Rogue's New Superpower Unlocks Her Full Mutant Potential in X-Men Lore
By Published May 4, 2026, 9:45 AM EDT Ambrose Tardive is an editor on ScreenRant's Comics team. Over the past two years, he has developed into the internet's foremost authority on The Far Side. Outside of his work for ScreenRant, Ambrose works as an Adjunct English Instructor. follow Follow followed Followed Like Like Log in Here is a fact-based summary of the story contents: Try something different: Show me the facts Explain it like I’m 5 Give me a lighthearted recap
Warning! Spoilers ahead for Captain Marvel: Dark Past #2!
just explained Rogue’s mutant powers in a new way, which could have lasting implications for the hero. But first, she’ll have to deal with the “consequences” of her long, complicated relationship with Carol Danvers.
Marvel’s teaser for Captain Marvel: Dark Past #2 finds Carol visiting the X-Men, Rogue specifically, in the hopes of learning more about the “lost” memories that have been resurfacing to trouble the Avengers leader. Of course, Rogue might have some of these memories, thanks to their early, infamous run-in, when Rogue stole Carol’s powers, and a piece of her mind.
Captain Marvel: Dark Past #2 is written by Paul Jenkins, with art by Lucas Werneck. In the preview pages, between Rogue and Carol. She explains that she and Rogue “have spent years” trying to figure out Rogue’s powers.
As the teaser ends, the three prepare to join minds to seek the buried subconscious memory Carol is looking for, by “bridging the gap” between the “core memory” Rogue took from the hero, and other related memories.
Marvel Reveals New Details About Rogue's Powers, Hinting At A Future Upgrade
Captain Marvel: Dark Past #2, Written By Paul Jenkins; Art By Lucas Werneck
"It’s like déjà vu all over again," as Yankees catcher Yogi Berra once said. In Dark Past, a dangerous secret that she's been keeping locked away in her mind, but as the synopsis for issue #2 puts it: "Carol realizes she's gone down this road before - but when?"
Dark Past #2's preview sets up Rogue to play a major role in the next chapter of the story. Specifically, Rogue's powers, which Emma Frost describes this way:
We know [Rogue's] powers use core memories as "tethers," to bind them to her gestalt. Once they're established, they take root, and they can't be removed without damaging her psyche.
In other words, Rogue does more than just absorb someone's powers when she touches them. She takes a part of their personal history, their psyche, and it becomes intertwined with her own.
This is especially significant when it comes to Carol Danvers, because she's arguably the person Rogue has ever absorbed most completely. In X-Men canon, Rogue still possesses Captain Marvel's superstrength and power of flight years after their dramatic altercation. Which suggests a "core" part of Carol is still very much buried in Rogue's mind. Now, Emma Frost has a plan to access Carol's memories in Rogue's psyche.
Rogue's Heroic Journey Has Brought Her Control Of Her Powers, But It's Not Total Yet
Did Marvel Just Signal Rogue's Next Evolution?
Emma Frost's innovative idea in Dark Places #2 is to "connect the core memories" Rogue took from Carol "with the smaller peripheral ones" that Carol still has. Their goal is to restore Carol's lost memories, but it also has the potential to completely change fans' understanding of "how and why [Rogue] siphons other people's memories."
Which could be the start of an evolution of Rogue's powers, and consequently, her character. Rogue's powers are "a consequence, not a choice,' as Emma notes, a fact that has often made Rogue a tragic heroic figure in X-Men lore. Depending on how Dark Places #2 plays out, it could be the first step on a road toward the unthinkable: .
If Rogue could pick and choose what to take and what not to take from people she touches, that would be a huge leap forward for a hero whose defining struggle has always been about control. And having Captain Marvel be part of that development would be a fitting full circle moment in Marvel history, while setting up an exciting new future for the X-Men icon.
Captain Marvel: Dark Past #2 will be available May 6, 2026 from Marvel Comics.
What do you think, X-fans? Is Rogue ready for a serious power upgrade?
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