Warning! This article contains spoilers for X-Men '92: House of XCII #1
While this X-Men hero may be a fan-favorite, Marvel Comics recently confirmed that he is actually the team’s worst member. Remy LeBeau aka Gambit has always been the coolest mutant on the X-Men from his suave personality to his origins as an outlaw. However, he has long-been called the worst X-Men member by readers given his relatively low power level compared to higher profile X-Men and his impulsive ‘plays by his own rules’ attitude. While fans of the character have always defended him–citing alternate universes in which he is omega level and perceiving his impulsiveness as endearing–it has unfortunately just been confirmed that Gambit is officially the worst X-Man on the team.
In X-Men ‘92: House of XCII #1 by Steve Foxe and Salva Espin, the militant mutant team embark on a mission identical to the one they go on in House of X #4 by Jonathan Hickman and Pepe Larraz. In order to stop the seemingly inevitable Sentinel takeover, the X-Men are sent to destroy a Master Mold satellite before any more advanced Sentinels can be manufactured.
The X-Men are sent to space to infiltrate the Master Mold satellite station and destroy it, a mission that could only succeed if everyone followed orders exactly as they were delivered. When the X-Men split up within the station to hit all of its weak points, Rogue and Gambit are sent in the same direction as a team. When they face a horde of enemies, Gambit doesn’t pay attention to the fact that they’re in a space station and supercharges a whole Sentinel, creating a massive explosion. The resulting chaos blows a hole in the side of the satellite, killing both himself and Rogue in the process.
Gambit was told by Storm, his superior, to be mindful of how close he was to the outer walls of the station, but instead of listening, Gambit just did whatever he wanted and got himself killed in the process along with the woman he loved. Luckily this issue is seemingly something of a retelling of House of X so at this point the mutants have already developed the means for resurrections. However, if this was any other mission, Gambit and Rogue would have been dead forever all because of Gambit’s carelessness.
While this mission highlighted Gambit at his worst, he has more than proven himself a valued member of the X-Men in the past, both in this universe and alternate ones. During the events of Age of Apocalypse, Gambit actually led his own team of mutants on a space mission to use his thieving skills to steal the M’Kraan Crystal before Apocalypse’s minions got ahold of it. However, while this was an extreme circumstance that highlighted Gambit’s worst traits, those traits have always been present throughout his Marvel Comics career. The only difference is now the deadly consequences of his actions have finally been brought to their fateful conclusion, proving that Gambit is the X-Men’s worst hero.
