Who is Gambit? X-Men Comic Origin & Powers Explained

Gambit is one of the most popular X-Men, but where did this charismatic, card-throwing Cajun come from and what exactly are his powers?

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By all accounts, Remy LeBeau – aka Gambit – is one of the most beloved X-Men, boasting a huge amount of fans compared to his mutant brethren despite being fairly limited in overall appearances. But where did this charismatic, card-throwing Cajun come from and what exactly are his powers?

There is some debate amongst fans as to Gambit’s first appearance in comics. He technically debuted in Uncanny X-Men Annual #14 (July 1990) by Chris Claremont and Arthur Adams, in which he is named and appears on ten pages, although he is never officially introduced and does not use his powers.

One month later, Gambit made his first full appearance in Uncanny X-Men vol. 1 #266 (August 1990) in a story by Claremont and Mike Collins that takes place before the X-Men Annual wherein he helped a powerless, amnesiac Storm who has been reverted to childhood escape the Shadow King. Upon regaining her memories, Storm brought Gambit to the X-Men which is where the events of Uncanny X-Men Annual #14 pick up, so his first physical appearance is the Annual but his first appearance chronologically is Uncanny X-Men #266.

The Origin of Gambit in X-Men Comics

Remy Etienne LeBeau’s life started out hard and just kept getting harder. He was born in New Orleans, Louisiana where he was immediately abandoned by his birth parents due to his glowing red mutant eyes. The infant was then kidnapped from the hospital by members of the New Orleans Thieves’ Guild who called Remy “Le Diable Blanc” – the white devil – and believed him to be the prophesied child who would unite the warring Thieves and Assassin’s Guilds. The young Remy quickly mastered the ways of thievery and when he was ten years old, he attempted to pick the pocket of Jean-Luc LeBeau — patriarch of the Thieves’ Guild – who adopted him into his own family. In an effort to negotiate peace between the Thieves’ Guild and the Assassin’s Guild, a marriage was arranged between Remy and Bella Donna Boudreaux, granddaughter of the Assassin’s Guild’s leader. Bella Donna’s brother Julien objected to the marriage and challenged Gambit to a duel, and although Remy accidentally killed Julien in self-defense, he became the enemy of both guilds and was banished from New Orleans in order to maintain peace between the two guilds. Remy then began wandering the world, honing both his skills as a thief and his mutant abilities.

Even though Storm had vouched for Gambit as a new member of the X-Men, his mischievous sense of humor, disdain for authority, and history as a thief caused Wolverine to distrust the smooth-talking Cajun. The two men hashed it out in the Danger Room in Uncanny X-Men #273 (February 1991) and Gambit defeated Wolverine, earning his respect. In subsequent issues, Gambit met and fell in love with Rogue who would ultimately become his wife in X-Men Gold #30 (June 2018).

Gambit’s Mutant Ability Over Energy Explained

Although Gambit is famous for throwing explosively energized playing cards, in his first full appearance in Uncanny X-Men #266, energized throwing spikes are his weapon of choice. Not only did this make him a bit too similar to Ann Nocenti and Arthur Adams’ 1985 creation, Longshot, but it was also a boring and meaningless weapon for a charming thief and gambler so in the very next issue he begins using his trademark throwing cards.

Gambit’s primary mutant power is the ability to change the potential energy of inanimate objects into kinetic energy via contact with his skin, thus charging the objects with explosive power. For example, when an archer draws a bowstring, both the bow and the string contain potential energy. When the arrow is released, the potential energy of the bow and string is transformed into the kinetic energy of the arrow in flight. When Gambit changes the potential energy of a playing card into kinetic energy and throws it, that kinetic energy is explosively released upon impact. Gambit chooses to use mostly smaller objects such as his playing cards because they are quicker to charge and easier to throw, but there seems to be no limit to his ability to charge any object. While his playing cards explode with the force of a hand grenade, larger objects take longer to charge but explode with greater force.

A skilled martial artist, acrobat, and street fighter, Gambit can create, control and focus kinetic energy which gives him superhuman physical abilities including enhanced strength, speed, agility, coordination, and endurance, all of which come into play with his acrobatic fighting style. He can also utilize the charged potential energy in his body to build up static electricity which shields his mind from telepaths such as Jean Grey or Charles Xavier. In addition to these physical attributes, Gambit possesses a hypnotic charm which allows him to exert influence over people, but this ability doesn’t work on those who are already aware of it.

How Gambit Has Been Adapted To Movies (So Far)

Gambit’s adaptation to the big screen has been as fraught with hardships and disappointment as his comic book life. A brief cameo using a stunt double was filmed for 2003’s X-Men 2, but was ultimately cut from the film, leaving only an Easter egg consisting of Remy LeBeau’s name appearing on a list of known mutants. Keanu Reeves was then set to play LeBeau in X-Men 3: The Last Stand (2006) but dropped out at the last minute so producers went after Josh Holloway who declined due to scheduling conflicts with LOST. Channing Tatum was finally selected but by then the role had been cut from X-Men 3. Plans were made to include Tatum as Gambit in 2009’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine, but Tatum was busy filming G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra so Taylor Kitsch was chosen. Alas, the movie was not a hit with critics or fans, so no other films with Kitsch as Gambit were planned even though the actor had signed a three-picture deal. Tatum was once again supposed to play LeBeau in X-Men: Apocalypse, but again the character was cut from the script. Tatum was also supposed to star in his own solo film, but after years in development, Disney canceled it in May 2019.

Unlike Deadpool, the version of Gambit that did make it to the screen in X-Men Origins: Wolverine was very close to his comic book counterpart. He meets Logan while playing poker in New Orleans and they fight, with Gambit throwing several kinetically charged playing cards at Logan and blasting him through a wall. Gambit later strikes his kinetically charged staff on the ground which creates a shockwave that breaks up a fight between Logan and Sabertooth. Gambit appears once more in the climax of the film, using his kinetic energy to save Logan from being crushed by a falling Three Mile Island cooling tower before the two go their separate ways.

Gambit remains a unique, charismatic character and one of Marvel’s most interesting mutants. After almost 20 years of missed opportunities, fans – and Channing Tatum! – can only hope that Disney either revives the Gambit movie or decides to finally include the character in future X-Men films.

Link Source : https://screenrant.com/gambit-xmen-marvel-comic-origin-power-explained/