Rogue’s original handpicked X-Men team is among the most underrated in franchise history. When the squad formed nearly twenty years ago, it arguably helped redefine what the X-Men could be. If her chosen team doesn’t feel out of place in X-lore now, it’s because they paved the way for future generations of X-Men heroes.
Rogue’s team debuted in X-Men #188, written by Mike Carey, with art by Chris Bachalo. The team was notable at the time for including several members better known as villains than heroes.
In retrospect, it was the start of a highly-regarded era for X-Men, which set a precedent for exciting X-rosters, which have become much more commonplace two decades later.
Rogue’s 2006 X-Men Squad Deserves To Be Considered One Of The Best Of The Past 20 Years
How Rogue’s Team Reinvented The X-Men
Rogue’s X-Men team brought together OG mutant hero Iceman, New Mutants fan-favorite Cannonball, and the franchise’s resident time-traveling messiah figure, Cable. Surprisingly, their numbers were rounded out by villains: Mystique, Sabretooth, Lady Mastermind, and the oft-forgotten Omega Sentinel. Rogue’s picks were questioned by characters like Xavier and Cyclops, but for fans, they were a breath of fresh air.
It was an X-Men team with shades of DC’s Suicide Squad. Notably, Sabretooth’s “redemption” was begrudging, thanks to nanites injected into his body by Beast, which were used to force him to obey orders. Mystique, meanwhile, began her genuine heroic transformation here, and had one of this era’s breakout romances, with teammate Iceman.
Rogue’s X-Men, as a team, operated with a natural level of tension that added great drama to their storylines. For Rogue herself, it was a generational turning point for the character, who stepped up and proved that she is an A-lister, and a candidate for one of the franchise’s best leaders, right alongside Cyclops, Wolverine, and Storm.
Rogue’s Team Was The High Point Of The 2000s For The X-Men Franchise
And Helped Set The Stage For X-Men Today
Rogue’s X-Men were among the defining features of their era. Overall, author Mike Carey’s X-Men run, which lasted from 2006 to 2011, is considered to be the last great period before the Krakoan Era launched in 2019. Looking back, it also feels like a major turning point for Marvel’s mutants. The idea of the X-Men became more expansive, more inclusive, with Rogue’s team.
With Rogue’s squad, the X-Men took one step closer to being an ideal, rather than just a group. 20 years later, many of Marvel’s X-Men teams are constructed according to the ethos that started with Mike Carey and Rogue’s roster. For that reason along, the line-up deserves more recognition as one of the best in franchise history.
- Movie(s)
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X-Men (2000), X2, X-Men: The Last Stand (2006), X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009), X-Men: First Class (2011), The Wolverine (2013), X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014), Deadpool (2016), X-Men: Apocalypse (2016), Logan (2017), Deadpool 2 (2018), Dark Phoenix (2019), The New Mutants, Deadpool & Wolverine (2024)
- First Film
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X-Men (2000)
- TV Show(s)
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X-Men: Pryde of the X-Men, X-Men (1992), X-Men: Evolution (2000), Wolverine and the X-Men (2008), Marvel Anime: Wolverine, Marvel Anime: X-Men, Legion (2017), The Gifted (2017), X-Men ’97 (2024)
- Video Game(s)
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X-Men: Children of the Atom (1994), Marvel Super Heroes (1995), X-Men vs. Street Fighter (1996), Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter (1997), Marvel vs. Capcom (1998), X-Men: Mutant Academy (2000), Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes (2000), X-Men: Mutant Academy 2 (2001), X-Men: Next Dimension (2002), Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds (2011), Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 (2011), X-Men Legends (2005), X-Men Legends 2: Rise of Apocalypse (2005), X2: Wolverine’s Revenge (2003), X-Men (1993), X-Men 2: Clone Wars (1995), X-Men: Mutant Apocalypse (1994)
- Character(s)
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Professor X, Cyclops, Iceman, Beast, Angel, Phoenix, Wolverine, Gambit, Rogue, Storm, Jubilee, Morph, Nightcrawler, Havok, Banshee, Colossus, Magneto, Psylocke, Juggernaut, Cable, X-23
- Comic Release Date
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213035,212968
