This version of Rouge has still got one REALLY big gasp for this characterization coming up with "Treasure team tango". While I also REALLY like that one it's a completely different kind of character than we expect rouge today as she pretty much morphs into full on villian
Yeah, that’s the one everyone always brings up when it comes to Ian writing Rouge as weirdly evil pre-reboot, which generally sticks out even more because at that point Team Dark had been a thing for a while
Knowing a little bit about what she does in that arc is also part of the reason why I’m highlighting her odd characterization here. It would be one thing if Ian was writing Rouge as either a villain or a morally grey character who plays both sides early in his run based on where Penders had left her, and then slowly transforming her into more of a hero as part of Team Dark. (Side note: Shadow is already unambiguously good at this point in the comics, which also makes Rouge's on-again off-again villainy feel weird). But that’s not really what he’s doing. Her behavior this issue doesn’t seem like part of a clear arc for her, it just feels like she’s all over the place, and she’s going to continue being all over the place for a while
It’s gonna be quite some time before I cover that arc though--we’re over 60 total issues away from that
