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| Uncanny X-Men #182 MADNESS Published June 1984 Chris Claremont Artists:John Romita Jr. and Dan Green |
| This a ground breaking issue that deals with Rogue's difficulty at controlling Carol Danvers' personality, even when Carol does not overcome her totally Rogue is still sometimes unable to differienate herself from Carol. As this comic opens Rogue is enjoying herself, and decides to 'play' around with a plane, shocking the crew inside. Rogue however doesn't get to have much more fun because as soon as she returns to the mansion she discovers a message from an 'old friend' on Xavier's anwsering machine. A message that suggests that this person is in trouble, however the the friend' name is awfully familiar but it is NOT one ROGUE'S past. Rogue however dashes off to rescue the man, Michael Rossi, who is on board the S.H.I.E.L.D carrier. We go then to the carrier where Michael Rossi is been beaten by two S.H.I.E.L.D officers, since he isn't talking to them, but we soon find out there is something strange about these officers. Particularly one who contacts Sebastian Shaw of the Hell Fire Club to tell him of Michael's capture. Apparently Shaw is interested in whether Rossi is a threat to the Hell Fire Club since Rossi is interested in uncovering it, for this Shaw believes he should be killed. Meanwhile, Emma Frost (who's supposed to be in a coma, but isn't) appears in telepathic form and invites him to meet her students, the New Mutants. Meanwhile, back to Rogue, while she is still speaking in her southern accent, there is something strange about her behaviour, she expertly disables the S.H.I.E.L.D's radar and security system with the flip of a ccoin. While Rogue has had a background with the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants this still seems out of her league (particularly since she is barely 18). Also although there is no evidence that The Brotherhood attacked S.H.I.E.L.D Rogue seems to know the place inside and out, and arrives just in time to rescue Rossi from Shaw's lackey who has murdered the second officer and is about to shoot Rossi. Rogue been Rogue of course is unaffected by the bullents shot at her and quickly subdues the officer and gets to Michael. This however is when the most noticiable change comes over her, she reacts as if she is very close to Rossi though we know this isn't true, and her accent and whole manner of speaking changes. It's as if she's someone else, and it isn't hard to figure out who it might be. Rogue escapes with Michael (in a rather dangerous carry hold in my opinion) and held off two jets with nothing more than a single coin (the things you can do with those things) disabling one and causing the other to lose her on radar. Rogue takes Michale to Cape Cod, Massachusetts, and even more weird stuff begins to happen, for one Rogue calls this place her home, and thinks about her parents, even though Rogue has been without her parents from a young age, plus she calls Michael her first true love which makes no sense at all! Momentarily Rogue is confused and accent reappears, it disappears quickly though, and by the time Rossi regains consciousness Rogue is treating him like he is her love. Michael does know Rogue, but he has never met her before now, he is confused by her the fact she has a Boston accent and her voice is familiar. Plus the soup she makes is familiar too, and we realise it is Carol's recipes Rogue is using unconciously. All suspsions are confrimed however when Rogue acts like Carol, telling Rossi Carol's memories almost without realising they're not hers! She argues with Rossi when he tells her he's never seen her, but Rogue continues telling him all sorts of facts about him and Carol. She suddenly realises that there is no way she could have met Rossi 8 years ago at 18 because that is her age now! This is one of the very few issues that reveal the disorientating effect Rogue's powers have on her, she argues with herself, the Carol Danvers persona remembering Rossi and her parents home. Rogue however, knows that she never had a father, and no real family. The Carol side of her is horrified by the lack of a scar on Rogue's left hand, and the fact 'her' hair is short and isn't even blonde! Rossi soon realises what's going on and trieds to shake Rogue out of it, doesn't understand what is going on, he is unaware of the awful truth about would Rogue did to Carol. Rogue is upset by Rossi telling her to stop 'pretending' to be Carol, she runs away, but trips and lands on the beach just in front of the holiday house. There she begins to relive more of Carol's memories, Rogue explains herself what her powers were doing to her. ' So many thoughts--can't sort 'em out, don't know which are mine. Don't even know anymore who AH really am.' For a while Rogue is lost in Carol's memories, becoming her, though Rogue realises that she is not Carol, she is not only forced to live through the horrible experience of absorbing Carol she sees it in Carol's minds eye. We can only guess what Rogue must think of herself, a monster or much worse. Michael still unaware about Rogue's connection with Carol, hears her screaming and comes to see if she's all right, but Rogue, guilt-ridden tells him that she stole Carol's life-by that her memories. Rossi is angry of course, but he seems immune to Rogue's sorrow and guilt as she tells him: 'Now, when she looks at you, or her folks, she may know who you are...an' how she should feel towards you...but AH'M the one who FEELS those emotions!' Rogue explains Carol's memories are trapped inside her, and confuse her, particularly when she meets people important to Carol's life. Rossi, I suppose, tries to understand what has happened, but he is too furious to fully contemplate what Rogue is going through, since he is worried about Carol. Still he slaps Rogue across the face, and then tells her how he wishes he could kill her! Looking at this comic whic I think was one of the most moving and telling of Rogue, it is easier to understand why Rogue is like she is. Rogue may complain a lot,particularly recently, but she has all the reason too. She has been treated horribly, Mystique may have loved her, by she did the unforgivable by forcing Rogue to join the Brotherhood. Rogue may have absorbed Carol permanently, but no-one could punish her more than she has herself. Outside punishment, like Rossi's, while understandable carry an air of cruelty. Rogue was probably no more than 17 when she absorbed Carol, it was unintentional, and Rogue hardly reveled in it for long, she faced her enemies the X-Men to seek Professor Xavier's help. Why Xavier hasn't or can't help her is likely due to her own guilt and the treatment she recieves from those around her. Rogue's power is rarely seen by others as self-destructive, it is only seen in the terms of how it inflicts others. Uncanny X-Men #182 reveals poignantly and sadly this point, Rogue is not understood, she is not cared for or listened to, her emotions are ignored. Perhaps because of her power, people believe she has no emotions, and takes other people's (like Carol's) instead. This is not true, Rogue has her own feelings, but they are suppressed, it's enough to make anyone incurable. If Rogue's powers are a defence, that she certainly still needed it in #182, and may still even needed now. In the end Rogue is left on the beach, with her Carol persona,agreeing with Michael, wishing Rogue could pay. It is difficult to imagine what that would have felt like to Rogue, to feel such hate from 'herself'. It's a wonder if she can even trust herself, let alone anyone else. To add final insult to injury, the guard Rogue subdued is in S.H.I.E.L.D's hosipital, his link with Sebastian Shaw is not uncovered, and he lies to NIck Fury telling him that Rogue killed the second officer, Price, which he himself had murdered. He does tell the truth about Rogue taking off with Rossi though, Rossi was never actually idnetified though, but all the same when the officer Garwood indentifie's Rogue's picture, Nick Fury issues an alert to capture Rogue with deadly force. |