The X-Men are so back with the premiere of X-Men ’97 on Disney+. And with that premiere comes the return of problematic romances, like the one between former villain Magneto (Matthew Waterson) and former villain Rogue (Lenore Zann). So, how old are Rogue and Magneto on X-Men ’97 anyway?
The short answer is that of course, we don’t know exactly. The characters aren’t shouting their birthdays with years or anything, so any speculation about their age is just that: speculation. However, we have a pretty fair idea of each character’s age range, based on the info we know from the previous X-Men: The Animated Series, as well as the Marvel Comics source material.
So let’s get into it, so you know how creeped out you have to be about the bubbling romance between the duo.
How Old Is Rogue On X-Men ’97?
Everything is a rough approximation, but Rogue is probably in her mid-20s. How’d we get there? Let’s find out!
In the live-action X-Men movies, Rogue (played by Anna Paquin) was aged down considerably to be a teenager, since those films kicked off with her just discovering her mutant powers. Typically in the comics, mutant powers developed around age 13, as they were a metaphor for puberty and spurred on by moments of extreme stress.
However, a lot has happened to both Rogue in the comics and the TV show. She’s been a villain, joined the X-Men, and started up a romance with Gambit (A.J. LoCascio). We’re also, as you may be aware from the title, in 1997, meaning a few years have passed since the original season aired in 1992. Even with some sort of sliding timeline, we know a year has passed since the finale of X-Men: The Animated Series, and — here’s some exclusive info you can only get from Comic Book Club — people age a year in a year. Breaking news!
Point being, when Rogue was first introduced on the show, she already had her powers. With about five years passing since then, with the whole 1997 of it all, she’s easily in her twenties. In the comics, it’s about the same. Marvel very specifically never talks about timeline because that’s how you break the entire comics universe. But Rogue has been in her twenties and potentially early thirties for decades now.
How Old Is Magneto On X-Men ’97?
Magneto is much, much easier to pinpoint. He was about nine years old during the Holocaust, and while we don’t have an exact year there we’re talking 1940s, most likely somewhere around 1943-1944.
Even without that exact year, we can say that at the oldest in 1997 Magneto is in his late sixties, and at the youngest early sixties. Magneto is most likely somewhere between 61 and 67. And can we just say? He looks amazing for his age.
Do I Need To Be Grossed Out By The Magneto/Rogue Romance? What To Know From The Comics
What you’re probably wondering most is “can I ship this” and the answer is “they are cartoon characters and this is not the real world, so go wild, my friend.” In the real world, someone in their twenties dating someone in their sixties is called grooming or abuse, and is Not Great™️. In the X-Men continuity, this is called “Wednesday.”
The romance between Rogue and Magneto, while hinted at on X-Men ’97, is something that has canonically been played with in Marvel Comics. Back during the Chris Claremont era, the X-Men tried to escape the wrath of the mechanical Reavers by heading through a mystical portal called the Siege Perilous. It changed all of them, including giving us the ninja version of Psylocke that’s probably most familiar to fans.
For Rogue, it split out the part of her personality she had stolen back as a villain from Carol Danvers, aka Captain Marvel, and sent her to the Savage Land, a part of the world where dinosaurs survive. With Captain Marvel out of her head, Rogue’s powers went on the fritz. Magneto was also there, isolating himself, and when they realized they could touch it sparked some feelings between the two.
This was cut off at the knees thanks to Magnteo being Magneto (aka a bad guy). But they followed up on it in the alternate universe story Age of Apocalypse, where the two were married and had a baby. That timeline was reset and never happened (up until they decided it was another universe in the multiverse, but whatever).
The comics have played around with this idea other times, with Rogue romancing Magneto’s younger clone Joseph, and one time Magneto falling hard and proposing marriage to Rogue. Neither time worked out, and in the current continuity, Rogue is very much with Gambit. On X-Men ’97? TBD.
X-Men ’97 Season 1 Premiere Dates And Episode Guide:
X-Men ’97 doesn’t have a one-a-day schedule like What If…? Season 2, or all-at-once like Echo. Instead, the series is getting a more traditional release schedule of two on premiere day, then one a week thereafter.
The release time is also typical. Versus what has now become a run-of-the-mill primetime “early” release for big movies and TV shows, all episodes of X-Men ’97 will be released on Wednesdays at 3 am ET / Midnight PT.
Here’s the full list of episodes in Marvel’s X-Men ’97 Season 1, and when they premiere:
- Wednesday, March 20, 2024: X-Men ’97 Season 1, Episode 1 – “To Me, My X-Men”
- Wednesday, March 20, 2024: X-Men ’97 Season 1, Episode 2 – “Mutant Liberation Begins”
- Wednesday, March 27, 2024: X-Men ’97 Season 1, Episode 3 – “Fire Made Flesh”
- Wednesday, April 3, 2024: X-Men ’97 Season 1, Episode 4 – “Motendo / Lifedeath – Part 1”
- Wednesday, April 10, 2024: X-Men ’97 Season 1, Episode 5 – “Remember It”
- Wednesday, April 17, 2024: X-Men ’97 Season 1, Episode 6 – “Lifedeath – Part 2″
- Wednesday, April 24, 2024: X-Men ’97 Season 1, Episode 7 – “Bright Eyes”
- Wednesday, May 1, 2024: X-Men ’97 Season 1, Episode 8 – “Tolerance Is Extinction, Part 1”
- Wednesday, May 8, 2024: X-Men ’97 Season 1, Episode 9 – “Tolerance Is Extinction, Part 2”
- Wednesday, May 15, 2024: X-Men ’97 Season 1, Episode 10 – “Tolerance Is Extinction, Part 3” *Season Finale*
Not only is this article incorrect, it is also extremely irresponsible “journalism”. Someone in their 60s dating someone in their 20s may not be ok in your judgemental mind, but it is by no means “grooming” or “abuse” and it is small minded to say that it is. It is actually considered two consenting adults having a perfectly legal relationship. Do better.
Came here to say this so I’m glad someone already did. Might it be weird? Sure but they’re both consenting adults and there’s nothing wrong about it
Magneto looks like Granny Goodness nothing attractive about that.
Speak for yourself!
Speak for me too! Looks older and pervierte. Knew he looked familiar. He does look creepy indeed! Probably need to rinse my eyeballs with bleach to unsee.