The fact that “Mr. and Mrs. X” works at all is something of a miracle. Then again, the “X-Men” line as a whole is consistently miraculous. It has the most bloated and complicated cast of characters this side of the Legion of Superheroes, and the most complicated history this side of Hawkman yet it somehow makes that complexity work. No, not just work, that complexity is the star. It’s the main attraction. And then you put Kelly Thompson on the book and she makes it look easy.
Cover by Terry DodsonWritten by Kelly Thompson
Illustrated by Oscar Bazaldua
Colored by Frank D’armata
Lettered by VC’s Travis Lanham
LOVE & MARRIAGE PART 2! ROGUE and GAMBIT find themselves tasked with protecting a mysterious package that everyone in the galaxy suddenly seems to want. Why does everyone want this thing and WHAT exactly is it? Perhaps more importantly, is there anything worse than Deadpool crashing your honeymoon? Yes! There is something worse! TECHNET crashing too! Man your battle stations, people — it’s absolute honeymoon mayhem!
On the surface, “Mr. and Mrs. X” is about Rogue and Gambit’s honeymoon. Going a bit deeper into recent X-lore, Kitty Pryde, once the youngest of the X-Men and now their leader was set to marry her childhood sweetheart Colossus, but things didn’t work out. Not wanting to see a good wedding cake get wasted, Rogue and Gambit took the opportunity to tie the knot themselves. By the end of this issue, the reader will have also encountered the Shi’ar Imperial Guard, Deadpool, and friggin’ Technet. It’s a lot.
It never feels like a lot though. If you’re literate in X-continuity from ‘Dark Phoenix’ to “Excalibur” to “Uncanny Avengers” you’ll be pleased to see a lot of disparate threads come together. If you’re not, I am confident this book would work anyway. While a lot of the drama comes out of pre-existing relationships, Thompson makes everything clear and manages to make you care about all of it.
That’s no small feat. On a personal level, I care very little about any of these characters. I’ve found Gambit to be a creep for most of my adulthood, I find Rogue to be played out, and Deadpool only works for me in small doses. And we get a heaping helping of the Merc with the Mouth in this issue. On paper, I should have hated this story.
And yet… Thompson manages to be true to the characters, an engaging writer, and aware of all the flaws and limitations she has to balance. Deadpool has something of a gross crush on Rogue from their days in the Avengers Unity Squad. He also finds Gambit to be as deplorable as I do. Rogue loves her ragin’ Cajun though, and so she has to weigh her loyalty to the X-Men, her former team, and her new husband. That’s the kind of good good soapy drama I come to “X-Men” for!
By using Deadpool as a fourth-wall breaking audience surrogate, Thompson has him point out all the flaws in the characters. This is great because it forces the characters to defend themselves. They make a case for their actions, their attitudes, and their love for each other. Damnit if I wasn’t brought around by the end.
No small part of that is because of the efforts of artist Oscar Bazaldua and the lucious colors of Frank D’armata. This issue is all sex and violence, but it never feels tedious. Bazaldua doesn’t exactly rewrite the rules of comic book storytelling, but he has a vast toolbox and he’s not afraid to use it. He puts panels inside of gigantic sound effects and he juggles the Loony Tune antics of Deadpool with Rogue’s babyfaced pouty sex appeal and Gambit’s hapless charm.
The alien backgrounds are fine, but they communicate what they have to. We aren’t talking about Jack Kirby levels of creativity here, but you see a giant mushroom tree and you get the idea. These guys aren’t in Kansas anymore (or Louisiana or Mississippi). There are a lot of panel backgrounds that are just ground and sky, but that’s where D’armata comes in. The soft pinks and blues are alien and appealing. The colors set the tone, the art conveys attitude, and the writing is so fun and breezy you won’t even want to bother looking up Technet on the wiki (freaking Technet!).
What else do you want? Rogue absorbs some weird powers. Gambit causes some unecessary explosions. Deadpool kicks a baby. It’s sort of crazy to me that Thompson isn’t a bigger superstar than she is. I know big fans of her work, but she has such a good time with superheroes that the reader can’t help but come along for the ride. Give her the main “X-Men” book. Give her the “Avengers.” Give her whatever she wants to write. She knows what kind of stories superhero books should be telling and she tells them real good.
Final Verdict: 7.8 – Competent workmanlike art can’t slow down Kelly Thompson’s boundless enthusiasm for the characters and the genre.
