GAMBIT (COMICS)

'Gambit' ('Remy LeBeau') is a fictional character, a Marvel Comics superhero who is a member of the X-Men. Created by writer Chris Claremont and artist Mike Collins, he first appeared in ''Uncanny X-Men'' #266 (August 1990). As of 2007, there have been two attempts at an ongoing title starring the character. Gambit also had two different mini-series and starred prominently in the X-Force replacement title during the Age of Apocalypse: Gambit & the X-Ternals.
A mutant, Gambit possesses the ability to manipulate kinetic energy as well as limited hypnosis. He is also skilled in burglary, the use of a Bō, card throwing, and hand-to-hand combat.
A professional thief, few X-Men trusted Gambit when he first joined the group, a source of stress between him and his longtime on and off again love interest Rogue. This was exacerbated when his connections to villain Mister Sinister were revealed, although some of his team members accept that Gambit honestly seeks redemption.
Gambit appeared on the ''X-Men'' animated series and in video games. He also starred in two solo series, one lasting from 1998 through 2001 and the other 2004 though 2005. He also starred in two miniseries of his own, the first having been released in 1993 and the other in 1997. The "Gambit & X-Ternals", published in 1995, featured a group of renegade mutants lead by Gambit who have been living on the edge of law during the rule of Apocalypse's post-apocalyptic mutant dictatorship.
The X-Men's self-described ladies man, Gambit has shown a more vulnerable side of himself over the years, especially when it comes to Rogue, his love. Gambit remains fiercely proud of his Louisiana heritage, and speaks in a very thick New Orleans, Cajun accent.

Contents

Publication History

Fictional character biography

Early life

The Mutant Massacre

X-Men

X-Treme X-Men: XSE

Apocalypse

Marauders and Mr. Sinister

Powers and abilities

Other versions

In other media

Cartoons

Video games

Films

Toys

Footnotes

References

Publication History

Fictional character biography

Early life

Remy LeBeau was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. He was kidnapped from the hospital where he was raised by the Thieves Guild, and given to the Antiquary as a tribute.
They referred to the child as "le diable blanc" ("the white devil") and believed he was prophesied to unite the warring Thieves and Assassins Guilds. Soon after, Remy was placed in the care of Fagan's Mob, a gang of street thieves who raised the child and taught him the ways of thievery. After living as an orphan on the streets, a 10 year-old Remy attempted to pick the pocket of Jean-Luc LeBeau, then patriarch of the Thieves Guild. Jean-Luc took the boy off the streets and adopted him into his own family.
Remy's biokinetic charging abilities manifested early in his teens, although he kept it secret from his family and friends, practicing his powers away from prying eyes. When he was 15, he accompanied his best friend Etienne Marceaux on his "Tilling", the ritual initiation test of the Thieves Guild. However, it went awry as they were assigned to steal from the powerful immortal mutant Candra, who quickly captured them. Candra recognised Remy from an encounter that had taken place in her past but in his future (due to a time travel mission to the 19th Century Remy would take as an adult) and sold them to the deformed, mutant gangster and child slave trader known as the Pig, who planned to sell them and others their age on to HYDRA as boy soldiers. Remy used his powers to escape their holding pen, but the physically enhanced Pig quickly caught up to them. Remy discovered his signature attack when he picked up a playing card that the downed Etienne had dropped, charged it and threw it in the Pig's face, taking out his eye. Finally escaping his clifftop headquarters by diving into the sea, Remy was ultimately rescued by the Guild but Etienne instead drowned.
In an attempt to reconcile the Thieves and Assassins Guilds, Remy married Bella Donna Boudreaux, granddaughter of the head Assassin, whom he had met at age 8 and was his longtime love since. Unfortunately, he was challenged by her brother Julien to a duel after the wedding. In the duel, Gambit killed Julien, and he was exiled from the city, ending his relationship with Bella Donna by leaving without even asking her to consider accompanying him.

The Mutant Massacre

After his exile from New Orleans, he wandered the world and became a master thief, making many contacts (and quite a few enemies). During this period, Gambit found he had an uncontrollable amount of energy flowing through him, to the point that he could not withstand it. Desperate, Gambit went to Mister Sinister for help. Sinister modified Gambit's power, making him significantly less powerful, but able to control the still considerably large amount of power in him.
However, Sinister wanted the favor returned, so Gambit carried out various missions for him. For the last of these operations, Gambit gathered together a group of mercenaries which Sinister named the Marauders. The group included the mutant Sabretooth as one of its members. Gambit was then to lead the Marauders into the tunnels under New York City where, unknown to Gambit, their goal was to wipe out the Morlocks (in the original comic, ''Uncanny X-Men'' #210, the Marauders were shown following the Morlock Tommy into the tunnels). Gambit was unable to prevent the Marauders from killing a considerable number of Morlocks, but he was able to save one, a child. Her name was Sarah, and she would grow up to be Marrow, the leader of the mutant terrorist group Gene Nation. Gambit long kept his involvement in the mission a secret from his fellow X-Men, much to their eventual displeasure.

X-Men

After wandering around the world, he rescued a de-aged and powerless Storm from Nanny and the Orphan-Maker (in his debut appearance, Uncanny X-Men #266). Afterwards, the young amnesiac, who had reverted to thieving to stay alive, joined Gambit, and she eventually brought him back to the X-Men. Gambit fought alongside the X-Men, learning as much as he could about them without revealing details of his past, not even his real name. Only Wolverine had his doubts about the Cajun, which led to a Danger Room duel between the two. Gambit was able to triumph by using a robotic doppelganger of Lady Deathstrike to distract Wolverine, while taking advantage of Wolverine's injuries, inflicted by the Reavers.
When the original five X-Men rejoined and the team was divided into two squads, Gambit became part of the Blue team under Cyclops’ leadership. He became interested in one of his teammates in particular, Rogue, and started flirting with her, despite her off-putting manner and the obstacle of her uncontrollable power that prevented anyone from touching her. They started becoming more and more interested in each other, even though their first date was disrupted by a villain’s attack. It should be noted that their relationship was originally written as a one time, flirtatious moment. However, their pairing met with such enthusiasm that the relationship was explored, culminating with the two falling in love.
Many publishing years later, it had become apparent Remy had a dark secret. Sabretooth had hinted to it on numerous occasions during his "residency" at the X-Mansion, prompting Rogue to ask him to reveal whatever he knew about Gambit's past. Sabretooth told her how he and Gambit had first met in Paris years earlier, and that he had forced the Cajun to make a choice between saving his brother or his lover at the time - Remy had chosen his brother's life and was forced to watch the girl die declaring her love for him. He did not, however, reveal the secret itself. Following their first kiss when it seemed existence was about to end, Rogue was so traumatized by absorbing Remy's memories in Israel at the end of the "Legion Quest" that she ran away from the X-Men for a time.
In Uncanny X-Men #350, Remy was captured and brought before a mock trial held by Magneto, the mutant Master of Magnetism, then disguised as Erik the Red. Rogue was forced to kiss him again, revealing that he had assembled the team of Marauders for Mr. Sinister that later killed most of the Morlocks. However it was also revealed that Gambit saved a single girl from the Marauders during the massacre. This apparent revelation and absorbing Gambit's own guilty memories caused Rogue to reject him. Gambit was similarly cast out of the X-Men and was abandoned in the frozen wastes of Antarctica.
Starving to death and haunted by the betrayal of his love (Rogue), Gambit made his way back into Magneto's citadel, where he encountered the psionic essence of a dead mutant named Mary Purcell. The wraith-like Mary bonded with him, allowing him to survive until he reached the Savage Land, a hidden jungle nestled in the icy wasteland. There, Remy struck a deal with the enigmatic being known as the New Son. In exchange for passage back to America, Gambit agreed to run errands for the New Son with the help of friend Jacob Gavin Jr..
When Gambit's psyche absorption had worn off, Rogue spent months searching for him, to no avail. Gambit encountered the X-Men again when he attempted to steal the fabled Crimson Gem of Cyttorak for his new employer. He agreed to return to the team, mainly for his self-respect and for Rogue. At one point he became the field leader of a branch of X-Men. His love for Rogue was still intact, but her inability to control her powers made her break it off out of fear of hurting him.
Meanwhile, the New Son revealed his true identity after organizing an assassination game for a cadre of super-powered mercenaries with Remy as the target. The attempt failed, and Remy learned that the New Son was an alternate reality version of himself. In his reality, the New Son's kinetic charging powers had flared out of control, burning the world and killing everyone but himself. This incredible power was the reason for his true name, New Sun — not "son" as Remy previously thought. As a result of the destruction of his world, the New Sun hunted down and killed versions of himself in other realities to ensure that they would not repeat his mistakes. During their final battle, Remy burned through his enhanced powers to defeat the New Sun, returning his powers to their normal level.

X-Treme X-Men: XSE

When Storm led a team of X-Men in search of Destiny's diaries, the thirteen-volume Books of Truth, Gambit volunteered to join them, but Rogue - afraid that her increasingly uncontrolled powers would bring him harm - flatly refused to allow him along. He returned to thievery instead, and was soon after framed by mutant businessman Sebastian Shaw for the death of the Australian crime lord named Viceroy. With the assistance of Rogue, Storm's team of X-Treme X-Men, and former Triad member Red Lotus, Gambit was able to clear his name. Soon after, Remy became embroiled in the X-Men's fight against an alien invasion of Earth led by the interdimensional warlord Khan, after trying to assemble the "Madripoor Set," a group of seven gems. Remy was captured and used as a power source for the invaders to open a portal that would allow their full invasion fleet to pass through and complete the conquest of Earth. The X-Treme team's enemy, the enhanced human named Vargas, used the invasion as a chance to attempt to kill more of Storm's team, going after Rogue and Gambit. Rogue tried to shield Remy against Vargas' sword, but he impaled them both as a reward for her fidelity. Both Rogue and Gambit survived, but lost their mutant abilities (for a time). As a result, the couple sought to live a normal life and sort out their relationship, retiring from the X-Men temporarily.
When they returned, they were still both powerless. During the ReLoad period in Marvel comics, X-Treme X-Men was canceled with the X-Treme team returning to the X-Mansion. Shortly afterwards, Sage "jump-started" Remy's powers with Rogue's aid. However, this proved to be more of a curse than a blessing when one of Gambit's cards quite literally blew up in his face, blinding him. Gambit remained blind for several months until Sage managed to restore his eyesight with her abilities once more. It is possible that she did this by boosting Gambit's kinetic energy-generating powers to the level where he could heal himself by accelerating his body's own natural rate of healing, a trick he used to survive being mortally wounded during the Assassination Game. Cyclops assigned both of them to another X-Men squad led by Havok, despite the fact that neither one, nor any of the other members on the squad, was happy being there.

Apocalypse

Rogue's foster mother Mystique was displeased with Rogue's choice of lovers and infiltrated Xavier's Institute by shapeshifting into a student called Foxx. She joined Gambit's squad in an attempt to ruin his relationship with Rogue. After Gambit resisted her charms, Mystique reverted to her true form and then offered Gambit something significantly more difficult to refuse: she transformed into Rogue and offered Gambit a Rogue with whom he could have a physical relationship. Whether or not they engaged in a relationship, however, is uncertain. Rogue eventually discovered her mother's presence in the school. This led to the exact rift for which Mystique was hoping and allowed her to set up her daughter with her accomplice, Pulse.
Upon the return of Apocalypse, Gambit submitted himself to the villain and was transformed into one of Apocalypse's Horsemen, Death. Gambit intended to infiltrate himself into Apocalypse's ranks in order to protect the X-Men from the Dark Lord's eventual betrayal, but he miscalculated, as the transformation process warped his mind as well as his body. After becoming Death, Gambit's hair turned white and his skin turned deep black. Despite having his mind and body twisted, Gambit retained a large portion of his former self, stating to Apocalypse, "I'm both Death and Gambit," and he also remembered his love for Rogue as he could not bring himself to kill her.
In their latest battle, Gambit was knocked unconscious and was taken by the former X-Man Sunfire, now a Horseman like him, to a Zen temple in Japan, where Sunfire told Gambit that they had to destroy all bonds to their former lives and take Polaris with them. Gambit and Sunfire then returned to the Xavier Institute to claim Polaris. Gambit, in an attempt to free all ties with his old self, tried to kill Rogue and would have been successful had it not been for Pulse neutralizing Gambit's powers.
After the X-Men defeated Apocalypse, Sunfire left with Gambit to help him clear Apocalypse's brainwashing and live as entirely new beings, only to then be approached by Mister Sinister.

Marauders and Mr. Sinister

Gambit, returned to his original appearance (presumably by Mr. Sinister), reemerged as a member of the Marauders who invaded the Xavier Institute to destroy the X-Men.^[1] On a mission for Mr. Sinister (involving obtaining knowledge of the future) Gambit and Sunfire encounted Cable on the recently evacuated island of Providence. Before the fight Gambit said, "I dropped that whole new look, wit' the help of a friend." He then asked Cable for use of his super-computer to answer a question referring to the phrase "one minute before dawn", which seems likely tied into the upcoming Messiah Complex storyline. Cable, declined, fearing what the information in his systems can do in the wrong hands. As a result, Gambit and Sunfire attacked him eventually forcing Cable to activate a self-destruct sequence destroying the entire island.^[2] Gambit and Sunfire escaped empty handed. During the fight, Cable noted that Gambit's accent sounded 'forced' either for comic effect or perhaps to indicate that things may not be as 'back to normal' as they seem with Gambit.^[2] As Gambit returned to Mr. Sinister's base to discuss the next step of the plan, he reprimanding Mystique for shooting Rogue when they abducted her, being placated only by Mr. Sinister's assurance that Rogue was still needed and would survive.^[4]

Powers and abilities

Gambit's mutant ability allows him to charge inanimate objects with unstable kinetic energy. This usually causes the object in question to detonate after a controlled time restraint.
Gambit is skilled in card throwing and all aspects of thievery. One of his trademark tricks is to hurl playing cards (his favorite playing card being the ace of spades (from Gambit 1 mini Vol.1)) at an opponent, charging each card and turning it into a deadly projectile. His other tricks have included charging a wad of chewing gum when he was otherwise entirely tied up and charging the floor of an entire room, causing it to explode with great force. Gambit's most powerful attack in the 616 universe consists of charging a whole deck of cards and hurling them at an opponent. The energy released by the cards exploding continuously is so great that it can damage even the strongest Marvel characters (for example Gladiator, who was knocked unconscious by this attack).
He often wields a telescopic metal staff, and is highly trained in martial arts, particularly the French kickboxing martial art Savate, with the physical attributes of a body naturally built for constant motion (likely a permanent side-effect of his mutant powers), coupled with his Thieves Guild training, makes him a superhumanly acrobatic fighter. On several occasions he has shown an ability to charm people through mild hypnosis, and seems able to scramble attempts at mind reading and psychic attacks because of the charged potential energy always in his body.
This charming ability may not be a result of hypnosis but appears to have the potential to be an empathy-based power. According to the 2006/7 Handbook to the Marvel Universe entry on his alternate reality counterpart New Sun, it is mentioned that this charming ability is achieved by charging the subject's brain with energy through the use of his kinetic powers. It has been mentioned that it becomes less effective on people who are aware of this ability. However, it is unknown whether on Earth-616, where Gambit does not have Omega level powers and where it is established that Gambit can no longer charge organic matter, the same principle holds or the effect is achieved by some other manner.
In his youth, Gambit once had the ability to control all forms of kinetic energy, allowing him to charge anything within line of sight, but his inability to control it caused him to turn to Sinister, who excised the portion of his brain stem responsible for his full mutant powers. Later, he returned to Sinister while he was in Victorian England, and had his grey matter surgically reimplanted, restoring his abilities to 100%, until he burned them out after fighting the New Sun. It is unknown whether Sage's jumpstart of his mutation after the ReLoad revived all of Gambit's powers.
During the time that he was blind, Gambit could seemingly foresee events by using his playing cards (akin to tarot reading). As the Horseman Death, Gambit has shown the ability to convert inert materials into toxic substances. For example, he could transform breathable air into poisonous gases. Gambit customarily wears a suit of highly articulated light body armor.

Other versions

Main articles: Alternate versions of Gambit

In addition to his mainstream incarnation, Gambit has had been depicted in other fictional universes.

In other media

Cartoons

★ Gambit was one of the starring X-Men characters in the ''X-Men'' animated television series of the 1990s, in which he was voiced by Chris Potter until Potter left in 1996 and was replaced by Tony Daniels until the series ended. One particular episode features the time traveler Bishop. He accuses Gambit of betraying the X-Men by assassinating Senator Robert Kelly. The traitor is revealed to be the shape-shifting Mystique disguised as Gambit. This episode was clearly modeled after a combination of the Days of Future Past story arc (in which an alternate future version of Kitty Pryde traveled back in time to prevent Kelly's assassination) and the buildup to the Onslaught crossover (in which Bishop accused Gambit of being the one who would betray the X-Men).
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★ In the '' animated TV series, Gambit appeared in a few episodes as a henchman of Magneto, and was voiced by Alessandro Juliani. This version of Gambit is noteworthy for taking liberties with the character; he didn't join the X-Men and appeared to enjoy working for Magneto, displaying sociopathic tendencies behind his charming exterior. Originally, his flirtatious moments with Rogue were meant to be an inside reference for fans of the comic books, but fan demand led the producers to pursue the relationship a little more seriously. Towards the end of the show's run, an episode featured Gambit kidnapping Rogue in an attempt to manipulate her into helping him rescue Jean-Luc LeBeau from the Assassins Guild (re-named The Rippers to be more kid-friendly, although it should be noted that in the 1990s X-men Animated Series they were called "The Assassins" and Gambit himself stated "thieves kill assassins, assassins kill thieves") and parting ways at the end on friendly terms. Remy states in the episode that his favorite card is the Queen of Hearts, whereas in the 90's animated series and comics it is highly believed that his favorite card is the Ace of Spades. In a screenshot from the future, it is shown that Gambit will join the X-Men.

★ In the anime, Rurouni Kenshin, the character Jin-e the Manslayer is based on Gambit's likeness.

Video games

★ Gambit first appeared in the Super Nintendo game . Sega Genesis games ''X-Men'' and '' both feature him as a starting playable character as well. He is a playable character in the '' game for the Super Nintendo. Gambit is featured in some games from the Marvel vs. Capcom series, which is voiced by Tony Daniels, his second voice from the 90s cartoon. He also appears in both of the games. He is a playable character in the video games '', ''X-Men Legends'', and in ''.

★ Gambit was one of the X-Men that was taken out by Doctor Doom in the '' Doomsday cut-scene.

Films

★ In '' his name was seen on a screen among a list of other mutants when Mystique hacks the system of William Stryker for information on different mutants.

★ An early leaked script suggested that Gambit would be included in '' as a minor character. Josh Holloway was offered the role but declined it due to it being too similar to his character on Lost. Also, an interview with producer Lauren Shuler Donner reveals that Channing Tatum auditioned for the role, before the character was cut [1]. In an interview with Wizard magazine, WWE professional wrestler Greg 'The Hurricane' Helms said that he had planned to read for the part before the change of producers and director.[2] According to the audio commentary of ''X-Men: The Last Stand'', Gambit was to appear in the prison convoy scene of the movie, before the character was cut.

★ In the novelization of the movie by Chris Claremont, Gambit does indeed appear. In the ''X2'' novel, he is one of the mutants seen being affected by Dark Cerebro. He is playing cards in a New Orleans bar when he suddenly falls in pain from the machine's activation and causes a table to explode. In the ''X3'' novelization, he is a new student at the mansion being trained by Wolverine, along with Cannonball, Danielle Moonstar, and Sage.

Toys

Gambit has had many action figures produced of him since his comic debut, the first being released less than a year after his first appearance.

★ The first was released in 1992 in Toy Biz's X-Men toy line. He featured a removable plastic trenchcoat, staff, and had a kicking action feature when a button on his back was pressed. This figure was rereleased in the first X-Men Classics line.

★ The second Gambit figure had a much better sculpt, and had a non-removable vinyl trenchcoat. He also came with his trademark staff, and also had an action feature. This time it was a light-up feature, with which he could appear to be throwing several playing cards. This version also had a variant, which featured Gambit wearing a blue and yellow uniform, meant to resemble the original X-Men uniforms.

★ Gambit was also featured in the X-Men Robot Fighters subline, which was meant to simulate the various characters training in the Danger Room. This version of Gambit did not come with a coat or staff, but did come with a training robot that he could battle.

★ He was also featured in the X-Men Power Slammers line, wearing the Shi'ar armor that he wore during the "Trial of Gambit" storyline.

★ Gambit also had an exclusive release in the BJ's Wholesale exclusive X-Men Strike Team set, which featured all the X-Men characters wearing the classic blue and yellow X-Men uniforms.

★ X-Men vs Street Fighter also released a Gambit figure, as well as a variant. The standard version used the body, arms, and legs from the Light-up Gambit, and a newly sculpted head. He came with a spring loaded arm that could throw a playing card when pulled back and released. The variant was painted in the "Player 2" colors of the character, featuring a blue trench coat.

★ Gambit has appeared in the Marvel Legends toy line, in series 4 and in the X-Men legends box set (with leather trenchcoat instead of cloth).

Footnotes

1. ''X-Men'' (vol. 2) #200
2. ''Cable and Deadpool'' #42
3. ''Cable and Deadpool'' #42
4. ''X-men''#202

References

★ GambitGuild.com / LeBeau Library

★ GambitGuild.co.uk

★ UncannyXmen.net