Marvel’s X-Men have lost faith in Professor Xavier’s dream – all except Rogue, according to Gail Simone

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This article contains spoilers for Uncanny X-Men #1.

Rogue, if you think about it, is in many ways an introductory character to the X-Men. She’s the second mutant we meet in both the first live-action X-Men film and in the first episode of X-Men: The Animated Series (tied with Storm). So you might think that’s why she’s the central character of Uncanny X-Men #1, written by Gail Simone, drawn by David Marquez, and released by Marvel August 7. But Popverse spoke to Gail Simone recently, and the answer she gave is a little bi more in-depth. Read on to hear what she had to say.

Speaking with Simone to mark the release of Marvel’s second core title in the From the Ashes reboot, we already had plans to chat about Rogue narrating the series. but before we even got there, Simone brought the character up and, in a single sentence, described why she was the focus of the first issue.

“Rogue is the one X-Man that believes in Xavier’s dream,” she said.

Charles Xavier’s dream of a world where mutant and human live in harmony has changed a lot since it was introduced in September of 1963. And after the Fall of Krakoa, which many mutants considered their best shot at peace, that dream seems all but lost. “[The mutants are] very scattered and kind of broken and they’ve got their own agendas now,” says Simone.

In Rogue (or Anna Marie, if you’re nasty), Simone found the chance to work hope into the mutants’ situation, though it might just be a small amount.

“I felt like she was the ground and the heart, the one to ground this book with,” Simone told us. “So we’re seeing things a lot from her perspective, and also that sets the tone of the book in that she’s the one that believes in the dream.” 

Asked if Rogue will continue to be the narrator of Simone’s Uncanny X-Men run, the writer answered “yes.” But will Rogue continue to be the idealist she began as? The lone holdout for Charles Xavier’s dream, even with unimaginable horrors on the way for her new team?

“We don’t know yet,” says Simone.

Uncanny X-Men #1 is on sale now. Read our full interview with Gail Simone here.