Gambit #1 combines our hero’s natural, smooth charm with an odd tale of mentorship. There are some wonderful choices mixed in with some truly unexpected ones, creating a narrative mixed bag.
Gambit #1
Chris Claremont (Writer); VC’s Clayton Cowles (Letters); Espen Grundetjern (Colors); Sid Kotian (Art); Salvador Larroca and Edgar Delgado (Cover); InHyuk Lee (Cover); Peach Momoko (Cover); Whilce Portacio and Alex Sinclair (Cover); Scott Williams and Sebastian Cheng (Cover)
July 27, 2022
Marvel Comics
Gambit #1 has quite an unusual premise right from the jump. It’s just as charming as everyone’s favorite mutant Cajun playboy ought to be, but it leaves the audience tilting their heads in bemused frustration at a couple of the choices Chris Claremont has made.
Carrying on from a storyline begun in Uncanny X-Men #266 and standing in the wake of the Muir Island Saga, Gambit #1 takes us to the, well, mild streets of Cairo, Illinois. Remy LeBeau is a pickpocket and master thief who steals from the rich to give to the poor. These less-than-glamorous surroundings allow him to sharpen his skills — and to see if a de-aged Ororo Munroe has what it takes to join him in his quest.
This child version of ‘Ro — transformed into this state by Nanny — is still dealing with the trauma resulting from her parents’ deaths. After they rob a rich man and plan to forward the cash they’ve scored to the needy, they set their sights on the wicked Shadow King, a soul-stealing monster who has been a dangerous thorn in the team’s side. Remy believes that he might be hosted within the body of an FBI agent named Reisz, but there’s only one way to find out if that’s true.
The result is a mixed bag. Remy is everything he ought to be in this issue – dashing, caring, and bright. But the way he treats ‘Ro alternates between cringeworthy selfishness and fondly paternal, leaving the audience with an uneven picture.
Core example: there’s a moment where ‘Ro has to face down flashbacks of her parent’s death after looking down a chimney during a job. She conquers these fears and appears to have a moment of triumph — only to find Gambit already in the house and breaking into the safe. Whatever trauma you’re dealing with can only make you stronger; at least that’s how Remy perceives it. As tough as ‘Ro is, the moment feels unnecessarily cruel.
Otherwise, his relationship with ‘Ro is touched with affection – he sees a lot of himself in her and wants her to be at her best at all times – which is what makes ‘Ro having such a victory like that snatched from her so annoying. Her fiery confidence is otherwise a total delight.
The rest of the book does well shaping up a storyline that’s interesting and properly eerie. Some of Gambit’s best moments involve its female characters, from ‘Ro’s entrance on a speeding skateboard to the return of Sabine, who’s busy heading up a team of light-fingered junior Bacche.
Sid Kotian’s art is charming and knows how to blend Cthulhu-like horrors with the small beauties of ‘Ro and Remy’s friendship. The very 90s art feels like it was pulled straight from the imagination, filled with attractive though not ludicrously proportioned women and fun, fast-paced action scenes that keep the eye entertained. The color work provided by Grundetjern leans heavily on purples and shadows grays, but golden, livid lines of red and yellow enter the picture, sunlight lost and sunlight misdirected.
Gambit #1 provides a crucial piece to the ever-evolving puzzle of how the X-Men will finally reunite after the events of the Muir Island Saga, and while it’s not perfect, it beguiles and does good work at using both Claremont’s older characters and centering itself on Remy and his philosophy of the world.
