Warning! Spoilers ahead for Rogue: The Savage Land #3!One of the adventures in the Savage Land.
In Marvel's preview for Rogue: The Savage Land #3 – written by Tim Seeley, with art by Zulema Scotto Lavina – Rogue not-so-subtly hints at a potential attraction towards Ka-Zar. With a bashful face, Rogue tells Ka-Zar that her powers are gone and it’s been “so, so long” since she’s been able to touch someone to which Ka-Zar is stunned and tells Rogue he’s a married man, shutting down her advances.
Coming from the same storyline that spawned the scandalous Rogue and Magneto pairing, Rogue’s presumed attraction to Ka-Zar is surprising in a whole new way.
Marvel Introduces A Controversial Romance That Rivals Rogue & Magneto’s Love Affair
Rogue: The Savage Land #3 – Written By Tim Seeley; Art By Zulema Scotto Lavina; Color By Rachelle Rosenberg; Lettering By Ariana Maher
Before marrying Gambit, Rogue had an array of different love interests, even her fellow teammate Wolverine, however, her shared attraction with Magneto during 1990's Uncanny X-Men #269-257 was by far the most scandalous. The main issue with the pairing was how Magneto was visibly much older than Rogue, with Rogue being depicted as a younger woman and Magneto being close to the age of Rogue’s mentor, Charles Xavier. Though Rogue and Magneto’s implied interest in one another is less prominent in this retelling, Rogue's flirting with Ka-Zar is a completely different kind of scandal.
While Rogue’s advances on Ka-Zar may be surprising, it is a familiar motif within X-Men stories; moreover, Rogue’s loneliness surrounding her touch was set up prior in Rogue: Savage Land #1.
The X-Men are no strangers to drama, with these soap opera-like stories intertwined with some of the most memorable eras within X-Men lore, such as Cyclops and Emma Frost's affair or Kitty Pryde and Colossus’s failed wedding. So while Rogue’s advances on Ka-Zar may be surprising, it is a familiar motif within X-Men stories; moreover, Rogue’s loneliness surrounding her touch was set up prior in Rogue: Savage Land #1. If Rogue is hitting on Ka-Zar, it definitely does not paint her in the best light; however, it may also be Rogue seeking companionship as she previously reminisced about missing her friends.
Rogue’s Touch Remains The Bane Of Her Relationships As This Problem Re-Emerges Within The Savage Land
A Power That Has Led To Some Of Rogue’s Most Controversial Moments
For a long time, Rogue’s life-force absorbing touch was a large part of her struggle as a mutant, but her abilities led to some of her more provocative moments, with Rogue’s powers often being an excuse to have the X-Men take on a more intimate style of combat. In many X-Men stories, Rogue kisses her enemies to absorb their powers. An example of this is shown in the original Savage Land storyline within Uncanny X-Men #274. The X-Men ‘97 animated series also further pushed the greatly polarizing Rogue and Magneto pairing by connecting it to Rogue’s yearning for physical intimacy.
Rogue x Magneto Confused Many in X-Men '97, So Marvel Is Preparing to Revisit the Controversial Couple
After its revival in X-Men ‘97, Marvel revisits the controversial X-Men romance between Rogue and Magneto, but with a brand new perspective.
Similar to Rogue’s brief relationship with Magneto in X-Men ‘97, Rogue is drawn to Ka-Zar because she yearns for a friendly touch, but it may also imply she’s willing to stir up an affair. Rogue’s inability to feel others without harming them has remained an interesting dilemma to return to as it shows the struggle of Rogue’s isolation. However, this same narrative has continued to put the X-Men hero in many compromising situations. Ka-Zar immediately rejects Rogue but her plausible attraction to him is an unexpected twist on Rogue’s scandalous romance within the Savage Land.
Rogue: The Savage Land #3 will be available on March 26, 2025, from Marvel Comics!
- Movie(s)
- 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
- X-Men (2000)
- TV Show(s)
- 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)
- 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)
