Warning: contains spoilers for Captain Marvel #43!The X-Men's Rogue and Gambit are calling out the codependent nature of most superhero romantic relationships. As one of Marvel’s preeminent power couples, Mr and Mrs X know better than anyone the secret to a strong relationship, and in Captain Marvel #43, Gambit reveals the key to their long-standing romance: they are not codependent on one another like so many other caped crusaders.
The X-Men’s corner of the Marvel Universe features some of the greatest romances of all time: Cyclops and Jean Grey, Mystique and Destiny, and Rogue and Gambit. Since Gambit first met Rogue in 1991’s X-Men #4, the two have had an on-again/off-again romance. That romance culminated in 2018’s X-Men Gold #30 when the two were finally married. Since then, Gambit and Rogue have starred in their own series (Mr and Mrs X) and will be receiving a new miniseries next year. Gambit and Rogue share much in common - shady pasts among them. Rogue was once a member of the Brotherhood of Mutants, brutally attacking Ms. Marvel (Carol Danvers) and absorbing her powers - a move that took Carol off the board for years, while Gambit was indirectly responsible for the Mutant Massacre. Both of them found salvation in the X-Men, and their shared traumas have helped them form an unusually strong bond.
While attempting to enjoy some quality downtime with War Machine, Captain Marvel receives a distress call from Rogue, who is under attack by the Brood in deep space. Captain Marvel and War Machine travel to the X-Men's Treehouse in New York City, which is a gateway to the mutant homeland of Krakoa. Arriving at the island, she begins putting together a team to liberate Rogue. Captain Marvel selects Gambit for her team, and as they figure out their plan, Cyclops asks Gambit if he knows where Rogue is. Gambit replies that she didn't mention it, since "we're not exactly de codependent types."
Gambit & Rogue Have the Best Superhero Marriage
Codependency occurs when partners in a relationship come to rely on each other too much, particularly for emotional and psychological stability. Both Rogue and Gambit are free spirits who operate comfortably together and apart - and this translates to a happy and stable marriage. Gambit and Rogue’s marriage is one of the strongest not only in the X-Men universe, but in Marvel Comics as a whole. The two have been through much together, enduring separation and heartbreak - but always seem to find their way back to each other.
Unlike Scarlet Witch and Vision, Mister Fantastic and the Invisible Woman, Black Bolt and Medusa, Black Panther and Storm, Daredevil and Elektra, and indeed Batman and Catwoman, Rogue and Gambit don't define themselves by their relationships, and have remained close and supportive even when they've been apart. The two don't demand things of each other or declare their relationship a failure if they're not joined at the hip. Rogue flies off into space to check out alien threats, and Gambit gets into capers with Marvel's shadowy antiheroes, and the two meet back up when they're finished for some quality time. Considering DC recently published an entire miniseries (Batman/Catwoman) about the Dark Knight's lifelong struggle to accept his wife's criminal tendencies, this is definitely the exception rather than the rule in superhero love.
Facing life and death situations every day, it's not surprising that superheroes get a little clingy in their relationships, but Rogue and Gambit's unique lives mean that they're both fiercely independent people who like and love the other as they are. It's because of this that X-Men’s Gambit and Rogue have one of the strongest marriages in comics, making them the perfect couple to call out codependent relationships.
Captain Marvel #43 is available from Marvel Comics now.