Captain Marvel (aka Carol Danvers) has had a long and troubled history in Marvel Comics. Originally a hero named Ms. Marvel, Carol ran afoul of the mutant runaway Rogue who not only stole her powers but also took her memories and psyche, absorbing everything that made Carol who she was. Although Rogue would eventually reform and join the X-Men – and Carol would recover to become Captain Marvel, the two women shared an understandably tense relationship.
This relationship became even more troubled when Rogue developed a split personality as the memories she had taken from Carol Danvers manifested into an alternate identity that could take over her body. This caused the two women to develop a troubled partnership, one that ended in tragedy.
How Carol Danvers Existed In Two Places At The Same Time
To understand the strangeness of Carol Danvers’ predicament, one has to understand how Rogue’s powers work. Originally, when Rogue made skin-to-skin contact with anyone, she would absorb their memories, abilities, and super powers (if they had any). The transfer was usually temporary and Rogue’s victims would usually recover unharmed. When she touched Carol, however, something went wrong and Rogue ended up permanently absorbing Ms. Marvel’s powers and identity.
Meanwhile, Carol’s body was basically an empty shell with no memory of who she was. Professor Charles Xavier managed to restore most of her memories – but Carol no longer felt any emotional attachments to her family and friends. Eventually, she gained new powers and journeyed into outer space as the hero Binary (only to return and take on the Ms. Marvel and Captain Marvel identities). At the same time, Rogue was left with Carol’s essence in her psyche (what Star Trek fans might call her “katra” or spirit). After a while, these lost memories manifested into a separate personality that would take over Rogue’s body at times – even revisiting places that were important to Carol Danvers and wearing her original Ms. Marvel costume. For all intents and purposes, Rogue was the original Carol Danvers/Ms. Marvel at these points.
Although Rogue didn’t like sharing her life this way, she did achieve a sort of mutual understanding with Carol and allowed her to live a semblance of a life. Understandably, however, Carol always wanted more than just a few fleeting moments to herself – and eventually, she got her chance. In Uncanny X-Men #269, Rogue passes through the Siege Perilous, a mystic portal that usually delivers a person into a new life, stripping them of their past identity. In Rogue’s case, however, the experience had a very different effect. Rogue kept her memories and even wound up near one of the X-Men’s bases, but found she had lost all of her Ms. Marvel abilities.
Turns out, passing through the portal had split Rogue into two people – her original mutant self and a Carol Danvers with all of Ms. Marvel’s powers. Surprisingly, Rogue was elated since she no longer had to live with Carol in her head, and wished the new Carol the best. Carol, however, ends up being taken over by the Shadow King who sends her after Rogue.
Rogue, meanwhile, flees to the Savage Land, a lost world where dinosaurs still exist (yes, really), and carves out a new life for herself – until she gets attacked by a Ms. Marvel who’s now more zombie-like in appearance. Apparently, while they are two separate beings, Carol’s strength has been halved – meaning she needs to kill Rogue in order to fully live. Rogue manages to gain the upper hand, but when she gets an opportunity to deliver a death blow, she hesitates. Carol then drains Rogue nearly dry – only for Magneto to intervene and allow Carol to die – causing Rogue to completely absorb their shared life force and powers and destroy this Carol Danvers for good.
Did Rogue REALLY Kill Carol Danvers?
While Rogue didn’t strike the final blow, the relationship between her and the “echo” of Carol Danvers still meant that she had to allow Carol to die in order to live. Moreover, while the Carol who fought her was under the control of the Shadow King, her desire to make Rogue suffer (and basically do to her what Rogue once did), certainly came from Carol herself. That being said, the Carol Danvers who had left Earth for space was still very much alive – and completely unaware of the battle between Rogue and her other self.
A different version of this battle occurred in the X-Men Animated Series from the 1990s (now streaming on Disney+). In this version, Rogue and Ms. Marvel’s battle takes place primarily in Rogue’s mind, with the two fighting in an abstract dreamscape. However, Rogue also absorbed Mystique’s shapeshifting abilities, allowing Carol’s mind to transform Rogue’s body into her Ms. Marvel form, giving the fight physical stakes as well. Ultimately, Rogue traps Carol in a mental prison – but later visits Carol’s comatose body and tries to restore some of her mind into her original form. Their relationship is uncomfortable to watch considering they were both heroes who violated each other, but it just speaks to the complex nature of Marvel’s X-Men storytelling.