The X-Men’s Rogue has had several costumes throughout her history with the iconic team. From a villainous debut to a fashion journey with life changes, she has had a wide variety of suits to use. Though some have been developed as team suit variants and she has worn team uniforms, she has made her best looks truly hers.
Rogue debuted in 1981 in Avengers Annual #10. In her early days, she was a villain, allied with the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. She would soon join the X-Men and undergo a heroic rehab with a change of heart. Since then, she has gone from a young heroine on a team to a leader and staple member of the X-Men in a relatively short amount of time compared to several of her teammates. Her outfits over the last forty-plus years have reflected her journey very well.
During a rocky time in her life, Rogue went way out of her color comfort zone. Donning a red and black suit in X-Treme X-Men, this marked one of the few suits she wears that doesn’t have a green base. This is highly reflective of her tumultuous life at this point, during a separation from Gambit. While not one of her best looks, it does show how recognizable Rogue can be in an alternate color. Red is definitely not her color, but playing with color is an important part of heroes’ lives – particularly the X-Men. This outfit marked a time when Rogue needed to do some soul-searching and have personal growth, leaning more on friends like Storm to help her find her way forward. Though bizarre, it is a fitting look for Rogue’s character and arc for the time.
The X-Men frequently have team-based uniforms with a few individual accents. This was one of those eras, with the X across the chest being an important uniform detail. The best part about this suit is the yellow and green that are staples of Rogue’s look. They are both very bright and distinguishable, not overpowering each other. There’s a good balance with it that isn’t always present within X-Men suits. Nonetheless, it isn’t nearly as sleek as some of Rogue’s later outfits, including ones that similarly have X logos on them. It wouldn’t be until later that Rogue would return to her independent style as she grew into bigger leadership roles. This point in her journey still marks one of her younger periods focused on being a contributing member of the X-Men than as one of the most influential leaders.
This Rogue costume is primarily marked by the addition of a trench coat as an accent. This marks a shift away from the cropped jacket that had been a staple of her look in the 1990s. Once again having a strained relationship with Gambit, it’s curious that a staple of his wardrobe would end up as part of her signature look in this era. While she maintains her green and yellow colors, they frequently appear a bit more subdued. Rogue plays a more prominent role on the team but is still trying to find her footing given the struggles she faces. It’s functional but doesn’t stand out among her other looks. Though she maintains part of her classic look, her look is reflective of her trying to hold her teammates together against a tough opponent that impacts and impedes their teamwork.
Rogue went through several costumes in her first decade, including a green and black suit marking the X-Men’s move to Australia. Taking over the Reaver’s headquarters, the team underwent this big global shift during Uncanny X-Men. At this time, Rogue shifted her fashion from her debut villain period to full-blown 80s in Uncanny X-Men #229, moving away from the previous green and black suit she tried in the series. Ditching the crop top for a more solid look, this suit has a much better balance between the black and green. It is also far more practical. Green gloves returned to Rogue’s sleeves and her hair grew in volume, moving closer towards her defining hairstyle. Even when it gets tattered in the field, it still looks good and makes her easy to recognize next to her teammates and foes.
X-Men Legacy introduced a look that modernized her vintage-inspired costume that preceded it. Changing from a highly independent leader to a counselor, her look similarly adjusted. Stepping back in intensity, the suit is more traditional to X-Men team suits, highlighting X accents throughout it. It also simplifies her overall look by removing the hood and cloak she previously had. This is replaced with a white scarf that perfectly accents the suit and her signature bangs. This era also sees her pulling her hair back more, giving the appearance of a more collected version of the heroine for her new responsibilities. However, Rogue is just as powerful as she’s ever been, which she readily demonstrates when the opportunity arises. Once more, she’s in a position where she has to focus on being a team player as others take the lead.
Serving as a prototype for Rogue’s fashion shift in the 90s, this look fully introduced her yellow and green iconic combo. Coming away from her time spent as Ms. Marvel, the X-Men member was able to shift back into her own identity. Like many of her teammates, the 90s emphasized fashionable individuality, but the look still had some hiccups. The yellow bodysuit layers over top her black pants, emphasizing 80s fashion notes. She has yellow boots and accents the look with a green bandana and belt. The combo jacket bodysuit would pave the way for her iconic cropped jacket, sometimes looking like a singular piece and other times like a removable jacket. Nonetheless, this variation would see Rogue truly beginning to settle into her own identity, moving further from her villain days and Carol Danvers personality change.
Avengers Annual #10 introduced the first iteration of Rogue, who was an ally of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. However, her heart was not fully in it as she was a bit of a reluctant follower. As a result, her time as a villain was short-lived, and her debut costume fell to the wayside in the mid-80s. It was a solid green pantsuit with a darker green stripe down the center and a hood attached on the back. The suit was later adapted to lighten the accents with white trim, replacing the dark green striping. Nonetheless, by the 90s this look would be left behind. However, similarly styled suits harkening back to her debut would return whenever Rogue would end up on a more evil side through possession. It wasn’t until much more recently that this suit was reclaimed as a positive look.
In Uncanny Avengers, Rogue would throwback to her debut suit with some modern twists following the death of Xavier. While its introductory moments looked incredibly vintage, down to her hair, later renditions of it had more modern adjustments. With a broader white stripe going down the middle and her hair growing out again, Rogue would reclaim the look as her own. Occasionally pairing it with a scarf, Rogue was still readily recognizable and covered, preventing her from touching her teammates effectively. This isn’t the first time she would throwback to her original suit, but it was key in showing her as a more mature X-Men member ready to be a leader once again. She makes tough decisions that can be perceived negatively though she has more balance in her life now than she had previously.
Seen during the Messiah Complex era of X-Men comics, one of Rogue’s best suits is similarly a throwback to her debut costume with vast improvements. During a period of severe strain with her foster mother, Mystique, Rogue revisits her origins with her fashion. The suit is predominantly green with white striping, foregoing the yellow accenting she had so prominently had in her 90s and early 2000s looks. Like her original suit, it has a hood. At this time, Rogue is allowed to select her own X-Men to lead and she chooses to keep Mystique on a tight watch due to a lack of trust she feels towards her. As a result, the heroine lives up to her name, doing things her own way and coming into her own as a leader with far more weight thrust upon her shoulders.
Rogue’s most iconic look is readily her best. It finally allowed her to settle into her own and forge her identity apart from the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. During the Jim Lee designed run, Rogue becomes a stand-out heroine and forges a relationship with Gambit that would come to be one of the best-known relationships in Marvel Comics. This marks a divergence from the loneliness her powers had provided her in her young life. Nonetheless, she is a powerhouse all on her own and she definitely looks like one. This look is fierce and distinct, standing apart from those she had before. It is highly memorable and, though inspired by the X-Men suits, is still very much her own instead of a standard-issue look. Rogue’s best X-Men suit lets her be readily recognizable as herself without encroachment from the past.