Issue(s): Marvel Fanfare #60 (Rogue story only)
Cover Date: Dec 91
Title: "The mission"
Credits:
Ann Nocenti - Writer
David Ross - Penciler
Josef Rubinstein - Inker
Al Milgrom - Editor

Review/plot:
This was meant to be a back-up for Classic X-Men before the decision was made to stop running additional stories there. Since this story was run in the final issue of Marvel Fanfare, Al Milgrom writes in his Editori-Al that "Inventory has been a major part of Fanfare's supply line over the years, and I felt it would be only fitting to go out using one last 'shelf' job". This story didn't really need to see print, but then that's why Fanfare was canceled, wasn't it?

The story has a young Rogue in a very belligerent state. She's trying to learn to control her powers by touching people very briefly, so she only absorbs "one thought", but Mystique isn't very happy when Rogue ambushes her in the kitchen.

Later, Mystique brings Rogue with her on a mission that also includes Pyro. The goal is to rescue another mutant that is being held in an institution. Rogue is still being ridiculous...

...but Mystique still brings her along.

Rogue winds up absorbing too much of a security guard's personality...

...and then adds a second one on top of that.

This of course makes her a perfect subject for an Ann Nocenti script.

Finally, Rogue gets herself stuck in the room with the mutant they are supposed to be rescuing. But when she absorbs him, she finds something in him that sobers her up.

Then Pyro breaks the mutant out. We don't learn what happens to him or what his story was, or what his powers were, or anything. The story isn't really valuable as an early character study for Rogue, either. The basic idea that she can't handle her powers and needs help is clear enough, but we already knew that. And sure, she's an immature kid dealing with a rough situation, that's understandable. But she's totally unlikable here. And the overall story is Ann Nocenti's usual cryptic thing, not exactly something you can afford in a 15 page back-up that is supposed to give us a nice behind the scenes moment. This is less fluffy than some of Nocenti's other Classic X-Men back-ups just because it focuses on Rogue, whose history is interesting (as opposed to, say, a story about Dazzler having to stand next to a creepy guy on an elevator), but it still seems like a wasted opportunity at best.

Quality Rating: C-

Historical Significance Rating: 1

Chronological Placement Considerations: This story probably takes place after the back-up from Classic X-Men #44.

References: N/A

Crossover: N/A

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: N/A

Fnord, arguably Rogue SHOULDN'T be likeable at this point- good girls don't throw women off bridges.

These continuity implant stories always seem to make Rogue look about 10-20 years younger than she did in the in-continuity stories from this time period. In comics being published now she still looks about that much younger than she did when she first appeared. Her apparent age is like a ripple in the fabric of the Marvel space-time continuum.

The problem is that Rogue was clearly ALWAYS intended to be a teenager- if you read the Rom stories, the dialogue makes it clear she's very young. But for some reason, the artists drew her like she was 50 years old.