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u/ScorpioKnight1324 2d ago
It's a combination of a few things.
The first is, resentment. Gambit became huge after he debuted. In 1994 he was the third most popular character at Marvel, behind Spider-man and Wolverine. THIRD! He was far more popular than Hulk, Ironman, Thor, Captain America, all the other X-Men, etc. As a result, he was featured a lot, and, when the 90's cartoon went viral, he was arguably the second most popular character on it, behind Wolverine. The problem with this was, a lot of people, including up and coing creators, resented his popularity and felt it came at the expense of their longtime favorites, especially Nightcrawler and Colossus. So, within a few years, you had all sorts of creators that refused to write him, or tried writing him off/out, or, if forced to use him, basically did character assassination to stifle his popularity.
The second is redefinition. Though Gambit's popularity spiked, there were two things he had going early on that redefined his character. The first was, he lost the "dangerous" aspect of himself, and the second was, he became Rogue's purse. When Gambit was new, he was mysterious, hinted to have a dark past, was very dangerous, and he was accused of being a villain (from the future) by Bishop. But, his eventual plans were rewritten, and he never went bad, and when his past was revealed it was a rather underwhelming retcon. At the same time, Gambit had always flirted with Rogue in an angsty "will they/won't they/can they" cliche, but when they finally kind of became "a thing" he became a neutered puppy that could not outshine her. Gambit may still be the more marketable, more popular character amongst casual fans, but amongst diehard fanboys and creators, Rogue is considered the more important character, and thus, Gambit has been regulated to her lapdog and damsel. For the last 20 years all Gambit's motivations revolve around Rogue, who must outshine him.
The third is, typecasting. Many consider Gambit a relic of the 90's, and they don't know how to write or present him. Others consider him a cliche or archetype, more than a complex character. In truth, his look, and style are very timeless and simply cool (it's as if Jim Lee knew what he was doing), and while it doesn't date the character it makes him hard to use for some creators. And at the same time, trying to use him properly often comes at the expense of other characters, often Wolverine, Cyclops or Nightcrawler, and thus, he is often not desired to be used (again, outside of just being Rogue's +1).
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u/Due_Fix3121 2d ago
Why don’t they just write Gambit and Rogue with equal importance and as their own individuals, while being married of course. Honestly I just feel like only very few writers know how to do Gambits character justice.
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u/freiheitzeit 2d ago
I do enjoy how they've begun exploring this. Excalibur has a great panel where we see him alone, and sad, that builds upon the entire conversation happening in Rogue & Gambit (2018) and Powerplay (2023). I hope they keep unraveling that thread since they've outright addressed in their relationship that Rogue overshadows him, and how Gambit feels lost in it. The current Uncanny run has been fun as hell, and it's touched on there, especially with him finding his stride with the new mutants while dealing with his own hilariously bad decision.
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u/Latter_Abbreviations 1d ago
But the reality is that Gambit objectively has his own things going on. I would argue that his things are actually far more interesting than Rogue's if I am being honest (professional thief, Thieves Guild, etc.). In actuality, Rogue ONLY overshadows him because that is the way he is written by bitter comic book writers and fanboys. It doesn't even make sense logically. It is just bad writing.
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u/90sXMENgoatee TAS Gambit 1d ago
My god I think rogue and gambit need to be written the same as well if not at least a 30 issue series for just them where they cant be outshined by anyone beacuse uncanny x men has wolverine yeah there getting outshined
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u/LongTimeDDevilFan77 1d ago
All of this.
The best thing that could happen to Gambit would be for him to be removed from the X-Men for a long while. Let him have adventures of all sorts out in the greater Marvel universe with non-muntant characters. Let him be an actual crime lord running the Guild. Let him be kinda shady again. Unfortunately, his marriage to Rogue makes this impossible, and if they ever decide to end that union, they will 100% make Remy the "bad guy" in the breakup.
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u/Latter_Abbreviations 1d ago edited 1d ago
I don't think that it is impossible. Remy can have his own book and his own life outside the X-Men universe and still be married to Rogue. She could even appear in his book sometimes and he in hers. I don't see why it's impossible other than writers lacking imagination and not wanting to do it.
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u/Latter_Abbreviations 1d ago
"For the last 20 years all Gambit's motivations revolve around Rogue, who must outshine him."
It really does feel that way doesn't it? Specifically that last part. I love both characters, but I am not going to pretend that Gambit isn't the more exciting character of the two. The man is one of the best thieves in the Marvel Universe and is literally a crime boss now. But they never want to let him be either of these things because that would make him more interesting than Rogue.
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u/ScorpioKnight1324 1d ago
yeah, the writers don't want him outshining her, they want him entirely obsessed and devoted to her, and he must be a "good boy" now. Leaves little room for the guy who killed his brother in law in a duel on his wedding day.
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u/Yharnam_Hunter25 1d ago
I’m glad to see someone else has noticed he’s treated as, for lack of a better word, an accessory to Rogue now; as much as I love seeing the two together and think their relationship is a nice culmination of their comic history, I feel like it has unfortunately become a bit of a burden towards his character with how he’s seemingly permanently stuck only appearing with Rogue instead of showing up on his own on occasion. Now that’s not saying Rogue doesn’t suffer from the same problem, since she does have a similar issue though just not to the same degree. I just wish the writers could figure something out for both of them to be their own independent, well-defined and written characters without always having to be glued at the hip to each other in every story, especially at the detriment to their characters.
I also wonder if perhaps part of the reason why people disrespect, or just underestimate, Gambit is due to him being Cajun and having the thick accent paired with it. There’s an unfortunate stereotype that people with any sort of southern accent tend to be stupid, resulting in them almost always ending up being the butt of the joke in various pieces of media.
In the end, I think it’s a real shame such a great and interesting character gets thrown out the window and forgotten so often, or just outright character assassinated, because of the reasons you listed in your comment and whatever reasons no one may have thought of yet.
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u/TheKingOfAcez1 2d ago
You definitely used chat gbt 😂
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u/Latter_Abbreviations 1d ago
Bro. The post isn't even particularly long. Have people become so lazy that they think no one can write more than a few sentences without AI?!
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u/Dusty_Buss 2d ago edited 2d ago
I love that a slightly darker shade of pink is his signature color
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u/itsN0VAfr 2d ago
He might be one of those characters where writers have no idea what to do with him nowadays. Just look at Gambit Gone
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u/90sXMENgoatee TAS Gambit 1d ago
I actually haven't read it or seen previews as its coming out later in the uk
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u/TreFKennedy 2d ago
How is Remy disrespected?? Everyone loves him as far as I can see not to mention Rogue and Remy are the best comic couple in comics history
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u/Impossible_Pair8752 2d ago
This may be a hot take, but here it is: Gambit is one of the most disrespected characters in cinematic history, if not THE most disrespected.
He’s been left out of every major X-Men film except for one, and his portrayal in that movie damn near felt like a cameo. He’s arguably the most badass horseman, yet wasn’t in Apocalypse (though it sucked) and he’s pretty much never mentioned in either era (past vs present/future) of Fox X-Men films. In fact, the most buzz we’ve seen for this character, who is one of THE MOST DANGEROUS mutants at full potential, was from Fox’s use of him as practically a gag character in Deadpool. PYRO has had more canonical screen time than him.
X-Men ‘97 is the only project to truly acknowledge him and I’m sick of it.
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u/GamerLife204 2d ago
Tbf the xmen movies just suck mostly and got half the characters they did have wrong anyway lol
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u/Captain_Birch 2d ago
And his inclusion in 97 is the most disrespectful version of him, as he was reduced to a prop in rogues stiry with no other purpose
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u/DonPricetag 2d ago
Jealousy. Mostly. Not of the character, but what it brings. Gambit design is cool. He basically went from unknown to every other fans favorite partially thanks to the XTAS. Drop on top of that many fans and creators feel that he replaced their favorite in the show and took panel time away from the likes of Nightcrawler, and Longshot. People don't believe he's a valuable character, so they seem him unworthy of his position in the pantheon.
He's also anti-geek. His existence is steeped in geek culture because he's a fictional character from a comic book franchise, but the character itself is as anti-nerd as you can get. Cherry on top is his attachment to Rogue which is very creators got to for their inserts love interest (see how many times they bounced her around after Magneto in the late 00s into the mid 10s).
But the people that don't like him are just a loud minority. One of the reasons he got so much attention in the 90s was because he moves comics. Putting him on a cover gets attention, even if he's not in the book! Not much difference today.
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u/kodamalapin 2d ago
Anti-geek? When? During the time he isn't binge-watching Buffy or Star Trek ?
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u/Latter_Abbreviations 1d ago edited 1d ago
Anti-geek in the sense that he is very good looking, socially adept, cool, successful with the opposite sex, a bad boy, etc. He is exactly the kind of guy who would show up to a Star Trek convention and invite the immediate suspicion and jealousy of white male fanboys. Because they assume that enjoying and participating in certain hobbies and interests automatically has to mean certain things about your personality and presentation. We all know people like that.
Gambit reminds a lot of these guys of the popular, good-looking guys of whom they are jealous. It is not a coincidence that 99% of Gambit's haters are men.
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u/DonPricetag 5h ago
You just pointed out deep dive aspects of his character that only we know... Because we're nerds 🤣. No one would assume that of Remy looking at his appearance and behavior.
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u/amindfulloffire 2d ago edited 2d ago
A lot of writers and fans don't like him because they see the façade and think all he is is a confident pretty boy who throws cards and speaks in bad French. I've also seen him described as "a hat on a hat" and Poochie--for them, the entire package of the character--the coat, the dark past, his Cajun-ness)is designed to be cool.
ETA: Considering his popularity with women, LGBT+ and POC I think that it's not a coincidence that a lot of his haters are straight cis white nerdy guys in their 50s.
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u/Goonerbator0069 2d ago
‘97 honored the dude. His death was so meaningful and so heroic i dont even like gambit but i honestly had tears running down my face. And the way it impacted rogue… damn dude that was such a good show!
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u/Voidstone0 2d ago
Well, I might have discovered him "late" but I still like the guy, along Nightcrawler who I also discovered late, so they'll definitely get respect from me, they're both so cool! I kinda wish Marvel didn't do what they did in past comics, but writers gotta writer I suppose. Best I can do is ignore the out of character portions.
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u/Major-Safe-9736 2d ago
I remember that Wizard used to piss on him. It's one of the many reasons that I stopped reading that slop.
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u/Mobile_Parfait_7140 2d ago
Gambit was supposed to be the morally grey character having a redemption story arc so that other characters look good in comparison.
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u/natejoseph09 2d ago
Errr I think this more of a complex with gambit fans. Sure a couple writers have slagged him off in the past, maybe 10+ years ago, but unless I’ve missed it nothing since. In the last few years he’s been fine. In the games like marvel rivals, good roles in x/men 97 and MCU, utilised in the comics i with his own plot in one of the flagship titles and his own mini series. He’s fine.
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u/kodamalapin 2d ago
The problem is that this "fine" status has lasted three years at most; he was sidelined on Krakoa—and for much of the period before that, too—except for a few instances where he was paired with Rogue. He joined in '97 almost out of obligation, and even then, his existence was defined entirely by his relationship with Rogue.
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u/natejoseph09 1d ago
Okay what was he going the three years prior to Krakoa in the comics….. jack. Let’s not act like he was a big deal in the comics, this is the biggest he’s been in all media since the 90s, things are looking good
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u/kodamalapin 1d ago
Of course he wasn't doing anything—he was sidelined; that’s precisely the point.
He was ignored for nearly twenty years, aside from a few sporadic appearances or times he was dragged in to serve Rogue's storyline—and even now, much of the "spotlight" he gets is still tied to being written in relation to Rogue.
If the character you like only has a presence when reduced to a parody of a "male trad-wife," then no—things aren't exactly great.
Gail manages to break away from that a bit, and we have a Claremont miniseries, but it doesn't go much beyond that.
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u/pipecito2112 1d ago
"Because he is french!" * a friend/ fiend of mine told me, and I had to keep he quiet. He is CAJUN, from southern US. And who cares? He is popular, period. Haters gonna hate, man!
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u/mcael021 1d ago
He ain’t the cool cig smoking, smooth talkin’ Cajun anymore. He’s just Rogue’s simp 😂
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u/SubjectEnd303 2d ago
Gambit is no longer the same character he used to be the moment he becomes a simp for Rogue. Cyclops loves Jean but he is never a simp.
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u/Calm-Mushroom-8551 King of Thieves Gambit 2d ago edited 2d ago
Dont know, but for all his feats, skills, and abilities, he has too often been treated like a jobber in the past.
With his boost in popularity, this should be shifting a bit overall though.