Mr. & Mrs. X vol. 2: Gambit & Rogue Forever

Vol. 1 ended somewhat incongruously with our happily married couple strung up over a tank filled with alligators.  Rather than handwave it away as “The kind of thing that happens in superhero comics,” writer Kelly Thompson has it tie into the main story as Gambit and Rogue find themselves in the Mojoverse.  The writer uses Mojo’s antics as a way to further get into Rogue’s head regarding her current issues with her powers and to provide some sly humor on how comic-book romances are perceived by readers.  This is mainly Rogue’s story, although Gambit also has his moments as he has to do a little thieving to help his woman out. It might even wind up being a pivotal story for Spiral, Mojo’s most beleaguered of henchpeople as the Ragin’ Cajun has to get back her most important thing.  Throw in some well-crafted art from Oscar Bazaluda and you’ve got a solid start to this final volume.

Then things shift as the story follows Gambit back to New Orleans to sort out some drama relating to his position as leader of the Thieves’ Guild.  It’s not just that they want to replace him, but that there’s a merger planned with the Assassins’ Guild being orchestrated by the reborn X-Ternal Candra and she wants him taken off the board permanently.  As good as the opening story was, I think this one’s just a bit better. We get to see Gambit pulling some very sneaky and clever stuff, a reunion with Rogue that foregoes the drama you’d expect and some nice nods to current and past “X-Men” continuity.  It also looks nice too with Bazaluda providing art for half of the arc, and Javier Pina stepping in for a solid finish. This all leads me to agree with Thompson in her closing essay that “Mr. & Mrs. X” deserved many more issues than they actually got. I’m glad we got what we did, however, and I hope to see what was done here stick with the characters for a good long while.