In Marvel Studios' animated revival series, X-Men '97, Rogue and the team's former nemesis Magneto embark on (or more accurately, rekindle) a romantic relationship that was never really touched upon in the original show, and the age gap has raised a few eyebrows.
Although these characters were involved in the comic books (what happens in the Savage Land stays in the Savage Land), modern audiences are not quite as comfortable with a man in his 60s - which, as a Holocaust survivor, Mags would almost certainly be in the year 1997 - sleeping with a woman several decades his junior.
In the most recent episode, "Remember it," Rogue reveals to Gambit that she actually hooked up with Magneto when they first met, shortly after she acquired her powers and before she joined the X-Men.
So, what age was Rogue supposed to be back then, exactly?
Some have assumed that the X-Man must have been in her teens, but former showrunner Beau DeMayo clarified that she was in her early 20s when asked about the "groomer" criticisms on an X (formerly Twitter) thread.
There is obviously still a significant age gap between them, but if Rogue is now supposed to be, say, in her early 30s, that's not so bad... right? Okay, so it's still a little creepy, but Rogue is a grown woman at the end of the day, sugah.
Spoilers follow.
This week's episode brought Rogue and Magnus' relationship to a tragic end when the Master of Magnetism was killed by a gigantic Sentinel during the attack on Genosha. Rogue also lost her other suitor, Gambit, leaving her emotionally distraught.
DeMayo weighed in on the devastating events of the episode earlier today.
“Like many of us who grew up on the OG cartoon, the X-Men have now been hit hard by the realities of an adult and unsafe world,” he wrote on X. “Life's happened to them. And they, like we did, will have to decide which parts of themselves they will cling to and which parts they'll let go of in order to do what they've been telling humanity to do: face an uncertain future they never saw coming. As Trask told Cyclops in the premiere: ‘you have no idea what it's like to be left behind by the future.’ Now the X-Men do, and like each of us, they'll have to weigh whether this is a time for social justice — or as Magneto preached at his trial — is it a time for social healing.”
What do you make of Rogue and Magneto's relationship? Drop us a comment down below.