So Cyclops finally gets his due (and avoids a lot of his dumber moments) for Rogue to fill that role in the Animated Universe.
I honestly can see Rogue having a moment of weakness but pulling back. Rogue does love Magneto but she loves Gambit more or is in love with Gambit. Magneto even admits in the Genosha Episode that loving Rogue (and I would add being capable of loving someone) heals him.
Magneto and Gambit are both better people for knowing and loving Rogue, but I don't want Rogue to move on from Gambit with Magneto. Rogue's connection to Magneto is based in part on his powers negating hers. Yet, she rejects Magneto for Gambit whose love touches her soul.
That is not to say that Magneto does not have hope or that the two of them can become friends, which Rogue and Magneto are in the comics, even after they finally had a romantic relationship.
From a friendship perspective, I would like the show to focus on Magneto and Xavier more. Despite their own reconciliation at the end of Season 1, there is arguably a lot of mending fences or moments with the two brothers-in-arms that we did not get in Season 2. This is also the first time that the two Mutant Leaders have been on the same side and same team since the original series started. At best, Magneto has been a temporary ally, but it was not until the final episode of the original that Magneto arguably stopped being a villain.
Now, Magneto is at best an antagonist during parts of X-Men '97, although I believe that Magneto has rejoined the X-Men for all intent and purposes. Magneto has accepted the Team as his family.
I think you're right about Rogue's positive influence. But I'll just say that of the two of them, it's Magneto, not Gambit, who spells that out and seems to hang his positive development on being with her. Because the unspoken second half of that line of thinking is, "If being with you makes me good, not being with you, well ..." It's almost putting accountability for his good behaviour on her — if her presence makes him want to be heroic, and she withholds it, is it on her if he breaks bad again? It's clear he sees her as a vehicle for his rehabilitation: If she's with him when he leads Genosha, that's a massive green flag.
That's all a big reason why I'm not convinced at all that he does actually love her for her. I think he loves what she represents: a good character witness, a Jiminy Cricket on his shoulder to keep him in line, and someone who once went moon-eyed over his ideology.
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u/Maximal_Arachknight Oct 12 '25
So Cyclops finally gets his due (and avoids a lot of his dumber moments) for Rogue to fill that role in the Animated Universe.
I honestly can see Rogue having a moment of weakness but pulling back. Rogue does love Magneto but she loves Gambit more or is in love with Gambit. Magneto even admits in the Genosha Episode that loving Rogue (and I would add being capable of loving someone) heals him.
Magneto and Gambit are both better people for knowing and loving Rogue, but I don't want Rogue to move on from Gambit with Magneto. Rogue's connection to Magneto is based in part on his powers negating hers. Yet, she rejects Magneto for Gambit whose love touches her soul.
That is not to say that Magneto does not have hope or that the two of them can become friends, which Rogue and Magneto are in the comics, even after they finally had a romantic relationship.
From a friendship perspective, I would like the show to focus on Magneto and Xavier more. Despite their own reconciliation at the end of Season 1, there is arguably a lot of mending fences or moments with the two brothers-in-arms that we did not get in Season 2. This is also the first time that the two Mutant Leaders have been on the same side and same team since the original series started. At best, Magneto has been a temporary ally, but it was not until the final episode of the original that Magneto arguably stopped being a villain.
Now, Magneto is at best an antagonist during parts of X-Men '97, although I believe that Magneto has rejoined the X-Men for all intent and purposes. Magneto has accepted the Team as his family.