Captain Marvel & Rogue's Rivalry, Explained

Ever since a young, villainous Rogue stole Carol Danvers’ powers and memories, the fates of these two powerful heroes have been deeply intertwined. In the years that followed, Rogue matured into one of the X-Men’s most trusted leaders and Danvers evolved into the Avengers’ high-flying Captain Marvel, but their relationship remains tense, and they’ve fought each other as frequently as they’ve worked together.  

Now, we’re taking a look back at the complex history between Captain Marvel and Rogue, as well as the long road to their milestone moment in CAPTAIN MARVEL (2019) #49 by Kelly Thompson, Sergio Dávila, Sean Parsons, Roberto Poggi, Ceci De La Cruz, and VC's Clayton Cowles.

ROGUE STEALS CAPTAIN MARVEL’S POWERS

When Rogue officially debuted, she had already stolen the powers of Carol Danvers, who went by Ms. Marvel at the time. After it was teased through flashbacks for years, Rogue and Captain Marvel’s first encounter was fully revealed in a MARVEL SUPER-HEROES (1990) #11 story by Chris Claremont, Simon Furman, Mike Vosburg, and Mike Gustovich. 

Back when Rogue’s adoptive mothers Destiny and Mystique led the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, they attacked Danvers to keep Destiny’s vision of the hero ruining Rogue’s life from coming true. When Mystique and Destiny were arrested for this, Rogue went after Carol and inadvertently used her power-absorbing abilities on the Avenger. Due to Danvers’ unique physiology, Rogue semi-permanently stole her powers, psyche, and memories.

After leaving Danvers for dead, an overwhelmed Rogue attacked the Avengers in AVENGERS ANNUAL (1967) #10 by Claremont, Michael Golden, and Armando Gil. Even as Rogue struggled to deal with the flood of confusing emotions that came with Danvers’ psyche, she knocked out Captain America and Thor before freeing Mystique and the Brotherhood from jail. 

After Spider-Woman found Captain Marvel’s body, she approached Professor X, who was able to partially restore Carol’s mind. When the now-powerless Carol reunited with the Avengers, she called out her old teammates for essentially abandoning her on a previous mission and started working closely with the X-Men instead.

ROGUE VS. CAROL DANVERS

During her time with the X-Men, Carol encountered the villainous Rogue again and unsuccessfully attacked her in UNCANNY X-MEN (1963) #158 by Chris Claremont, Dave Cockrum, and Bob Wiacek. Then, before her next meeting with Rogue, Carol turned into the cosmic hero Binary after some tortuous genetic experimentation by the parasitic Brood aliens. 

When a desperate Rogue turned the Xavier and the X-Men for help in controlling her powers, Binary sent her flying into the atmosphere with one punch in UNCANNY X-MEN (1963) #171 by Claremont, Walt Simonson, and Wiacek. Xavier quickly announced he would take Rogue in, leading Carol to leave the X-Men and join their cosmic allies, the Starjammers. 

As Rogue proved herself to be a hero and evolved into a core member of the X-Men, she still had to deal with Carol’s lingering powers and psyche, which occasionally took control over her body. But after Rogue entered a mystical portal called the Siege Perilous, this aspect of Carol’s psyche took on a physical form in UNCANNY X-MEN (1963) #269, by Claremont, Jim Lee, and Art Thibert. 

When another portal took Rogue to the Savage Land, this monstrous Ms. Marvel double was transported to Muir Island and possessed by the Shadow King, a powerful psychic entity. Rogue and the Ms. Marvel double’s powers increased and decreased due to their proximity, leading the double to reveal that she and Rogue were sharing the same life force and there wasn’t enough to keep them both alive. Magneto ultimately intervened, stabilized Rogue’s condition, and disposed of the Ms. Marvel double.

ROGUE VS. WARBIRD

Prior to Rogue and Carol’s next encounter, Carol briefly used the codename Warbird before returning to her Ms. Marvel persona, and Rogue lost the powers she absorbed from Carol years earlier. While the two heroes tentatively made peace, Carol seemingly attacked Rogue shortly after CIVIL WAR (2006). But when the X-Man confronted Carol about the attack in her apartment, they discovered a doppelganger sleeping in Carol’s bed in MS. MARVEL (2006) #9 by Brian Reed, Mike Wieringo, and Wade Von Grawbadger. 

With some help from the X-Men’s Beast, the heroes realized this doppelganger was an alternate-reality version of Carol who still went by Warbird. Although she had a history similar to Carol’s, Warbird neglected her duties with the Avengers, and her world was ultimately destroyed during a Brood invasion.

Devastated by grief, Warbird traveled around the Multiverse to kill alternate-reality versions of Rogue, who she still blamed for her troubles. Although Carol and Rogue teamed up to fight Warbird, Carol knocked Rogue out and said she never really forgave her for taking her powers. Carol was ultimately able to stop Warbird, but this encounter left her unsure about her feelings towards Rogue.

AVENGERS VS. X-MEN

When five X-Men received the power of the Phoenix Force and briefly took over the world in AVENGERS VS. X-MEN (2012), Rogue and Danvers faced off once again. Since Carol respected Rogue as a proven hero by this time, the Avengers sent her to talk with Rogue about the threat posed by the Phoenix Five. Before Carol could explain herself, Rogue attacked her in X-MEN: LEGACY (2008) #269 by Christos Gage, David Baldeón, and Jordi Tarragona. 

As they fought, Rogue started absorbing Carol’s powers, which deeply insulted Carol. After a brutal battle, Rogue trapped Carol in a block of ice, and the Phoenix-empowered Magik took the Avenger to a volcanic prison where Limbo’s demons tortured its captives. 

After seeing the horrors of the prison, Rogue realized Carol was right about the Phoenix Five and tried to break her out of the prison. While trying to free Carol, Rogue asked for permission before briefly absorbing her powers, which revealed a new level of understanding and trust between the two. Although their escape attempt was ultimately foiled by Magik, both heroes eventually escaped the prison.

CAPTAIN MARVEL AND ROGUE TEAM UP 

Following AVENGERS VS. X-MEN (2012), Rogue joined the Uncanny Avengers, and Carol took on the Captain Marvel mantle. During this period, the villainous Nuclear Man took over Roosevelt Island and trapped Captain Marvel there along with several other heroes. After luring Rogue in with a faked distress call from Carol, he forced her to fight Carol in CAPTAIN MARVEL (2019) #4 by Kelly Thompson and Carmen Carnero. Then, when she realized Rogue was inadvertently siphoning off her power whenever they were near each other, Captain Marvel had Rogue absorb all of her power and her psyche, which briefly allowed her to take control of Rogue’s body.

When their powers returned to normal, Rogue and Captain Marvel teamed up to take on the Nuclear Man. Rogue helped end the conflict by absorbing and diffusing the explosive energy of the Nuclear Man’s son, Som. By the end of the team-up, Captain Marvel and Rogue were on good terms, with Rogue apologizing profusely for her role in Carol’s earlier trauma. While both heroes agreed they would never be friends, Captain Marvel told Rogue she was a true hero before they went their separate ways.

REVENGE OF THE BROOD

Just before the “Revenge of the Brood” storyline, Captain Marvel created a new Binary: a sentient energy being who emerged out of her powers. After receiving cosmic distress calls from Rogue and Binary on the same day, Captain Marvel teamed up with Rogue’s husband Gambit and several other X-Men to investigate in CAPTAIN MARVEL (2019) #43 by Kelly Thompson, Sergio Dávila, and Sean Parsons. When they found Rogue’s signal, she had seemingly been transformed into a parasitic Brood alien, even though the Brood had just recently been on friendly terms with the mutant nation Krakoa.

Although Captain Marvel and her team defeated the Brood Rogue, the Brood ultimately captured and infected them with their parasitic Broodlings. They managed to escape and find Binary and a still-human Rogue, who told them that these Brood were still loyal to the Brood Empress and wanted to use Binary’s power to destroy the Kree. After freeing Binary, Captain Marvel took her place in the Brood machine she was hooked into. However, Binary had been mortally wounded and died while trying to free Carol. 

Driven by grief and Binary’s energy, Captain Marvel killed the Brood Empress as her powers went into overdrive. When Carol threatened to go supernova or create a black hole, Rogue asked her if she could help stabilize her by absorbing half of her power. As she embraced the grieving Carol, Rogue helped her come to terms with Binary’s death while taking on half of her power and her grief. 

After this stabilized Captain Marvel, Rogue wondered if she could ever truly atone with Carol due to their complex history. Although Rogue and Captain Marvel may never be best friends, these two heroes have turned a bitter rivalry into a deep mutual respect, culminating in this moment of compassion and trust.

Behold Captain Marvel and Rogue's reconciliation in CAPTAIN MARVEL #49, on sale now!

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