X-Men Legacy #220-224

I figured that since I really haven't been enjoying this series all that much that I'd just review these 5 comics all at once. These comics were all written by Mike Carey.

-We begin with Rogue hiding out in the Australian Outback where the X-Men used to live, as she attempts to get her powers under control after the whole Messiah CompleX mess.

-Prof. X decides he wants to help Rogue with her powers and enlists Rogue's one-time lover Gambit to assist.

-Rogue's silence is broken by Danger, the X-Men's Danger Room come to life(thanks for that idiotic idea Joss Whedon...), who wants to use Rogue as a weapon against some Shi'ar scavengers. The scavengers attack and Danger traps them, as well as Prof X and Gambit in a hologram.

-Eventually Prof X, Gambit and the scavengers reach the core of the holograms, Danger itself and Prof X manages to deactivate Danger. The scavengers double-cross Prof X and Gambit and attempt to make off with Danger, but are stopped by Rogue. The scavengers defeat Rogue, but Prof X reactivates a kinder, gentler Danger who beats the scavengers up until they high-tail it off of Earth.

-Danger(who is now a good guy I guess)explains to Prof X how to fix Rogue's powers, and Prof X goes into Rogue's head and does just that. This storyline ends with Gambit and Rogue sharing a kiss which doesn't put Gambit in a coma.

This storyline wasn't all that bad, but with the exception of Prof X, I really don't give a hoot about any of these characters. I've never really liked the concept of Danger, and Gambit and Rogue have been stale for the better part of 15 years now.

After finishing these comics off, I was initially kind of pissed off about the turn of events for Rogue. One of the main things most people like about Rogue is the fact that she isn't able to safely touch anybody. Chris Claremont did a brilliant job crafting Rogue into the ultimate sympathetic character. For me, Rogue's character was at its peak during the early 90's when her relationship with Gambit first began. Their whole relationship was based on the fact that Gambit REALLY wanted to get his hands on Rogue, but they both knew they couldn't go through with it. That all changed with the Legion's Quest storyline, which saw Rogue and Gambit kiss because they thought the world was ending(and in all fairness, it was!). Things then went rapidly downhill from there.

After the kiss(and the quick roll in the hay the two had in the Savage Land)there wasn't anywhere else for Rogue and Gambit's relationship to go. Gambit became a villain(sort of), reformed and eventually became a bad guy again(this time for real)before reforming once again. As for Rogue, she kicked Gambit to the curb and kind of floated around before she became the leader of the X-Men, which was just totally ridiculous. Suddenly Rogue went from an almost dim-witted southern belle to the super competent leader of the X-Men. No way! From there she kind of fell off the map until these comics.

Like I said earlier, I was initially annoyed about Rogue now having full control of her powers, but you know what? Maybe this will be the thing that will make Gambit and Rogue relevant again. Rogue had become boring as hell, and Gambit a mess of a character. Maybe Mike can actually bring these characters back to the levels of popularity they enjoyed back in the 90's. Remember, there was a time when Gambit rivaled Wolverine himself as the most popular X-Man. When I was kid, I was a HUGE Gambit fan. I'll always remember how mad I used to make my Wolverine worshiping friends by whipping out the issue of Uncanny X-Men where Gambit kicks Wolvie's ass! Ah memories... For a score, I'll give this storyline a hopeful 7 out of 10. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that Mike Carey can make something out of this latest installment of the Gambit/Rogue relationship.