Adapting the Gambit Miniseries (Before It's Finished)

Remember when the animated X-Men series dedicated an episode to adapting the story from the Gambit mini...which was still being published? I look at both this week at CBR.

GAMBIT #14 - March 2000

 

The Sunset Dawn Book 3: Tomorrow Starts Today

Credits:  Fabian Nicieza (writer), Anthony Williams (penciler), Andy Lanning (inker), Tom Smith (colors), Comicraft’s Troy Peteri (letters)

Summary:  In 1891, the Thieves Guild finds Ozymandias’ chamber.  Candra enters, thanking the Guild for showing her the way to Apocalypse’s secret library.  She imprisons Ozymandias as the Guild researches the texts of the Old Kingdom.  Meanwhile, Sinister stabilizes Courier’s cellular structure, but is unable to allow him to return to his original male form.  Sinister uses a drilling device to take Gambit and Courier to Ozymandias’ chamber.  There, Sinister defeats Candra, leaving her vulnerable to her fellow Externals, who are angered by her power play.  Sinister removes the knowledge of the Old Kingdom from the Thieves Guild and surgically places it inside Gambit’s brain.  After Sinister disappears, Gambit reveals to Courier that they’re stranded in the past.

Continuity Notes:  

• Two subplot scenes set up future events in the series.  Rogue is visited by Fontanelle and told to help Gambit’s friends in Latveria, while Archangel receives an assignment from New Son to kill Gambit.
• According to Ozymandias, the Old Kingdom predates even Apocalypse’s birth.
• Sinister’s ability to shapeshift and seeming immortality comes from the cell sample Gambit allows him to take from Courier.  He assumes Courier can kill the sample, as he did in Gambit #9, but Courier is unable to repeat the same stunt for unknown reasons.
• Later on, the idea of Sinister implanting secrets of the Old Kingdom in Gambit’s brain is somehow folded into the mysterious vial (or “bullet” as Nicieza used to call it) from Uncanny X-Men #350.

Review:  You might remember the first hint of Gambit’s time traveling adventure came all the way back in issue #2, when Tante Mattie had a dream/flashback of Gambit saving her as a little girl.  That event never works into this storyline, but Nicieza does throw in a reference to it on the next to last page, assuring us that Gambit will get around to saving Tante Mattie before returning home.  If that leads you to believe that the time travel arc suffered from some last minute rewrites, or never really congealed the way it was supposed to, I can’t argue with you.  For the first two chapters, I think the art was the major hindrance of the storyline, as the late nineteenth century setting and steampunk elements just didn’t translate.  The story had promise, though.  This issue, characters kind of pop up when needed, important plot developments occur with little-to-no explanation, and the event that was originally used to foreshadow this storyline finally occurs (we’re told) off-panel.  

Plus, Gambit’s still stuck in the past, and if memory serves, the resolution of how exactly he returned is botched.  It boils down to “he used his powers in a new way,” which is of course a stretch, but the execution was also hindered by the six month gap that was inserted into all of the X-books in early 2000.  Gambit’s stuck in the past, six month gap, bam!  He’s back.  And he’s leader of the Thieves Guild, so I hope you guys aren’t absolutely sick of those pests yet.  In fairness, Nicieza does use Ozymandias in a smart way this issue, playing off his original characterization as Apocalypse’s slave/librarian.  And, even if her plan goes nowhere, this is one of the few times we’ve ever seen Candra show some ambition and actually do anything.  But as far as Gambit goes, this isn’t a bad place to just say goodbye.  You can always look online if you really want to find out who New Son was, anyway.

GAMBIT #13 - February 2000

The Sunset Dawn, Book 2: The Black Womb

Credits:  Fabian Nicieza (writer), Anthony Williams (penciler), Andy Lanning (inker), Tom Smith (colors), Comicraft’s Troy Peteri (letters)

Summary:  Gambit arrives in 1891 New York, along with Courier and his father, Jean Luc Lebeau.  Courier uses his metamorph abilities to change into a woman and visit obstetrician Nathan Milbury (a.k.a. Sinister).  Sinister immediately detects something odd in Courier’s blood and takes him captive.  Meanwhile, the Thieves Guild runs into Gambit.  Jean Luc is pressured into betraying Gambit and returning to his Guild.  After regaining consciousness, Gambit finds the Guild, who are now captives in Sinister’s lair.  Sinister makes Gambit an offer to save Courier’s life.  

Continuity Notes:  Gambit briefly meets Amanda Mueller, the woman at the center of the “Black Womb” scandal.  She worked with Sinister during his genetic experiments on fetuses, a plot point Nicieza apparently had plans for later.  He touched on “Black Womb” a bit in the initial X-Men Forever miniseries, I believe establishing Toad’s connection to the experiments years later, but I don’t think the storyline ever had a real conclusion.

I Love the '90s:  Courier tells Gambit that he isn’t “king of the world” as he poses on the ship’s bow.

Review:  Nicieza is still trying to do the impossible and craft a decent Thieves Guild story, and even if this arc doesn’t make the actual Guild that interesting, the overall story is actually fun.  One reason why this works is because the Thieves Guild is just one element of the story; there’s just as much time spent on Mr. Sinister as there is on the Guild.  And I’ve always liked nineteenth century Sinister, so no complaints there.  Gambit and Courier’s brotherly relationship, which mainly consists of them insulting each other, also plays a large role in the story, doing a lot to lighten the mood.  It’s obvious Nicieza has done a lot of research into this era of New York, making this feel more authentic than the average time travel story.  Unfortunately, the art doesn’t do a lot to evoke the feel of late nineteenth century New York.  There’s nothing particularly wrong with Anthony Williams’ work, and I understand that this was done as a quickie fill-in, it just doesn’t do enough to sell the environment.  1891 New York should feel gritty and dirty, but the art (and colors) feel very clean and smooth.

GAMBIT #12 - January 2000

The Sunset Dawn Book 1:  

The Time Trap Chapter 1

Credits:  Fabian Nicieza (script), Steve Skroce (layouts), Rodney Ramos (finishes), Shannon Blanchard (colors), Comicraft’s Troy Peteri (letters)

Summary:  Gambit’s father informs him that he must travel back to 1891’s London, because he remembers Gambit saving his life there as a boy.  He seeks help from Sekmeht Conoway, who advises him to use Dr. Doom’s time platform.  Gambit recruits Courier and the Mengo Brothers for help and invades Doom’s castle.  After facing Stryfe’s Doombot guards, he locates the time platform and forces Courier to go along with him.

Continuity Notes:  

• Jean Luc Lebeau uses the Tithe Collector to help verify his story about Gambit saving his life as a child.  Gambit learns from both the Tithe Collector and Sekmeht Conoway that Fontanelle has been invading their dreams.
• Gambit turns to Conoway for help time-traveling following the events of “The Hunt for the Tomorrow Stone,” the Gambit cyber-comic that appears to be lost to the ages. 
• Stryfe is the ruler of Latveria at this point in continuity, as Dr. Doom still has not returned following the events of Heroes Reborn: Heroes Return.  As many fans pointed out at the time, how exactly Stryfe took over Latveria was never shown.  He landed in Latveria in the X-Man/Cable crossover, but had a vague death scene at the end.

“Huh?” Moment:  The narration makes a joke about Gambit getting Conoway to crawl in front of him in the castle’s ventilation shaft, but the art shows that she’s behind him.

Review:  It’s the year-end anniversary issue, and Nicieza has decided to pull together some of the seemingly disparate threads and begin the next phase of the title.  All of this is a setup for getting Gambit in position to travel back to the late nineteenth century, which will eventually shed more light on Fontanelle, the history of the Thieves Guild, Candra, Mr. Sinister, and the mysterious New Son.  There’s no great reason for Sekmeht Conoway, Courier, or the Mengo Brothers to be here; I'm assuming that Nicieza wants the reader to feel as if the previous eleven issues have been building to this story, but the character interactions just feel too rushed.  Looking back, it’s obvious Nicieza wanted to do more with Sekmeht Conoway as a love interest, but her appearances in the book were so sparse the idea went nowhere.  Having her guide Gambit through Stryfe’s castle is a nice use of the character, though.  Nicieza seems to be the only person working for Marvel at the time who put any thought into why Stryfe was in Latveria in the first place.  Could it be that the evil chaos-bringer from the future might want that time machine Doom keeps in his basement?

Unfortunately, Steve Skroce doesn’t seem too excited about any of this, as he leaves this month to go work on the Matrix sequels.  His section of the story consists of very loose breakdowns that are poorly finished by Rodney Ramos.  The often bizarre coloring isn’t much of a help, either, as we’re treated to characters with gray skin, literally purple mountains, and a color scheme that alternates between drab and garish and never finds a middle ground.

Chapter 2: It Takes a Thief (or Perhaps a Dozen)

Credits:  Fabian Nicieza (script), Kaare Andrews (art), Shannon Blanchard (colors), Comicraft’s Troy Peteri (letters)

Summary:  In 1891, The Tithe Collector informs the Thieves Guild that Candra is not satisfied with their gifts.  Meanwhile, Gambit and Courier locate master thief Adam Worth in his London home.  He helps them break into Nathan Milbury’s estate, where Gambit’s grandfather Jacques Lebeau is leading a mission to appease Candra after failing to obtain the Momentary Princess.  As punishment, Candra is keeping two Guild children, Jean Luc Lebeau and Belize Marceaux, captive.  Gambit hands his grandfather notes from Milbury’s lab that will give Candra information on his advanced studies.

Continuity Notes:  

• Candra explains to Jean Luc and Belize her history with the Thieves Guild, revealing that she grants them power and longevity so that they can “divine and resurrect the Old Kingdom.”  She believes that the knowledge she gains from the Old Kingdom will help her to continue discretely gaining more power.
• Belize Marceaux is apparently Gambit’s maternal uncle.
• Nathan Milbury is Mr. Sinister’s alias, of course.
• The Momentary Princess previously appeared in Gambit #10.

Review:  That’s a lot of exposition to throw into the middle of a comic.  Buried in all of this is more information on Candra than we’ve ever been given, a good six years after her first appearance.  As Nicieza reveals, Candra keeps her distance from the other Externals, hoping that by staying a non-entity they’ll leave her alone while she accumulates ancient knowledge from around the world.  This works to explain why Candra didn’t show up with the rest of the Externals during their early appearances in X-Force (and what a memorable cast of characters those guys were), a question that probably no one was asking but is addressed nonetheless.  The truth is, Candra was established as an External in her early appearances because the External storyline wasn’t viewed as embarrassing yet, and it worked as a vague enough origin for the character.  

Nicieza’s also revealed why exactly the Thieves and Assassin Guilds have been subjugating themselves to Candra for decades, and it involves a deal to unlock the secrets of the “Old Kingdom.”  I don’t think the Old Kingdom storyline ever reaches a satisfactory conclusion, but at least the seeds are there in case someone decides to mine deeeep into X-continuity for new Candra material.

Chapter 3: Cards on the Table (and a Few up the Sleeve!)

Credits:  Fabian Nicieza (script), Charles Adlard (art), Shannon Blanchard (colors), Comicraft’s Troy Peteri (letters)

Summary:  Candra rejects the notes handed to her, because she recognizes the designs for Apocalypse’s gestation chamber.  The Tithe Collector convinces her to send Jacques Lebeau in her stead to America to learn more about Nathan Milbury’s work.  When she refuses to release both boys, Gambit and Adam Worth rescue Jean Luc and cover their escape with explosions.  The next morning, Gambit and Courier prepare to travel to America before the Thieves Guild can reach Milbury.

Review:  Okay, Gambit managed to rescue his father rather early on in this storyline.  I guess the rest of this trip is going to be dedicated to revealing more about Mr. Sinister and the Thieves Guild.  One of those is interesting, the other fills me with apathy.  Guess which is which.  There is a decent idea in here, that Candra is so terrified of Apocalypse she sends the Thieves Guild in her place, putting Gambit in competition with his family to reach Sinister first, but…isn’t the Thieves Guild family the last thing this book should be exploring?  There are already too many Guild members in the current day that no one cares about.  Who really wants to read about their ancestors?  

GAMBIT #11 - December 1999

The Hamster Run

Credits: Fabian Nicieza & Steve Skroce (story & art), Andy Owens (inker), Shannon Blanchard (colors), Comicraft’s Troy Peteri (letters)

Summary: Gambit and Daredevil pursue Constrictor, who’s stolen a synthetic organ from a hospital. Gambit needs Constrictor’s adamantium so that New Son can save Sabretooth, while Constrictor and Daredevil are fighting over the organ. Constrictor stole the organ for mob boss Salvatore Donato, who’s holding Constrictor’s childhood girlfriend, and Donato’s daughter, hostage. Daredevil wants the organ for Judge Harris Beuchler, who was next on the transfer list. After Constrictor is chased to the mobster’s home, Daredevil learns that Beuchler bought his way up the list ahead of Donato. Gambit devises a mutual solution: Constrictor gives Gambit his adamantium coils, the judge gets the organ, and Gambit uses his powers to dissolve the shards of glass that damaged Donato’s stomach when he was poisoned in prison.

Continuity Note:

· Fontanelle scrapes the memories of Mr. Sinister, witnessing him reading a story about the “Black Womb Killer” in 1891.

· Sabretooth is near-death following the removal of his adamantium. New Son claims he can save Sabretooth if he has more. I don’t know if we were ever told where exactly this adamantium was implanted in his body, but the idea of him having an adamantium skeleton was dropped after this story.

Miscellaneous Note: The Statement of Ownership has average sales for the year at 96,359 with the most recent issue selling 64,240 copies.

Review: This issue barely ties into the ongoing New Son plot, and obviously isn’t very Gambit-centric, but it’s still strong. Daredevil the true star of the story, as he risks his life to retrieve an organ one of his mentors needs to survive, only to discover that the judge subverted the law to extend his life. In order for this to work, though, you have to assume that a convicted mobster would receive higher priority than a respected judge in the first place, which might be a stretch. (I don’t know if past criminal convictions are considered in any way when making the organ transplant list, but I wonder if a judge would have to resort to outright bribery in order to rank higher than a mobster). Regardless, the premise isn’t so implausible that it ruins the story.

Nicieza’s done a great job creating a series of conflicting motivations and unexpected twists. As the story points out on the final page, Constrictor is actually the character with the noblest actions, since he fought to save the only true innocent in the conflict. Gambit doesn’t even want to save Sabretooth, and Daredevil’s hero turns out not to be so righteous (although, I can’t really blame him for wanting to outlive a convicted drug dealer and racketeer). The sarcastic third-person narrative captions also add a lot of life to the story, particularly the running series of jokes about Constrictor’s face and all of the horrible things that are happening to it. This easily could’ve been time-killer, but instead it’s one of the better standalone stories from the era.

GAMBIT #10 - November 1999

Waiting for the Princess

Credits: Fabian Nicieza & Steve Skroce (story & art), Rob Hunter (inker), Shannon Blanchard (colors), Comicraft’s Troy Peteri (letters)

Summary: In 1943, Gambit’s father Jean Luc helps Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos prevent Baron von Strucker and Candra from obtaining a magical jewel called “the Momentary Princess.” Today, the jewel is scheduled to materialize again in Germany. Gambit answers his father’s request to retrieve it, which leads him to a society party attended by Fenris and Sekmeht Conoway. Gambit correctly discerns where it will appear, but is too distracted by Conoway and Fenris to retrieve it. Meanwhile, Courier takes Silent Bill to meet New Son, and Fontanelle invades Archangel’s nightmare about the Mutant Massacre.

Continuity Notes:

· According to the narrative captions, Jean Luc Lebeau was a young boy undergoing his Ceremony of Tilling when the Princess first appeared in 1887.

· Two scenes set in the future continue the story of the Princess. In 2028, a married Gambit and Rogue retrieve it while hiding from Sentinels. In 2084, the Witness’ team of scientists is using the Princess to study time travel.

Review: Not to be outdone by John Francis Moore’s X-Force, Fabian Nicieza is determined to cram as much story as possible into Gambit. The story of Gambit futilely searching for a plot device could easily be dismissed as filler, but Nicieza gives you the sense that the Princess truly is a Big Deal, and the selection of characters he’s placed in the jewel’s path is interesting. (I can’t honestly say that the Momentary Princess really did amount to anything, though.) The main draw of the story is watching Nicieza effortlessly merge modern X-characters Candra and Jean Luc, Claremont-era X-characters Fenris, and Silver Age classics like Nick Fury and Baron Strucker into the same plot.

The subplots also offer some promise, as Nicieza continues to handle material the main X-titles have foolishly ignored. Less than a year after revealing Gambit’s connection to the Mutant Massacre, Marvel expected readers to buy Gambit’s reunion to the team as if it was no big deal. The members of the X-Men who were maimed and/or horribly tortured during the Mutant Massacre -- Nightcrawler, Colossus, Shadowcat, and Archangel -- apparently just shrugged their shoulders and accepted it. And let’s not forget Marrow, who’s a) a psychopath, and b) an orphan due to Gambit’s actions. Ignoring the ramifications of the Gambit/Marauders retcon was sheer incompetence on the part of the editorial staff. Nicieza isn’t able to make all of this right, but he does thankfully put in a real effort in the coming months.

GAMBIT #9 - October 1999

To Thine Own Self Be True

Credits: Fabian Nicieza (writer), Mat Broome (layouts), Anthony Williams (pencils), Parsons/Lanning/P. Palmiotti (inkers), Vasquez/Going (colors), Comicraft (letters)

Summary: Sabretooth agrees to take Gambit and Courier to Sinister’s headquarters, hoping that Sinister can heal him of his wounds. After entering Sinister’s lab, the trio is attacked by more Marauder clones. When the fighting stops, Sinister enters and agrees to revive Sabretooth’s healing factor and give Gambit a psi-scanner that will expose any imposters amongst the X-Men. In exchange, Gambit has Courier give Sinister one of his fingers. Later, after Courier’s re-grown his finger, Gambit has Courier kill the detached finger’s cells before Sinister can analyze them. Meanwhile, Fontanelle visits the Tithe Collector’s dreams, which are set in 1800’s London.

Continuity Notes:

· Sabretooth is near-death following the removal of his bones’ adamantium lacing. Sinister hints that the culprit is a threat to both him and the X-Men (it’s Apocalypse, of course).

· Gambit is ready to exchange the vial Sinister gave him in Uncanny X-Men #350 for his help. Sinister refuses, saying that the vial was “as much for the protection of humanity…as it was for yours.”

· Gambit theorizes that Sinister can’t create Sabretooth clones because of the damage the X-Men inflicted on his genetic laboratory in X-Men #34.

Review: The two-part divergence into the Shattering/Twelve crossovers concludes, and to Nicieza’s credit, he does manage to tie all of this into a tidy bow. We learn that Gambit stole Xavier’s files last issue to discover the source of his odd behavior, and in the process, learned that Xavier suspects an imposter has infiltrated the team. Gambit isn’t sure if Xavier is right, or if this paranoia is an indication that Xavier is dealing with serious issues…like the resurgence of Onslaught, for instance. As a “Shattering” tie-in, this works quite well, and it serves as yet another example of Nicieza using assorted X-continuity to his advantage.

Nicieza also has Gambit debate abandoning his mission and just destroying Sinister’s entire genetic laboratory while he has a chance, which Gambit feels is the only way his old friend Scalphunter will ever be able to rest in peace. It’s a brief scene that Nicieza doesn’t dwell on; he just throws the idea out there and uses it as yet another example of the ethical dilemmas Gambit always finds himself facing. To quote this issue’s narrative captions: “Remy is the poster-child for intrapersonal conflict. He’s tired of it.”

Even if Nicieza is able to get something out of the crossover material, this is still clearly a rush job. There are a lot of artists in this issue (and even two colorists), and the only pages that look halfway decent are the ones that actually look like Anthony Williams’ work. And even those pages resemble something Gary Frank might’ve rushed out in the late ‘90s. The book regains its unique style next issue when Steve Skroce returns, and we’re back to densely plotted one-issue stories with odd guest stars.

GAMBIT #8 - September 1999

Destined to Repeat It

Credits: Fabian Nicieza (writer), Mat Broome (penciler), Sean Parsons (inker), Joe Rosas/Gina Going/Matt Hicks (colors), Comicraft (letters)

Summary: After stealing information from the X-Men concerning Xavier’s secret plan, Gambit travels to Millstone, Arizona, searching for Scalphunter. Later, the Courier arrives and forcibly sends Gambit to meet with New Son. He warns Gambit of Apocalypse’s coming attack before sending him back to his hotel room. Meanwhile, Gambit and Scalphunter’s mutual friend Claire de Luc leads the Marauder to Gambit’s room. Gambit wants Scalphunter to take him to Mr. Sinister, but he claims that he can’t. However, he does send Gambit and Courier on the path of the one Marauder who can help. In the Andes Mountains, they discover a frail Sabretooth, who’s being cared for by a cult that worships tigers.

Continuity Notes:

· The relationship between Gambit, Claire de Luc, and Scalphunter was first hinted at, very obliquely, in Uncanny X-Men #324. This issue confirms that Scalphunter is the mysterious “Grey Crow” mentioned in UXM #324.

· According to Scalphunter, none of the Marauders’ original bodies exists, save for Sabretooth’s.

· Fontanelle visits Gambit’s dreams and sees more visions of an alternate reality.

· This story ties in to the “Shattering” crossover, which had Xavier forcing the X-Men away from him so that he could investigate which team member was an imposter. This story claims that Xavier “fired” the X-Men, while the actual story in X-Men #92 had the team voluntarily leaving after growing tired of Xavier’s abrasive attitude.

Review: Hmmm…a cover that ruins the last page reveal, rushed fill-in art, not one but two unrelated crossovers barging into the main storyline…this isn’t Gambit’s finest hour. Nicieza still tries to get something out of this, using this loose crossover tie-in as an excuse to resolve one of those patented Vague Scott Lobdell Mysteries from UXM and finally reveal who or what “Grey Crow” was supposed to be. Since Gambit’s already been retconned into the Marauders’ past, I suppose revealing that he had a friendship with Scalphunter during his late teens isn’t that much of a stretch, and it does give Nicieza an opportunity to flesh Scalphunter out as a character, which is something no one had bothered to do before (the same goes for all of the Marauders, really.) What exactly this quest has to do with Gambit’s investigation into Xavier’s odd behavior isn’t clear at this point, but Nicieza’s plotting on this book has been extremely tight, so it’s very likely the next issue will have the answer. Overall, though, this issue suffers from too many diversions and some incredibly weak art, so the next installment will have to be a noticeable improvement in order to justify this crossover tangent.

GAMBIT ‘99 - September 1999

With or Without You

Credits: Fabian Nicieza (writer), Walter McDaniel (penciler), Vince Russell, Dan Green, & Scott Koblish (inkers), Gina Going (colors), Richard Starkings & Comicraft (letters)

Summary: After the green energy living inside Gambit saves him during an accident in the Danger Room, Professor Xavier demands that he reveal the truth. He relents to an examination, which leads to the green energy violently making her presence known. While the X-Men recover from her attack, Gambit awakens in Manhattan, Indiana. He investigates the flashes of memory placed in his mind and realizes that the green energy succubus is a mutant named Mary Purcell. She was believed dead after her mutant powers manifested at a gas station, and years later encountered Gambit while he was stranded at Magneto’s Antarctic base. After following the trail left from Antarctica, the X-Men find Gambit and use Beast’s invention to detach Mary. Gambit tries to free Mary from the device, but his powers dissipate her from all known existence. Later, at Mary’s grave, Rogue and Gambit make peace.

Continuity Notes:

· Xavier remarks that Gambit’s bio-kinetic energy has always made it difficult to mind-link to him, and even more difficult to read his mind.

· While watching surveillance footage in Antarctica, the X-Men discover that Magneto was impersonating Erik the Red during Gambit’s “trial” in Uncanny X-Men #350. The only explanation for why Magneto would don the disguise is that he wanted to “distract” the X-Men.

I Love the '90s: Gambit is watching a Buffy marathon on his VCR when Professor Xavier confronts him about hiding secrets from the team.

Production Note: Someone forgot to paste in images of the X-Men on Xavier’s videoscreens as he monitors their mission in Antarctica. Instead, we merely see the words “Beast,” “Marrow,” and “Rogue,” written by the artist, on the screens.

Review: Fabian Nicieza was stuck with the “Green Mist Lady” mystery when assigned the Gambit series, and I’m not sure if he was ever thrilled about it. I don’t recall any readers being too excited over the concept either, considering that it was introduced at the very end of Steven Seagal and Joe Kelly’s stint, an era dominated by editorially mandated “exciting new directions” and numerous dropped storylines. Nicieza puts an honest effort into it, though, and he manages to address the horrific ending of Uncanny X-Men #350 in the process (another mess he wasn’t responsible for).

Forcing the X-Men to travel to Antarctica and face their abandonment of Gambit is something that should’ve already happened in the main books by this point, but evading the issue for so long works to this story’s advantage. Nicieza plays the angle that the X-Men have avoided thinking about their actions because they’re so ashamed of them, making their discovery of Gambit’s audio diary (kept on an old tape recorder he found) even more demoralizing, as they’re forced to listen to his first-hand account of stripping plastic off of wiring and seat covers for food. Nicieza’s choice of a team is also smart, as he pairs two X-Men who were there (Rogue and Beast) with one who wasn’t (Marrow). As Marrow points out, what did Gambit do that was so bad that he was sentenced to starve and freeze to death…by the same people willing to take her in? The story also makes it clear that the X-Men are deliberately keeping Gambit’s role in the Morlock Massacre a secret from Marrow, a continuity point that really should’ve been addressed in the main titles as soon as Gambit was brought back.

The origin of the Green Mist Lady presents more of a problem, though. Nicieza wants to ground her in reality by giving her a suburban origin and typically dysfunctional home life, which is fine, but it’s hard to reconcile that with the early appearances of “Mary.” We learn that Magneto discovered Mary when she tried to bond with his body, but the reader never discovers how exactly she ended up in Antarctica. (And why she would want to go there.) Nor do we learn how she teleported Gambit from New York to Indiana instantaneously, unless the idea is that she can turn Gambit’s body into mist form. We also have to assume that her mist form moves extremely fast for this to work. And Mary’s motive, that she wants to create a new life form with Gambit so that the world will finally discover she exists, is just batty. I guess this is an attempt to reconcile her dialogue from her early appearances in X-Men, but the concept is just nonsensical. Still, the ending isn’t all bad. Making Gambit indirectly responsible for her death plays into his ongoing guilt complex, as he’s left to mourn another person he’s used and accidentally hurt. Not that he’s too broken up about it, of course; I don’t think we hear about Mary the Mist Lady ever again.

GAMBIT #7- August 1999

Pig Pen Part 2 - Dirty Troughs

Credits: Fabian Nicieza (co-plot/script), Steve Skroce (co-plot/pencils), Rob Stull, Scott Hanna, & Scott Elmer (inks), Shannon Blanchard (colors), Richard Starkings & Comicraft (letters)

Summary: The pig extracts Shirow’s mind-control gas, while Gambit and Zoe are interrogated by the Mengo Brothers. When Zoe is brought to Pig’s torturer Hole, she manages to escape by tricking the guards into shooting at combustible machinery. As the Pig’s complex collapses, Zoe rescues Pig’s child-slaves while Gambit confronts the Pig. Using a portion of Shirow’s gas, Gambit forces Pig to follow his orders and walk off the top floor. He rescues Shirow and escapes with Zoe inside the Mengo Brothers’ ship. Meanwhile, Fontanelle “scrapes” the dreams of Scalphunter, revisiting Gambit’s role in the Morlock Massacre.

Continuity Notes: Scalphunter’s dream shows Gambit rescuing a young Marrow from Sabretooth (an expanded version of the flashback in Uncanny X-Men #350). The colorist has so badly mis-colored Marrow, with blonde hair and white skin, she’s almost unrecognizable. A brief conversation between Gambit and Scalphunter establishes that they know each another.

Review: The initial Pig storyline wraps us, as Nicieza establishes Pig’s motivation of orderly, clean control -- an obvious contrast to his hideous appearance. The Pig wants to eliminate all divisions amongst humanity and impose his discipline on the public, confident that he’s not motivated by ego but a benevolent desire to clean up the messes left by other leaders. It’s not the most original motivation in the world (Nicieza will go on to explore these themes in Cable & Deadpool), but it does make Pig more than just a generic crimelord. The creators could’ve just coasted on the villain’s horrific appearance, so I’ll give them credit for adding some layer of complexity to the Pig.

Meanwhile, the Mengo Brothers are still decent comedic relief, Gambit is given some cool action sequences, and Skroce gets to draw more explosions and collapsing buildings. The subplots are also building real tension for the upcoming storylines, as we learn that Nicieza isn’t going to be shying away from the Gambit/Marauders retcon at all. Nicieza’s willingness to broach these touchy issues head-on was one of my favorite aspects of this series during its run.

GAMBIT #6 - July 1999

Pig Pen Part 1 - Muddy Waters

Credits: Fabian Nicieza (plot/script), Steve Skroce (plot/pencils), Rob Hunter (inks), Shannon Blanchard (colors), Richard Starkings & Comicraft (letters)

Summary: In the past, fifteen-year-old Gambit aides his twelve-year-old cousin Etienne in Etienne’s Thieves Guild initiation assignment. They’re apprehended by the Pig’s men, who take them to the heart of his child slavery operation. During their escape attempt, the Pig knocks them off a cliff. Gambit survives, but Etienne drowns in a river. In the present, the Pig targets Gambit’s family after they grant asylum to two members of the Tokyo Thieves Guild -- Zoe Ishihara and her mutant brother Shirow. Gambit attempts to rescue Zoe and Shirow from the Mengo Brothers, but all three are captured when the Mengo Brothers cause a building to collapse on them.

Continuity Notes:

· Teenage Gambit wears the same purple-and-black armor he wears today.

· Etienne’s initiation challenge is to steal from Candra. Based on her dialogue, she’s already had a run-in with a time-traveling Gambit. Her guards are henchmen provided by the Pig, who presumably turns teenagers into faceless goons for supervillains.

· Speaking of which, Viper (“Madame Hydra” at this point) later shows up in the flashback to scrutinize Pig’s soldiers for sale.

· The Pig is blinded in one eye by teenage Gambit, who’s still learning how to use his powers. Etienne steals a deck of cards from one of the child-prisoners, which leads to what we’re told is Gambit’s first use of playing cards as weapons.

· Fontanelle visits the dreams of Kimberely Purcell, the sister of Mary Purcell, a.k.a the Green Mist Lady that’s living inside Gambit.

Review: The first page of this story promises “The Little Rascals meets John Woo,” and it pretty much lives up to it. Plus, the origin story of Gambit’s playing cards is revealed, which is a nice surprise. Now, has anyone explained those tiny spikes he used in his first appearance?

Gambit’s past with the Thieves Guild isn’t usually fertile story ground, but Nicieza did use a teenage Gambit in X-Men #33’s flashback tale, and that’s potentially the greatest Gambit story ever written. If there’s anyone you want writing a story about fifteen-year-old Gambit helping his little cousin steal from an External, it’s Nicieza. Sadly, this is too rushed to give you the same impact as X-Men #33, even though it’s still an entertaining caper story with an unexpectedly dour ending.

For the present day scenes, Nicieza and Skroce also get some mileage out of the Thieves Guild with the introduction of Tokyo members Zoe and Shirow. I don’t know how exactly the idea of foreign Thieves Guilds gels with the specific origin given to the New Orleans chapter, but previous writers have established foreign members before (Storm’s mentor was retroactively made one), so it’s fair game I suppose. Building on the series’ ongoing continuity, we discover that young Shirow generates the mind-controlling gas seen in the previous issues, and we’re also made privy to the utterly disgusting way the kid expels it.

Zoe and Shirow don’t really have to be Thieves Guild members in order for the story to work, they could simply be a random mutant and his sister Gambit runs into one day, but the creators are trying to find some way to make the Guild material work. Gambit isn’t only helping the kid because he’s a mutant; his family has an obligation to him. Plus he’s being chased by a known adversary of the Guild, someone responsible for the death of Gambit’s cousin. Gambit’s drawn into all of this even though he was disowned years ago. Nicieza and Skroce are trying to make this a story about familial obligations in general, while downplaying the cornball elements that made the Guilds easily dismissible in their early appearances. At this point it works, but later on in the series I think Nicieza tries too hard to legitimize the Thieves Guild as individual characters. The extended time travel arc that details the past of this allegedly great secret society is also one of my least favorite elements of the book’s second year. But for now, things are good.

GAMBIT #5 - June 1999

Of Mice and Men

Credits: Fabian Nicieza & Steve Skroce (story and art), Rob Hunter w/Walden Wong (inks), Marie Javins w/Shannon Blanchard (colors), Comicraft (letters)

Summary: The X-Cutioner kidnaps Rogue and uses her as bait for Gambit. Following X-Cutioner’s orders, Gambit walks through a stargate and is teleported to his orbital base. Gambit defeats X-Cutioner’s agents, Cosmo Stephanopoulos, Mariah Ellenthorpe, and Jack Farley, and soon finds Rogue. The X-Cutioner attacks, harming Rogue in the battle. Gambit turns the X-Cutioner’s staff against him, temporarily blinding him. In his confusion, X-Cutioner accidentally kills his men. Traumatized, he unlocks a buried secret about his father. As Gambit and Rogue teleport to safety, X-Cutioner accepts his fate and stays to die onboard the collapsing satellite.

Continuity Notes: Fontanelle examines the dreamscape of her employer, New Son. The only recognizable image she sees is that of the Dark Beast. New Son “promptly kicks her out of his mind!” when he realizes what she’s doing.

Approved By The Comics Code Authority: Cosmo Stephanopoulos remarks that his teammate Mariah is “taking out a can of whupass” on Gambit.

Review: Scott Lobdell's review of this issue, circa May 1999:


Sorry if this comes a little late, but I'm basically a newstand buyer any more.
That is, if I have to take the subway here in NYC, I often pick up a comic at
the station and read it en route. (It's either that or talk to myself, and
that gets really boring...as you might imagine.)

Three days ago I stumbled onto GAMBIT #5, and I couldn't keep it to myself a
moment longer -- I LOVED THIS BOOK!

This was one of my favorite singel-issue comics of the past few years...which
is pretty incredible when you consider I created X-CUTIONER (in fact, Carl
Denti was actually the name of my psychology teacher in college!) and probably
came to the story with set of preconceived notions. But Fabian pulled it off
amazingly!

Fabian has used the Absentee-Father-as-profound-impact-on-character's-life on
more than one occassion, but never as effectively as he has here. And the way
he pulled off the Denti/X-Cutioner dichotomy, and then tied it into the his
birthday (in many ways this has all been about a painful "death" and rebirth
of the character as a result of the self-fullfilling events herein) was
excellent! If you haven't read this issue, do yourself a favor and go get it.
Again, it was one of the best examples of a great super hero story to have come
out of the Tomb Of Ideas in a while!

(To give you an example of how much I loved this story, it actually got me
thinking "If Marvel Idiotorial feels to the need to do yet another X - title
instead of making the existing x-titles better, they should really give Fabian
the elbow room to do an X-Cutioner ongoing! In just 22 pages, Fabian made this
marginal x-character more interesting and complex than many of the other Marvel
characters that have been gasping for characterization for years. At least
it'd be something different than another adjective in front of another X-book,
or another Unrevealed Story limited." )

Either way, Fabe, for what it's worth, I loved this issue!
Scott Lobdell

I don't have a compelling reason for posting this, I just thought it was interesting. By the way, if you think the color choices on this cover is odd, you're right. For some reason, the color scheme in this title often resembles the Barbie aisle at Toys R Us. Anyway...

Much of Gambit’s early positive feedback came from this issue, which really is the best installment so far, and perhaps the best issue of the entire series. While Nicieza is skimping over X-Cutioner’s established gimmick of only targeting mutant killers, and his previous encounter with Rogue in X-Man, he really has hit on a solid idea -- the X-Cutioner is a great foil for Gambit. X-Cutioner is a no-nonsense authority figure who secretly breaks the law to chase his obsessions, while Gambit is a light-hearted thief whose blithe façade hides intense shame and a deep concern for the people around him. Denti can’t help but to hate Gambit, and he’s grown increasingly fixated on him since their encounter in the first issue.

The theme of masks shows up repeatedly during the story, as X-Cutioner ponders why he’s chosen this path for himself and why exactly he’s so afraid to face a buried memory about his father. He questions the mask Gambit’s cloaked himself in, eventually deciding that he’s hiding the fear that he “doesn’t deserve any better than what he heaps on himself.” While he’s confident that he’s figured his opponent out, X-Cutioner refuses to admit the fear that’s driven his adult life, until a friendly fire accident forces him to face the truth about his father.

The execution of this scene is genuinely haunting; a true testament to what a talented creator can do with any character that’s been left by the wayside and never properly explored. It’s a little surprising that Nicieza gives X-Cutioner a fairly conclusive death scene after going through so much effort to establish him as Gambit’s perfect arch-nemesis, which might explain why Nicieza revived Carl Denti and the X-Cutioner persona in the second year of the series. This becomes a case of diminishing returns, to be honest, and I don’t recall if the mystery surrounding the revival is even resolved. Still, this remains a great standalone issue, worth seeking out by anyone willing to take a Gambit vs. X-Cutioner story seriously.

GAMBIT #4 - May 1999

Old Wounds, Fresh Blood!

Credits: Fabian Nicieza & Steve Skroce (story & art), Hunter, Hanna, & Koblish (inks), Shannon Blanchard (colors), Comicraft’s Jason & Troy (letters)

Summary: Chicault, a member of the Assassins Guild and employee of the Antiquary’s museum, is bitten by a vampire and converted. He targets the Antiquary’s child-slaves and turns them into vampires. Blade rescues one of the children, as Gambit returns to New Orleans. Teaming up with Gambit’s father, the heroes stop Chicault from using the children to access Antiquary’s library and gain information on the “Old Kingdom.” In exchange for freeing the children, the Antiquary’s ministers Tome and Hoard are allowed to keep Chicault’s notebook, which contains years of his research. Meanwhile, Fontanelle invades the dreams of Hazard, X-Cutioner arms the fired employees of Elysian Enterprises, and the Pig orders the Mengo Brothers to kidnap a Japanese boy.

Continuity Notes:

· The Antiquary has been missing for years according to Gambit, yet Tome and Hoard have apparently kept his operation alive.

· Hazard dreams of playing with Xavier as a child in Almagordo. Fontanelle forces him to remember an elderly woman he saw in the facility who he heard speak the words “Black Womb.”

· The Old Kingdom is a mystery that will be dealt with in the book’s second year.

· Chicault has information on “the so-called X-Ternal Elixirs” in his notes. This is presumably a reference to the X-Ternal Candra, who has a connection to the Thieves and Assassins Guilds.

· Gambit is apparently on a first name basis with Anne Rice.

Creative Differences: Chicault brags that no one thought to look on a boy’s wrists for bite marks, while the art clearly shows his ankle has been bitten. Nicieza swore on Usenet that his script did say “ankle,” which did little to alleviate Mark Powers’ reputation as a compulsive re-writer (although Nicieza did say at the time that he and Powers were working well together.)

Review: Can you guess which character in this story just starred in the surprise box office smash of 1998? I believe this is Blade’s first appearance in the comics following the film, and not surprisingly, he’s been given a Wesley Snipes makeover. I don’t think anyone really minded at the time, but lordy, if we only knew what was to come…





Regardless, Blade makes a nice, unexpected guest star for the series, and Nicieza has worked up a plausible justification for his appearance.

Unfortunately, doing a vampires in New Orleans story means we’re forced to endure more of the Thieves and Assassins Guild nonsense, but Nicieza is trying to downplay the sillier aspects of the concept and emphasize their connection to some of the creepier elements of New Orleans. Admirably, Nicieza tries to make the Guilds work throughout his run on the book, and this is one of his better attempts. This is a packed issue, and while I found it a little hard to follow on my first reading, it becomes clearer with a second attempt. I think the biggest stumbling block would be the casual introduction of the Antiquary, an off-panel character who we discover maintained a child slave operation, and somehow housed a museum that contains Guild secrets. He’s fleshed out more in subsequent issues, but Nicieza treats him as if he’s an established concept this issue, which makes the story a little more confusing than it needs to be.