Aces over 8's

By The_Ghostshell June 21, 2009 4 Comments

Finally got around to reading "X-Men: Gambit Origins" and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. Now if your looking for some major revelations in this one-shot then let me save you the trouble, there are none. But that's not to say there aren't any tiny revelations of reveals. Like Gambit meeting and falling in love with Bella Donna at the age of 8 in his usual "save the day" fashion.

Which his adoptive father later addresses as we flash forward to Gambit's wedding. Now I actually loved this flashback cause its something that had been talked about but never illustrated. We get a nice scene between Jean Luc LeBeau and his son (Remy) in which he cautions Gambit on his romantic nature and the importance of the wedding. That with their union (Bella and Remy) the feud between the Assassins Guild and Thieves Guild will be ended. Yet surprisingly we learn that Gambit isn't really interested in that, its simply an added bonus. He really cares for and loves Bella. But not everyone is happy with this arrangement. Julian, Bella's brother and next in line to lead the Assassins Guild objects to the marriage and challenges Gambit to a fight to the death. Which leads to the real reason that Gambit leaves Bella (which is kind of a contradiction to earlier explanations but its all good).

The next chapter delves into Gambit's role in the Morlock Massacre. Its revealed exactly why he helped Mr. Sinister, not only assemble the Marauders, but lead them as well. Any fan of Gambit already knows about his involvement, but its never been drawn or explained in such detail. We see that he was more or less tricked into helping out and by the time he gets his head out of his ass, its to late. After a brief throwdown with the Marauders he all but gets emptied out by Sabretooth in one of the coolest panels in the book. Injured, Gambit is now helpless to do anything about the massacre. Minus one thing that happens to ecplain the deep connection he has with Marrow.

Rounding out this trilogy of flashbacks is none other then the infamous meeting between Gambit and Storm. Which is actually pretty short yet in some strange way ties the story up nicely. All in all I loved this story. I wasnt crazy about the art at first but eventually it started to grow on me. Yardin and Roberson's style may not be for everyone but its better then some of the artists I've seen draw Gambit. I only wish it was an ongoing ;)

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