It was good of Storm to do that. Risk her life for a teammate, especially Rogue, who was going through a rough time. I think some of the memories of people she'd touched were acting up, she was frustrated by her powers (as usual), and I'm not sure she felt trusted by the team*. Certainly there had to be a bit of a disconnect, when everyone around you has to keep their distance. Even when Rogue's injured, her teammates can't simply rush over and check on her, they have to be careful where they make contact, or be sure to wear gloves. It would mean no one is totally at ease around her, and that has to wear on a person.Anyway, yes, nice heroic act, but when I started to think it over, it probably wasn't the best plan. I don't know if Storm realized what the weapon was. I don't believe she did, but it might be I'm remembering she didn't know initially that Forge made it**. OK, so let's say it's a standard government laser/blaster weapon. If Storm's worried it's strong enough to hurt Rogue, who is pretty injury resistant, what would it do to Storm? Blast her to pieces? Cut her in half?
Of course, it wasn't a standard blaster gun, it was a device to remove mutant powers, so if Storm had known that, do you think she'd let Rogue be hit by it? At the time, there didn't seem to be much progress in Rogue learning to control her powers. The powers were clearly causing Rogue distress, both from her interactions with real people, and the echoes of people inside her mind. I imagine Rogue's preferred scenario would be to keep her powers, but have control of them (which is where she's at these days apparently), but I'd think if given the choice between an inability to touch people without putting them into comas, and not having any powers, Rogue would have opted to ditch the powers. They were causing her nothing but grief.
Since some of her powers were what she took from Carol Danvers, I wonder if she'd lose the flight/super-strength. They aren't mutant abilities, and if I remember, Forge's gun did something to the target's DNA***, she might get to keep those powers. Of course, if she kept those powers, she might also be stuck with all those other peoples' memories in her head as well, which could be difficult, but she'd have one less problem, at least.
I'm inclined to believe that even if Storm knew what the gun would do, she'd still push Rogue out of the way, because she'd want Rogue to be able to make a decision as to whether she had her powers removed, rather than losing them to the actions of your bog standard fearful jackass government guy. I suppose a story about how happy Rogue was about being able to have normal relationships wouldn't have had the melodrama of Storm's anger over having her powers taken from her. Plus, I liked depowered Storm leading the X-Men, maybe that's because she beat Cyclops to take over. Cyclops losing is always good.
* Maybe by Wolverine, since he let her absorb his healing factor after she was injured protecting Lady Mariko.
** Which was very shortsighted. Make a weapon that takes away mutants powers, when he's a mutant. Like the government might not decide a guy whose power is he can make nearly any device conceivable ought to be dealt with.
*** Or was it the RNA? I don't have the issue with me where he helped Storm get her powers back.
4 comments:
Only discovered this now, so sorry about the late comment:
Yes, Storm knew what the weapon was. Rogue had been hit by it immediately before (while Storm was still unconscious from letting Rogue touch her to show that she trusted her) and suffered a temporary, partial power-loss (the neutralizer being at a lower setting than when it hit Storm later). After Storm recovered from the absorption and regained consciousness, Rogue told her "We better make tracks while we have the chance. They've got a weapon that cancels out superpowers!"
To which Storm replied: "I know of the neutralizer, Rogue. Mystique told me when she told me where to find you." (This was a reference to a story that would in fact only be published much later in "Marvel Fanfare").
But Storm insisted that they stay behind to save the crew of a tug that had been caught in a storm that Rogue had created using Storm's powers earlier in the fight.
Also, I'm not even sure if the panel indicates that Storm was trying to push Rogue out of the way (it is hard to tell from that perspective) or if she would have been hit anyway (Gyrich's aim was put off by Forge's flying tackle).
Also, I'd say you are back-projecting the angsty post-Claremontean Rogue into that story. The main problem Rogue had at that time was with the personas she had absorbed, but here she actually was making slow progress since joining the X-Men. And in a New Mutants story published around that time, she could, with telepathic support from Professor X, exert a measure of control on her absorption power, so seemingly there was a light at the end of the tunnel. Also, Rogue clearly enjoyed her powers and being a superhero as well as feeling acutely that she had to use her powers to whom she felt indebted (e.g. coming close to laying down her life to rescue Mariko). She would not have wanted to choose to get rid of her powers any more than Scott Summers would have.
Also, I'm not sure if the neutralizer worked only on mutant powers. In ROM it was soon after adapted into a weapon to be used on Dire Wraiths.
Menshevik: It's clearly been too long since I read the issue. I remember the boat, because I remember the sailors on it catcalling and whistling when Rogue swung off a rope and dived into the river. Once you mentioned it, I remembered she and Storm were trying to save them. I remember Forge tackling Gyrich (I thought it was him, but I wasn't positive). The rest I've forgotten.
I wouldn't doubt Rogue's angst was a lot more prominent later on, because thinking about some of my later comics (post-Mutant Massacre) she seems pretty OK. What put the idea in my head was the issue where Logan takes Colossus to a bar and Peter ends up brawling with Juggernaut. In an interlude, Storm sees Rogue in the Danger Room, fighting robots with the safeties off. Storm saves her, but when she's tries to ask Rogue why she's acting like a madwoman, Rogue screams she is a madwoman, and takes off. I think she'd met someone who was important to Carol Danvers, had felt that connection herself, and was thrown by it. So I guess I interpreted that as her being more tormented by her powers, or at least going through a rough patch.
I appreciate the insights. My X-Collection is spotty at best, so I'm definitely not operating with all the facts.
Another delayed response, sorry!
Thanks for the appreciation. Yes, Rogue was going through a rough patch at the time. In UXM #182 she had met Carol Danvers' former lover, Col. Rossi, and she had experienced that to a large extent through Carol's eyes, as due to her exhaustion after the first Secret War and then flying from Japan to New York the personality she had absorbed from Ms. Marvel got a chance to take over and seized it when she heard Rossi's call for help.
But Rogue's problem was also related to the fact that to a large extent she was still the X-Men's team outcast, which made Storm's gesture to let Rogue absorb her powers for a time all the more important.
BTW, within UXM #185 we see that Mystique also affected the course of events after Destiny warned her of the danger to Rogue. She considers for a page to let things happen because once Rogue is depowered she would be free to return to her. However, in the event she decides against letting this happen without her daughter's consent and informs Storm off-panel of where she can find Rogue.
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