I’m Sorry, But Marvel’s Defense of Rogue’s Skimpiest Costume Makes No Sense

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WARNING! Spoilers for Rogue: The Savage Land #1

Rogue‘s Savage Land costume from her wildest X-Men era is undeniably iconic, but I’ve never been a fan, and Marvel’s new justification for its existence still hasn’t won me over. After decades, Rogue’s days in the Savage Land are being explored in-depth, and with that story beat comes the return of her skimpiest outfit to date. I’m of the belief that this costume does more harm to Rogue than good, despite Marvel’s attempts at explaining it.

In Rogue: The Savage Land #1 by Tim Seeley and Zulema Scotto Lavina, Rogue gets transported to the fittingly named Savage Land, where she must learn to fend for herself in the brutal wilderness without any assistance. As she navigates the perilous Savage Land, she swaps her usual costume for one that reveals much more skin.

Superhero costumes typically cover the wearer in order to protect them, so her lack of clothing serves no practical purpose for her. Instead, Rogue’s redesign sexualizes her, and Marvel giving this outfit an in-universe explanation doesn’t alleviate my concerns about it.

Rogue’s Most Revealing Costume Returns, & I’m Still Not a Fan

Sorry, Marvel, But Your Defense Hasn’t Won Me Over to Rogue’s Redesign

Rogue’s infamous Savage Land costume, as it turns out, exists as the consequence of a comedy of errors. She first travels through the Siege Perilous, a portal that judges one’s soul, and she loses her clothes through the process of being torn apart at the essence. Then, before she can put on a pair of pants, she transports herself through another gateway of her own creation to evade Captain Marvel’s pursuit. In only a t-shirt and undergarments, Rogue must survive in the Savage Land, all because a series of misfortunes conveniently prevent her from putting on more protective clothing.

Throughout her tenure in the jungle, Rogue’s clothing gets tattered and torn until not much remains on her body. In her narration, Rogue claims, “If you’re bashful, you best get over that quick, ‘cus the Savage Land’ll tear up your super-suit faster than ‘a couple rounds with the Juggernaut.” While certainly a funny line from the X-Man, I can’t help but feel that it isn’t a sufficient explanation for her scantily-clad state. The harsh conditions of her environment are apparent, yet the fact that her outfit happens to be torn in such a way that it resembles a bikini doesn’t make this reasoning very logically sound.

Rogue’s Skimpy Costume Isn’t Sensible, But Marvel Won’t Admit It

In a setting as wild and unpredictable as the Savage Land, Rogue – who boasts strong survival instincts as Marvel’s most powerful woman – should know how to cover up and protect herself from attacks. She comments on dinosaurs and mosquitoes alike terrorizing her, so the ideal course of action would be to become less vulnerable to dangers big and small. However, she describes the loss of her clothing as if it is inevitable, even though she could always substitute her original garments for foliage. Marvel robs Rogue of her agency by letting her clothing be unwillingly taken away by environmental factors.

Moreover, Rogue’s clothes falling off could have been avoided if she hadn’t been written to lose her original costume via portal traversals. Super-suits tend to be constructed with material that can withstand fights against villains, as evidenced by Rogue’s usual costumes remaining mostly intact through thick and thin, so they could benefit her in the Savage Land. Marvel instead makes the conscious choice to strip her down, and it doesn’t help that this period is associated with her controversial Magneto romance. Marvel is willingly objectifying Rogue so she can appeal to a man, and I think that doing so is an insult to her character.

As X-Men’s Strongest Mutant, Rogue Deserves a Costume That Doesn’t Minimize Her

Rogue Is Much More Than Her Looks, So Her Costume Should Reflect That

Rogue’s power to absorb others’ abilities through touch has enabled her to become one of the most formidable mutants in X-Men history, but her treatment in the Savage Land era doesn’t communicate as much. Rogue needs a design that communicates her unrivaled strength rather than relegating her to an object for men to leer at. She’s worn various outfits over the years, and any one of them would be a better choice to spotlight than her Savage Land look. The defense of Rogue‘s scandalous costume has failed to convince me that it has merit beyond blatant sexualization, and I firmly believe this X-Men icon deserves better.

Rogue: The Savage Land #1 is available now from Marvel Comics.

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