Deadpool Dated This Unexpected X-Men In Marvel Comics

The first "Deadpool" film was a love story buried underneath an action-comedy. The root of every choice Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds) makes is his love for Vanessa Carlysle (Morena Baccarin). The two share both many wild love scenes in "Deadpool" and a running in-joke about which of them had the worst childhood. Vanessa can even look past Wade's tumorous skin because she likes the man underneath.

Silver screen Deadpool only has eyes for Vanessa but the comics are a different story. Like most of his fellow superheroes, Deadpool has had many short-lived flings with women from all corners of the Marvel Universe. He's even bested Thanos by catching the eye of Lady Death. Deadpool is an X-Men adjacent character; he's not a mutant, but he debuted in "The New Mutants" and has deep ties to Wolverine and Cable. No surprise, he's dated an X-Woman or two.

In the 2013 "Deadpool" video game by High Moon Studios, Wade has a crush on Rogue, the Mississippian mutant with a lethal absorbing touch. Deadpool signs up to help the X-Men (kicking off the game's story) mostly to impress her.

Activision

After Rogue gets injured, she steals a kiss from Deadpool to absorb his healing factor; the game temporarily makes Rogue (with Deadpool's mind in her body) into the player character until Wade comes to. Little did the game makers realize that the comics would soon follow suit.

"Uncanny Avengers" by Gerry Duggan (drawn primarily by Ryan Stegman and Pepe Larraz) puts Rogue and Wade on the same team. By the end of the run, they've shared a passionate kiss. What drew them together? And what about Rogue's longtime (Le)beau Gambit? Can Wade replace the Remy-shaped spot in Rogue's heart?

"Uncanny Avengers" began in 2012 by writer Rick Remender. The premise was that the X-Men and Avengers, who've often had an uneasy relationship, pooled their members onto a new team: "The Avengers Unity Squad." Making mutants into Avengers would hopefully help win them public support. Rogue was part of the team from the beginning and became more or less co-leader with Captain America.

Since 2012, "Uncanny Avengers" has been relaunched (with a reset back to issue #1) three times since. The third iteration (begun in 2015) was when Duggan took over. He'd previously written the solo "Deadpool" series, so he added Deadpool to the team line-up. The in-universe explanation was not far off from the likely editorial one; Captain America recruited Deadpool to help boost Unity Squad's publicity (and fundraising — Deadpool merch sells like hotcakes!)

Duggan's "Uncanny Avengers" is not a great comic; it's primarily a showcase for the artistic talents of the then-rising stars Larraz and Stegman. Both artists excel at big, dynamic superhero action, so a team book was a good fit for them to refine their craft.

It was also published at the apex of Marvel Comics' most baffling decisions; undermining the X-Men in favor of the Inhumans, the undercooked rehash "Civil War II," and turning Captain America into a HYDRA sleeper agent. All of these ideas affect "Uncanny Avengers" and reading it now makes bad memories surface.

However, despite how random the Rogue/Deadpool pairing might seem, it's actually one of the book's strengths.

Deadpool is on his best behavior in "Uncanny Avengers." Flattered by Cap judging him (a violent, self-loathing mercenary) worthy of being an Avenger, he decides to act like a hero deserving of the title. He doesn't lose his fourth-wall breaking sense of humor or motor-mouth, but he balances it with more earnest heroism.

Rogue initially doesn't like having Deadpool on the team, telling Cap in issue #1 that she's "sick of Deadpool" (speaking for Marvel fans who feel Wade is overexposed). As they work together though, she warms to him. In issue #4, they do the oldest X-Men trick in the books together; a "Fastball special," where the super-strong Rogue throws Deadpool through the air (an "oddball special," she calls it).

After (HYDRA) Cap disbands the team in issue #15, Rogue and Deadpool decide to keep it going as a rogue squad. Issue #17 includes them sharing a held gaze between a barely-cracked door, a clear sign of chemistry sparking.

In Duggan's last arc (#18-23), the team thwarts the now-psychic Red Skull together. Under the Skull's control, Rogue beats Deadpool to a pulp but he saves her (and the day) by slapping Magneto's telepathy blocking helmet onto her head.

In issue #22, Rogue whirls Deadpool up into the air and kisses him, absorbing his scars and leaving Wade as handsome as he once was. "Ah don't care what you look like Wade," she tells him. When he promises her she wouldn't like what was inside his head, she kisses him again and takes a peek. Rogue's powers mean that she keeps a bit of everyone she touches in her own head, so her willingness to let Deadpool inside (literally and emotionally) speaks volumes.

The romance doesn't go anywhere after that (Deadpool leaves the team and Rogue gets back together with Gambit), but it's not because Deadpool's memories burnt her.

Rogue has a type. Her lovers — Gambit, Magneto, Deadpool — are all bad boys with dark pasts but also a noble side. Whenever they catch Rogue's eye, it's usually because they are trying to be their best selves. It's understandable why Rogue is drawn to men like that; she was once a bad guy herself but turned her life around, so she can see herself in their struggles and feels urged to nurture their good sides.

She's also naturally avoidant due to her harmful powers; if your kiss put your first boyfriend in a coma, wouldn't you be? That's the reason Rogue and Gambit are broken up during "Uncanny Avengers."

During Mike Carey's run on "X-Men: Legacy," Rogue gains control over her powers. So, it should be smooth sailing for her and Remy, right? Not quite. In "X-Men: Legacy" #248 (art by Jorge Molina and Rafa Sandoval) Gambit senses Rogue is still unsure of herself. Since she loves him so much and is inexperienced with a committed relationship (not just flirting with foreknowledge things can't go further), she's worried about messing things up. So, Gambit tells her to find her confidence alone and when she does, he'll be waiting for her.

Marvel Comics

After that break-up, Rogue briefly rekindled her romance with Magneto and then had her fling with Deadpool. But Gambit was always her endgame.

In 2018's "Rogue and Gambit" (written by Kelly Thompson, drawn by Pére Perez), the X-Men discover a couples' retreat for mutants, Paraíso Island, that never sends its visitors home. They need a couple to investigate, so Rogue and Gambit are given the duty even though they aren't together at the time. On the flight over, Gambit confronts Rogue about her kissing Deadpool; she counters that they didn't kiss, they made out. ("[Wade's] a fantastic kisser... maybe not having a face makes people, I don't know, try harder.")

The mission winds up bringing them back together for real. The facility is run by mutant Dr. Charmaine Grand/Lavish; like Rogue, she can absorb people's memories with the added power of conjuring "golems" to store them. Rogue and Gambit wind up having their memories and powers diffused across a golem army of their past selves. It's like a superhero version of "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind," where a couple decides messy history is better than a false clean slate. (Considering how much Thompson pulls on past Rogue/Gambit issues to tell her story, it also feels like meta-text for how it's better for comic writers to engage with continuity, not ignore it.)

Soon after in "X-Men: Gold" #30 (by Marc Guggenheim and David Marquez), Rogue and Gambit finally marry. Thompson's follow-up, "Mr. and Mrs. X," begins with their intergalactic honeymoon; Deadpool crashes the party. He and Rogue share some friendly banter (seasoned with memories of their fling), but it's clear that Rogue has now made it to her "home and harbor" and Wade's chance for anything more is gone.

Rogue and Gambit are still together as of this writing and about to star in a relaunched "Uncanny X-Men" written by Gail Simone. If/when they make it to the MCU, somehow I don't think they'll be a Deadpool love triangle coming with them.

"Deadpool and Wolverine" is scheduled for theatrical release on July 26, 2024.