Kelly Thompson Discusses Mr. and Mrs. X's Opening Arc

Rogue and Gambit are two of the most passionate X-Men to ever come together as romantic partners. Their intense feelings for each other have meant their relationship has had its fair share of ups and downs, keeping them apart for a number of years. But in the recent Rogue and Gambit miniseries, by writer Kelly Thompson and artist Pere Perez, the duo were thrust into a situation where they were forced to listen to their hearts.

What they heard brought them back together and even made Gambit consider taking their relationship to the next level. In X-Men: Gold#30 he did just that by proposing to Rogue. The duo wed that very day.

Now that the fever of their wedding is over, where do Rogue and Gambit go next? Thompson and artist Oscar Bazaldua will answer that very question this month when they kick off Mr. & Mrs. X with an arc that sends their wedded protagonists on an intergalactic honeymoon in the Shi’Ar Empire. CBR spoke with Thompson about writing the next stage of Rogue and Gambit’s relationship, the cosmic characters they’ll encounter in the series’ first arc, and the joy of writing Deadpool, who plays a guest starring role in issue #2

CBR: The big news is that Gambit and Rogue got married in X-Men Gold #30 and are the title characters of Mr. and Mrs. X. Getting married changes a dynamic between two people in that it makes some things more intense, makes others seem like not such a big deal, and it leads to a whole new set of challenges for those two people to face as individuals and a couple. What's it like for you to write a married Rogue and Gambit? Which aspects of their relationship are you initially interested in examining in this series?

EXCLUSIVE: Art from Mr. and Mrs. X #1 by Oscar Bazaldua and Frank D'Armata

Kelly Thompson: It’s a total dream come true to chart Rogue and Gambit’s new adventures as a married couple. Certainly a challenge of the book is to set them loose inside this new dynamic – what does it bring out in them that’s good and what’s bad – and how do they react to both those things.

They obviously got married in a flash of spontaneity, maybe not fully thinking about what it means. In the first arc, they’re going to be under so much pressure – and literally on the run – that they’re not going to have much time to think about that reality – but they will eventually have to confront it.

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Rogue and Gambit's backgrounds mean they’re specially suited for some stories, but their exploits over the years have shown them to be great fits for a variety of genres. Can you talk about the types of stories you're interested in telling in this book? Is Mr. and Mrs. X a series that can go anywhere?

I think Gambit and Rogue are incredibly flexible characters - they work in all kinds of scenarios and I’m excited to push on those boundaries a bit. They obviously have a ton of history and supporting characters we can lean on, but I have to admit, I’m a little excited to carve a new path instead. You hear Gambit and Rogue, and you immediately think of certain characters and some seriously complex continuity but I’d love defy some of those expectations and do something a little different. There’s a whole world out there!

Where and when do you pick up with Rogue and Gambit in Mr. and Mrs. X #1? Will we see any more of their wedding or reception? Will we see their honeymoon?

We actually start Mr. & Mrs. X before the wedding vows readers got to see in X-Men Gold #30 – so we get a few of those “between the panels” moments that you miss when you have a surprise wedding. I would have loved to have indulged in a whole issue of “wedding stuff,” but we obviously also felt it was important to move the story forward. So the issue is about half wedding stuff and half the beginnings of their new adventure together – best of both worlds if you will!

I understand for one of your initial stories you're taking your title characters out amongst the cosmos. What's it like writing Rogue and Gambit against that sort of back drop? What can you tell us about the cosmic characters they'll encounter?

Spaaaaaaace Honeymoon! Basically they go to space to try get away from X-Men shenanigans and instead accidentally careen right into said shenanigans. I wanted to take them both dramatically out of the element we typically see them in, and force them to sort of be on their own and alone together in that scenario.

That said, they end up spending very little time alone because the mysterious package they’re trying to protect has basically everyone in the Shi’Ar Empire after it – we’re wall to wall with really fun guest stars – everyone from Technet and Deathbird to the Imperial Guard and The Starjammers. And Deadpool, of course.

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Have you written Deadpool before? What's it like bouncing him off of the newly married Rogue and Gambit?

This is my first time writing Deadpool and I have to say I LOVED it. The chemistry and humor between Deadpool, Rogue, and Gambit was intoxicating. I wished I could have kept him longer -- I would totally write Mr. & Mrs. X and Deadpool -- but Deadpool is also obviously a big time spotlight stealer, so you’ve gotta be careful with that kind of thing.

What else can you tell us about the initial supporting cast of Mr. and Mrs. X? Will this series have a regular cast of supporting players for your protagonists to interact with? Or more of a rotating one based on where Rogue and Gambit are at and what they're doing?

For now, it’s Rogue and Gambit on their own, which is important. I had a great time with a lot their friends and family guest starring in the first issue for the wedding scenes, and I’m not opposed to some showing up in the future, but I do think it’s important to let Rogue and Gambit stand on their own for a bit. Besides, in the history of their relationship they’ve rarely been alone together for an extended period and still full-time heroes – and I think it’s high-time to see what that means for them and what that looks like! So far I love it, though I’m obviously a teeny bit biased.

Artist Oscar Bazaldua, who is coming off a great run on Spider-Man, is bringing your cast to life, and the preview art I've seen has a fun playful tone and great kinetic action. What's it like working with Oscar on this book? What do you enjoy most about his style?

Oscar is so fun to work with. His style is incredibly kinetic (no pun!) and a great fit for what a Rogue and Gambit book should be – i.e. high octane and fun and plenty sexy. You can really feel how much Oscar enjoys the characters and it’s always great when an artist is equally interested in the humor and emotional components as the action. I had a very specific action scene I wanted to do in issue three and I wasn’t sure I could convey what I was imagining, but he just got it immediately and it was so exciting. You always hope for a collaboration like that!

Finally, can you leave us with some hints and teases about what's coming up in Mr. and Mrs. X, and perhaps some stories you'd like to do further on down the line?

There’s nothing I like better in superhero stories than jokes and action smashed together in fun ways. So expect a lot of banter while they blow things up. I think my biggest concern is that people will come into MMX expecting more of what we did in Rogue & Gambit…but R&G was a very special and self-contained story that only worked because we built that narrative directly into the villain and overarching plot. It was a story that really had to be told to get these characters in the right position to be able to get married (and have a new book). But MMX is a little bit more traditional in its approach.