For many years, Gambit was a thief, more concerned with fortune and fun than his fellow Mutants. He reformed, however, rededicating his life to helping others with his powers as one of the X-Men. Money doesn’t concern him much anymore, which is fortunate given how Remy LeBeau literally threw away a small fortune in Uncanny X-Men #5.
Written by Gail Simone, with art by David Marquez, Uncanny X-Men #5 is the finale of the Red Wave storyline. Following the Fall of the House of X, several X-Men came to stay with a friend of Gambit named Marcus. The heroes wound up adopting a quartet of new Mutant teens, who were being hunted by the mysterious Sarah Gaunt.
Gaunt blinded Wolverine and fatally wounded Rogue. This left Gambit leading what remained of the team as Sarah Gaunt and her forces stormed Marcus’ home. He was seemingly out-gunned, given there were over 100 adversaries and his weapon of choice was a standard pack of 52 playing cards. Thankfully, Remy LeBeau is nothing if not resourceful, capable of turning anything inorganic into a weapon.
Why Gambit sticks to plain playing cards
Thankfully, Marcus’ daughter had an extensive collection of “dem cards with little cartoon monsters on ’em.” This seems to be a lawyer-friendly reference to Pokemon. As Gambit revealed his improvised arsenal, his charges quietly asked if they should tell him just how much the cards in question were worth. They decided against it, apparently deciding however much it was, it wasn’t worth as much as their lives.
While this scene is played for laughs, it does bring up an interesting point about why Gambit uses basic playing cards. The answer is they are relatively inexpensive and readily available. A basic deck can be purchased at most drugstores and supermarkets. By contrast, collectible game cards are usually found at specialty stores or kept behind the counter, given their value. While amusing to picture Gambit shouting “Pikachu, I choose you!” before throwing a card, it just isn’t practical or budget-friendly.
Uncanny X-Men #5 is now available at comic shops everywhere.
