Gambit (comics)

Gambit (Remy LeBeau) is a Marvel Comics superhero and a member of the X-Men. Created by writer Chris Claremont and artist Jim Lee, he first appeared in Uncanny X-Men #266 (August 1990).

A mutant, Gambit possesses the ability to charge objects, usually his trademark playing cards, with kinetic energy, causing them to explode. He is also skilled in breaking and entering, the use of a Bo staff and hand-to-hand combat, particularly the French kickboxing art Savate.

A mysterious and charismatic former professional thief, few X-Men trusted Gambit when he first joined the group, a source of stress between him and his longtime love interest Rogue. This was exacerbated when his connections to villain Mister Sinister were revealed, although some accept that Gambit honestly seeks redemption.

Gambit was one of the most popular X-Men of the 1990s, securing a place in the era’s X-Men animated series and video games. He also starred in two solo series, one lasting from 1998 through 2001 and the other 2004 though 2005.

Character history

Early life

Remy LeBeau was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. He was abandoned at birth due to his burning red eyes. The child was kidnapped by members of the New Orleans Thieves Guild. 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 a gang of street thieves who raised the child and taught him the ways of thievery. After living as an orphan on the streets, 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. In an attempt to reconcile the Thieves and Assassins Guilds, Remy married Bella Donna Boudreaux, daughter of the head Assassin. 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 and his relationship with Bella ended. Gambit used to run with a man named Jake, but they had a falling out when Gambit rejected his advances.

The Mutant Massacre

Not much is known of Gambit’s life over the following years since his exile from New Orleans, except that he wandered the world and became a master thief. He has also made many contacts (and quite a few enemies) during that time. Gambit 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 enhanced 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, and Gambit led a mission for him. He was tasked with gathering together a group of mercenaries, including the mutant, Sabretooth, which Sinister named the Maurauders. He was then to lead them into the tunnels under New York where, unknown to Gambit, their goal was to wipe out the Morlocks. Gambit was unable to prevent the Maurauders from killing a considerable amount of Morlocks, but 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 this a secret from his fellow X-Men, much to their suspicion.

X-Men

Storm

After much wandering around the world, he rescued Storm from Nanny when she had been transformed into a child. After he took her on a stealing spree across America, she 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 them that Gambit narrowly won by taking advantage of Wolverine's injuries and distraction.

X-Men: Blue

When the original five X-Men rejoined and the X-Men were 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. Still, the two fell in love.

Gambit's secret revealed

It was eventually revealed that Remy had a dark secret, which had been hinted at by Sabretooth 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. He didn't, however, reveal the secret itself. 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. Later, at a mockery of a trial, she 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, outcast mutants living in New York's sewers, regardless of the previously written story that showed the Marauders had followed one of the Morlocks's own members, Tommy, to their home beneath the city. This apparent revelation and absorbing Gambit's own guilty memories caused Rogue to reject him.

=The Trial of Gambit

= Remy was subsequently captured and brought before a mock trial held by Magneto, the mutant master of magnetism, then disguised as Erik the Red. Remy was summarily cast out of the X-Men and was abandoned in the frozen wastes of Antarctica. Starving to death and haunted by betrayal of his love (Rogue), Remy 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, Remy agreed to run errands for the New Son.

=Return

= When Gambit's psyche absorption had worn off, Rogue spent months searching for Gambit, to no avail. Remy 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 previously thought. As a result of the destruction of his world the New Son 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 Son, returning his powers to their normal level.

X-treme X-Men: X.S.E.

The Books of Truth

He later joined the team searching for the Books of Truth. Remy was then framed by mutant businessman Sebastian Shaw for the death of the Australian crime lord named Viceroy. With the assistance of Rogue, her 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. He 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, attempted to halt the process. Rogue tried to shield Remy against Vargas' sword, and he impaled them both as a prize for her fidelity. The couple survived, but lost their mutant abilities. As a result, he and the also powerless Rogue sought to live a normal life together and retired from the X-Men to also sort out their relationship.

When they returned, they were still both powerless. Shortly afterwards, however, Sage "jump-started" his 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. As Storm felt he needed time for rehabilitation, Gambit (along with Rogue) was not on her team anymore. Apparently feeling differently, Cyclops assigned both of them to another X-Men squad led by Havok, despite the fact that neither one (or any of the other members on the squad) is happy with being there.

Mystique

Rogue's foster mother, Mystique, was displeased with Rogue's choice of love 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 whom he could have a physical relationship with. Whether or not they engaged in a relationship is uncertain, however. Rogue eventually discovered her mother's presence in the school. This led to the exact rift Mystique was hoping for, and allowed her to set up her daughter with her accomplice, Pulse.

The Four Horsemen of Apocalypse

Upon the return of Apocalypse, Gambit submitted himself to Apocalypse and was revealed as the newest member of the current incarnation of the Horseman of Death, at the end of X-Men #184. Gambit seems to have intended to insinuate himself into Apocalypse's ranks in order to protect the X-Men from the High Lord's eventual betrayal, but he miscalculated, as the transformation process warped his mind as well as his body. As a result of becoming Death VI, Gambit's hair has turned white and his skin turned deep black. Despite having his mind and body twisted, Gambit still retains a large portion of his former self, stating to Apocalypse "I'm both Death and Gambit" and even remembers how deeply he cares for Rogue as he could not bring himself to kill her.

In their latest battle, Gambit was knocked unconscious and has his body taken by the former X-Men Sunfire now turned Horseman as well. Sunfire later told Gambit that he must destroy all bonds to his former life and that they must find Polaris. In an attempt to free all ties with his old self, Gambit tried to kill Rogue—his strongest link—and would have been successful had it not been for Pulse neutralizing Gambit's powers. Without Polaris, Sunfire and Gambit left. At the temple where Sunfire first took Gambit, Mr. Sinister told them, "I am glad you both feel able to move on from the past... for I am your future!".

Alternate versions

Age of Apocalypse

In the alternate Age of Apocalypse, Gambit was a member of the X-Men and one of Magneto's closest friends. Like his Earth-616 counterpart, Gambit too fell in love with Rogue, which prompted him to leave the X-Men when Rogue chose Magneto, whom she could touch due to the two possessing magnetism-based powers. Gambit, as member of the Thieves Guild, maintained a certain connection with Candra, who was also one of Apocalypse's Horsemen, until she was killed. Despite having left the X-Men, Gambit still fought for "the Dream" in his own way. He assembled a group of thieves which he named "X-ternals", who stole from Apocalypse's regime and the mutant aristocracy to provide food and medicines to the humans still living in New York. He also had an affair with Lila Cheney, despite the fact that he had not gotten over Rogue.

When Magneto put into action his plan to save Xavier, Gambit agreed to steal a shard of the M'Kraan Crystal with the aid of his X-Ternals. Gambit and the X-ternals were chased by Mudir Rictor and later faced the Shiar Imperial Guard. However, Gambit obtained the shard of the Crystal, giving up in exchange his undying love for Rogue. Gambit thought that he had now lost his ability to love. The group returned to earth, however, Gambit lost both the Crystal shard and Magneto and Rogue's son, Charles, to the traitor Guido when he threatened to kill Lila.

Despite this, Gambit was accepted back into the X-Men fold when they launched a mission to Apocalypse's citadel to rescue Magneto and put his plan into action. Gambit killed the crazed Colossus when his desire to save his sister Illyana threatened the mission.

Following the death of Apocalypse and the fall of his regime, Gambit once again became a member of the X-Men.

During the AoA's 10th anniversary, Gambit was part of the X-Men and helped Magneto eliminate the remaining forces still loyal to Apocalypse. This included the X-Men getting rid of the Hellions. Magneto later became injured, when telling the Morlocks that they were free, and while he was recuperating, Quicksilver detected mutant signatures of Apocalypse's former soldiers in Mexico. Magneto then left with Quicksilver, Gambit and Sunfire.

The Guthrie siblings attacked the X-Men's base later, keeping Rogue and Charles Lensherr captive. Magneto, Sunfire, Gambit and Quicksilver returned to the base and defeated the Guthries. Magneto then revealed his secret regarding Sinister, leading the X-Men to Sinister's lab in New York. The X-Men then fought the Sinister Six, and during the fight, Gambit, Nightcrawler and Dazzler were sucked into Cloak. Nightcrawler saved Dazzler, but not Gambit, resulting in Gambit's death. The X-Men later buried their dead, and created a tombstone for Gambit saying "Luck always be on his side."

Exiles

In Exiles, Gambit of Earth-371 was the team leader of Weapon X (the ruthless counterpart to the heroic Exiles), having replaced Sabretooth. He first showed up in Exiles #23-25, where Weapon X had to work with Iron Man, the fascist monarch of Earth, to kill all of the Inhumans. They succeeded and went to the next reality.

He later appeared again with Weapon X in Exiles #38–40 and #43–45. It appeared that he and Storm had been in a relationship and that back in his alternate reality he and Storm (another one from his alternate reality) were married. Storm was now dead and replaced by Hyperion. In this mission, Weapon X was supposed to kill the ten remaining mutants in this reality, but this evil version of Hyperion wanted to be the ruler of this Earth. The heroes did not want to murder anyone anyway, but a battle with Hyperion soon followed. Hyperion shot off Gambit's arm, forcing Gambit to retreat into the Morlock tunnels. Hyperion murdered most of the Weapon X team.

Finally the Exiles appeared and determined what the true nature of the mission, although they initially refused to go through with it. They were to kill six members of Weapon X and the Exiles. Hyperion and an evil version of Ms. Marvel (who had already taken care of most of the killing) forced them to fight. In the end Hyperion was seemingly killed by Gambit after Blink had injured him sufficiently to make him vulnerable. Gambit was disintegrated in the blast. It was revealed later that Hyperion resurrected himself and took control the Panoptichron. It is also revealed that every Weapon X and Exiles team member who died or sent home, were frozen into a crystal wall in that palace. When the Exiles found the place there were many fallen heroes—Gambit among them.

Mutant X

In the Mutant X universe, Gambit was in a fatal accident when he was attempting to steal something. He was accompanied by Bloodstorm at the time, and begged her to turn him into a vampire so that he didn't have to die. She reluctantly accepted his request and became Gambit's sire. He was very unhappy with the creature he had become, blaming Bloodstorm for what she had done to him, and ran away. Since his eyes were naturally red, no one in the Thieves' Guild noticed any difference in Gambit, only making it easier for him to continue to feed.

Later, Gambit was forced to join Havok's team The Six, and while there, received a partial cure for his vampirism from the Brute. With the serum he devised, it granted both Gambit and Bloodstorm a reprive from their blood lust and gave them the ability to walk in the sunlight.

However, Gambit's appreciation didn't run too deep. When the team was in crisis fighting the combined might of the Goblyn Force, Dracula, and the Beyonder, Gambit stole the team's jet and flew away with his adopted daughter Raven, never to be seen again.

X-Men: The End

In the miniseries The End: Heroes and Martyrs, Gambit was revealed to be the clone of Mister Sinister, created from Sinister's own pre-mutated DNA. Sinister wished to destroy his master, Apocalypse, and to do so he needed a body that had not been subject to Apocalypse's altering. He then engineered mutant powers for the clone, using the DNA of Cyclops. This technically makes him the third Summers brother in that alternate reality. But Apocalypse learned of Sinister's plan and had the child stolen, and left it in the care of the Thieves Guild.

Ultimate Gambit

In this universe, Remy LeBeau is a Cajun thief, similar to the normal mainstream version. A flashback shows that Remy was beaten maliciously by his father; readers can suspect that the young boy later ran away. He was subsequently brought up by a thief, who taught him the arts of stealing. His connection to Mister Sinister has been hinted but has yet to be made clear, though a scientist resembling Essex is seen by Rogue when she touches Gambit. Later as an adult, Remy lived on the streets of New York, performing card tricks with his "magic", and continued to steal.

Gambit at one point had been offered by Charles Xavier, to join the X-Men, but he refused. He also faced Hammerhead and defeated him while trying to save a young girls life by making his adamantium skull explode.

At some point he met scouts in New Orleans who represented Andreas Von Strucker and Andrea Von Strucker, the Fenris Twins. The twins were presidents of Fenris International and secretly mutants. Their goal was to obtain mutant supremacy through economic empowerment. To accomplish this, they needed to find out the secrets of their business rivals. The twins made Gambit an offer that he could not refuse, to participate in espionage activities. In addition to being paid, they cleaned up his accent, and helped him control his powers.

Gambit ran into the X-Men again at the Coney Island Fair, when he was sent by the Fenris Twins to recruit Rogue. Rogue would be an ideal employee, since her powers (which include viewing others’ memories) would be useful for learning others' secrets. However, because of the unethical aspect of the job, Rogue refused. The Fenris Twins angrily told her to reconsider her decision. Gambit saw the twins threatening Rogue. He supported Rogue, subdued the twins, and escaped with her. Afterwards, Gambit asked Rogue to come with him, commenting on how she and he both were alike. Rogue agreed, and left the X-Men.

In a battle with Ultimate Juggernaut, Gambit appears to suffer fatal injuries. As Rogue gives him the last kiss, she completely absorbs his powers, seemingly losing her own ability to syphon the memories and abilities of others.

Bishop's Future

In the future timeline that is the home of the X-Man Bishop (Earth-1191), the X-Men were wiped out in 1996 by someone recorded only as 'The X-Traitor'. But there was apparently one survivor of the attack, a man called the Witness. He had a Cajun accent and long hair. He and Bishop had an antagonistic relationship in that time. When Bishop came to the past, he recognized Gambit's face as that of the Witness.

Later, the Witness was revealed to have been living happily in New Orleans, unchanged from how Bishop will know him in 80 years time. He met the young Remy Lebeau, and had a set of trophies from countless battles across time (fans noticed Captain America's shattered shield, Mjolnir, the red power suit from The Greatest American Hero, and Hellboy's Right Hand of Doom). He claimed to be pantemporal, capable of seeing all things in all realities at all times. The fact that he was even capable of conversing with Bishop or anyone else in a linear fashion is apparently due to his sense of humor.

Powers and abilities

Gambit can charge inanimate objects with kinetic energy giving them explosive power. One of his trademark tricks is to hurl playing cards 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.

He often wields an adamantium telescopic staff and has enhanced agility and stamina. 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. It has been mentioned that it becomes less effective to people who are aware of this ability.

Prior to being a revealed character he had the ability to control all forms of kinetic energy allowing him to charge anything, but his inability to control it caused him to go to Sinister. Later he went back to Sinister and had his powers increased again, until he burned them out after fighting the New Son.

It has been implied that Gambit's ability to generate 'kinetic energy' will some day evolve into control of motion and time. The first example of this was New Son, a temporal clone of Gambit raised by a government organization. He created a fortress, the Crystal Cathedral, in the middle of time and space, and could teleport people into and out of it. The second example was The Witness, a possible future version of Gambit. He could see through time and bring things through time.

His power's true potential, though permanently excised now, is to control all manner of kinetic energy, allowing him to fire energy blasts, defy gravity and effectively exist as energy, thus making him an Omega at this power level.

As the Horseman Death, Gambit has shown the ability to convert inert materials into toxic substances; for example, transforming breathable air into poisonous gases.

Appearances in other media

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 in 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 the President. The traitor is revealed to be the shape-shifting Mystique disguised as Gambit. This episode was clearly modeled after the events in the comic books that led to the Onslaught crossover.

In Evolution 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), and parting ways at the end on friendly terms. In a screenshot from the future, it is shown that Gambit will join the X-Men.

Gambit first appeared in the Super Nintendo game Arcade's Revenge. Sega Genesis games X-Men and Clone Wars, both feature him as a starting playable character as well. He is a playable character in the Mutant Apocalypse game for the Super Nintendo. He is a playable character in the video games Next Dimension, X-Men Legends and in Rise of Apocalypse. 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 Mutant Academy games.

Gambit was rumored to appear in the first X-Men film, but the character never made it to the screen. However, Gambit was in an early draft of X-Men, playing basketball. In X2 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. A cameo of him was also filmed with stuntman James Bamford playing the part, but the scene was cut from the film.

An early leaked script suggested that Gambit would be included in X-Men: The Last Stand as a minor character. However, Gambit makes no appearance in the most recent film. Also, an interview with producer Lauren Shuler Donner reveals that Channing Tatum would have gotten the role, had the character not been cut Josh Holloway was also considered for the role, but apparently turned it down because the character was too similar to his character on the show "Lost". In an interview with Wizard magazine, WWE wrestler Greg 'The Hurricane' Helms said that he had be planned to read for the part before the change of producers and director. [http://www.wizarduniverse.com/magazine/wizard/000486418.cfm

In the novelization of the movie by Chris Claremont, Gambit does indeed appear. He is a new student at the mansion being trained by Wolverine, along with Cannonball, Danielle Moonstar, and Sage.

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