Going Rogue
The X-Men may just be my most cherished superhero team. The Justice League of America had my heart as a child in the form of Super Friends, but JLA is full of Big-time Heavy Hitter Super Heroes: Wonder Woman, Batman, Superman. (I’m a huge Wonder Woman acolyte, too.) The Children of the Atom feel more like a team and family.
Hands-down my number one X-Man, X-Woman, mutant of female type is Rogue. She’s physically strong yet emotionally vulnerable, a reformed baddie, and a sweet Southern belle with a sassy/funny side.
I discovered the X-Men about 20 years ago. (Oh, my. That’s a lonnnnng time back.) My brother got me into the 1991 re-launch of the title. The animated series was on TV. Then my local Toys R Us had all 599* issues of various titles that comprise the Age of Apocalypse storyline on clearance. I became an X-Fan in a big, big way.
*estimate only
Of course I wanted X-Men merch, but more importantly I wanted Rogue merchandise! Too bad this was the official Rogue action figure at the time:
Oh, Toy Biz. Never stop doing you. And by never, I mean always.
As you can already guess, I far preferred Barbie dolls to action figures anyway. Well, imagine my delight and surprise in perusing the aisles at Toys R Us nearly 20 years ago and feasting my eyes on this jewel:
I was so excited. They had Storm, too! They were one-sixth scale like Barbie! They came with civilian outfits to wear to the mall to run into a Chinese American teen mutant with pyrotechnic powers! My enthusiasm was out of control…until I got a closer look.
While the head mold used for this official Rogue is fierce and intimidating, it wasn’t really my ideal when I envisioned a Rogue Barbie. And the boots. *Sigh* They are these weird bootie-type things that in no way approximate boots. They’re like the feet of footie pajamas.
But even though I was disappointed, I bought one. I should’ve bought two because since circa 1996 I’ve been wanting to put this Rogue suit on a Barbie — and this was before I even knew that customizing dolls was a thing and long before I gave myself “permission” to do so.
Thank heaven for this official Rogue 12 inch Collector Hero, mostly for that suit! I’m not the first to make use of it.
A custom Rogue Volks doll by setsunakou.com
A custom Monster High Clawdeen Rogue by (AFAICT) eBayer garnetredfox
A custom Pullip Rogue by WhiteNoise_85
I love all of these custom Rogues. Here are a few more of my favorites that don’t utilize the Toy Biz suit…Rogue Leader to Rogue Squadron…
I believe the outfit is handmade. Amazing work by Siansonea.
X-Men Legacy Rogue by robabella
A custom Tonner Rogue, also by setsunakou.com
(Tonner also released a Rogue)
Another Legacy Rogue, but this one is by mikestimson2003
I would love to have all of the above in my collection. And the official Rogue releases (including action figures and statues) have improved. But I HAD to have my very own 11.5-inch Rogue.
I went with my favorite Barbie face mold, the Steffie face. I adore the natural/no-makeup look of this one.
Here’s Rogue all suited up. I upgraded her headband (partially), belt, gloves, and boots. I also rooted the white streak(s) meself.
These boots are made for kicking butt. (I had to give her heels. Thankfully my girl is nigh invulnerable.)
Come fly with me…
Back view. The cropped jacket from the official doll is perfect.
Reach out and touch someone. Or maybe don’t.
My goodness, I love this doll! (Can’t you tell by the xillions of images I’ve included? ;)) She was a long time in the making. Not only have I been planning to do this since around ’96, but I actually started working on her in 2012. Yep, you guessed it: the hair was the holdup.
It’s very fitting that I finally have my Rogue on the 20th anniversary of my X-Men fandom.
Comments always welcome, no matter how old this post is.
The Barbie Aisle 