Mr. and Mrs. X – Rogue and Gambit Comic Book Review, Summary

This is a spoiler free review followed by a summary/spoiler full review of Mr. and Mrs. X by author Kelly Thompson.

Spoiler Free Review

Mr. & Mrs. X is the follow up to Thompson’s previous Rogue and Gambit run. Mr. & Mrs. X follow Rogue and Gambit after their impromptu wedding to their action packed honeymoon in space and then back home to more action and kidnappings and fighting and making up and most importantly lots and lots of kissing.

This run has so many X-Men universe players in it it starts to get hard to keep up. They run into Deadpool, the Shi’ar, Technet, the Imperial Guard, the Guild of Thieves, the Assassin’s Guild, Mojo and the Mojoverse, Spiral, and Bella Donna. However, if you are unfamiliar with any of these Thompson does a good job at introducing new players and saying how they are connected and what their basic power set it. This makes it much much easier to follow as a stand alone without having to have read a whole previous decade of X-Men.

This 12 issue run is divided into two main stories with the central theme being that Rogue loses control of her powers when she is in fear and if she cannot get that figured out her relationship with Gambit will be very difficult.

But Gambit will never leave her side because they are just the best as a couple. He loves her so danged much and praises her skill every chance he gets. She is wooed by him over and over and their passion is palpable.

This run did lose a little bit of the sexiness that I so thoroughly enjoyed in Rogue and Gambit. It makes up for it with more action but the plot did get a little meta and convoluted in the second half.

I would love to see more of Rogue and Gambit and especially more of Thompson. I loved her work on Kate Bishop and if this run is any indicator I think she’d do a fantastic job on Deadpool. She understands dialogue, sarcasm and flirting especially. It’s always cheeky and fun but never sexist or crass.

Summary of Mr. and Mrs. X

Mr. & Mrs. X is the follow up to Thompson’s previous Rogue and Gambit run. Rogue and Gambit was delightfully sexy and fun and if you haven’t read it yet I would recommend starting there.

Mr. & Mrs. X starts with Rogue and Gambit finally making it official by getting married in a spontaneous wedding ceremony. They then whisk away to a romantic honeymoon in space. Obviously this is quickly interrupted by a mission that only they can accomplish.

A lot of the catalysts for action in this book are kept vague. Right now we know that Kitty Pride wants them to do something and that’s enough for Rogue to say they’re going. So they go fight some space baddies for some reason and Rogue gets knocked out and wakes up next to Deadpool.

We now learn that Deadpool is also searching for this weird egg that Rogue and Gambit need to retrieve. But first they have to fight the Shi’ar and Technet to get it. This issue is my absolute favorite of the 12 issue run. The weird history and conflict between these three sometimes anti-heroes is laugh out loud funny and handled with incredible grace by Thompson.

Rogue and Deadpool once made out and his affection for her and disdain for Gambit is written here for laughs and never turns into a bullshit love triangle with Rogue as the prize. Rogue is never once damseled in this book, never once portrayed as an object, and always is the ultimate in badassery.

So they fight for this egg and win, putting aside their differences to team up against Technet. They get the egg and it breaks open to hatch… Rogue.

This run has a lot of end of issue cliffhangers. It’s the reason I ended up buying issue 12 cause I didn’t realize it isn’t on Marvel Unlimited yet and I couldn’t just not know what happens in the last issue. But anyway.

The Rogue looking being that hatches out of the egg is actually Xandra, Professor Xavier’s and Lilandra’s post grave love child. Rogue and Gambit get rid of Deadpool and get Xandra to the Star Jammers after fighting the Imperial Guard and everyone is happy. Except that to do that Xandra and Rogue briefly faked their deaths and Gambit was justifiably upset.

If that sounded like a lot of names you’re unfamiliar with don’t worry. Thompson does a great job of introducing new players into the game with brief bios and power set explanations that make it easier to jump in than most comics.

So Gambit was mad at Rogue but they kiss and make up. They do a lot of kissing and making up in the book.

They also do a lot of getting captured and strung up upside down.

The next half of the book is two stories but one is sandwiched in the middle of the other. The story in the middle is a weird meta romp through the Mojoverse in which Rogue must battle within her own mind to discover that fear is what is making her powers uncontrollable.

She is slowly but surely coming to terms with the idea that she might actually be able to fully control her powers someday and maybe she doesn’t have to accidentally kill her husband. But it’s probably always going to be a concern for her.

The other story is about how Gambit’s ex, Bella Donna, the now head of the Assassin’s Guild has teamed up with Gambit’s Thieves’ Guild and wants to kill Rogue. Bella Donna gets double crossed and Gambit is supposed to choose if Rogue or Bella Donna will get sacrificed for the melding of the Guilds.

He opts to be killed in both their places but obviously that’s not how it goes down. There’s a big battle and then Rogue and Gambit end up back home for their happily ever after. At least until the next action packed phone call interrupts their love making.

Overall, Mr. & Mrs. X was a thoroughly enjoyable ride. It lost a little bit of the sexiness of Rogue and Gambit but gained some action and definitely has a lot of self awareness. I really enjoy Thompson’s writing. She’s masterful at dialogue and relationships and I’d love to see her given a Deadpool run. (Update since originally posted: she has been!)

If you want an X-Men story that is much easier for an outsider to follow this is a really good place to start. And by that I mean start at Rogue and Gambit and then come here. But only having to read one other run is a lot easier than most comics so take the deal! Also Rogue and Gambit are just a fun couple and they warm my heart.

4/5 playing cards 🃏🃏🃏🃏

If you want more sexiness from your Marvel check out X-Force: Sex+Violence.

in order to keep me up to my ears in books consider using the following amazon affiliate links to purchase these products. it’s at no extra cost to you and would really help me out, thank you and happy reading!

Start here: Rogue & Gambit: Ring of Fire

Then here: Mr. and Mrs. X Vol. 1: Love and Marriage (Mr. & Mrs. X)

Then here: Mr. and Mrs. X Vol. 2: Gambit and Rogue Forever

And if you just need issue 12: Mr. and Mrs. X (2018-2019) 12