X-Men fans were shocked last year when Rogue got it on with none other than Deadpool in Uncanny Avengers #22. The two Marvel heroes (and occasional anti-heroes) had been building up some chemistry for a little while, which came to a head after the Unity Team finally defeated Red Skull. Rogue had given Deadpool quite the beatdown, and even with his healing factor he was taking time to recover, but the Merc With A Mouth wasn’t holding it against her. Instead, in a sweet moment, he revealed he had feelings for her, and she flew him high above the city to kiss him (because that’s what superheroes do.).

However, their romance was short-lived. Their liaison that night was cut short when Deadpool ‘short circuited’ Rogue’s cells (according to Beast), and allowed Wonder Man to emerge from her to rejoin his friends. Deadpool told Beast that Rogue had slapped him, allowing the contact that made it possible, but the Marvel universe was already on fire with the gossip that Roguepool was a thing. Rogue is now back with the X-Men, and in the first issue of Marvel’s Rogue And Gambit, she and her ex-lover are sent on a mission to a retreat for mutants. Of course, on the way there, her fling with Deadpool was bound to be mentioned.

All the juicy details come out when Rogue and Gambit are on the plane to their mission/couples retreat, when Gambit brings up her kiss with Deadpool. He tells her that multiple people called him to tell him the gossip, and Rogue has little patience with it, pointing out that he’s hardly been faithful and devoted to her for his entire life. As their conversation continues, Rogue (who is getting more than a little sassy, here, in perfect Rogue style) corrects Gambit when he says she ‘kissed’ Deadpool. She ‘made out with’ Deadpool, thank you very much. And as a final flourish, Rogue tells him that Wade’s lack of a face didn’t bother her, that he was a great kisser, and insinuates that actually, Deadpool may well be a better ‘kisser’ than Gambit himself!

The Marvel fandom gasps and clutches its collective pearls with that bomb dropped, although obviously no-one was more shocked than the Ragin’ Cajun himself! This may well be something that pops up again, too, especially if Deadpool hears about his rankings in Rogue’s little black book. However, for the time being, past liaisons are pushed out of Rogue and Gambit’s minds as they are knocked out and wake up tied down in this ‘retreat’ where mutants are being stripped of their powers.

In terms of the big picture, this mention does a little bit more than just up the soap-opera dynamic of the new Rogue And Gambit title from Marvel. It makes it clear that while some fans were rooting for Roguepool, ‘the two loneliest people in the world’ to get together, that seems to be in the past now. Deadpool is off doing his own thing, and while their relationship is as complicated as ever, Rogue and Gambit are back together again.

Rogue and Gambit #1 also makes it clear that this is as much about their relationship as it is their work as superheroes, with most of this issue devoted to discussion about where they are now; with Rogue (as always) feeling that she is just too broken to be with Gambit, and Gambit telling her that not only does he not care if she can’t control her powers, but he’s happy just to be with her because she is his best friend.

Rogue’s Deadpool gossip may have been a major slap in the face to Gambit this issue, but we’re waiting to see where else it goes, and remembering that she knows the conceited Cajun very well. Rogue may even be telling a bit of a fib in order to push her true love away – and only time will tell how this next chapter in their relationship turns out.