Well, you’ve got me at a delightful time when after watching X-Men ’97, I’m into a GambitxRogue obsession. Well moreso, Gambit, but they’re so so good together!

I mean, the endless tension where she cannot touch him without hurting him. He, the rougish (ha!) thief that is so devoted to her despite the struggles. The history, the loyalty, the passion. It’s delicious!

Anyway, Thompson is great at adapting and writing IPs so I was excited to see what she would do with them not that they’ve officially tied the knot. They’re just as great as a married couple as they were in a relationship.

But first, we must go through the Ring of Fire mini-series. After the latest off-again breakup, the new head of the X-Men Shadowcat sends Gambit and Rogue to therapy island that is kidnapping mutants. Yes, they have to participate couples therapy in order to infiltrate it and boy, do they need it!

It’s a clever way of forcing the two to actually communicate their issues instead of running away from each other and provides nice character introspection. Rogue getting a bulk of it since she has self-esteem and relationship issues. Plus therapy island gets really creepy with the amnesia and clones that create some dynamic fight scenes. Especially when said clones contain the memories they wished they could forget.

Rogue was scared. Not just of her touch affecting Remy but he was her first real love. And she wanted to see more. She has so little choices, she wanted freedom to see if her love for Gambit was more than just love of the familiar.

Meanwhile, Remy already beats himself up about his sins but to know that Rogue continues to hold them against him (or at least she appears to), constantly running away. He wonders if he is worth it anymore.

Rogue and Gambit have a long history including betrayals of each other so it’s understandable, like in any relationship, the desire to forget the bad so it’d be easier to move forward. Easier, but that would make you less of yourself. Your history creates who you are, and in seeing each other’s memories, it only reconfirmes their commitment. They may never have a perfect story, never have a perfect time where it’s easy, but they want to be with each other no matter what.

Remy also introduces Rogue to his cats. Just d’awww.

Lots of stuff happened in comics before they tied the knot but I skipped over to the next Thompson work-Mr. and Mrs. X where the new LeBeaus have their honeymoon in space! (Space, space, space)

Thanks to the power-dampening collar, Rogue is able to enjoy all those honeymoon rituals others enjoy. Albeit the collar gives her awful headaches.

A new headache pops up when Deadpool bursts in with an egg that the entire Shirra Empire is after.

Yeah, the first volume wasn’t too interesting to me. Maybe because I have no interest in space (space, space, space) nor Deadpool and have no idea what the Shirra Empire is, the space shenanigans were like filler. Also Deadpool took up too much attention in my opinion with his 4th wall breaks and jokes. Like Gambit said, Rogue was so hot when she blasted a hole into him.

The only thing that makes this volume memorable is how Rogue’s powers evolve. Now she can start sucking up energy without even touching someone which. . . she didn’t think it could get any worse.

That’s what volume 2 tackles when Mojo and his eight-handed assistant, Spiral, kidnaps them to compeate in his reboots in space! (space, space, space. Okay, last time I do that joke).

Mojo knows the appeal of a smoldering couple so he places the duo into one star-crossed event after another-spy movie, fairytale movie, western movie- and each time Rogue accidentally kills him. It’s also killing his ratings.

Ever the faithful assistant, Spiral is sent to fix the glitch but she has a double-cross of her own. In order to defeat Mojo, Remy has to steal an unspecific artifact while Rogue is trapped in her own mind to figure out how to control her powers once and for all.

But that’s not all. With these two, there’s always a chance for them to end up hanging upside down in chains and once they leave space, Remy ends up walking into a trap set by his old brethrn in Lousiana. Not only he’s a hero, but he’s King of the Thieves Guild and his father needs him to defend his throne.

It gets more complicated than that but it’s a fun time all around when Rogue comes in for the rescue and must team up with the head of the Assassins Guild (and Remy’s ex) to fight against a much bigger enemy.

Without the space opera shenanigans, there’s more room for character exploration and readers can enjoy how the two have grown since Ring of Fire with Rogue accepting what it means to take control of her powers instead of always being controlled by them and her fear. While Remy rises up to own both sides of him, thief and hero, and show he doesn’t have divided loyalties but the will to make the warring Guilds whole. And they feel much more capable of it because they’re confident that they have their soulmate by their side.

I’ll say it again-oh my freaking awwww!

Talented, charming, independet, funny, self-aware and evolving, easy on the eyes, amazing apart and spectacular when together. They’re couple goals. And now I’m going to leave with some out of context pages because they’re the best.

Also to top off the X-men love, I read the prequel comic to the X-Men ’97 revival, and it’s skippable. No new insight or backstory here that isn’t covered in the show. Much unlike the X-Men Evolution comic that shows new adventures and missions not seen in the show and the origin of how Storm, Wolverine, Scott and Jean joined the mansion.