One of the biggest things fans wanted from the Fox buyout by Disney was for the X-Men to be brought into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. While it'll take some time according to Marvel Studios president, Kevin Feige, they're already eager to see the likes of Cyclops, Jean Grey, Professor X, Magneto and Wolverine locking horns or allying with the Avengers.
However, one particular character could spell disaster for Brie Larson's Captain Marvel, and this is none other than the power-absorbing mutant known as Rogue.
Anna Paquin's Rogue wasn't given as much agency as a leader as people expected in the Fox movies, but with Feige in charge, it's likely these mutants will be done justice and more so, in a manner loyal to the books. Fans of the comics would remember in the '80s, Rogue absorbed Carol Danvers' powers in a brawl and this saw the X-Man receive Carol's powers of flight, her other abilities including her energy blasts, as well as her personality and memories.
This placed Carol on the shelf for some time as Professor X had to help stitch her psyche back together, leaving Rogue with all her cosmic powers from the accident that gave Carol her Kree physiology and potential to be a galactic weapon of mass destruction. It'd be years before Carol would return to the fold as a leader, with Civil War in the 2000s placing her at the forefront again with the New Avengers. This was a key event, thrusting her back into the limelight to the point the studio saw her as a viable member of Earth's Mightiest Heroes to use on the big screen.
Such a shocking move would certainly place Rogue in the spotlight, taking out the MCU's heaviest hitter and someone who even schooled Thanos in Avengers: Endgame. It would also take away the Avengers' biggest equalizer because as the living embodiment of the Tesseract on the big screen, Carol is undoubtedly a Hail Mary and the most powerful superhero around. In short, if Marvel wanted to ground or weaken Larson's character and build Rogue up, this would be the perfect way to do it.
However, it's unlikely because of Carol's message of female empowerment, not to mention she is touted as the next face of the MCU. Phase Four does promise to be more cosmic-oriented so her powers will be needed as we don't know if there are more rogue Skrulls or other space threats such as Galactus, Annihilus or the Brood that need tending to. With Captain Marvel being a cash cow and a box office draw, it's also doubtful Feige would want to depower his biggest asset and ace in the hole, especially with Chris Evans' Captain America and Robert Downey Jr.'s Iron Man out of the game.
It's a property that's making too much money, crossing a billion dollars this year at the box office alone, and honestly, a movie with Carol not at full strength just isn't as appealing. Fans want to see her at full force wrecking villains in the galaxy and helping the Avengers when they -- or Nick Fury -- call her to Earth. Her powers are also still in the exploration phase, especially her teleportation and how she's faring without a Tesseract existing, so there's just too much to still figure out before jumping the shark.
Hopefully, when the time comes, Rogue will get the proper fanfare and entrance she deserves, but as it stands, as intriguing a possibility it would be for her to oust Captain Marvel, the MCU will more than likely be looking at another way of having her arrive on the grand stage, sucking villains' powers out from their bodies and then leaving them unconscious. It's something tyrants deserve, to be honest, not the MCU's biggest savior and its most promising superhero.