God, all of Rogue's costumes suck except the Jim Lee one.
ROGUE (Anna Marie)
Created By: Chris Claremont & Michael Golden
First Appearance: The Avengers Annual #10 (Aug. 1981)
Role: Claremont's Pet, The Punker Girl, The Ascended Leader, The Beta Couple (with Gambit), Blessed With a Sucky Power, Winner of the Super-Power Lottery
Group Affiliations: The X-Men, Xavier's Security Enforcers, The Mutant Brotherhood
PL 11 (238)
STRENGTH 1/11
STAMINA 2/11
AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 8
DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE 1
AWARENESS 2
PRESENCE 2
Skills:
Close Combat (Unarmed) 2 (+10)
Deception 2 (+4, +6 Attractive)
Expertise (Criminal) 2 (+3)
Insight 3 (+5)
Intimidation 5 (+7)
Perception 4 (+6)
Persuasion 2 (+4, +6 Attractive)
Stealth 2 (+5)
Vehicles 4 (+4)
Advantages:
All-Out Attack, Attractive, Diehard, Equipment (X-Uniform), Extraordinary Effort, Fast Grab, Great Endurance, Improved Critical (Unarmed), Interpose, Last Stand, Power Attack, Ranged Attack 8, Takedown, Ultimate Toughness Check
Powers:
"Mutant Powers: Power & Memory Absorption" All Powers Linked
"Absorb Powers" Mimic 11 (Flaws: Limited to Touch Range, Fades As Opponent Recovers) [66]
"Stuns Victims" Affliction 11 (Fort; Dazed & Impaired/Stunned & Disabled/Incapacitated & Transformed to Powerless) (Extras: Extra Condition) [22]
"Absorbs Memories" Mind Reading 8 (Flaws: Touch Range -2, Uncontrolled) [1]
"Ms. Marvel's Stolen Powers"
Flight 6 (120 mph) [12]
Enhanced Strength 10 [20]
Enhanced Stamina 9 [18]
Protection 1 (Extras: Impervious 11) [12]
Offense:
Unarmed +10 (+11 Damage, DC 26)
Power Theft +10 (+11 Affliction, DC 21)
Initiative +3
Defenses:
Dodge +9 (DC 19), Parry +10 (DC 20), Toughness +12 (+6 Impervious), Fortitude +11, Will +9
Complications:
Relationship (Gambit)- The two flirted at first (Gambit mostly), but it turns out he really liked her, but they couldn't be together because of her powers. Then they kinda split, then stuff happened, and now... it's complicated.
Relationship (Mystique)- Mystique adopted a runaway Rogue as a foster daughter, and the two were close for years. Things have grown more complicated, as Rogue comprehends Mystique's evil.
Relationship (The Sentry)- Rogue was apparently in a relationship with Robert, as he could touch her without harm. This was mostly-forgotten when he disappeared from reality, but she would eventually remember.
Relationship (Magneto)- A brief romantic liaison in the past keeps getting brought up, and the two have had "moments" since then- they were married in an alternate timeline, and she also hooked up with his clone, Joseph.
Guilt (Cody's Coma)- Rogue put a boy into a coma when they first kissed, and she's felt horrible about it ever since.
Rivalry (Ms. Marvel)- Carol Danvers resented Rogue for years, having been permanently de-powered thanks to Rogue's abilities.
Responsibility (Can Never Touch Skin to Skin)- This was pretty much her mantra for thirty-some years. She's afraid she'll steal someone's thoughts and memories and kill them, like she did her first boyfriend all those years ago.
Uncontrolled Transformation (Other Personalities)- Stealing someone's powers can provoke instances where their personalities can take over Rogue's. When she stole Carol Danvers' powers, she was often forced to take on Carol's entire persona for long periods of time, unable to act of her own volition.
Power Loss (Flesh Contact)- Rogue requires actual skin-to-skin contact to utilize her Power Theft abilities. This means that beings like robots, or guys in Powersuits, are unable to be drained & Mimicked as normal. Similarly, she would have to tear off Iron Man's armour to Stun him.
Total: Abilities: 38 / Skills: 26--13 / Advantages: 21 / Powers: 151 / Defenses: 15 (238)
Rogue- Claremont's Girl:
-Rogue's come a long way since she was dressed as a butch punker (I hate punkers) in the early '80s and joined The Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, being a suddenly inserted member onto the Claremont X-Men team at the peak of their popularity. She'd been a villain working for her foster mother Mystique, and was responsible for depowering Claremont's beloved Ms. Marvel in her debut (and engaged in a short feud with Dazzler), but the Professor took a chance on her, bringing her onto the team, despite the other X-Men threatening to quite if he did so. Initially using her Power-Stealing abilities A LOT, in addition to Flying Brick powers (she'd kept Ms. Marvel's abilities), she was sullen, moody and withdrawn, but the rest of the team put up with her out of pity and because of her obvious bravery (facing tremendous agony to save the life of Colossus when he'd been alternately burned and frozen).
-On the book, Claremont went out of his way to make her a Pet Character, having others comment on her beauty, her power and her talents, and more- she was EASILY the most powerful member of the squad for a while, making frequent use of her Power Theft (at one point copying Colossus and Nightcrawler's powers simultaneously). We'd learn her origin story soon enough: with her first kiss, she absorbed the thoughts and memories of a boy she liked, mind-wiping him and rendering him comatose- thus we have our "Tortured Character" moment.
-Rogue's whole "I can't touch anyone!" problem is also a classic Sucky Mutant Power thing, along with Cyclops' Permanent Optic Blasts- things that show you just how much it can really suck to have uncontrolled powers.
Rogue in the '90s:
-As the years went on, Rogue became a constant presence on the team, lasting after Kitty & Nightcrawler joined Excalibur, Colossus left, and the "Australia Years" began. She had a moment of romance with the now-villainous-again Magneto, but it was her relationship with Gambit, and the BAD-ASS "bomber jacket over skin-tight clothing" look that Jim Lee gave her, that pushed her over the edge. She was MEGA-popular at the time- second in "X-Men Hotties" only after Psylocke (though I preferred Jean, she was in a dorky outfit at the time). Popular enough to be on the
X-Men Animated Series at the time, too. Honestly, her visual was just INCREDIBLE- the "white streak" in her hair made her visually distinct even out of costume, and the color scheme and the GOOD use of the "bomber jacket" look (that became iconic to the '90s)... Rogue had "it", and anyone in advertising will tell you how important a "defining feature" look like Rogue's is.
-By this point, however, Chris Claremont was off the
X-Men- the flirtation between her & Gambit was made the focus of her character by Jim Lee and Fabian Nicieza (who took over the "Blue Strike Force" book, which featured all of Jim Lee's favorite designs- the "Cool" X-Men). And it was into THIS era that I discovered the character- gone was Claremont's brassy, willing-to-kill, tough-chick, and in her place was a kind of wilting flower- a mopey sort who mooned over Gambit (in between teasing him) and acted WAY more vulnerable than Chris would ever write his women. And she NEVER used her Power Theft abilities in combat any longer- she appeared petrified at the very THOUGHT of touching someone skin-to-skin, when Claremont had written it as a basic aspect of her fighting style. It wasn't until years later, reading the
Essential reprints, that I discovered the "True" Rogue.
-Rogue/Gambit would be the defining factor of her character for years, including a stopover where she hooks up with Joseph, thought to be a younger version of Magneto (he was actually a clone). She & Gambit finally slept together when they were de-powered by Nanny, but the discovery that Gambit had actually led to the Mutant Massacre resulted in a break-up.
Claremont's Return- Rogue's Re-Push:
-Rogue's popularity stayed, and she was made a Team Leader when Chris Claremont returned to the X-Books. This, however, irked me- the character was so much different (a hopeless romantic-type) under Nicieza that her suddenly being pushed as the leader was a bizarre switch in personality. She was also MUCH more powerful, as Chris loved his women ultra-strong- she was catching bullets and throwing them back, copying powers once more, and generally acting like how people always stereotype Claremont's women. Unfortunately, Claremont's return went over like a fart, and the character was shunted off of the main X-Books and onto his "let's keep Chris happy"
X-Treme X-Men, where she acted as co-leader with Storm, hunting Destiny's Diaries all over the globe. This had the unfortunate side effect of killing the character off as far as most fans were concerned, as that was a sub-tier book, and kept her from the "main" stories for years.
-However, Rogue was also a major character in the first
X-Men film, acting as a "Fan POV Character"- a "Kitty Pryde"-type who introduces us to the world of the X-Men.
X-Men Evolution would use her as a grouchy Goth Girl, too. During this time, we'd also FINALLY learn Rogue's real name- it'd been one of those classic "Mysterious Backstory" things left blank since she'd debuted.
Modern Rogue:
-Rogue's actually suffered a heavy-duty de-push over the past decade or two- without any of her "protectors" around, she's become a sub-tier X-Man. And even worse, they dropped the central aspect of her character- the "No Touching" thing- as they discover that her powers had simply never gotten out of their nascent stage, and so Professor X tears down her "mental blocks" and now Rogue can touch anyone with no ill side-effects! And then during the same era, her & Gambit do the "Star-Crossed Lovers" thing one too many times, and I think fans finally got sick of it- you can't "Will They or Won't They" for twenty years.
-For the most part, her "big stories" are "Once hooked up with The Sentry in the past" and "joins the Avengers Unity Squad", as she hooks up with Captain American's
Uncanny Avengers team as a mid-tier member, hoping to bridge the gap between Avengers & X-Men following the poorly received
A (vs) X event. Unfortunately, she doesn't get much to do in that story, just kind of buzzing about on the periphery as other characters get more to do. Her big thing was "hates the Scarlet Witch" (despite this being a UNITY-based initiative, there was still inter-team squabbling over the Scarlet Witch's role in the Mutant De-Powering thing) and "Absorbs Wonder Man", as Simon Williams found himself turned into energy again, and he was trapped within Rogue. Most recently, she has developed into the field-leader of the team, sort of being romantic with Deadpool (!!) and helping to get rid of the "Professor X's Brain" Red Skull's powers once and for all.
Rogue's Powers:
-Rogue used to be SUCH a pain in the ass to stat. There were a half-dozen ways to do it accurately within the old rules, but now it's much easier, thanks to 3e ironing out a few of the "kinks" (it's part of why I overall like 3rd Edition MUCH better than 2nd). Since this is Rogue as "X-Men Leader", she's PL 11, reasonably-skilled but incredibly powerful. Some explanation on her powers- Her Mimic power is relatively complex, but is essentially a Touch-Range Mimic that Fades over time (she drops a full rank every round, giving up 5 of her total points). She used to get a Stunning Side-Effect if she used her powers, but I'm pretty sure that's not an issue anymore (and she recovered in only a round or two anyways). It's active constantly so she has to be careful around her friends (this is basically a Complication), however I didn't want to go the full Aura/Continuous/Permanent mark because she can hide that simply by dressing shyly (it's an inefficient Permanent Aura that is deactivated by a poncho, y'see) and it makes things excessively complicated and expensive.
-She has a Linked Stun & Power-Sapping effect as well (guys would drop pretty quickly when she touched them), boosting her power. Otherwise, Rogue is a rather limited front-line Flying Brick, and only PL 10.5 on Offense, PL 11 on Defense, thus not making caps so admirably, nor possessing many leadership skills (since she led for all of ten seconds compared to most, like Storm). And yes, she's INSANELY expensive thanks to all her powers- I'm always taken aback by the pricey people, but really, look at even Taliesin's build, which is basically 60 points cheaper than this one here... and she's lacking her Ms. Marvel powers, all of which cost about 60 points.
ROGUE (Anna Marie)
Created By: Chris Claremont & Michael Golden
First Appearance: The Avengers Annual #10 (Aug. 1981)
Role: Claremont's Pet, The Punker Girl, The Ascended Leader, The Beta Couple (with Gambit), Blessed With a Sucky Power, Winner of the Super-Power Lottery
Group Affiliations: The X-Men, Xavier's Security Enforcers, The Mutant Brotherhood
PL 10 (214)
STRENGTH 1/10
STAMINA 2/10
AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 8
DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE 0
AWARENESS 1
PRESENCE 2
Skills:
Expertise (Criminal) 2 (+3)
Insight 3 (+5)
Intimidation 4 (+6)
Perception 4 (+6)
Persuasion 2 (+4, +6 Attractive)
Stealth 2 (+5)
Vehicles 3 (+3)
Advantages:
All-Out Attack, Attractive, Diehard, Equipment (X-Uniform), Great Endurance, Improved Critical (Unarmed), Interpose, Power Attack, Ranged Attack 5, Takedown, Ultimate Toughness Check
Powers:
"Mutant Powers: Power & Memory Absorption" All Powers Linked
"Absorb Powers" Mimic 11 (Flaws: Limited to Touch Range, Fades) [66]
"Stuns Victims" Affliction 10 (Fort; Dazed & Impaired/Stunned & Disabled/Incapacitated & Transformed to Powerless) (Extras: Extra Condition) [20]
"Absorbs Memories" Mind Reading 8 (Flaws: Touch Range -2, Uncontrolled) [1]
"Ms. Marvel Stolen Powers"
Flight 6 (120 mph) [12]
Enhanced Strength 8 [18]
Enhanced Stamina 8 [16]
Protection 1 (Extras: Impervious 11) [12]
Offense:
Unarmed +8 (+11 Damage, DC 26)
Power Theft +8 (+9 Affliction, DC 21)
Initiative +3
Defenses:
Dodge +8 (DC 18), Parry +8 (DC 18), Toughness +11 (+6 Impervious), Fortitude +10, Will +7
Complications:
Relationship (Gambit)- The two flirted at first (Gambit mostly), but it turns out he really liked her, but they couldn't be together because of her powers. Then they kinda split, then stuff happened, and now... it's complicated.
Guilt (Cody's Coma)- Rogue put a boy into a coma when they first kissed, and she's felt horrible about it ever since.
Responsibility (Can Never Touch Skin to Skin)
Accident (Stealing Powers & Rendering Others Near-Death)
Power Loss (Flesh Contact)- Rogue requires actual skin-to-skin contact to utilize her Power Theft abilities. This means that beings like robots, or guys in Powersuits, are unable to be drained & Mimicked as normal. Similarly, she would have to tear off Iron Man's armour to Stun him.
Total: Abilities: 34 / Skills: 20--10 / Advantages: 15 / Powers: 145 / Defenses: 10 (214)
-A PL 10 Rogue, more akin to the version we saw in the '80s and '90s. For some reason, Rogue SUCKED during
Secret Wars, getting trounced by absolutely everybody (a debuting Titania said "broad always leads with her CHIN!" before one-punching her), but I'll chalk that up to Jim Shooter not being palsy with Chris Claremont, as the X-Men were kind of treated like a bunch of second-raters in that series, aside from a few big moments from Colossus & Wolverine, and some respect given to Magneto. Rogue was actually more significant in the '80s, where she used her Absorption powers in almost every major fight (even against heroes, like The Thing in that FF/X-Men crossover Limited Series). By the 1990s, she was just another Flying Brick (albeit unique for the X-books), flying in and busting everyone in the mouth while being bulletproof. It was like Fabian Nicieza & Jim Lee (the main creative Rogue-focused people in this time period) had a totally different P.O.V. from Claremont's regarding how Rogue used her powers. But then, it was the era of Guns, Blasters & Powerhouses, with EVERYONE having powers simplified into those three categories in most books.