X-Men: Rogue Questions

1: I don't think this has ever been fully established, as the character is reluctant to absorb from anyone unless forced. However, there may be a threshold. Recently, Rogue lost the powers she absorbed from Ms. Marvel - the strength, flight and invulnerability - and now has Sunfire's atomic energy powers at her disposal. This would seem to suggest that one set of skills replaces the last.

2: I think it would be a combination of factors. She may be physically unable to withstand the constant force of, say Havok's plasma powers. However, something less physically demanding, such as Radius' constant force-field, would likely be of little threat. Likewise, absorbing the mind powers of Charles Xavier would probably cause her to snap.

It's not a matter of how much she can actually steal. It's how much damage those powers would do to her unprepared mind and body. Imagine if she stole Chamber's power. There is also the issue of her simultaneosly stealing the victim's memories and personality. These things combined could be disastrous if taken from the wrong person.

3: I would ordinarily say no, with a conditional yes. If the non-mutant power comes from an outside source, such as mystical items or bio-organic enhancement, then I doubt there'd be much to copy. Her power seems to resonate at a cellular level; if the hero's DNA possesses no inherent abilities, there's nothing to steal.

However, if an outside source altered someone's DNA, like Reed Richards and the cosmic energy, then there's an outside chance she could take it. Ms. Marvel was not a mutant but she was a Kree hybrid whose powers were derived from genetic manipulation. So this is conditional at best.

4: It's both. This answer hinges upon Wolverine's mutant ability. His adamantium claws are artificial and uncopiable. However, after Magneto stripped Logan's skeleton of all its adamantium, Logan discovered that he could call out a set of bone claws. His mutation had adapted to the metallic claws to the point that, in order to house them safely in the body, he'd developed a bony underskeleton for them which wasn't revealed until the metal was gone. (This is biologically sound. Even the normal human body will react in strange ways to foreign objects which are housed within for extended periods. Normally, myelin protein surrounds the object but doctors have found bizarre exceptions. Bone isn't out of the question.)

As these claws are a direct product of Wolverine's mutant ability, it is entirely conceivable that Rogue could duplicate them if the conditions were right. Spontaneous bone claws, however, are a bit of a deus ex machina.

5: This is fuzzy. Juggernaut's powers stem from a mystical stone that radiates powerful, red-spectrum energy. Technically, Juggernaut's body is saturated with this energy, so it's moderately plausible that Rogue could mistakenly absorb it. However, possessing the Gem of Cytorrak grants Juggernaut control over the energies. Rogue, suddenly infused with the same power, would probably find it overwhelming and instinctively seek to disperse it in any way possible.

But the cartoon show took a lot of liberties. It's not even a certainty that she'd get any powers from Juggernaut at all since it's only energy and not a cellular ability.

6: I'm inclined to say no. The Phoenix Force (unlike in the movie) is a divine entity and chose Jean Grey as its vessel. Jean Grey has the capacity to contain the vast power of the Phoenix, whereas it's probable that Rogue doesn't. If Rogue attempted to absorb the Phoenix Force, it would likely create a backlash and abandon both host bodies, possibly destroying Jean and Rogue in the process.

7: Based upon my response from question one, I don't find this conceivable.

But let's say it is. I think the physical and mental stress and lack of experience with all these powers would wind up destroying Rogue from within long before she executed any grand plan to conquer mutantkind.

If Rogue could do this, it would catapult her to Omega mutant status and all indications show that she's well below this level.

8: I think the most captivating Rogue was the Age of Apocalypse incarnation in which she was Magneto's lover. It showed a side of her that's never been allowed to blossom in her time with Gambit and the X-Men.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Fair enough. But the point regarding Rogue stands as I stated it: she could grow bone claws, especially if they were part of Logan's original mutation, but the adamantium ones are out of the question.

There's nowhere I can't reach.