Gambit (Remy LeBeau) - Articles - Zimbio

Spotlight Review: Uncanny X-Men #500

Wed, 24 Jul 2008 19:03:00 GMT

posted by betsywasser
by Doug Smith

It's finally here - the landmark 500th issue of Uncanny X-Men! Featuring new artists (Greg Land and Terry Dodson), a new co-writer (Matt Fraction), and a new status quo for Marvel's merry mutants. Anniversary issues always bring high expectations - did Uncanny X-Men #500 live up to them?

WARNING: Spoilers ahead!

UNCANNY X-MEN #500
Writers: Ed Brubaker and Matt Fraction
Artists: Greg Land and Terry Dodson
Inkers: Jay Leisten and Rachel Dodson
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Price: $3.99

Ed Brubaker is joined by his Immortal Iron Fist co-writer, Matt Fraction, and the results are immediate and obvious. I could be completely wrong, but it feels to me like Fraction is doing the heavy lifting on this issue. For one thing, there are a lot of things packed into this issue: a large cast of characters, several new story elements, a big action sequence in the middle of the book, and a fair amount of sociopolitical commentary. It reminds me much more of Fraction's very dense work on Casanova than it does Brubaker's more deliberate pacing on Captain America or Daredevil; Bru likes to give things plenty of room to breathe, whereas Fraction seems to prefer to move at a breathless pace. Then again, it could just be the fact that this issue is being used to set up a new status quo and put several storylines in motion; there's a lot going on here, and perhaps it's a bit too much. Most of the "A-list" X-Men make appearances here. There's the cast from Astonishing X-Men (Cyclops, Emma Frost, Wolverine, Beast, and Colossus), along with Storm, Angel, Nightcrawler, and Cannonball. While everybody gets a moment to shine, for most of the characters they only get a moment. Cannonball and Nightcrawler, in particular, disappear after their brief appearances in action. Cyclops and Emma get the majority of the screen time; I hope future issues will give their teammates a bit more exposure.

There are a lot of elements here that feel like pure Fraction. We have Kingo Sunen (not a new character, by the way), a Japanese auteur planning his first American movie (with an unlikely star, an ex-mutant named "Freddie Dukes" who is a weight-loss guru and a big deal in Japan - once I realized who Freddie Dukes was, I had to laugh and nod in approval), and the controversy-courting artist Guy DeMondue, whose Sentinel-based art display provides the platform for the main action in this issue. Those are the kind of pop-culture references I associate with Fraction. If it sounds like I'm being dismissive of Brubaker's contributions, I'm really not, but this book just feels very different than the rest of Bru's run. Being a big fan of Fraction's writing, it was a very welcome and refreshing addition. In many ways, Fraction reminds me of Grant Morrison - there are tons of crazy ideas popping up on the pages of his books, with a strong sci-fi flavor. Sometimes, the ideas don't always gel, but when they do, it can be magical.

The much-hyped new direction for the team, however, doesn't really feel that new. Other than a change of locale to San Francisco, the new X-headquarters seems to be offering the same thing that the Xavier Institute did in Morrison's run: a public safe haven for any and all mutants. The open-arms welcome that the X-Men get from the city of San Fran and it's mayor, complete with human protestors arguing for the mutants, also reminds me of the "mutants are the new cool" themes from New X-Men.

I had been wondering if the X-Men would run across the Dreaming Celestial now that they're in the Bay Area. Well, they do, and...what's that, you say? What's the Dreaming Celestial? Well, if you didn't read the Eternals miniseries from Neil Gaiman and John Romita, Jr. or the brand-new ongoing Eternals series, you'll probably be a little lost. Unfortunately, Fraction and Brubaker don't provide any explanation here. The Celestial just...is. Given that the Eternals and the Celestials are new additions to the world of the X-Men, some explanation would have been nice. I know that expository dialogue is taboo, and I'm not calling for a return to the wordiness of Claremont, but a few well-scripted narrative panels would have been a blessing here. Given that the Celestial first appears in one small panel (breaking Kirby Rule #33: the Celestials must never appear small!), a big splash page of the Celestial in all of its glory, with a few expository panels, would have worked. It also would have been a good idea to have a few word balloons explaining just who the High Evolutionary is, and why in the hell he's hanging out with the Big Bad Villain of this issue, tinkering around with the Dreaming Celestial. Yes, the High Evolutionary did appear briefly in the "Endangered Species" story, but for the most part he, like the Celestials, isn't a part of the X-Men mythos, and his inclusion here seems odd, especially given the rather casual reaction to the X-Men upon seeing him. Even a simple "The High Evolutionary? What's HE doing here?" would have helped. But I'm nit-picking just a bit, as I did like this issue more than I have the past several.

While I was happy with the writing on this issue, I was less thrilled with the artwork. Neither Greg Land nor Terry Dodson is a personal favorite of mine (although I certainly don't hate either's work). The biggest problem I have is that their styles simply don't mesh well. Land uses a photo-realistic style where Dodson favors a more traditional penciling approach, with a dash of cartoony style. If the two are planning to alternate story arcs in the future (I believe they are), it won't be a problem, but here it makes for a jarring stylistic transition; the fact that the two share individual chapters, instead of alternating, only compounds the problem.

While I'm fairly neutral to Terry Dodson's work, I find Greg Land much more frustrating. I say "frustrating" because I remember him as an outstanding penciller in his DC days, and his current Photoshopping approach simply doesn't work for me. If you look at the image to the right, notice the very awkward placement of Emma's hand in the top panel; is that hand growing from somewhere off-panel? Because it sure doesn't seem like it could be attached to her body. There are several other shots throughout the book with strange poses and oddly cobbled-together images, and a rather surprisingly bloated-looking Scott Summers on page 31.

Land also seems to be obsessed with having his characters smiling. A lot. As in, "dosed with Joker Gas" smiling. See the image to the left for an example. Yes, those people are at a party in that scene; but it's also representative of a very standard "go-to" expression that Land uses far too often. I just find it really unnatural and distracting. There's also a scene where the X-Men react to the news of DeMondue's exhibit with outrage; Brubaker and Fraction nail Emma's dialogue in this scene but Land does them a disservice with the wrong choice of facial expression, opting for anger instead of what reads like bored disdain. Land does handle his action sequences very well though; the battle between the Big Bad Villain and the X-Men is very well handled and makes me long for a simpler style from Land. Most of the time, Land's work is very pretty to look at, but that doesn't mean it works as a means of storytelling, which is the primary purpose of comic book art.

Oh, and the Big Bad Villain? Yeah, it's Magneto, making a return to the pages of Uncanny X-Men with a big splash. I loved the way he made the scene during the party; it felt like the Magneto I grew up with in the 1970s. Throughout the battle, it did feel like something was a little bit off...I was actually expecting him to be revealed as an imposter (especially since he was depowered on M-Day). Well, there was a reason for it...something wasn't quite right with Magneto. His alliance with the High Evolutionary, and their plans involving the Dreaming Celestial, are shrouded in mystery and should make for a great storyline going forward.

So what's the final verdict? Well, despite some minor complaints with the writing and some more serious misgivings about the artwork, I found quite a bit to like in this issue. Fraction's sly wit and potential for great ideas, coupled with Brubaker's rock-solid story sensibilities (the two struck gold on the aforementioned Iron Fist series), give me great faith that this book is in good hands on the writing side. There were a lot of seeds planted here which should pay off in the months to come. Heck, I didn't even mention the new Hellfire Cult until now! Since I read comics more for the writing than for the artwork, I can certainly live with both Land and Dodson, even if neither would be my first choice. So, while I'm hoping that my grades on this series will eventually improve, I'm giving this issue...

Grade: B

From Top to Bottom: Uncanny X-Men Anniversary Issues

Mon, 22 Jul 2008 04:13:00 GMT

posted by betsywasser
by Matt

Welcome to the 13th edition of the weekly "From Top to Bottom" column! Every week I will look at something within the comics industry and give you my opinion on what I think is the best and what I think ranks amongst the bottom-feeders.

Last week, I celebrated Hellboy 2 and the new Batman sequels with a sequel of my own by looking at the Top and Bottom of Comic Book Sequels. Today, because of the impending release of Uncanny X-Men #500, I am looking at past Uncanny X-Men anniversary issues. I think anniversary issues should be special, whether it deals with the start or end of a story line, a new character debuting, an older character returning, it should be an event. A couple of years ago I got into an argument on the old X-boards about anniversary issues. Uncanny X-Men #400 and had just come out and I was disappointed in the book and this fan told me that it would be one of the most important X-Men anniversary books. I told him that was a joke. Now that we are on the eve of #500 coming out, does #400 hold up like I thought or like he thought?

Like I mentioned before, I feel that when a book reaches as anniversary number, there should be something special happening. It should be something that makes it different from other issues. With Uncanny X-Men being the flagship of the X-franchise, I have high expectations for an anniversary book, especially one as grand as #500. Some Uncanny X-Men anniversary issues have been better than others, some have left me confused and some rarely even mention that they are celebrating a milestone. Here are my Top 3 Uncanny X-Men anniversary issues followed by my Bottom 3.

3) Uncanny X-Men #175
We were teased that Madelyn Pryor just might be Dark Phoenix but we found out that Mastermind had been manipulating everything from behind the scenes to enact his revenge on the X-Men. Mastermind tricks the X-Men to battle whom they think is Dark Phoenix but is really Cyclops. Cyclops proves how dangerous and smart he can really be as he fends off the X-Men. It established Madelyn as her own character and pushed out Cyclops as leader and active member as the issue ends with the marriage of Madelyn and Cyclops. Too bad it didn’t end all that well for them. The issue was Paul Smith’s final and also featured the start of John Romita Jr’s great run.

2) Uncanny X-Men #200
This was my first issue of the X-Men and I was confused and intrigued at the same time. This was a big one; Magneto was on trial for crimes against humanity. The X-Men suddenly appear in France; returning from Asgard to find Professor X. The tension is heightened by terrorist attacks that are blamed on the X-Men asking to ‘Free Magneto’! The terrorist attacks are a ploy for Fenris (the children of Baron Von Strucker) to kill Magneto, Gabrielle Haller and Professor X. Magneto defends them in battle and is cleared of his charges. During this battle Professor X (who was already dying) asks Magneto to take his place at his school before he dies. Magneto accepts and Lilandra and the Starjammers appear to save Charles. Back at home, Madelyn also goes into labor without Cyclops by her side. Drawn by John Romita Jr, this issue began a long run where Professor X would be separated from the X-Men. Lots of stuff certainly happened in this issue.

1) Uncanny X-Men #275
I am not a huge fan of X-Men in space stories but this was definitely the best one. This also marked the return of Professor X to the X-Men after a long separation. This featured a fantastic cast of X-Men, some old and some new; a team that I wish would have been together longer. This issue also featured Magneto, Nick Fury, Rogue and Ka-Zar as they battled Zaladane and her newly acquired magnetic powers from Polaris. Rogue regained her powers in this issue and Magneto made a decision to revert back to being a villain as he killed Zaladane. “I am not Charles Xavier. I will never be Charles Xavier. I was a fool to try as he was for believing I could succeed.” This issue was drawn by the incredible Jim Lee and remains one of my favorite storylines of all time. And it had Banshee!

I wish all anniversary issues would have been special. Some of them, like Uncanny X-Men #125 and #250 barely mentioned that they were anniversary issues. Sadly, these anniversary issues just didn't do anything for me. These were not terrible issues, they just didn't measure up to the anniversary issues listed above.

Before we get to that one, there is an anniversary issue that I totally love and yet hate at the same time. So for the second week in a row, I present a middle pick, one that can be placed on either list.

Uncanny X-men #375
The X-Men are gathered together to find that Wolverine has been killed. Professor X believes that one of the X-Men is an impostor and he accuses Jean of becoming Dark Phoenix again. Cyclops defends her as Professor X attacks Jean. Cyclops blasts Professor X but Shadowcat phases him and he strikes down Storm. And then it all goes to hell. X-Men fight X-Men, and they split into smaller teams. One team believes that Dark Phoenix is back, another thinks Onslaught has taken over Professor X, some believe that X-Man is the problem. The situation worsens and X-Men after X-Men are killed and true and deep secrets come out. At the end, it is revealed that it was all a setup by Professor X. There is an impostor on the team and it is the dead Wolverine, but Professor X wanted to be sure that there were no other impostors. At the beginning he did this to X-Force (we didn't get to see the battle) and he does it to Generation X at the end of the book. I loved seeing the X-Men act on what they truly believe but I felt a little cheated that it really didn't happen. It was a good idea and well executed but felt like a ploy for an anniversary issue.

And now for the Bottom 3.

3) Uncanny X-men #350
Lots of things bother me about this anniversary issue. By this point I was sick of the relationship between Rogue and Gambit. When they first became a couple, there was a sense of danger and recklessness but the more it went on, the more sickening sweet it turned, which then turned my stomach. The bounty hunters Spat and Grovel were just as annoying as Rogue and Gambit. Then we find out that Gambit was working for Sinister and helped bring together the Marauders. Now I admit that was kinda cool but then the issue rewrote some continuity by having Gambit be the man that broke the Marauders into the Morlock Tunnels which does not coincide with Uncanny X-Men #210. I think it was bad enough that Gambit worked for Sinister and got the Marauders together but I guess Marvel really wanted him to look bad. Instead it looked stupid. I was hoping that the Marauders would appear again in that issue to massacre all the stupid characters in this book. At least the 'real' Magneto returned.

2) Uncanny X-men #325
This issue dealt with the anniversary of the mutant massacre. Some younger morlocks called the Gene Nation were going to kill a human for every mutant that was killed. The idea was good and the Joe Mad art was fantastic but as the story progressed it got worse and worse. I hate Marrow and the Gene Nation; I find them lousy characters and villains. I also hated the big battle between Storm and Marrow. It was just a rehash of when Storm and Callisto battled years ago. Only this time they had to make it more extreme. Storm licking the blood off her blade was just stupid. She said she doesn't like to kill but yet she callously tosses her knives and kills one of the Gene Nation without any remorse. Then she rips the heart out of Marrow. Ugh.

1) Uncanny X-Men #400
I love being right. Uncanny X-Men #400 was a terrible anniversary issue. At the least the art in the other anniversary issues were good. This issue dealt with Manbearpig and the 'origin’ of Stacey X and the Supreme Pontiff. This storyline was resolved a little later in Austen’s run on the book and has not been mentioned again thankfully. I never was a fan of artist jam issues and the artists chosen for this issue just were not exciting enough for the flagship X-title.

Here is hoping that tomorrow’s release of Uncanny X-Men #500 will hearken back to the good old days of anniversary issues.

Marvel Unveils Turner, Dodson Sketch Variants For Uncanny X-Men #500

Mon, 24 Jun 2008 23:54:33 GMT

posted by comicscoop

Marvel Comics has unveiled both sketch variant covers – one from Michael Turner and the other from interior artist Terry Dodson – for Uncanny X-Men #500, which will be included in the can’t-miss Uncanny X-Men #500 – Set of Two Sketch Variants shipping in July!

Following a time of great turmoil, this double-sized anniversary issue catches up with the X-Men in their new home of San Francisco. Unfortunately, trouble has found a way back to their new doorstep. All-star writers Ed Brubaker & Matt Fraction and artists Greg Land & Dodson come together for the first part of SFX, a story that may see such familiar threats as the Sentinels, Magneto and even the Master Mold resurface as the new era of mutantkind begins.

With the House of Ideas dishing out a truly landmark issue featuring its Children of the Atom as presented by some of the industry’s brightest stars, retailers can expect high demand for both the regular version, variants and these sketch variants of the 48-page, full-color Uncanny X-Men #500.

ComicScoop.com Note: These issues are sure to spark a lot of interest given the fact that this is the first time that sketch variants have been offered in pairs and they will be offered for every 200.

Tags: Marvel announces uncanny x-men 500 variants, Uncanny X-Men 500 Variant, uncanny x-men 500 variants, Uncanny X-Men Variant

This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 24th, 2008 at 11:54 pm and is filed under Buyers Scoop:, Comic Dish: Previews Of Events & Titles. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Gambit: Remy LeBeau

Wed, 10 May 2007 13:37:00 GMT

posted by cooluks
Real Name: Remy LeBeau

A homeless boy wandering the streets, Gambit was adopted by Jean-Luc LeBeau, head of the council of the Thieves Guild, a criminal organization based in New Orleans. As part of a peace pact between the Thieves Guild and their rivals, the Assassins Guild, a marriage was arranged between Gambit and Bella Donna Boudreaux, the granddaughter of the head of the Assassins. However, Bella Donna's brother Julien objected to the marriage and challenged Gambit to a duel. Severely wounding Julien, Gambit was forced to flee New Orleans to prevent war between the two guilds.

Gambit in X-ternally Yours Part 1

Gambit in X-ternally Yours Part 2

Gambit wandered the world as he applied his skills as a master thief, with his mutant power to charge objects with explosive energy. He employed playing cards he charged with kinetic energy as his trademark weapon. At one point Gambit agreed to assemble the team of assassins called the Marauders for Mister Sinister. Gambit did not realize that Sinister would employ the Marauders to massacre the underground mutant community called the Morlocks.

Afterwards, Gambit encountered the X-Man Storm, who had been transformed into an amnesiac child and who had turned to theft. He helped her escape her enemy, the Shadow King, and they became partners. Later, when Professor Charles Xavier returned from a long period of traveling in outer space, Storm, having regained her memory and true age, sponsored Gambit's admission into the X-Men. Gambit has remained on the team ever since and fell in love with his fellow X-Men Rogue. Recently, however, Gambit and Rogue have grown apart. As for Bella Donna, she has become Gambit's enemy. Recently, the X-Men learned of Gambit's role in the massacre of the Morlocks. Guilt-ridden, Gambit has left the team, at least temporarily.

In the alternate future in which the X-Man Bishop was born, Gambit has become an aged figure who witnessed the betrayal of the X-Men by one of their own members. Bishop suspected Gambit was the traitor until he learned how Xavier's mind spawned the malevolent entity Onslaught.

Height: 6 ft. 1 in.
Weight: 175 lbs.
Eyes: Red
Hair: Brown

Stength: Gambit is a mutant who possesses the normal human strength of a man of his age, height, and build who engages in intensive regular exercise.

Fighting skills: Excellent hand-to-hand combatant, utilizing streetfighting techniques and acrobatics.

Special skills and abilities: Bilingual in English and French, ability to throw small objects, including knives, throwing spikes, and playing cards, with extraordinary accuracy.

Known superhuman powers: Gambit has the mutant ability to tap into the potential energy contained within an object and transform it into kinetic energy. When Gambit thus charges an object with kinetic energy and throws it at a target, the object releases this energy explosively on impact....

Uncanny X-Men by Ed Brubaker, Billy Tan and Clayton Henry

Tue, 16 May 2007 22:20:00 GMT

posted by AndrewWickliffe
I hate to say it, but I think Uncanny X-Men is probably the best thing Ed Brubaker's writing right now. It's a big fat space adventure with some sci-fi standards and lots of continuity, none of which I knew, and it's not afraid of being too serious, at least in terms of the reading experience.

I'm not sure if Brubaker was having fun or just cashing a check, but The Rise and Fall of the Shi'ar Empire is stress-relieving, it's so enjoyable. The worst thing about it are the fill-in issues, when Clayton Henry takes over and Brubaker does his fill-in issue thing. He's started doing this thing at Marvel, when his main artist gets busy, there's a fill-in. In Shi'ar Empire, it's Clayton Henry doing the story of Vulcan (who the X-Men are chasing). These issues range in quality--the first being the worst, the second the best, the third (and fourth, maybe, I can't remember how many there were, probably three) being a little blah. Some of the fault is Henry's art in the first one, though it's not like Tan doesn't have some awkward figures at times and, by the end when the cast was around twenty characters, I couldn't tell anyone apart.

Where Brubaker goes right is his mix of action, character development, and sci-fi pacing. It's a bang-up read, much better than his X-Men: Deadly Genesis in that comparison, and probably better than all his other Marvel (and Icon) work except some stray Captain America fill-in issues and his first Daredevil arc. He's not trying hard to be popular with Shi'ar Empire, because he doesn't have to be (it being Uncanny X-Men and all)... maybe what shows is his lack of pressure.
A-

Tags: Uncanny X-Men, Ed Brubaker, Billy Tan, Clayton Henry, Marvel Comics, Comic Book, Review