buck naked (seriously) and clean slated. All the voices in her head were gone, all her extra powers were erased, and, some would say, she got a new personality.

She was still sassy and brassy but now we got to add demure sexpot into the mix, who wears skimpy clothing even though she still can't touch anyone. And -- this is somewhat a set up for what happens next.

But first... some context. After Rogue makes it back from the Siege Perilous (and after some stuff with the Shadow King) the Carol Psyche was ripped from her own and two bodies emerged out. The not real Carol attacked Rogue and Rogue made her escape through Gateway, and ended up -- not in Genosha where the rest of the X-Men were dealing with the X-Tinction Agenda crossover (Rogue gets to sit that one out) nor out in space where the X-Men will land next, but in the Savage Land.

And you know who's waiting down there to help her out?

Y'all knew this was coming guys...

Magneto.

Buckle in, kids, we're about to talk about Rogneto.

Uncanny X-Men #274

Fun fact: This is the first issue where Rogue and Gambit are in the same issue. However, Remy is out in space while Rogue is suck in Antarctica with Magneto. And, look guys, none of this is that bad...

When Rogue first arrives down in the Savage Land, she is pursued by the clone/body/psyche of Carol, who is trying to kill her. Magneto stops Carol and outright kills her. He also kinda kills other people, too. Great start for this romance, right?

/

Uncanny X-Men #274

Anyway, he supposedly helps her heal (and eventually she'll get her Carol powers back - but at least not with the added Carol personality.) And apparently there's some kind of spark? I mean, honestly, to me it looks like he's hurting her, but their both mostly naked so this is hot, right?

Unfortunately, while this "spark" isn't anything compared to the raging fire that's about to happen in a few issues, it's going to have an effect that won't fully be put out until a bazillion years later in X-Men Legacy. And, well, this is a part of her story.

Uncanny X-Men #274

There's really not much that happens in this issue other than these panels that I'm showing you. We get a lot of inner monologue from Erik, but really nothing to show what Rogue is feeling. I realize there's a kind of grooming aspect you could place on it here, but this all happens over days, and I barely think it's any time to make any sort of real connection good or bad? It's just kind of here... being awkward...

And you know, admittedly, that bottom right panel is very pretty. That's probably the nicest thing I'll say about something Rogneto related.

Uncanny X-Men #275

For anyone who wanted Rogue with a naked Magneto, here ya go! ;)

Uncanny X-Men #275

There is a whole plot that I've been kind of ignoring - about Zaladane and her bonkers plan to take over the Savage Land. No need to worry - Magneto is going to murder her, too. And thus we get to see the biggest issue with Rogue and Magneto. They honestly have nothing in common. Sure - Rogue was a villain for a short time, and I could (maybe?) buy it back then, but all of this feels like they wanted to give Magneto a hot chick to hang off him for a few issues. Their ideologies are just too different for this to ever make any real sense.

And if that's your thing? Sure go for it - I'll never tell anyone who or what to ship. But it does nothing for me. (Sorry :/)

Uncanny X-Men #275

And this is where it ends. Really guys, I showed you all the big hits, there's nothing, really, that happens with Rogneto during this except the alleged 'spark'. Oh, and the fact that Magneto was fine letting Rogue die while he dealt with other things. Romance for the ages guys.

Magneto is going to go back to being a villain. And Rogue is going to make her way to Muir Island, where her life is about to really, really change.... ;)

But first, let's talk about Gambit...