Before Anna Paquin became a TV icon as the preposterously named Sookie Stackhouse in FX's True Blood, she portrayed one of the most beloved X-Men, Rogue, in the first three films. As one of the leads of the first film, she stands as a highly recognisable element of the series to casual fans, even if her role in the second and third movies was diminished. Rogue's powers, the ability to absorb the life force and mutant powers of anyone she touches with her bare skin, were perfectly suited to the first X-Men film. It nicely showed that not every mutant power gave you super agility or telekinesis; sometimes the power was more of a curse than a blessing. She was an audience identification character for every awkward teen that didn't know their place in the world and was scared of being intimate with another person. However, in the comics things are even more interesting; Rogue has super-strength and can fly, having absorbed Ms Marvel's powers permanently early in her career as a member of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants (yes, she started as a villain). Clearly, these abilities make her a valuable member of the team; abilities that Rogue certainly could have used in further X-films. Instead, she was relegated to a bit part and really served no discernible purpose in any of the later adventures. She is mostly used as a love interest for Iceman and then as part of a triangle along with Kitty Pryde. This is a huge missed opportunity for such a strong, important character in the comics.
