Though Professor Charles Xavier has had many, many mutants come through the halls of his school for gifted youngsters, Gambit is the one with perhaps the most complicated past. And that’s saying a lot when it comes to the school for gifted youngsters.
Gambit’s never really found himself out of the morally grey part of Marvel’s spectrum. He may have been involved in some pretty shady dealings over the years. Sure, he’s no Captain America or the (once) golden boy scout, Scott Summers, but he’s definitely found his place in the hearts of fans and X-Men alike.
10 Uncontrollable Power/ A Sinister Deal
While Gambit has often been underestimated as simply the mutant who throws cards, he’s actually one of the most capable and powerful mutants in the Marvel landscape. Or he was until his powers started to become much more than he could handle.
Desperate, Gambit made his way to probably one of the worst people in the world to help him with this particular problem, Mister Sinister. Though Mister Sinister agrees to help Gambit by removing the section of his brain stem responsible for this unprecedented growth in power, he does so under the condition that Gambit repays his debt.
9 The Mutant Massacre
With Gambit under his employ, Mister Sinister instructs the naive young mutant to gather up a group of Marauders so that Gambit can lead them to the Morlocks. Little did Gambit know that Mister Sinister had some rather...well, sinister plans for the Morlocks once the had been found.
Having led the Marauders to the Morlocks underground community, the Marauders begin massacring every Morlock that they can get their hands on. Even though Gambit tries to stop them from wholesale slaughtering the Morlocks, he is beaten nearly to death by Sabretooth and left unable to help.
8 The Potential To Become Omega-Level
Gambit may have gone to Mister Sinister to have his uncontrollable power reduced back to a point in which he could control it, but that doesn’t mean that fans weren’t eventually introduced to a version of Gambit that hadn’t.
While Gambit of Earth-616 sought to have his abilities kept in check, if he hadn’t, his powers would likely have mutated to a point at which he would essentially become the god of motion. At this level, he could stop an object or person from moving completely, he could keep objects and people in motion, he didn’t even need to touch them to do it. Such immense power would come at a price, however.
7 New Son
Though Remy of Earth-616 had managed to rid himself of his rapidly growing powers and keep his powers at a level that he could control, the Remy of Earth-9921 was not so lucky. This Remy had essentially been born and bred for the express purpose of creating a very powerful mutant. In fact, this version of Remy was so powerful that he even managed to kill his universe’s version of the Phoenix.
Unfortunately, this Remy would eventually grow so powerful that he would accidentally end all life on Earth in a brilliant explosion of kinetic energy. Trying to undo his deeds, he would attempt to manipulate time with his abilities and instead open a gateway to the multiverse, where he would encounter Gambit.
6 The Horseman Death
Over the course of his centuries and centuries of life, Apocalypse has taken some of the greatest mutants in history and subjugated them as members of his four horsemen. Though Gambit eventually became one of them, he wasn’t seduced by Apocalypse like most of the other horsemen were.
In fact, Gambit knew that Apocalypse was up to his no-good dirty shenanigans as always, so he voluntarily approached Apocalypse and offered his service in order to keep a better eye on him. He even went through the genetic modifications without anesthesia to ensure that Apocalypse didn’t mess with his head. What a beast. However, this didn’t stop Gambit from temporarily becoming over-powered by Apocalypse’s influence and hurting his friends on the X-Men.
5 Gambit & Rogue Sitting In A Tree K-I-S-S-I-N-G
In the X-Men family, there is no couple more iconic than Gambit and Rogue. Sure, there’s Scott Summers and Jean Grey, but at this point, like, who even cares anymore? They had their chance and now it’s just so convoluted and boring that it’s hardly even relevant anymore.
Gambit and Rogue, however, come on! Two lovers, incapable of even the simplest touch, filled with conflicting thoughts and emotions - these two are where it’s at. While there love has been one that’s lasted through the ages, it definitely wasn’t always easy. Especially after Gambit’s involvement in the Mutant Massacre came to light.
4 Antarctica
Because Rogue is capable of absorbing the powers and memories of anyone she touches, when she and Gambit finally managed to kiss one another, she absorbed a lot more than just his sweet, sweet cajun loving.
What she absorbed were the memories of all the things that Gambit had done in his life, things like leading the Marauders to the Morlock’s community before the mutant massacre. After a mock trial led by Magneto, Gambit was brought to Antarctica where he was abandoned in the frozen wastes by Rogue herself. Cold-blooded.
3 First Comes Love Then Comes Marriage
Despite being left in Antarctica by the love of his life, there are very few things that Gambit can’t endure with a whole lot of pluck, a can-do attitude, and the help of the psionic essence of a dead mutant named Mary Purcell. Needless to say, Gambit did actually make it out of Antarctica and find his way back to the X-Men and Rogue.
While it did take some time, Gambit at Rogue’s romance was eventually reignited and he proposed to her in the fallout of Kitty Pryde and Colossus’ wedding (all class). They even wound up getting married on the same day, essentially stealing Kitty and Colossus’ wedding. Classic Gambit.
2 Hypnotic Charm
Gambit is often recognized by his ability to make playing cards go boom, but the cajun sensation actually has a lot more going on for him than just his ability to ‘explode stuff. On of Gambit’s more subtle powers is his hypnotic charm. Much like a common vampire, Gambit has the ability to psionic influence sentient beings with his voice.
This ability makes it rather easy for Gambit to gather people to his side and get them to do whatever he likes. Powerful minds are essentially immune to this, however, and people who are consciously aware of what he’s trying to pull can shake off the effects.
1 Powers Of Death
As previously mentioned, Gambit was, in fact, a member of Apocalypse’s four horsemen. However, unlike many of the other mutants that have been Apocalypse’s horsemen over the centuries, Gambit actually managed to keep his horsemen powers after leaving Apocalypse’s side. These powers, however, manifested themselves in a way that makes Gambit affirm that he is both Gambit and the horseman Death, as the mutant had not fully-integrated these aspects of his personality.
With these death powers, Gambit was shown to be capable of turning breathable air into poison gas, corrupting other beings to his will, charging objects with a “death touch,” and even controlling his projectile mentally like little homing missiles. Though it has been some time since Gambit reverted to his Death persona, it was never explicitly removed from him after the last time he reverted.