How old is Chopper? How about Rogue?

[Al_Ewing]

Trying to break into a 'pulp-style' novel imprint not a million miles from here, and need questions answered to aid me in small ways... anyway, how old would you say Chopper was? He's got to be in his late thirties if not past forty... and Rogue, having been grown in a tank and barely making it through his first battle before going AWOL, I'd place at early twenties - maybe even twenty, or dare I say it, n-n-n-n-n-nineteen. Nineteen. N-n-nineteen.

What does anyone else think of these thorny age questions?

(To all the people I owe prizes to - they are on their way and I haven't forgotten. Apologies for the already-criminal delay.)

[Dan Kelly]

I'd put rogue at more like the 4/5 year old stage, especially being vat-grown.  And his hunt for the TG is just one big Hissy fit.  The whole timefram was rather loose, so the hunt may have been years, or months...

I always thought of Marlon as being a young teen in the first issues, which was 1981.  MC time is roughly 1 year per real-year, so he should be 35+

Dan

[Smiley]

Fuzzy memory. There was that Mill-Com Memories story, R20 on the chest etc. Can't remember how long the Traitor hunt went on for, though it was mentioned several times (two years?). So maybe early twenties. And he does have nads, just some people don't believe the evidence, and the pubes make a pair of tiny mohicans.

Chopper's the Eternal Spirit Of Rebellious Youth, and will grow old with those freckles. So that don't matter.

[Generally Contrary]

Chopper's only a year or so from fat TV punditry.  He's closing in on forty, anyhow.  

Rogue, on the other hand, is definately only a few years old.  A few months training, the Quartz Zone Massacre, then a few years hunting down the Traitor General and a few zapping here and there in The Hit(s).  Rogue Trooper - Boy Soldier.

[The Amstor Computer]

I'd have to drag my back progs out to get the precise quote, but the hunt for the Traitor General is mentioned as having taken two years in either "To The Ends of Nu-Earth" or "Re-Gene".

Can't remember how old he was supposed to have been when he was first sent to Nu-Earth, but I'm sure I could find out in one of the "flashback" episodes. I'll have a hunt after tea.

I certainly don't think he could be much older than 20-something, and I wouldn't be surprised if he was - chronologically - quite a bit younger.

[Queen Firey-Bou]

nah, forget chronology & time vats, Rogues a stodgy old git, whos bitter n past his prime, he's 42 in personality.

Chopper is gorgeous & chilled & hunk-tastically in his prime, just scrum-tasticly the right age, which is 38.

[Al_Ewing]

Hmmm... so Chop's physically 'old' - not that 38-40 is old exactly - but mentally still a wild youth, whereas Rogue is physically young and virile but mentally trapped in old-think?

There's something in there. I was thinking that there's a case for Rogue being torn between the Milli-com training and his own feelings - going AWOL when he should've gone back to base etc, that balance between disobedience and strict training... plus all that vacillating he's always doing over women while his chips shout 'WOMEN AND GIS DON'T MIX ROGUE!!'...

[Slippery PD]

Ive come to thinking that Chopper represents us, the long term readers.  Roughly the same age, same outlook (living somewhat in the past in a good way).  Or at least thats my thinking.

Rogue is just an odd idea for a character the more I think about him, the more he shouldnt work.  But with GFD he did...

Slips

[Queen Firey-Bou]

"did" being the operative word.

chopper is a honey, hybridize him with Slaine... and you may not have your average 2000ad long term reader, but you sure would be pleasing this long term girlie reader in the idealised bloke stakes.

[Smiley]

Rogue is physically young and virile but mentally trapped in old-think?

balance between disobedience and strict training

The way I've always seen Rogue's character is pretty much from what's established in the first few stories. Essentially he's Batman with a bit of the Tin Man's innocence thrown in.

It's a simple formula that doesn't bear messing with. (The best Rogue Trooper stories can be summed up as "War is hell, and often downright weird.")

[JMSwallow]

>What does anyone else think of these thorny age >questions?

As Smiley notes, it's established in "Milli-com Memories" that Rogue and his GI mates were 20 years old at the time of the Quartz Zone drop.

[Tweak72]

three years it took 3 years

[Matt Timson]

Millicom Memories (which was brilliant) did indeed establish that all the GIs were 20 when they went into combat for the first time.

Rogue Trooper was one of my favourite strips for ages- especially the Cam Kennedy run- and I used to really look forward to reading it.  In fact the more I think about it, the less I think that Rogue should be revisited in the future.  I didn't dislike Gordon's latest stuff, it just didn't do anything for me.

The less said about 'Horst' and that whole stint as a hitman, the better...

[Rio De Fideldo]

I still reckon all you need is a story with Rogue hooked up to a dream machine operated by the Traitor General and you'd be able to write off Horst, The Hit and Fr1day (unloved stories all) as a figment of Rogue's imagination.

Plus the Traitor General would still be on the run.

Easy!

[Matt Timson]

Heh- I guess so.  I really enjoyed the final showdown though.

Tell a lie, I can't actually remember it!  I'm thinking of the one where Rogue and the TG duked it out courtesy of Bland and Brass.

F*ck me- how did it end?!?  Why can't I remember?  I know that they used a cover that should've been used in the BB fight and something about Rogue saying they were going home...

Bah!  Help me out, somebody!