The X-Men character Rogue made her first appearance in comics with the Avengers Annual in August 1981, and in the 40 years since she has been featured in a plethora of Marvel titles. This ranges from comic books to television shows, and movies to video games. While she has occasionally appeared as a cameo, a majority of these appearances have highlighted her character and unique set of powers as part of the X-Men franchise.
Her ability to absorb other people’s powers has given her incredible leverage in stories. For most of her history, Rogue hasn’t been able to control her powers well. While recent years have seen her gain full control, in the past even friends’ experiences with Rogue have been nearly fatal. The X-Men video games she has appeared in over the decades have toed the line on how strong they make her, with some titles even granting her the abilities of characters like En Sabah Nur, AKA Apocalypse.
The 1990s
In the 90s Rogue appeared in several titles, with some becoming lasting series. The Marvel vs. Capcom franchise gave Rogue two appearances by itself, but she was included in a number of games during the decade.
- X-Men 2: Fall of Mutants – 1990
- As a summon in X-Men for Sega Genesis – 1993
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X-Men Game Gear Trilogy:
- X-Men – 1994
- X-Men: Gamemaster’s Legacy – 1995
- X-Men: Mojo World – 1996
- X-Men vs. Street Fighter – 1997
- Marvel vs. Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes – 1998
The 2000s
The opening decade of the 2000s treated Rogue just as well as the 90s. This is most likely thanks to the growing popularity of X-Men at the time. The storylines around mutants were being adapted into major movies, and Marvel was expanding a lot of this media. With related video game titles, as well as series like Marvel vs. Capcom continuing, Rogue was able to appear in even more games.
- Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes – 2000
- X-Men: Mutant Academy 2 – 2001
- X-Men: Reign of Apocalypse – 2001
- Rogue makes an appearance in Spider-Man 2: Enter Electro’s training mode – 2001
- X-Men: Next Dimension – 2002
- Rogue appears in scenes for X-2: Wolverine’s Revenge – 2003
- X-Men Legends – 2004
- X-Men Legends 2: Rise of Apocalypse – 2005
- Rogue-themed DLC in LittleBigPlanet – 2008
The 2010s
The 2010s saw Marvel’s shows and movies continue to grow in popularity. The X-Men franchise expanded beyond movies, and the MCU got into full swing with Iron Man 2, Thor, and The Avengers all releasing before the midpoint of the decade. Rogue didn’t end up receiving as many roles in dedicated X-Men games as she had in the past, but she showed up in other titles, especially ensemble games.
- Rogue makes background appearances in Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 – 2011
- Marvel Superhero Squad Online – 2011
- Marvel Avengers Alliance – 2012
- Deadpool – 2013
- Marvel Heroes – 2013
- Marvel Contest of Champions (Rogue is playable but was also a boss for Terrigenesis event) – 2014
- Marvel Future Fight – Available for players from May 29 to June 6, 2017
- Marvel Puzzle Quest – Added Rogue in Sept 2017
With the latest decade only a year in, there’s plenty of time for Rogue to continue to show up. Marvel’s Avengers, Spider-Man, and Guardian of the Galaxy series are setting the video game world up for some incredibly expansive comic book stories. With how popular superhero games continue to be, hopefully the X-Men will receive get some new-found love in the coming years.
Alternatively, a video game MCU could be a great experience for fans. The Spider-Man series on PlayStation has laid a strong foundation to work from, and it would be great to see it expanded on. For the time being, there are still a ton of titles to check out if fans want to play as X-Men like Rogue, or just see the character appear in a video game.