Mr & Mrs X: Gambit and Rogue Appreciation 2019

[Nox Noctes]

Maybe, maybe not...but I know there are some theories about the grey twins and they are still in the Age of X-Man....so they can’t meet mom and dad yet. And KT did prep us at the end of Rogue and Gambit for the wedding with Remy “popping” the cat question. So I’m not sure if we won’t see something at some point sooner rather than later, grey twins or not.

Or the egg, spiral soul baby, tween Candra, all the pregnancy stuff, it could all just be a bit of teasing/trolling/fun at newly married couples being hit up constantly about when they are going to have kids and letting Remy and Rogue address the topic.

Nonetheless I love hearing everyone’s theories and we’ve got time to kill (sad face)....so bring’em on!

I think it's trolling. How often have we brought up the subject on this thread alone, lol? BUT you are quite right that there was some foreshadowing regarding the wedding...I just don't see editorial letting this happen though. They've only been married for 12 issues. I think they'd want to have some time to elapse before adding a baby to the mix. That being said: I think it would be very interesting if it did happen. It would sell some issues, that's for sure. I do hope it happens some day.

So, when do we get to know the parentage of those twins? It seems like we've been talking about them forever.

[AppleJ]

I think it's trolling. How often have we brought up the subject on this thread alone, lol? BUT you are quite right that there was some foreshadowing regarding the wedding...I just don't see editorial letting this happen though. They've only been married for 12 issues. I think they'd want to have some time to elapse before adding a baby to the mix. That being said: I think it would be very interesting if it did happen. It would sell some issues, that's for sure. I do hope it happens some day.

So, when do we get to know the parentage of those twins? It seems like we've been talking about them forever.

Not to say it couldn't be setting up something, but my intuition leans toward no. At least nothing immediate. Mostly I think it was just something that needed addressing and acknowledgement since it was on so many readers minds. And this issue definitely left it open as a possibility. Personally I think it would be a hugely wasted opportunity if we never see it come to fruition. But we also have an X-editor who is not keen on giving characters children. So we'll see.

It was so funny seeing Remy playing it down, while it was so clear it's really something that was on his mind. When he says "Maybe some day." I melted because it's clear that he's thought about it and a part of him wants that with her. And understanding where Remy was coming from, it makes sense considering he's known what he wanted with Rogue since the Legacy era whereas she has really just come to that realization more recently and probably still feels a lot of uncertainty about her powers and the future. Plus it would obviously impact her life more. But her reply of "Maybe" with a kiss was sweet. Definitely not a no!

Man, I want some Romy kiddos some day! Perhaps that theme will eventually get to be a struggling background B-plot.

As for what happens with those twins it probably depends a LOT on whether Ed Brisson will have an X-book come fall, unless another writer has a burning desire to pick up that thread. But I bet that one will float in the ether a while yet. I'll just live in my little fanfic la-la land until then. LOL

[R0d]

No way. I am sure that they would end MMX with such cliffhunger. I thibk there are no real plans for their kids in near future.

I agree, I don't see any kids in the near future. I think KT just wanted to appease the fans that have been bringing up the topic constantly, and at the same time it makes sense for someone to ask them about it. But yeah, I don't think people should be over thinking about it.

[Couplest]

SDCC starts on 7/18 right? And there are usually announcements around then in the days leading up in addition to the announcements there and that will be also be around the time of the first post HOX/pox solicits? Or am I wrong about the solicits because my brain is Friday mush and looking at a calendar is outside my ability apparently. So hopefully we get some news soon. Fingers crossed at least.

[LegoLiz]

Okay, it has been a few days and I’m still rereading and thinking about MMX12. I am staying late, after work and right before a long weekend just so that I can get my thoughts down (if not, it won’t ever happen). And if it’s full of copy blunders – forgive me!

As a Gambit fan, I found it such an amazing and rewarding read. Let’s break it down:

Gambit’s Evolution: I adored Remy’s speech in the end. He is no longer a man divided (by loves, families, walking the fine line of right and wrong). He knows who he is and is plain tired of anyone who questions his loyalties. He feels that he has proven himself over and over again to those who matter and he’s right. He doesn’t need to do this anymore. He’s moved passed being guilt-ridden and trying to make amends and is able to completely own his worth/power. I appreciate that he is even willing to tell Rogue about how he was tired of having to prove himself to everyone including her. Something I don’t thinking he was willing to admit to her during the Amus/Mann run. But he does here and once again, Rogue comes through for him and apologizes for how she treated him in the past and assures him things are different now. Mateo3000? Was the wait worth it?

Furthermore, he hasn’t lost his edge. I remember in one podcast where a fan shared disappointment that Remy has appears to have lost his darkness in this series. I would argue that it is still part of him (he’ll always been dark given what’s he’s been through, the Genevieve memory alone shows how he will forever be haunted by his past), but Gambit’s grown up. He is no longer a boy wondering if he is a thief or an X-Man, he decides not to play by the rules (very much part of his character) and makes his own way (something he’s said over and over in previous MMX issues). He said it himself – he DECIDED he is both thief and X-Man. And everyone better fall in line.

Gambit is a freaking BAD-ASS: Yes, I’ve seen him spit charged gum at a foe, but hello? This time his mouth became a freaking gun – shooting up a storm of crazy little explosives! And where did he get the metal balls again? By ripping them out of his own guts! Yes, this felt very much like the time he pulled out a wooden stake in his thigh way-back when to escape, but this definitely took things a bit further and NEXT LEVEL. And charging up his chains and using them to whack everyone around? GOD – I LOVE HIM. Don’t even get me started on the delayed charge/ultimate explosion and saves the day.

Gambit is HOT: How can I not do a shout-out to punching out one more opportunity to strip him in this series (naked Gambit has always been quite the on-going themes in his other books). Hello Couplest? I am totally here for the yummy Remy panels! Where are you at RomyShip! Are you still in Australia? I need you here for this!

Gambit is still funny: As dark as Gambit is, there is also a light-heartedness to his character that Kelly Thompson brings out so masterfully. And because of this, the series was able to escape the doom and gloom Sparta alluded to.
Plus, Gambit’s got BABY FEVER and I don’t care what he says – it is a thing! Jokes aside, as AppleJ said, after seeing too many wistful moments in his past of admitting he wants a family of his own one day…It is so sweet to see he’s reached a point in his life where he thinks it’s definitely a possibility for his future. Yes, Rogue is right and they aren’t ready yet (as Spiral noted, he hid the baby in ceiling tiles during a full-on war battle). But I appreciated that you can still tease him about it. And he even admits to cuddle spiral baby/soul).
Other amazingness?

TANTE MATTIE: YAY! I am so happy she’s back and putting everyone in their place. I love the whole family teasing Remy. It was just so darn cute and very fitting.

Bella Donna: She isn’t an evil, crazy bitch. In the end, she does care about Remy and she and Rogue can co-exist without wanting the other dead. THANK YOU!

Rogue: She came through for her husband. Stayed by his side when he needed her. When she falters, he trusts her to regain control of her powers and she does. He believes that actions speak volumes over words and what she did during this arc definitely demonstrated her loyalties and priorities.

The Art: LOVED IT! I can’t say anything more! I can't get over drawings of Gambit staring out the window lost in thought. AND THEN the hand grab with Rogue - it's my everything!

THANK YOU KELLY THOMPSON: You were tasked with showing what a superhero marriage would be and I think you completely succeeded. If you think Rogue and Remy had a challenging honeymoon, I do recall Scott and Jean getting sucked into the future and raising a child they would eventually abandon in 12 years. It was such a sad read. But I bring Scott and Jean up because Rogue and Gambit’s early days in the marriage had such a different, upbeat and even “realistic” feel. I felt you wrote them very true to their characters and were so respectful of their pasts. Furthermore, I saw them both progressing, evolving and most of all – WORKING on their marriage. I appreciate that Gambit says Rogue’s promises of knowing one another are sweet words, but difficult to do in reality. And he’s right. But that’s the truth. When I was teenager reading Gambit and Rogue, I would cry about their failed relationship and think – LOVE IS ENOUGH GUYS! But I’ve grown up, gotten married and had a family. And as much as I love my husband, love wouldn’t be enough to sustain us. It takes growing together and working through the challenges that come our way to make us stronger. And through all that, I love him even more now.

And thank you to this message board. You have the best theories (spiral baby is just what you want to see most/Gambit sewed up tools into his body), love the analyses and you keep me up-to-date on everything Gambit and Rogue. THANK YOU!

Alright, the cleaning lady is coming around now. I HAVE TO GO!

[Couplest]

I don’t know if anything is worth staying at the office late on a Friday, so thank you for taking that time to bless the timeline with your awesome post! In some ways, it felt like KT to some folks “what don’t you get about Gambit, he’s amazing...this is Gambit!” While providing growth, it’s still Remy to the core. He can be deviously smart and cunning, but he also cares so much and is funny. One thing that I love seeing KT do is connect Remy to wanting to be an X-men. So many writers just kind of fall into not knowing what to do with him because he’s only there for Storm, or Rogue, or Laura post-trail. Dude wouldn’t have committed this much of his life if those were the only reasons. He can have multiple things motivate him.

And the baby fever! I said somewhere that I think 97% or the reason Rogue wants to find the X-Men is concern and worry...the other 3% is her wanting to tell them about Gambit spiral soul cuddling diagnosis.

Loved seeing the scene in Tante Marris’s Kitchen as Rogue gained family too. It’s nice to see her interact with them.

And yeah...hot gambit was hot.

[remydat]

Gambit’s Evolution: I adored Remy’s speech in the end. He is no longer a man divided (by loves, families, walking the fine line of right and wrong). He knows who he is and is plain tired of anyone who questions his loyalties. He feels that he has proven himself over and over again to those who matter and he’s right. He doesn’t need to do this anymore. He’s moved passed being guilt-ridden and trying to make amends and is able to completely own his worth/power. I appreciate that he is even willing to tell Rogue about how he was tired of having to prove himself to everyone including her. Something I don’t thinking he was willing to admit to her during the Amus/Mann run. But he does here and once again, Rogue comes through for him and apologizes for how she treated him in the past and assures him things are different now. Mateo3000? Was the wait worth it?

Furthermore, he hasn’t lost his edge. I remember in one podcast where a fan shared disappointment that Remy has appears to have lost his darkness in this series. I would argue that it is still part of him (he’ll always been dark given what’s he’s been through, the Genevieve memory alone shows how he will forever be haunted by his past), but Gambit’s grown up. He is no longer a boy wondering if he is a thief or an X-Man, he decides not to play by the rules (very much part of his character) and makes his own way (something he’s said over and over in previous MMX issues). He said it himself – he DECIDED he is both thief and X-Man. And everyone better fall in line.

It is weird, I sort of had an opposite reaction to this at felt eerily similar to how Asmus ended his Gambit run ie Gambit assuming the role as X-man, teacher and KoT while telling Rogue he was basically done trying to prove himself to her. So rather than this being evolution, it is pretty much putting him back to where he was at the end of Asmus run as subsequent writers had seemingly ignored it.

With Gambit, a character I loved as a teenager but have struggled with as an adult, the overplayed "cool" factor has always been a problem. There is a cool badass somewhere inside of Gambit, but he wasn't in this series, and least of all in this final issue.

The end reveal of "Gambit" #17 should leave readers curious and excited about what's next, but the storytelling is so unclear, it's difficult to determine what's happened. Readers are left with the idea that Gambit is willing to play the fool that nobody expects much of for his role as both an X-Man and as a teacher at the Jean Grey School, so that he can be the leader of the Thieves Guild behind the scenes, but it all just left me cold. Both of those things seem unworthy of the character he has always had the potential to be. The door has been left open for Gambit's future to go in a myriad of directions, and that's nice enough, but he's less likable after this series than he was before -- not a ringing endorsement.

https://www.cbr.com/gambit-17/

What made KT's echoing of Asmus all the more weird is she was very critical of Asmus' run in particular it seems his assuming that dual role of X-man and KoT. I know she has in the past remarked how in hindsight she felt she was overly harsh regarding Asmus' run and perhaps this is proof of that.

Having said that, it really was the best issue and Gambit of the series for me with my only lament that I wish it had come to fruition sooner. This is the first time Gambit really felt like Gambit quite frankly since Asmus and I am grateful that at a minimum Gambit is back where he was at the end of Asmus' run and hopefully this time someone actually does something with it.

[Couplest]

Welp, since we are embarking on our first post-mmx x-men Monday, I’m going to post one of my favs from the r&g/mmx era

46D44397-3981-4288-8D19-1D3FF59C4A6C.jpg

[Purplevit]

Welp, since we are embarking on our first post-mmx x-men Monday, I’m going to post one of my favs from the r&g/mmx era

46D44397-3981-4288-8D19-1D3FF59C4A6C.jpg

Thanks! Cool! Limbo will be long so we need to keep things alive.

[R0d]

Welp, since we are embarking on our first post-mmx x-men Monday, I’m going to post one of my favs from the r&g/mmx era

Yeah, it's weird that is Monday and that there won't be a small teaser by Kelly

I hope we get some news about Gambit and Rogue in SDCC otherwise the waiting is going to be much harder.

[AppleJ]

Thanks! Cool! Limbo will be long so we need to keep things alive.

Thanks for this Couplest! Wow, this whole series of panels was SO on fire. The tension coming of them is just palpable. X-Plain the X-Men covered X-Men #30 again today and Gambit and Rogue got some notable mentions and funny enough I was thinking about these behind the scenes moments from R&G that you posted here. Just so good!

I am anxious to get AoXM wrapped up and the ball rolling on whatever HoX/PoX happens to be and those SDCC announcements!

But until then ... hey, would anyone be interested in being a guest on Bon Temps to review/discuss MMX? If so, PM me and I'll get you in touch with the host.

[MikaelNovasun]

Since Mr & Mrs X ended I have been reading back issues to get my Gambit and Rogue fix. In the Gambit 1993 mini-series I find it interesting that Logan gave Rogue some advice she finally took to heart 25 years later in the Rogue & Gambit mini-series.

Logan to Rogue: "There's somethin' between you two. Mariko and I had the same. Don't want to wait until the conditions are perfect...'cause with the likes of us they never are."

25 years later Rogue to Gambit: "What it means is that there's never gonna be a perfect time for us. I can't wait for everything to line up and make sense..it was messed up then, it's messed up now, and will be messed up always. But I'll take messed up with you any time Remy LeBeau."

Rogue & Gambit and then Mr & Mrs X bought back that feeling I had for the X-Men in the 90's as a teenager. I am really going to miss this series and the attention to detail that Kelly Thompson put into it. Gambit, Rogue and Wolverine were my favorite X-Men as a teen. So happy to see Gambit and Rogue return to form, and hopefully it sticks through the relaunch. Now if only the same could be done for Logan...

[Purplevit]

Since Mr & Mrs X ended I have been reading back issues to get my Gambit and Rogue fix. In the Gambit 1993 mini-series I find it interesting that Logan gave Rogue some advice she finally took to heart 25 years later in the Rogue & Gambit mini-series.

Logan to Rogue: "There's somethin' between you two. Mariko and I had the same. Don't want to wait until the conditions are perfect...'cause with the likes of use they never are."

25 years later Rogue to Gambit: "What it means is that there's never gonna be a perfect time for us. I can wait for everything to line up and make sense..it was messed up then, it's messed up now, and will be messed up always. But I'll take messed up with you and time Remy LeBeau."

Rogue & Gambit and then Mr & Mrs X bought back that feeling I had for the X-Men in the 90's as a teenager. I am really going to miss this series and the attention to detail that Kelly Thompson put into it. Gambit, Rogue and Wolverine were my favorite X-Men as a teen. So happy to see Gambit and Rouge return to form, and hopefully it sticks through the relaunch. Now if only the same could be done for Logan...

Great find! I really like it.

[Fokken]

Okay fam.

Yes, yes, I KNOW the topic of AGE is a heavy and headache inducing one, for sure.
But I'm curious, how folks view Remy and Rogue and their age gap (if any).

I've always pegged Rogue as being a younger X-woman. She and Bobby and Sam are such solid buds, and she was a teen when she originally joined if I'm not mistaken. So I always thought those 3 were in the same age bracket, give or take a year.
I've always believed Remy was older than Rogue. 2-3 years I suppose. How do other fans feel?

[Sparta]

Okay fam.

Yes, yes, I KNOW the topic of AGE is a heavy and headache inducing one, for sure.
But I'm curious, how folks view Remy and Rogue and their age gap (if any).

I've always pegged Rogue as being a younger X-woman. She and Bobby and Sam are such solid buds, and she was a teen when she originally joined if I'm not mistaken. So I always thought those 3 were in the same age bracket, give or take a year.
I've always believed Remy was older than Rogue. 2-3 years I suppose. How do other fans feel?

In my head, I always had Gambit 2-3 years older than Rogue. Rogue and Iceman are the same age, Cannonball a little younger. Gambit slightly younger than Storm, Cyclops and Jean.