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Updated June 15, 2019 14.9K votes 2.4K voters 118.1K views
Over 2.4K Ranker voters have come together to rank this list of 14 Reasons Why Gambit Is Actually Terrible No Matter How Much You Love Him
Voting Rules
Vote up the traits that make Gambit the worst of all the X-Men; vote down the ones that don't bother you as much.
Let's be honest: when you were younger, Gambit was cool. He's great with a bo staff, has explosive superpowers, and a swagger that girls love and guys want to emulate. Then you turned 15 years old and realized that Gambit is the worst. The dirt worst.
Seriously, while there are some redeeming qualities, you can't deny the reasons why Gambit kind of sucks. Whether it's due to being a relic of the '90s or being poorly written, it's no surprise that so many comic book fans have turned on the character or don't understand his appeal. Gambit, just... just no. Try as he might, Gambit won't find himself at the top of a list of the baddest X-Men of all time any time soon.Â
Keep reading below to see why Gambit is one of the worst X-Men ever. Even worse than Maggot.
During a particularly grueling comedy of errors, Gambit falls over and accidentally blinds himself with his own exploding playing card in X-Men #157. But it doesn't stop there! He also blames Rogue for his injury, even though she was only tangentially responsible. So he's not only an idiot for holding onto a literal time bomb for too long, he's a d-bag, too.
In the massive Messiah CompleX storyline, Gambit sides against the X-Men and teams up with Mystique to kidnap the mutant infant, Hope. They believe that Hope can bring the unconscious Rogue out of a coma if they sacrifice the child. In the end, Rogue wakes up and the baby lives, but it's hard to say the guy's not a pretty big d*ck for going along with the plan in the first place.
As younger nerds grow up to become older nerds, they realize that Gambit is less a smooth operator and more like Pepé Le Pew. Seriously, he lays it on so thick that it's laughable and uncomfortable to read in these modern times. His constant come-ons and flirting come off as desperate and creepy, especially when his affections aren't reciprocated. No means no, Remy. Lay off.
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He Doesn't Have Any Worthwhile Must-Read Story Arcs or Solo Series
Quick, name one quintessential Gambit story. Yeah, I can't either. For a character this popular, Gambit hasn't had a lot of success in getting a great standalone story. As a side character, he is serviceable, but that's because he's not the focus. Despite multiple attempts at a solo series, the character just doesn't get a lot of traction.
Remember Gambit's classic catchphrase, "BANG... You dead!"? I didn't think so either. Not only did his "trademark" catchphrase not catch on, but it's embarrassing. If your catchphrase conjures up memories of playing cops 'n' robbers when you were five years old, then your catchphrase sucks.
OK, the guy meant well, but Gambit is still a stupid fool here. In order to keep Apocalypse in check while helping out the mutant race, Gambit willingly takes on the role of Death in Apocalypse's group of Four Horsemen in X-Men #182-#187. While he agrees to become a herald of Apocalypse out of love for the X-Men, Gambit must have forgot all the other times he fought Apocalypse's Horsemen or he'd know that brainwashing was a part of the process. At least he's a well-intentioned idiot.
