The series was rebooted in 1989 in the story "The War Machine", featuring a new version of the character called Friday. This version of the character last appeared in 1996. The original character returned in 1999 and all stories since then have featured the original Rogue. The character has also featured in a number of 2000 AD crossovers.
Publication history
Gibbons left the strip early on to be replaced by a succession of artists and writers who have taken the strip in several different directions over the years. Artists to have drawn the character include Brett Ewins, Cam Kennedy and Colin Wilson. This quest continued from 1981 until 1985, when the G.I. had his final confrontation with the traitor general and, after a brief further run set on the Planet Horst, Finley-Day ceased writing the strip. Simon Geller took over, reinventing the character as an intergalactic hitman attempting to end the war by assassinating key figures, but this new direction was dropped in 1989. John Smith wrote a 'flashback' story, "Cinnabar", set in Rogue's deserter days, before original series artist Dave Gibbons returned to write a much more radical revamp of the character.
In "The War Machine", Gibbons and artist Will Simpson created a different war, set on a different planet, starring a different Genetic Infantryman, this time called Friday. The bio-chips were dropped, and Gibbons concentrated on the politics and economics of war and the sinister nature of the genetic engineering involved. A new ongoing series featuring Friday followed, written by American writer Michael Fleisher. In Fleisher's final story, "Scavenger of Souls", the bio-chips are reintroduced via an alien 'soul collector'.
Fleischer was replaced with Steve White, who made the military aspect of the strip more up-to-date and tried to reconcile the two versions of the character. He also reintroduced Venus Bluegenes (Helm's treacherous girlfriend from an earlier story who gained a more prominent role during the Simon Geller run) who had her own short spin-off run. His run on the character was the 2000 AD debut of artist Henry Flint.
The character was rested after White's last story in 1996. In 1997 a related character, blue-skinned ambulance pilot Tor Cyan was introduced in the story Mercy Heights.
In 2002 the original Rogue was reintroduced, again in flashback to his days hunting the traitor general, written by Gordon Rennie. Artists have included Staz Johnson, Dylan Teague, Mike Collins, Simon Coleby and PJ Holden. In 2004 Rennie stated[3] that he had intended to revamp the character yet again, but had been blocked by 2000 AD editorial. He also hints that any return to the Rogue Trooper universe will concentrate on supporting cast and not include the Rogue character. This can be seen in the new series The 86ers.
Plot synopsis
The story is initially set on the planet Nu-Earth, where a war of attrition between two factions, the Norts and Southers, is being fought. The Norts are a fascist society, whom the Traitor General was briefly allied with, while the Southers are democratic.
There are similarities and occasional references to past Earth conflicts including the American Civil War and both World Wars, with the Norts resembling Germany, and the Southers the Allied forces. During the conflict, the use of chemical and biological weapons has poisoned the planet. As a result, what remains of the population of the planet, including the troops of both sides, live in enclosed domed military bases and habitats. They wear protective suits, helmets and respiration gear when outside their domes. These suits are known as "chemsuits". Any damage to the helmet or chemsuit is usually fatal to the wearer.
In an attempt to bring an end to the stalemate, the Southern High Command have created the GI, or "Genetic Infantryman". The GI is a soldier genetically engineered to be immune to the poisonous atmosphere of Nu-Earth, and therefore be able to fight without chemsuits. The Southern High Command deploy the entire GI Regiment in a mass spaceborne capsule drop over an area known as "The Quartz Zone", which resembles one of the Earth's Poles because the surface has an icy, glass-like nature due to nuclear weapon detonation melting the soil. The assault was intended to be a surprise attack, but because a traitor within the Souther High Command has passed details of it to the Norts, they are expecting the attack. The Norts employ elite infantry known as the Kashan and Kashar Legions to repulse the assault, and the entire GI Regiment - apart from Rogue - are wiped out. This event is referred to as "The Quartz Zone Massacre". Rogue, the only surviving G.I., goes AWOL in order to track down the traitor. Along the way he thwarts numerous Nort schemes, discovers and inadvertently destroys the only portion of Nu-Earth not contaminated by chemical weapons, and is betrayed by every female character he encounters.
A later storyline – "MilliCom Memories" – shows how the GIs progress through their training, and that rather than a name each GI has a letter suffixed by their age. Rogue is "R", Gunnar "G", Helm "H" and Bagman "B". Two other troopers "D" and "N" are referenced in the storyline. During their training each GI is given a nickname - Gunnar is so named because of his marksmanship ability. Millicom Memories showed there were other prototype GIs before the development of Rogue's class, some of which were killed during his training. Much earlier prototype GIs, created by genetically modifying existing humans featured in the story "First of the Few" in the 1984 2000 AD annual. All except one were killed within 24 hours of deployment on Nu Earth. The final proto-GI died of old age shortly after being discovered by Rogue, saying he had been on Nu Earth "...years and years and years, dog-chip."
In a multi-part story titled "The Marauders", Rogue encounters a group of deserters from both Nort and Southern sides, who operate as scavengers from a hidden base and attack both Nort and Southers in order to obtain food, ammunition and supplies. Unknown to Rogue, the commander of The Marauders is the Traitor General. Due to an accident the General was severely burned and is now unrecognisable. The General later reveals himself to Rogue, then captures and tortures him. Rogue eventually escapes, and with the help of one of the Marauders (a Souther pilot known as 'Player'), defeats the Marauders that pursue him. The Traitor General escapes, destroying the Marauder base as he does so.
In "All Hell on the Dix-I Front" a massive Nort assault forces the Southerners to retreat from a vast area of Nu-Earth, similar to the Ardennes assault of World War II. During this, other Elite units of the Nort military are introduced, such as the Sun Legion, a Regiment of solar glider troops, and the Scum Marines, an amphibious assault force. "Sister Sledge",[4] a military nurse accompanied Rogue during the Dix-I campaign. She is secretly an enemy agent known as a "filth columnist"[5] and dies in the final episode of the series when Bagman causes her to fall from a boat into the heavily polluted and toxic "Scum Sea".
"Fort Neuro" introduced a defensive line that has been cut off from both Southers and Norts since the beginning of the war. The Fort has been split into separate sectors by the same clouds, meaning each sector operates independently of each other, without any contact or cohesion. The soldiers within each sector are suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder so the French sector – known as "Franks" – wear Napoleonic era uniforms, and hold grand balls that were popular in that period. Other sectors display similar erratic behaviour, with the English troops – known as "Lime-ees" – dressing as holiday camp redcoats and behaving as though they are on a perpetual holiday, while the "Rom" garrison fashion themselves as 1950's Teddy Boys - or "Romeos".
Rogue is immune to all known toxins, diseases, and acids with three known exceptions:
A new plant is discovered after permafrost is melted in an arctic zone, which renders him unconscious.[6]
In the flashback story "Cinnabar" a retrovirus is engineered specifically to target his immune system, making him susceptible to all other Nu-Earth hazards, ultimately forcing him to wear a chem-suit.
On Horst, Rogue is bitten by one of the Dragoid creatures causing him to pass out. As Bagman points out, Rogue was engineered to be resistant to conditions on Nu Earth, not those unique to Horst. However, the toxin quickly wears off, and in fact has a beneficial effect on Rogue.
In a lighter moment during the Fort Neuro series, Rogue is shown to have difficulty breathing when in a staff car full of officers from the "Rom" sector, who in anticipation of a good night out with the neighbouring "Scan" sector, have applied too much aftershave.[7]
The Biochips are infected by a latent malady unknowingly contracted whilst passing through the Neverglades area of Nu Earth. The unnamed condition renders them susceptible to "Enzyme E dysfunction", which causes their newly re-gened bodies to disintegrate, leaving only their bio-chips.
Historical influences
Nort troopers in a page of a Rogue Trooper comic
Many elements of the Rogue back-story were inspired by World War II, The Vietnam War, the American Civil War and the Cold War. Norts (Northerner Unionists) fought against generally less-well equipped Southers (Southern Confederates), and several battles were referenced, such as the First Battle of Bull Run, which was retold as the "Battle of Mek-Bull Run". The Norts appear totalitarian in nature. While their uniforms have Nazi connotations their dialect and names are mostly quasi-Slavic, as if they represented a futuristic version of the Soviet Bloc, although there is some usage of German names as well, for example General Vagner, Admiral Torpitz (a play on the German admiral Tirpitz). Their conduct and methods of waging war are also more barbaric than those of the comparatively civilised Southers. Although as the series develops the Southers are also shown committing comparably immoral acts as well. "Genetic Infantryman" is a direct homage to the supposed "Government Issue" tag that American troops were nicknamed after.
Bibliography
The Rogue Trooper has appeared frequently in comics and other media.
"Ascent" (with art by Steve Tappin, in 2000 AD #946-949, 1995)
After the new series finished, the original series returned in a story set after Rogue's death, written by John Tomlinson:
"Remembrance Day" (with art by Dave Gibbons, in 2000 AD Prog 2000, 1999)
The original Rogue later returned in stories set before his death, all written by Gordon Rennie:
"What Lies Beneath" (with pencils by Staz Johnson and inks by David Roach, in 2000 AD #1301-1304, 2002)
"Weapons of War" (with art by Dylan Teague, in 2000 AD #1305, 2002)
"Overkill" (with Simon Coleby, in 2000 AD #1306-1307, 2002)
"Lions" (with Staz Johnson (1308) and Mike Collins (1309), in 2000 AD #1308-1309, 2002)
"A Visit to the Boneyard" (with pencils by Mike Collins and inks by David Roach, in 2000 AD #1310-1311, 2002)
"Requiem" (with Simon Coleby, in 2000 AD #1312, 2002)
"Angels" (with Simon Coleby, in 2000 AD Prog 2003, 2002)
"Ghouls" (with pencils by Staz Johnson (episodes 1–4) and Mike Collins (ep. 5–6), and inks by David Roach (ep. 3–6), in 2000 AD #1344-1349, 2003)
"Realpolitik" (with PJ Holden, in 2000 AD #1380-1385, 2004)
"Condor Six Down" (with Simon Coleby, in 2000 AD #1462-1464, 2005)
"New Model Army" (with Steve Pugh (art) & Ian Edginton (script)2000 AD #1477-1479, 2006)
Gerry Finley-Day returned to the character after 25 years away, for the end of year special in 2010:
"Dead Ringer" (with Staz Johnson, in 2000 AD Prog 2011, 2010)
In a short series of one-off stories called What If...? featuring alternative takes on popular 2000 AD characters, Rogue Trooper returned in a story written by Andy Diggle:
"What If... Gunnar Survived the Quartz Zone Massacre?" (with Colin Wilson, in 2000 AD #1771, 2012)
The series appeared in one-off stories in annual special issues from 2014:
"Dregs of War" (written by Guy Adams, art by Darren Douglas, in 2000 AD Sci-Fi Special 2014)
"The Feast" (written by Guy Adams, art by Lee Carter, in 2000 AD Winter Special 2014)
"Death of a Demon" (written by Guy Adams, art by Darren Douglas, in 2000 AD Sci-Fi Special 2015)
"Shore Leave" (written by Guy Adams, art by Jimmy Broxton, in 2000 AD Sci-Fi Special 2016)
The character returned to the regular issues of the comic in 2016:
"Ghosts of Nu-Earth" (written by Gordon Rennie, art by Richard Elson, in 2000 AD #2000, 2016)
"A Soldier's Duty" (written by James Robinson, art by Leonardo Manco, in 2000 AD #2050, 2017)
"The Thousand Days" (written by Alex de Campi, art by Sam Beck & Eva de la Cruz, in 2000 AD Sci-Fi Special 2018)
"Secret of the Keep" (written by Cavan Scott, art by Nick Roche, in 2000 AD #2130, 2019)
"Savage Swamp" (written by Cavan Scott, art by Nick Roche & Abigail Bulmer, in 2000 AD #2170, 2020)
"Brothers" (written by Kek-W, art by Warwick Fraser-Coombe, in 2000 AD #2312, 2022)
The 86ers was created by writer Gordon Rennie and drawn by artists Karl Richardson and PJ Holden. The story stars G.I. pilot Rafella "Rafe" Blue and her robot Gabe.
Venus Bluegenes
Venus Bluegenes appeared both in Rogue Trooper and in her own eponymous strip, with stories written by authors including Grant Morrison, Steve White and Dan Abnett.
Tor Cyan
Tor Cyan appeared both in Mercy Heights and in his own eponymous strip, in a series written by John Tomlinson.
Jaegir
Jaegir is a recurring series in 2000 AD, focusing on Kapitan-Inspector Atalia Jaegir, who serves in the Nordland State Security Police. Her role is to hunt down escaped war criminals.[9]
Hunted
Gordon Rennie and artist PJ Holden produced Hunted, a nine-part story told from the point of view of the Traitor General, in 2016. It began in 2000AD progs 2001 to 2009. It features a young Atalia Jaegir and a monstrous early specimen of the G.I. project.
IDW Publishing reboot
IDW Publishing's Rogue Trooper #1.
On 20 July 2013, American company IDW Publishing announced that after the success of its adaptation of Judge Dredd from 2000 AD it would now champion Rogue Trooper with recoloured old issues as well as completely new stories.[10] On 13 November 2013 it was announced that the new series would be written by British fantasy writer Brian Ruckley and drawn by Alberto Ponticelli.[11] Brian Ruckley acquired the position "by writing a pitch document that people apparently liked."[12] He described his first challenge as scriptwriter as "I can now say from personal experience that writing comics is not straightforward or effortless!"[13]
The new Rogue Trooper features a re-designed helmet, rifle and backpack which serve as the three main supporting characters in the stories. The first episode was originally set to ship at the end of February 2014,[14] but the first issue was actually released on 5 March 2014. Due to lower-than-expected sales, the decision was made to put the series "on hold".[15] The final issue of the new Rogue Trooper series was issue 4, published on 21 May 2014. All four issues were collected as a trade paperback and released on 17 September 2014 under the title Rogue Trooper: Last Man Standing.[16] The series was reprinted in four issues of the Judge Dredd Megazine (#459 to 462) in 2023.
IDW also published Rogue Trooper Classics, a series of recoloured stories from 2000 AD, in order. It was originally intended to consist of 12 issues (with issue 1 being published on 14 May 2014), but like the new Rogue title, it was cut short, with only 8 issues to be produced in total – again, a result of lower-than-expected sales.[citation needed]
Other media
A range of Rogue Trooper material has been produced:
The Rogue Trooper Boardgame was released in 1987 by Games Workshop.
EN Publishing released the Rogue Trooper tabletop roleplaying game in 2020.[17]
Video games
A number of Rogue Trooper computer games have been released in 1986 and 1990. An isometric shooter by Piranha Software for the Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum was released in 1986. The game consists of killing Norts while searching Nu-Earth for 8 vid-tapes containing evidence of the Traitor General's involvement in the Quartz Zone Massacre. On finding all 8 tapes, Rogue has to return to the Souther base of Milli-Com to prove the General's treachery and the extenuating circumstances of his going AWOL. During the game, as well as the vid-tapes, players could also pick up medi-kits to regain health and ammo boxes to feed Gunnar. A platform game incorporating first-person vehicle levels for the Amiga and Atari ST by Krisalis Software came out in 1990.
In 2009 Rogue Trooper featured a guest role in the game "LittleBigPlanet" for PS3. It came in the form of content which could be bought in the PlayStation Store.
In 2017 Rogue Trooper Redux was released to the current generation PC, PS4, XB1 and Nintendo Switch, developed by Rebellion and TickTock Games.[18][19]
Film
Grant Morrison has spoken about writing a Rogue Trooper screenplay for Sam Worthington's production company Full Clip Production.[20] On 16 July 2018, Duncan Jones revealed that he will direct the movie, without Full Clip Production.[21][22]
In 2018, a not-for-profit short fan film directed by Adam Kirley, produced by Joby Stephens, and starring stuntman Damien Walters was released, with its premiere at the International London Sci Fi film festival.[23]
In November 2018, Rebellion Developments announced they were setting up a studio for a film and TV series based on 2000 AD characters with a Rogue Trooper animated film as one of their projects.[24][25]
In January 2024, it was announced that principal photography had concluded, with Aneurin Barnard voicing the eponymous character, and Jones reconfirmed as director, writer, and co-producer.[26] The film was animated using Unreal Engine 5.[27]
Related Research Articles
2000 AD is a weekly British science fiction-oriented comic magazine. As a comics anthology it serialises stories in each issue and was first published by IPC Magazines in 1977, the first issue dated 26 February. Since 2000 it has been published by Rebellion Developments.
Tharg the Mighty or The Mighty One is the fictional editor of the British science fiction comic 2000 AD. The character was introduced on the cover of the first issue in 1977 and is one of only two characters to appear in almost every issue of the comic, the other being Judge Dredd. Tharg occasionally appears in stories and strips involving him have been written by such notable writers as Alan Grant, Alan Moore and John Wagner, albeit usually credited to "TMO" – "The Mighty One".
Gordon Rennie is a Scottish comics writer, responsible for White Trash: Moronic Inferno, as well as several comic strips for 2000 AD and novels for Warhammer Fantasy.
Rogue Trooper is the name of a British board wargame based on the 2000 AD comic strip of the same name. It was released in 1987 and published by Games Workshop.
John Smith is a British comic book writer best known for his work on the weekly anthology 2000 AD and its spin-off title Crisis, particularly the Indigo Prime, Devlin Waugh and New Statesmen serials.
Boo Cook is a British comic artist, whose work mainly features in the comic 2000 AD.
Campbell "Cam" Kennedy is a Scottish comics artist. He is best known for his work on 2000 AD, especially the flagship titles Judge Dredd and Rogue Trooper.
Tor Cyan is a 2000 AD comic-book title written by John Tomlinson. It is a continuation of Mercy Heights, which introduced the title character Tor Cyan as a futuristic 'ambulance driver'. In Tor Cyan, Tor Cyan is the pilot of a medical shuttle, who despite the obstacles of destiny is determined to dedicate his life to saving life.
Brett Ewins was a British comic book artist best known for his work on Judge Dredd and Rogue Trooper in the weekly anthology comic 2000 AD.
The 86ers is a 2000 AD comic story set in the Rogue Trooper universe and created by writer Gordon Rennie and artist Karl Richardson, now being drawn by PJ Holden.
Friday is a comics character who appeared in the British anthology 2000 AD between 1989 and 1996. He was created by writer Dave Gibbons and artist Will Simpson. Subsequently Michael Fleisher and then Steve White took over as regular series writers. Friday was the lead character of the new Rogue Trooper series, which was a reboot of the original 1981 series, of which Gibbons had been the creator artist.
John Tomlinson is a British comic book writer and editor known for his work on various 2000 AD strips. He has occasionally been credited as Sonny Steelgrave.
Steve White is a British comic book writer, paleoartist, and occasional colourist who has mainly worked with 2000 AD.
Low Life is a science fiction comics story published in British anthology 2000 AD. Set in the world of Judge Dredd, it was created by Rob Williams and Henry Flint.
Steve MacManus is a British comic writer and editor, particularly known for his work at 2000 AD.
2000 AD crossovers are crossover stories appearing in British comic 2000 AD, its sister title the Judge Dredd Megazine, and other related output, such as novels, audio plays, films and role-playing games.
Simon Coleby is a British comic book artist who has worked mainly for British sci-fi comic 2000 AD and Marvel Comics.
Rogue Trooper is a third-person shooter video game developed by Rebellion Developments and published by Eidos Interactive. It was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2 and Xbox in 2006. The Wii version, entitled Rogue Trooper: Quartz Zone Massacre, was released in 2009.
Jaegir is a science fiction strip in the British comic 2000 AD, created by writer Gordon Rennie and artist Simon Coleby. It follows the adventures of Kapitan-Inspector Atalia Jaegir, who serves in the Nordland State Security Police.
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