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Back to the nearly-dead C-list books, and
Gambit #10.
The plot couldn't be simpler. The
jealous Genevieve d'Aubigne wants to break up Gambit's
relationship with Rogue so that she can move in on him.
So she's sent Rogue a DVD with incriminating footage of Gambit
with another woman. Gambit has to get it back before
Rogue sees it.
This is the first time that the book's
shown us Gambit among the rest of the X-Men, and Layman has a
neat grasp of Gambit's place on the team. After three of
the kids are found cheating on a maths test, Shadowcat decides
that they need guidance from a reformed thief, and dumps them
on Gambit. Evidently she doesn't know him very well.
(But then, they've spent virtually no time on the same team
together, so why should she?)
Of course, Gambit's idea of how to deal
with thieving brats is rather different. He couldn't
give a toss. If they want to steal, let them. All
Gambit cares about is whether they do it with style.
The issue is actually quite bold, in
allowing Gambit to take such a strikingly and unrepentantly
amoral attitude. This guy is meant to be the hero, but
he honestly doesn't care. It's pretty clear that Gambit
sees stealing as a victimless crime, and not something that's
really worth worrying about. After all, he doesn't do it
for greed, he does it for the challenge. And if the kids
approach it in that spirit, they've got his blessing.
This is a remarkably weird moral standpoint for a mainstream
superhero to take. The story itself stops short of fully
endorsing him - we're clearly meant to recognise that
something rather odd is going on here - but by the same token
nothing ever comes along to contradict him.
The skill in doing a story like this is to
allow Gambit to take this sort of attitude without the reader
turning on him. That's all about the charm, and the
sense that Gambit genuinely doesn't see anything wrong in
this. It's all a playpen to him, and despite his weird
moral opinions, there's something fundamentally upbeat and
innocent about him. This book doesn't do grim, brooding
oh-god-I-killed-the-Morlocks Gambit. This is the fun
guy. He's an engaging character to read about, even if
you suspect he'd be unbearable to have around.
Great issue. Well worth picking up
for X-Men fans.
Rating: A
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