14 Reasons Gambit Is Terrible

During a tough comedy of errors, Gambit fell, and his own exploding playing card blinded him.X-Men#157. He also blames Rogue for his injury, even though she was only partially at fault. Gambit is not just an idiot for holding onto a time bomb too long; he is a jerk.

The massiveMessiah CompleXGambit sides against the X-Men, teaming up with Mystique to kidnap the mutant infant, Hope. They plan to sacrifice the child to wake Rogue from a coma. Rogue wakes up and the baby survives, but Gambit's participation in the plan suggests he is a big player.

As younger fans become older fans, they see Gambit is less a smooth operator and more like Pepé Le Pew. His constant flirting seems desperate and creepy, especially when he gets no response. Stop it, Remy.

Name a classic Gambit story. I cannot. For such a popular character, Gambit lacks great standalone stories. He serves as a side character, but he isn't the main focus. Despite solo series attempts, the character fails to gain traction.

Remember Gambit's line, "BANG... You dead!?" I did not think so either. His "trademark" line failed to stick and is embarrassing. If your line reminds people of playing cops and robbers at age five, your line is bad.

Gambit meant well, but he remains a foolish man. To control Apocalypse and aid the mutant race, Gambit agrees to be Death in Apocalypse's Four Horsemen inX-Men#182-#187. Gambit agrees to be Apocalypse's herald out of love for the X-Men, but he must have forgotten prior fights with Apocalypse's Horsemen or he would know brainwashing was involved. At least he is a well-meaning idiot.

Cajun or New Orleans culture is fine, but locals find it annoying when a writer puts Gambit's thick Cajun accent on the page. People read speech differently than they speak it. This accent does not improve the story or his character. It breaks the story's flow and distracts readers who must slow down to understand it.

Watch this clip fromX-Men: The Animated SeriesLook at Gambit's outfits. His skiing gear, weekend chef attire, and workout clothes look awful, even by '90s standards. Gambit took neon and pastel cloth and yelled "Color Me Badd sings the best R&B!This fashion style melts into clothing. This look explains his regular train wreck costume.

Gambit is a Cajun, a womanizer, a thief, a gambler, and a mutant. He has a charming heart and a mysterious past. He has martial arts training, can drive a motorcycle, and transfers kinetic energy into objects he touches, turning them into explosives. Marvel overdid Gambit. They gave him too many traits and skills to flesh out a flat character. Flashy abilities and a secret story do not create a personality.

Gambit's mutant power lets him charge an object's kinetic energy until it explodes. Suspension of disbelief matters in comics. Gambit cannot charge stationary items at rest. Kinetic energy transfers, but it does not create energy from nothing.Kinetic energy is transferred.If kinetic energy is transferred, how do playing cards become so destructive? The object's mass and speed control the kinetic energy used. Does the light playing card just vanish like a faulty firework?This is basic physics.

Gambit flirts constantly. He performs card tricks. He wears trench coats. He trains in martial arts. What connects these things? These things lost their cool after turning 21. Basic continuity places Gambit between 26 and 30 years old. He might be older, possessing nearly 20 years of comic book history to use. He has not changed much since then. He acts more like Matthew McConaughey's character from Dazed and ConfusedHe is only somehow sadder.

Look at this image. Look at it. Besides the awful color scheme, how does he wear this one-piece jumpsuit? Does he slip into the suit through the headband hole like pants? Only his middle and ring fingers get cold too. No wonder Gambit covered this magenta mess with a trench coat.

If you fight constantly like the X-Men and can turn almost anything you touch into a bomb, why use small card stock? Even if he does not charge conventional weapons like throwing knives, bullets, or add power to grenades, better choices exist. Why not charge darts, baseballs, Frisbees, you knowthings meant to be thrown?

How much better would the X-Men perform if Remy LeBeau used his skills to cause real damage?

Gambit's outfit colors are questionable, but they are colorful. Brown is not. A drab trench-coat brown. Choosing this coat as your main outfit helps disheveled detectives and mob leg-breakers better than dynamic mutant heroes, ignoring the outdated fashion of trench coats.