May 24, 2009

The Gambit Question



It's a question that X-Men fans need to ask themselves, and is a question spurred on by a recent discussion with a co-worker.

And that is the Gambit question - Is the character of Gambit incredibly cool, or incredibly lame?

For some, Gambit's style of Cajun cool is a chief benefit to the character. In fact, Mike Sterling once provided a plethora of online resources about the "ragin' mutant Cajun". Alas, I cannot provide any pro-Gambit arguments...

...because he is, well, rather lame. I mean, let's face it - making playing cards glow and explode? Not much of a power, now, is it?

Secondly, Marvel, Justin Wilson called, and he'd like his accent back.

Oh, and the whole Gambit/Rogue thing? Liked it better when it involved Bruce Willis & Cybill Shepard.

But anyway, enough of the (hopefully, obviously phony) snark - in my view, the Gambit question separates the old school fan from the fans who began collecting in the 1990s. Let's face it - if someone said, "Oh, both Wolverine and Gambit are bad, you need to worship Mimic", you know they came of age during the "classic" X-Men run.

(Either that, or they're really reaching, since the character has made appearances since then).

If you dig Wolverine, that means you came of age during the new X-Men run, and Gambit? 90s X-Men.

Or, you've eaten too many Little Debbie's snack cakes, and the preservatives are starting to kick in.

I kid, honestly - but anyway, for you, dear reader, let me ask you - how would you answer...the Gambit question?