After two decades of portraying the X-Men under the Fox umbrella, Marvel fans can now see the Marvel Studios spin on the classic team in X-Men ‘97 on Disney Plus.
The animated series is a direct follow-up to X-Men: The Animated Series from the ‘90s and picks up in the titular year. In honor of the previous series, the able voice actors have reprised their roles. Cal Dodd returns to voice Wolverine, while Lenore Zann returns as Rogue. A significant amount of time has passed for these actors in between seasons of X-Men, while their characters’ ages remain the same.
How old is X-Men’s Rogue?
Rogue’s voice may have matured slightly in the intervening years, but her age remains consistent. Canonically in the comics, Rogue is portrayed as being in her early to mid 20ss. As the current animated series takes place in the ‘90s, her age has not changed. She is comparable in age to her sometimes boyfriend, Gambit.
However, for non-comic fans watching X-Men ‘97, this fact may be slightly confusing due to Rogue’s other romantic entanglement. At the end of episode 2, viewers get a hint of romantic rumblings between her and Xavier’s best friend, Magneto. Though not explicitly explained in the animated show, it appears that Magneto’s magnetism allows him to nullify her powers. As someone who can never experience skin-to-skin contact for fear of sucking the life out of them, this can be an attractive prospect for Rogue — no matter what the age difference is between her and Magneto.
And there is a substantial one. Magneto was an early teen during World War II, which puts him in his mid-60s when the series is set. However, this seems to be of little concern, considering he is the only person that Rogue has been able to touch without hurting him. Close contact goes a long way in the series and comics lore.
Rogue and Magneto have a complicated history in the comics, where they have often been paired romantically together. The first major instance was in the 1991 X-Men comic “Uncanny X-Men #274.” Written by the iconic duo, Chris Claremont and Jim Lee, Rogue and Magneto team up in the Savage Land, where they flirt with the idea of a relationship. Because her powers were inconsistent at that time, they could touch and form a connection.
The other famous instance of their relationship was in an alternate timeline where Rogue absorbs Magneto’s daughter, Polaris’ powers of magnetism, which allows them to touch. They marry and have a child together in this reality. X-Men ‘97 seems to be doing a mash-up of these storylines, equally as unbothered by the age differences as its predecessors were.
