Rogue & Magneto's Relationship, Explained (2024)

by

Tim Webber

Opposites attract, and Rogue and Magneto prove that more than any other members of the X-Men. Although both started out as villains, Rogue has redeemed herself as a proven hero and a leader of the X-Men and the Avengers, while Magneto has remained relentlessly dedicated to his beliefs, no matter how the world might perceive him.

Before Rogue's star-crossed romance with Gambit began, she and Magneto forged a bond that reverberated throughout the Marvel Universe and beyond. Now, let's take a closer look at Magneto and Rogue's unlikely romance and break down the connection between these two mutants as they evolved into one of the X-Men's most surprising couples, even if it ultimately did not last.

HOW MAGNETO MET ROGUE

Magneto and Rogue were already on similar paths when they met during the original SECRET WARS (1984). Despite debuting as a member of Mystique's Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, Rogue turned to Professor X for help controlling her power-absorbing abilities after she stole the powers and psyche of Carol Danvers.

Shortly after Rogue joined the X-Men, a powerful cosmic being called the Beyonder brought Magneto and the mutant heroes—along with several other heroes and villains—to Battleworld. Instead of fighting each other, Magneto and the X-Men teamed up. Rogue acknowledged she would've been on the villains' side a few months earlier, and as that cosmic conflict unfolded, Magneto also started to reconsider his villainous past. Ultimately, Magneto's self-reflection led him to join Rogue in the X-Men as of UNCANNY X-MEN (1963) #200 by Chris Claremont and John Romita Jr.

Although Rogue frequently struggles to touch other people without harming them, her powers have unique interactions with Magneto's abilities. Magneto has proven himself to be unusually resilient against Rogue's power, allowing him to remain effectively unharmed when she touched him in battle. This is likely due to the constant electromagnetic force field he maintains around his body, which insulates him from her abilities.

MAGNETO AND ROGUE IN THE SAVAGE LAND

At a moment when they were both adrift, Magneto and Rogue truly connected for the first time when they both ended up in the Savage Land, a hidden oasis in Antarctica filled with prehistoric life. Realizing that he could not champion Xavier's dream, Magneto left the X-Men and retreated to the Savage Land. Meanwhile, Rogue was struggling to limit the influence of Carol Danvers' psyche and fell through a mystical portal called the Siege Perilous, which took Carol's mind and powers and placed them in a new body.

Without Carol's powers, Rogue's search for the X-Men took her to the Savage Land, where the ersatz Carol hunted her down. During a subsequent fight between Rogue and this Carol entity, Magneto intervened and saved Rogue in UNCANNY X-MEN (1963) #269 by Chris Claremont and Jim Lee.

As Rogue recovered and slowly regained her powers, she helped Magneto battle Zaladane, a Savage Land priestess who had stolen his powers, in UNCANNY X-MEN (1963) #274 by Claremont and Lee. During their time together, the two weakened mutants grew close as they tried to stop Zaladane from taking control of Earth's electromagnetic spectrum. However, that bond shattered when a repowered Magneto killed Zaladane and left Rogue, telling her that mutantkind would not be saved by a "kinder, gentler Magneto."

MAGNETO AND ROGUE IN THE AGE OF APOCALYPSE

Although Magneto and Rogue met as enemies in their subsequent encounters, they got another chance at love in the Age of Apocalypse timeline. When the reality-warping Legion traveled back in time and accidentally killed Professor X before he formed the X-Men, he created an alternate timeline where Magneto formed the X-Men and Apocalypse took over the world.

In this world, Rogue permanently absorbed the magnetism powers of Polaris and joined the X-Men just as Apocalypse began his conquest. While saving her, the Scarlet Witch was mortally wounded, and Rogue promised the dying hero she would look after Magneto and be his friend.

Despite a brief flirtation with Gambit, Rogue became much more than Magneto's friend, as detailed in X-MEN CHRONICLES (1995) #2 by Howard Mackie and Ian Churchill. As Rogue served as his second-in-command, Magneto realized he could safely touch her by generating a biomagnetic shield around his body that neutralized her powers.

In spite of the horrors of Apocalypse's rise, Rogue and Magneto married and had a son, Charles, who debuted in X-MEN: ALPHA (1996) #1 by Scott Lobdell,Mark Waid, Roger Cruz, and Steve Epting. Rogue and Magneto stayed together through the end of Apocalypse's reign, but they were killed when Weapon X, this world's Wolverine, took over Apocalypse's dark mission.

ROGUE AND JOSEPH, MAGNETO'S CLONE

While the real Magneto plotted his next move against the X-Men, Rogue got another taste of what their relationship might be like when she got close to the amnesiac Joseph, a younger clone of Magneto. Originally created by the villainous Astra to kill Magneto, Joseph escaped and found Rogue while he was searching for the X-Men. Fully under the belief he was the real Magneto, Joseph helped the X-Men and the Avengers as they fought Onslaught, an evil psionic entity shaped by the darkest aspects of Magneto and Professor X, in X-MEN (1991) #56 by Mark Waidand Andy Kubert.

As Joseph grappled with the legacy of Magneto, he joined the X-Men, where he proved himself to be thoughtful, considerate, and friendly. Rogue and Joseph's growing relationship made Gambit uncomfortable, and he attacked the clone before accepting him as a tentative ally.

To repay Rogue's kindness, Joseph refashioned an alien Z'Nox psi-shield into a device that could allow Rogue to safely touch anyone without absorbing their memories. While presenting her with the device, he kissed Rogue on the forehead in UNCANNY X-MEN (1963) #341 by Scott Lobdell and Joe Madureira. After a few more adventures with the X-Men, Joseph learned he was a clone. He died fighting Magneto and fixing Earth's electromagnetic field.

ROGUE AND MAGNETO'S ROMANCE

Long after their last flirtation, Rogue and Magneto's romance returned with more passion than ever. Around the time the X-Men established the mutant nation Utopia off the coast of San Francisco, Professor X helped Rogue overcome several mental blocks and gain total control over her abilities. Once Magneto started working with the X-Men again, he approached Rogue in hopes of reigniting their relationship in X-MEN: LEGACY (2008) #231 by Mike Carey and Clay Mann.

After working together on several missions, Rogue and Magneto were briefly caught in the "Age of X," a warped reality where they were a couple. With the memory of that world still fresh, Rogue began a physical relationship with Magneto in X-MEN: LEGACY (2008) #249 by Carey and Rafa Sandoval.

Magneto and Rogue's relationship grew into a romance that lasted through a particularly tumultuous era for the X-Men. When the X-Men split into two rival factions, Magneto stayed with Cyclops' more militaristic side while Rogue joined Wolverine's faction to continue mentoring young mutants at the Jean Grey School for Higher Learning. They agreed to continue their relationship long-distance, but they still drifted apart.

During AVENGERS VS. X-MEN (2012), Rogue and Magneto supported the X-Men who bonded to the Phoenix Force as their war with the Avengers broke out. After she spent much of the conflict off-world, Rogue returned to Earth and encountered Magneto in X-MEN: LEGACY (2008) #274 by Christos Gage and David Baldeón. As they tried to save civilians trapped in debris, Magneto formally asked Rogue to get back together. However, Rogue ended the relationship to focus on herself, and the couple parted on good terms.

ROGUE AND MAGNETO NOW

Since breaking up, Rogue and Magneto have both moved on to other relationships and pursuits. While Magneto briefly dated a woman named Briar Raleigh, Rogue rekindled her long-term romance with Gambit while on an undercover mission at a couples' retreat. When Kate "Kitty" Pryde left Colossus at the altar at their wedding, Gambit unexpectedly proposed to Rogue, and the couple married a few moments later in X-MEN: GOLD (2017) #30 by Marc Guggenheim and David Marquez.

Gambit and Rogue threw a belated engagement party, and Rogue invited Magneto in MR. AND MRS. X (2018) #6 by Kelly Thompson and David López. Although she invited him with the intention of apologizing for not telling him about her marriage sooner, he found her floating outside her apartment sulking over her malfunctioning powers when he arrived. Rogue shared that she was afraid of scaring Gambit away, but Magneto reminded her that her new husband was not going anywhere. He wished her the best before flying off into the night, gracefully closing the book on their romance.